A step in the right direction with some glaring oversights and issues for me. Another year or even two in the oven for this game would have done WONDERS. Releasing this AFTER the refreshing Pokemon Legends: Arceus made the samey gameplay feel even more dated. Not being able to just throw and catch pokemon anymore makes these games feel archaic, and while getting to move the camera around during some battles (only some) is nice, full movement made PLA feel a lot more engaging.

Despite all this, though, the game is quite safe. As held back as the game feels, the formula is still fun at its heart, the new pokemon are fun and fresh, the characters may be the best the series has seen, and the story is pretty solid, even getting a little dark by the end. Finally, the open world is a step that was long overdue, and despite being a bit bland, I'm glad they shot for it. I could go on (miraidon's glide ughhhhhhhh) but i'll stop myself here.

in summary - a fun enough romp with a lot of room for improvement.

6.85/10