The announcement of Pokémon Legends: Arceus during the February 2021 Pokémon Presents livestream may open the door for something special for the Pokémon franchise. An open-world RPG, Pokémon Legends: Arceus sets players on a journey to complete the Sinnoh region’s first Pokédex at some point in the in-game universe’s past. Players are given a choice between Rowlet, Cyndaquil, and Oshawott as their starting companion, joining them to discover what awaits in a world both familiar and new. Pokémon Legends: Arceus’ new gameplay mechanics and setting may signal a brand new spin-off series.

Previous Pokémon spin-off games have taken similar routes, fusing the familiar and timeless gameplay of the franchise’s main series with new elements to create a distinct separation. Pokémon Colosseum and its sequel, XD: Gale of Darkness, introduced the Shadow Pokémon system and eschewed random encounters for Pokémon that can be captured from other trainers. The Mystery Dungeon series had players complete different jobs and dungeons as the Pokémon themselves, with changes made to the core gameplay while maintaining some key components to the franchise.

Related: Pokémon Legends: Arceus Starters Are Rowlet, Cyndaquil, & Oshawott

The choice of setting for Pokémon Legends: Arceus separates the game from any other in the series, placing players in a key point of the history of the Sinnoh region. By putting players in such a remote time period compared to the rest of the franchise, Arceus could potentially be the first of a Pokémon Legends series, showing fans more of the lore of the franchise’s world. The biggest signal of this game’s impact, though, is its developer.

Why Pokémon Legends May Be The Next Pokémon Game Series

While developer ILCA Inc. is working on the Generation 4 remakes, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, the usual Pokémon development studio at Game Freak is tackling Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Game Freak working on the new title is a departure from the norm, as Pokémon spin-offs have usually been outsourced to other companies, with Game Freak sticking to the latest core titles or remakes.

Arceus is a Mythical Pokémon known as the Alpha Pokémon. Its Pokédex entries discuss how it may have existed before all other Pokémon, having hatched from an egg before shaping the world itself. Legendary Pokémon tend to be the focus of the core games and act as their mascots, but a focus on the truth behind the myths of the Pokémon world seems to be the direction for this potential new line of Pokémon Legends games.

In a 2019 interview with VGC, Programmer Masayuki Onoue indicated Game Freak, as a studio, has been expanding to other games and using knowledge gained there to improve Pokémon, enabling developers to return to the series with a “refreshed” mindset. The departure from normal Pokémon conventions in Pokémon Legends: Arceus’ open-world RPG format proves this, as fans of the series will be getting a new take from its veteran developers. While Pokémon‘s Gen 4 remakes will provide a more traditional experience at the end of the 2021, Pokémon Legends: Arceus’ launch in early 2022 could be the start of something new.

Next: Everything We Know About Pokémon Legends: Arceus

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Astra is the newest agent in Valorant, to be introduced in the live game in the Episode 2 Act 2 update.

This new controller comes with a unique style of approach. The ability interface, also known as the Astral Form, is a quirky concept added to Valorant. And with the launch of a new agent, comes the question of interaction with other existing elements in the game.

Astra has three normal abilities – a smoke, a concussion, and Gravity Well. The ultimate ability is a wall that blocks audio cues and bullets.

This calls for an examination as to how these abilities perform against the abilities of other agents. With that knowledge, one can even implement combos with teammates to achieve better results in Valorant.

Valorant Agent Astra’s interactions with every other Agent

While Yoru came with a set of abilities that have mobility, Astra’s abilities are mostly stationary. Therefore the smoke and concuss only affects the enemies solely. However, the Gravity Well and the Cosmic Divide possess interesting features.

To make the list short, here’s an interesting fact – all abilities of any agent in Valorant can pass through the Cosmic Divide wall, except Jett’s knives and Cypher’s Camera dart.

Jett:

<img class="lazy-img" width="800" height="450" data-img="https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2021/02/4105f-16144972752401-800.jpg" alt="Jett dashing away from Gravity Well in Valorant (Image via Riot Games)" data-img-low="https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2021/02/4105f-16144972752401-800.jpg" src="data:image/svg+xml,”>

The only reliable way to escape from the sucking gravity is Jett’s dash. Even the dash’s distance remains the same. However, one is still affected by the Gravity Well if the player uses updraft to escape. Basically Gravity Well affects players horizontally as well as vertically.

Jett’s ultimate is the only ability which cannot pass through the Cosmic Divide.

Sage:

<img class="lazy-img" width="800" height="450" data-img="https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2021/03/b6929-16145423665590-800.jpg" alt="Sage" s slow orb and gravity well combo via riot games data-img-low="https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2021/03/b6929-16145423665590-800.jpg" src="data:image/svg+xml,”>

The Gravity Well works really well with Sage’s Slow Orb. It literally stops a player in their tracks. The combination of suction power of the Gravity Well and the slowed speed of the player, makes it impossible to escape without being vulnerable.

And yet, Jett’s dash beats this too. She can easily escape from this chaos with a quick dash. Another unreliable way to escape this combo is by making a Sage Wall over it.

Cypher

<img class="lazy-img" width="800" height="450" data-img="https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2021/03/306dc-16145439471721-800.jpg" alt="Cypher" s trap combo with gravity well of astra via riot games data-img-low="https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2021/03/306dc-16145439471721-800.jpg" src="data:image/svg+xml,”>

Cypher’s Trip wire is another quick way to get a free kill on an enemy. Cypher’s trap slows down the trapped player until the trap is broken. Therefore, if a player gets trapped in the wire, while also standing over a Gravity Well, it makes it almost impossible to escape.

This is a really quick way to get a kill in Valorant on an enemy if the Cypher cage is used too.

Also Read: Valorant introduces new agent Astra, all abilities explained

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This week in a new Pokémon event, Nintendo rolled out the game that everyone has been waiting two decades for, an open world Pokémon title. It’s called Pokémon Legends: Arceus, and while we don’t know the full scope of it, we know that it features some basic things that players have been hoping for, an open world where you can sneak up on a wild Pokémon, throw a ball, and get to battling in real-time.

A lot of comparisons were made between Pokémon Legends and Breath of the Wild, as the games share similar landscapes and even trailer shots, at times, but I’ve watched this reveal a few times now and I can’t shake the feeling that it just looks….bad.

I don’t mean the concept of an open world Pokémon game is bad, I mean it literally looks bad, and at this point, the Nintendo Switch is really starting to show its age. The Switch is effectively two generations behind Sony and Microsoft now in terms of power, and while no, it doesn’t need to match Series X and PS5 and has done just fine not focusing on power, there’s a limit to that. And we are very clearly at that limit. Hell, Nintendo is even getting lapped by mobile games like Genshin Impact in terms of visuals.

Games like Breath of the Wild or Mario Odyssey or Animal Crossing are able to hide the Switch’s graphical shortcomings to some extent through cartoony graphics or art design. Breath of the Wild is a beautiful game despite the Switch’s lack of power, but despite the comparison to Legends here, I absolutely don’t see that same kind of carryover. Legends just looks painfully dated and low quality in terms of graphics, with blurry textures and sparse landscapes dotted by fuzzy trees. It’s missing that key ingredient that made BOTW gorgeous despite the Switch’s power, and the style just doesn’t work here.

Nintendo enthusiasts often give Nintendo a pass for graphics, which I understand, but I certainly don’t think its games would be hurt by investing more into getting the Switch up to speed with its competitors, or at least being able to see them on the horizon. Why can’t we have a Pokémon game with gorgeous landscapes like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla or The Witcher 3, even if the animation style is different? But this? This is…bad.

I don’t think I’m alone here. After the debut of Pokémon Legends: Arceus, “Switch Pro” started immediately trending on Twitter, as players seem to think it’s time for the Switch to get a power upgrade, as the base system is now clearly starting to show its age after four years. There’s talk that we could see the Switch Pro or Super Nintendo Switch or whatever you want to call it this fall, but that’s not a guarantee, nor do we know what its specs might be when it does get here. Again, no one is expecting PS5 and Series X parity, or even close, especially with Nintendo’s continued focus on portability. But we’re at a point where enthusiasm for even anticipated new games is dampened by the Switch’s age and capabilities, and it’s time for a change. We’ll see what happens in the next few months here.

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