Quite frankly, I don’t think I’ve ever felt more conflicted while writing a review than sitting down to talk about my time with Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet. On many technical levels, the game isn’t just a mess – it’s demonstrably incomplete. Graphical bugs, hitching and freezing, crashes, and even when the game is firing at all cylinders it struggles to maintain what many would call a basic expectation for smooth performance, all the while sporting a presentation that feels a generation behind what many other open-world RPGs have managed to express on the Nintendo Switch hardware – including 2022’s own Pokemon Legends: Arceus.
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By the time this review will have gone live, it will be almost impossible to have not seen examples of the games running poorly, with any number of videos circulating showcasing just how stapled together the experience appears once things start to slip. On my end, I encountered numerous bugs that I’ve yet to even see reproduced elsewhere. Once upon finishing a Tera Raid Battle, myself and my other Union Circle buddies were left waiting for upwards of a minute after failing the battle; somewhere along the line, the entire raid had desynced. A common enough occurrence, but in this case the game arbitrarily decided it needed to sync things up well after the battle had concluded; leaving several of us on a white screen, with only sound effects to let us know that the game itself hadn’t yet entirely locked up.
This is just one example among many, including the numerous times the game began to slow to a crawl, or ultimately crashed. On the map, icons of Pokemon will sometimes appear to denote when a swarm has manifested in some part of Paldea; one time, the icon of one such Pokemon got stuck to my screen, and it was only ultimately a reset that removed it from view. Lag and camera issues were common enough that it was notable whenever the game itself was responsive, and when the camera was not clipping through the level geometry.
On one hand, I don’t want to excuse these genuine, glaring issues with the game. While I was able to overcome them to end up enjoying my time with the title – to the point where I’d count it among my favorites in the series – quite frankly, it hurts even more that a game that would otherwise be in contention for one of the best RPGs to release this year has shipped in such a grossly compromised state. Yet, I would like to believe that these issues will eventually be patched. Besides – other, more capable hands have been able to break down the myriad issues with the game’s technical and graphical presentation better than I ever could. There’s no real point in repeating something that has been incredibly obvious since the game’s release.
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, I walked away disappointed with their base release due to issues I had with the game’s structure, and I can’t help but feel the monkey’s paw curling that seemingly it was a direct response to those same criticisms that clearly lead to most of these game’s technical deficiencies. What makes the current situation all the more frustrating is that absent of these same issues, there’s an incredibly strong argument that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are the best and most engaging games in the franchise’s storied history.
The game’s structure, unlike previous entries – and even separate from January’s Pokemon Legends: Arceus – is a truly open, truly non-linear affair. After a short prologue that gets players acquainted with the Academy, and the premise of the Treasure Hunt, you’re free to tackle any of the 3 stories at your leisure, and even within these stories, you’re given the freedom to complete objectives in the order that you please. Paldea is a genuine open world, unlike Legends Arceus’ smaller biomes; and players are free to explore it at their leisure.
What this means is that routes, caves, towns, and crucially the Pokemon that inhabit every corner of this world will seamlessly mesh from one location to the other without the need of any movie magic to break up the game’s structure and pacing. If you run up to or throw a Pokeball at a wild Pokemon, you’ll throw out your own Pokemon right into the game world, and do battle exactly where you encountered the Pokemon in the wild. Other Pokemon will crowd to watch your battle at the commotion, reacting to how things twist and turn. This is true for trainer battles as well, and it truly can’t be overstated just how much this one simple mechanic does to make the world feel truly alive.
Pokemon will act according to their environments. A Jigglypuff or Hoppip might find themselves swept away by the wind; a Psyduck might appear asleep on its back in a lake or river. A Pineco or Applin might be spotted perched on a tree. Some Pokemon might even take advantage of these behaviors as a gameplay mechanic, to offer a clue when a Ditto or Zorua is not quite what it first appears. In order to find a specific Pokemon, you truly have to consider not just the environments where they might be found, but also these basic interactions that have only ever been showcased in media like the anime prior to now.
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, I walked away disappointed with their base release due to issues I had with the game’s structure, and I can’t help but feel the monkey’s paw curling that seemingly it was a direct response to those same criticisms that clearly lead to most of these game’s technical deficiencies. What makes the current situation all the more frustrating is that absent of these same issues, there’s an incredibly strong argument that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are the best and most engaging games in the franchise’s storied history.
The game’s structure, unlike previous entries – and even separate from January’s Pokemon Legends: Arceus – is a truly open, truly non-linear affair. After a short prologue that gets players acquainted with the Academy, and the premise of the Treasure Hunt, you’re free to tackle any of the 3 stories at your leisure, and even within these stories, you’re given the freedom to complete objectives in the order that you please. Paldea is a genuine open world, unlike Legends Arceus’ smaller biomes; and players are free to explore it at their leisure.
What this means is that routes, caves, towns, and crucially the Pokemon that inhabit every corner of this world will seamlessly mesh from one location to the other without the need of any movie magic to break up the game’s structure and pacing. If you run up to or throw a Pokeball at a wild Pokemon, you’ll throw out your own Pokemon right into the game world, and do battle exactly where you encountered the Pokemon in the wild. Other Pokemon will crowd to watch your battle at the commotion, reacting to how things twist and turn. This is true for trainer battles as well, and it truly can’t be overstated just how much this one simple mechanic does to make the world feel truly alive.
Pokemon will act according to their environments. A Jigglypuff or Hoppip might find themselves swept away by the wind; a Psyduck might appear asleep on its back in a lake or river. A Pineco or Applin might be spotted perched on a tree. Some Pokemon might even take advantage of these behaviors as a gameplay mechanic, to offer a clue when a Ditto or Zorua is not quite what it first appears. In order to find a specific Pokemon, you truly have to consider not just the environments where they might be found, but also these basic interactions that have only ever been showcased in media like the anime prior to now.
Advertisement. Keep scrolling for more
, I walked away disappointed with their base release due to issues I had with the game’s structure, and I can’t help but feel the monkey’s paw curling that seemingly it was a direct response to those same criticisms that clearly lead to most of these game’s technical deficiencies. What makes the current situation all the more frustrating is that absent of these same issues, there’s an incredibly strong argument that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are the best and most engaging games in the franchise’s storied history.
The game’s structure, unlike previous entries – and even separate from January’s Pokemon Legends: Arceus – is a truly open, truly non-linear affair. After a short prologue that gets players acquainted with the Academy, and the premise of the Treasure Hunt, you’re free to tackle any of the 3 stories at your leisure, and even within these stories, you’re given the freedom to complete objectives in the order that you please. Paldea is a genuine open world, unlike Legends Arceus’ smaller biomes; and players are free to explore it at their leisure.
What this means is that routes, caves, towns, and crucially the Pokemon that inhabit every corner of this world will seamlessly mesh from one location to the other without the need of any movie magic to break up the game’s structure and pacing. If you run up to or throw a Pokeball at a wild Pokemon, you’ll throw out your own Pokemon right into the game world, and do battle exactly where you encountered the Pokemon in the wild. Other Pokemon will crowd to watch your battle at the commotion, reacting to how things twist and turn. This is true for trainer battles as well, and it truly can’t be overstated just how much this one simple mechanic does to make the world feel truly alive.
Pokemon will act according to their environments. A Jigglypuff or Hoppip might find themselves swept away by the wind; a Psyduck might appear asleep on its back in a lake or river. A Pineco or Applin might be spotted perched on a tree. Some Pokemon might even take advantage of these behaviors as a gameplay mechanic, to offer a clue when a Ditto or Zorua is not quite what it first appears. In order to find a specific Pokemon, you truly have to consider not just the environments where they might be found, but also these basic interactions that have only ever been showcased in media like the anime prior to now.
Advertisement. Keep scrolling for more
, I walked away disappointed with their base release due to issues I had with the game’s structure, and I can’t help but feel the monkey’s paw curling that seemingly it was a direct response to those same criticisms that clearly lead to most of these game’s technical deficiencies. What makes the current situation all the more frustrating is that absent of these same issues, there’s an incredibly strong argument that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are the best and most engaging games in the franchise’s storied history.
The game’s structure, unlike previous entries – and even separate from January’s Pokemon Legends: Arceus – is a truly open, truly non-linear affair. After a short prologue that gets players acquainted with the Academy, and the premise of the Treasure Hunt, you’re free to tackle any of the 3 stories at your leisure, and even within these stories, you’re given the freedom to complete objectives in the order that you please. Paldea is a genuine open world, unlike Legends Arceus’ smaller biomes; and players are free to explore it at their leisure.
What this means is that routes, caves, towns, and crucially the Pokemon that inhabit every corner of this world will seamlessly mesh from one location to the other without the need of any movie magic to break up the game’s structure and pacing. If you run up to or throw a Pokeball at a wild Pokemon, you’ll throw out your own Pokemon right into the game world, and do battle exactly where you encountered the Pokemon in the wild. Other Pokemon will crowd to watch your battle at the commotion, reacting to how things twist and turn. This is true for trainer battles as well, and it truly can’t be overstated just how much this one simple mechanic does to make the world feel truly alive.
Pokemon will act according to their environments. A Jigglypuff or Hoppip might find themselves swept away by the wind; a Psyduck might appear asleep on its back in a lake or river. A Pineco or Applin might be spotted perched on a tree. Some Pokemon might even take advantage of these behaviors as a gameplay mechanic, to offer a clue when a Ditto or Zorua is not quite what it first appears. In order to find a specific Pokemon, you truly have to consider not just the environments where they might be found, but also these basic interactions that have only ever been showcased in media like the anime prior to now.
Advertisement. Keep scrolling for more
, I walked away disappointed with their base release due to issues I had with the game’s structure, and I can’t help but feel the monkey’s paw curling that seemingly it was a direct response to those same criticisms that clearly lead to most of these game’s technical deficiencies. What makes the current situation all the more frustrating is that absent of these same issues, there’s an incredibly strong argument that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are the best and most engaging games in the franchise’s storied history.
The game’s structure, unlike previous entries – and even separate from January’s Pokemon Legends: Arceus – is a truly open, truly non-linear affair. After a short prologue that gets players acquainted with the Academy, and the premise of the Treasure Hunt, you’re free to tackle any of the 3 stories at your leisure, and even within these stories, you’re given the freedom to complete objectives in the order t
