Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Reviews
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is the revolution the franchise needs. Years of work has built up to this moment with an open world, flexibility in questing, and an interesting collection of monsters to gather and fight with. Multiplayer possibilities, with a renewed focus on matchups and fresh ways to fight ensure the foundations and cores of the series are as strong and intact as ever. But as well nuanced as it all is, performance, exploration restrictions and some aesthetic issues hold the game back from its full potential.
Scarlet and Violet would probably go down as two of the best games in the series if not for these [performance] issues. Instead, all anyone will likely remember are the viral glitch montages that have swept across social media. And that’s regrettable because at their core is an imperfect yet charming and highly enjoyable adventure.
Many games have launched in nowhere near as bad a state as Pokemon Scarlet and Violet and have been rightly lambasted for it, Pokemon should be no different.
A game that you can see every experimental feature shown in spin-offs after 8th gen. While neat story and adventure with Pokémon in Paldea region are fun as always, too much lag and bugs are beyond inconvenience. Sometimes they actually keep players away from all the joy.
Review in Korean | Read full review
I love the open world design, but hate its visuals. I love the inclusion of multiple routes and storylines, but despised the brand new gym battles. I loved the new pokémon designs, but didn’t care that much about its new gameplay gimmick, as usual. It was released before it was ready, before the hype caused by Legends: Arceus could calm down a bit. That being said, it’s Pokémon: it will still sell, it will still be really fun for those into the franchise’s gameplay loop, and Game Freak will surely release a new generation in a few years without caring about fan feedback, as usual.
Pokémon Scarlet/Violet is a potential 10/10 game, trapped behind severe issues. I personally had some of the most fun I’ve had with any game all year, but there’s a lot to criticize and it certainly shouldn’t have been released in the state it was. It does bring up a conflict in terms of scoring and not everyone will agree, but I feel recommending it is still fair due to all the positives and the sheer amount of fun I had with it – if not at such a high rating
Don't let anyone ruin your illusion if you really want to give it a try.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Pokémon Scarlet and Purple became a meme before it even came out and every trickle of information served to feed the desire and the feeling that yes, this was going to be the good one after many others. But the day of publication arrived. It is inevitable to talk about the performance errors and technical failures that populate the game, offering a disastrous image that, no matter how much it sells, will have to be lifted through patches. Believe me it's a shame that I have to write this first part in the conclusion text because, in general terms and if I omitted that, the game would be very fun and tremendously enjoyable. Everything seemed to work in one direction, but it has not been possible. This could have been, and many would have agreed in this opinion, the best Pokémon in years. In the end it will always be in the opinion of each one to say if the glass is half full or half empty, although there is less and less water with which to doubt.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Ten Million Copies sold in just 3 days. Just let that soak in. Its quite unbelievable to comprehend that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have just broken Nintendos all time sales records. You’d have had to be living on a different planet not to know the absolute phenomenon that is the world of Pokemon.
Pokemon Violet and Pokemon Scarlet certainly don't put their best feet forward. They run rough. Visual downgrades are clear. But ultimately, once you settle in, they're certainly full Pokemon games.
On paper, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet sounds like a Pokémon fan's dream come true. Paldea impresses with a very extensive game world, different storylines and new gameplay mechanics. Unfortunately, the poor technical and optical quality of the ninth generation throws a big spanner in the works. Game Freak has a lot to do here, especially given the fact that only 400 different Pokémon have made it into the game.
Review in German | Read full review
As a whole, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is the most fun I’ve had on a Pokemon adventure in a long, long time. But this is completely in spite of itself. There are unforgivable graphical issues, and despite endless charming creatures and characters, the open world itself lacks nearly completely in personality or a sense of progression. Nonetheless, it has never felt better being a Pokemon trainer than it does in Gen IX, thanks to the smoothest mechanics yet and quality-of-life improvements.
While Scarlet and Violet aren't a complete reinvention of the formula, and technical performance issues certainly hold them back, they're still an essential leap forward – both in storytelling and gameplay mechanics. New features and clever tweaks along the way make this adventure feel fresh and encouraging, in ways that past games haven't. As a reinvigoration of the Pokemon formula, Scarlet and Violet are some of the best modern games in the long-running franchise.
The game world is excessively empty, not only because of the lack of density of vegetation and other elements, but for the lack of activities. Cities contrast a bit with this, expressing life, with happy NPCs walking back and away, and lots of shops to enter, where you can buy clothes and accessories for your character. Outside the cities, you'll only find huge beams of light on the horizon, symbolizing the crystals where you can participate in Tera Raid Battles (which are virtually identical to the Max Raid Battles of the previous game). Pokémon Scarlet and Violet had a lot to gain if they had been postponed.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
In one point, however, opinions are likely to differ on "Pokémon Crimson and Purple": the technical implementation. The performance goes to its knees from time to time, Pokémon or NPCs pop into the picture a few meters in front of us. And "normal" graphics errors occur significantly more often than in any other "Pokémon" game on Switch before. How serious these and other weaknesses actually are, however, is, as always, in the eye of the beholder. We like the style overall, which is why we can usually overlook even the sometimes gross weaknesses in performance or texture quality. Nevertheless, these weaknesses are the reason why "Pokémon Crimson and Purple" has to take a back seat to "Pokémon Legends: Arceus", although we ultimately like the playful concept of adventure in Paldea at least as much, if not better.
Review in German | Read full review
Do the latest Pokémon games get everything right? Not always, but when they do, therein lie adventures that is giving players the keys to crafting their own experiences in a wonderful world filled with fantastic creatures. Whether you are chasing down the title of the best in the land or hoping to detail the hundreds of Pokémon out there, there is always something fun waiting for you down the line, and that’s a world we can all agree is one that is exciting to be a part of, much less a key figure in.
Pokémon Scarlet & Violet takes the next step for the franchise thanks to the lush open world. Even the new Terastallizing mechanic is great fun, although it is kinda a reskin of an earlier mechanic. Amazing music and some smart design choises make it a game you can't miss. At least, that is what we would've said if the performance wasn't as bad as it is.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Some ideas might not work and there are some obvious visual issues to overcome but there’s never been a grander, more exciting Pokemon adventure.
Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet bring some innovative ideas to the series and freshen it up slightly, with new features that are certainly worthwhile. It's Nintendo's classic and successful formula, with the ninth generation being extremely interesting, with brand new Pokémon, new missions and ideas that are sure to "ring a bell" for hardcore gamers. Is this the next step that Game Freak has been waiting for? The answer is...sort of.
Review in Greek | Read full review
Pokémon Scarlet & Pokémon Violet bring some interesting new innovations such as a complete open world and a fun new Let’s Go! mechanic that speeds up fighting. The fact that you can now tale multiple paths really helps to diversify gameplay and the narrative behind is the best the series has to offer. Unfortunately, some technical issues such as texture problems and Pokémons that load too slowly in the open world will irritate players.
Review in French | Read full review