During the series’ 25th anniversary presentation, The Pokémon Company revealed a few new games, including Pokémon Diamond and Pearl remakes and more footage of Pokémon Snap, but Pokémon Legends Arceus stole the show.
The new game looks to modernize the classic Pokémon gameplay formula by making it more of an open-world game with a tighter focus on collecting Pocket Monsters.
The brief presentation showed off how players can crouch and sneak up on Pokémon to surprise them with Poké Balls.
While Nintendo has created offshoot Pokémon games in the past, including Let’s Go and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, this seems different and could perhaps be a new path for the series.
Legends Arceus’ plot sets your player on a mission to create the world’s first Pokédex, suggesting that Arceus is set so far in the past that it could be ripe for sequels.
Pokémon Legends Arceus is slated to release in early 2022 for the Nintendo Switch. If you want to scratch your Pokémon itch in 2021, you’ll be stuck with Pokémon Snap and Brillant Diamond and Shiny Pearl.