Pokémon Legends: Z-A Review Bombed Despite Favorable Critic Score

Critics praise Pokémon Legends: Z-A, yet fans have subjected it to a review bomb. Discover the community's perspective on the game and explore the specific criticisms it has faced.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A Polarizing Reviews

Favored by Critics, Bombed by Fans

The reception for Pokémon Legends: Z-A has been sharply divided. While professional critics have embraced the new entry in the Legends series, fans remain largely disappointed with this latest installment. At present, the game holds an aggregate Metacritic score of 80, indicating a "generally favorable" consensus among reviewers.

Most review outlets consider it a significant improvement over Pokémon Legends: Arceus and even more so compared to Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Despite some visual shortcomings, standout features include the return of Mega Evolutions and innovative gameplay elements that break away from traditional Pokémon formulas.

Conversely, many fans hold a different view. The game has earned a user score of 4.6 on Metacritic, placing it among the lowest-rated Pokémon titles based on fan feedback. For context, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet received a user score of 4.1, while Pokémon Sword and Shield scored 4.8.

User scores tend to be polarized, clustering around either high ratings (8-10) or low ones (0-2), which pulls down the overall average. Common complaints focus on the relatively small map size, inconsistent visuals, lackluster animations, and an absence of voice acting.

At Game8, we awarded Pokémon Legends: Z-A a score of 88 out of 100, praising how it builds upon and refines the gameplay introduced in Legends: Arceus while establishing a strong foundation for Generation 10. To read our full assessment, please visit our review below.