Despite all the comparisons to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Pokémon Legends: Arceus will not get you an open world. The world structure looks more comparable to that of Monster Hunter.
In a letter to Kotaku The Pokémon Company announces what the gameplay episode will look like in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. From this we can conclude that it will not be a large open world, but there are different “open areas” that you will always visit from Jubilife Village. The full statement reads as follows:
In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, the Jubilife Village is the basis for overseeing quests. After receiving a command or request, and preparing for the next journey, players will move from the village to one of the open areas of Hisui. After completing the mission, players must return to the village to prepare for the next mission.
For example, the game looks more like Monster Hunter than Breath of the Wild, which may also explain why the world always appears empty in trailers. Crossing a gigantic world where there is nothing to do is more boring than teleporting into a smaller area each time, although it remains to be seen if it also happens as in Monster Hunter Rise, for example.
The statement from The Pokémon Company comes on the heels of recent fan discussions based on recently released screenshots. These screenshots showed, among other things, a map of the designated areas.
Nintendo described Pokémon Legends: Arceus with the words “natural expanses” and “wild landscapes” among other things. With the trailers showing landscapes stretching over it, it was of course easy to make a bridge to The Legend of Zelda. In addition, Pokémon fans have been eagerly hoping for a large, open 3D world of Pokémon for years. This spin-off will not provide that.
