While Pokémon Legends: ZA has proven itself among critics and stood neck and neck with Arceus, players aren't having nearly as good of a time.
Right now, the game has a score of just 4.3 out of 10 on Metacritic, as user reviews criticize everything from the exuberant $70 price tag and poor visuals to the lack of voice acting, small map, and repetitive gameplay loop.
“Pokemon Legends: ZA looks and feels like a huge missed opportunity,” reads one such review. “The graphics are flat, the textures are lazy, and the world feels empty – more like a PS3 remaster than a 2025 release. The art style is all over the place, with Pokemon and characters looking inconsistent and lifeless. The city promised depth but instead delivers repetition”.
The most disappointing Pokemon game I have ever seen. The lack of exploration and content is unacceptable 2025 – Lazyzombie.
Of course, it's worth noting the stark difference in how players score games vs. critics, with many of the negative user reviews sitting at or around “0,” and the few positive ones closer to “10,” significantly skewing scores toward the lower end of the scale. But this isn't a review bombing campaign due to wild backlash to “trans-Pokemon” (which thankfully mostly contains to X); many raise valid concerns and ask how one of the largest franchises in the world might feel this cheap.
“Ugly and rotten to look at”
“The shocking drop in quality from Pokémon has been steady and constant since the release of X/Y and I'm finally putting my foot down,” writes TheCozyGhost. “Indie games are released with better production than The Pokemon Company's $70 releases. Mobile games have better models and textures today.”
“I want to like the game but [it] lacks too many features and quality,” reads another. “Especially for the price range and their experience with previous Pokemon games. Overall not recommended.”
For a studio the size of Game Freak, the graphics should look better than a PS2 game.
“At $70, Pokemon Legends: ZA feels incomplete, functional, and – yes – the worst Pokemon release to date,” claims HellsCourtesy. “The game in a nutshell: a small, copied “open” world (one city, almost no interiors) with no meaningful walkthrough […] Story has no stakes, no real villains […] Real-time combat is clunky […] Even as a lifelong fan, I can't recommend this – not at full price, not even on sale – unless major free updates add new content”.
To put into perspective how low Legends: ZA scores with players, here are some of the worst reviewed “mainline” Pokémon games:
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Pokemon: Let's Go, Pikachu! & Let's Go, Eevee! – 6.4
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Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl – 5
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Pokemon Sword & Shield – 4.8
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Pokemon Legends: ZA – 4.3
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Pokemon Scarlet & Violet – 4.1
It's a damning indictment of how frustrated Pokemon fans are with the Switch generation of games, especially after such a strong start to the Legends series with Arceus, which for many was a much-needed breath of fresh air. Legends: ZA, finally returning to X/Y and Lumiose City, should have been an equally exciting step forward for the series, but unfortunately, based on these user reviews, it seems to be continuing the same trend of disappointment as Scarlet & Violet. Hopefully Gen 10 can turn things around.
- Released
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16 October 2025
- ESRB
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All 10+ / Fantasy violence, in-game purchase
- Publisher
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Nintendo, The Pokemon Company
