"This game is so stupid" — Asmongold's live reaction to Pokémon Legends: Z-A

Asmongold sits down to play Pokémon Legends: Z-A, and within minutes, the experience becomes less about playing a game and more about watching a series of design decisions that, in his view, border on insulting. The episode is not a review. It is a live, unscripted walkthrough of frustration — and a pointed argument about what a major franchise can get away with simply because of its name.

The tutorial that never ends

The central complaint is not about graphics or story. It is about player agency — or the complete lack of it. Asmongold notes that the game does not treat the player like they are intelligent. "They know you're retarded," he says, "because you bought the game." The tutorial sequences are relentless. The game tells you where to go, when to go there, and what to do when you arrive. At one point, he is given a single option in an elevator: one floor. "Are you telling me that the hotel scene and the hotel functionality inside of Bellabog in Honkai Star Rail is more advanced and dynamic than the leading franchise for the last thirty years?" He answers his own question: "Easily."

The comparison is deliberate. He is not comparing Pokémon to an obscure indie title. He is comparing it to a free-to-play gacha game, and finding the gacha game more mechanically generous.