Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Reviews

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet is ranked in the 44th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
5 / 10.0
Nov 25, 2022

Scarlet and Violet is a pair of obviously rushed products that look so much poorer for following an excellent refreshment in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Regressive and outmoded, the ninth Pokémon generation still boasts some enjoyable content but I couldn’t in good faith say it’s a quality experience. The utterly shameful performance issues hammer home how crudely made it is. It’s staggering just how terribly it runs. We’ve pilloried games for less, but we’re supposed to just accept it here because it’s Pokémon.

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Nov 17, 2022

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet adds a number of changes to the classic Pokémon formula, and most of them pay off, particularly the auto-battles, vast open world, and the three distinct storylines. The games do suffer from performance and stability issues, as well as some troubles with scaling the open world difficulty. Those problems are far from game-breaking, leaving them an overall enjoyable experience.

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7 / 10.0
Nov 17, 2022

The ninth generation of Nintendo's popular series gives players a huge free-to-roam world brimming with weird little guys to catch. Read on.

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65 / 100
Dec 6, 2022

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet try to take the franchise in a new direction, but can feel empty and hollow as a result. The open world has bright spots, especially multiplayer, however a lack of care in its design leads to a game that's haphazard and lifeless.

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Dec 5, 2022

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are an ambitious attempt to take the Pokemon franchise open world, but they fail to live up to expectations.

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Nov 19, 2022

Unfortunately, the performance is so abruptly bad that it completely ruins, to an infuriating extent, what otherwise could have been the best Pokemon game to date.

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Telegraph
Top Critic
Nov 17, 2022

Pokémon's first fully open-world title has a lot of ideas but never quite manages to stick the landing with any of them

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Guardian
Top Critic
Nov 17, 2022

Technical problems and an evident lack of development time take the shine off this ambitious new outing for the world-conquering critters

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Dec 13, 2022

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are big and ambitious and bold, but it's hard not to imagine what they could have been if they’d just been given a little more time to cook.

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M3
Top Critic
Dec 1, 2022

Graphics aren't everything and buggy releases are nothing new, but for Nintendo to release its golden calf in this condition is a big disappointment. The foundation still entertains greatly, and a couple of new clever touches elevate the adventure above its predecessors. But when lots of both big and small flaws constantly make themselves felt, it's hard to appreciate the pocket monsters' latest adventures.

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Drew Leachman
Top Critic
6.5 / 10.0
Jan 20, 2023

That’s where I stand with Scarlet and Violet. It’s got the trappings of a great Pokémon game, but I think this is most certainly a learning experience for both the players and the developers. Hopefully, the next generation will improve on both the pacing and the technical issues found here. In the meantime, players can get a lot of enjoyment out of this outing, just remember, even though this is a choose your own adventure style game, it doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want when you want.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 29, 2022

I understand the hate that Pokémon Violet is getting. Frame rate issues, glitches, and design choices that make little sense are everywhere. Making characters less customizable is unforgivable. Developers saying their game is open-world when there are level caps is redundant. But I'm still having more fun than I've ever had in a Pokémon title. Violet takes the Pokémon formula and twists it into what I hope becomes the new normal in many ways. Three stories to play through and a UI that feels easier to use than ever before deliver elements Pokémon fans have long been looking for. Violet gave me the same emotional high that I got from the original game, which isn't easy to do. I love being able to take on gym leaders, knock out giant oversized Pokémon, or break into someone's hideout all in the same game. The heart of Pokémon is still here, still beating, even if the outside is full of fatty nonsense at times.

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8 / 10.0
Nov 25, 2022

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet largely deliver the open-world RPG experience fans barely dared dream of for decades, with a huge, lively map and a surprisingly-engaging trio of stories nicely complementing the franchise’s rock-solid core mechanics. Yes, the game has more than its share of technical issues, but its shortcomings are largely cosmetic and the folks most excited to play probably aren’t going to be that bothered about its pixel count or performance. This Pokémon may be humble-looking, but it brings the fight where it counts.

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6 / 10.0
Nov 24, 2022

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet jump between future and past, like their cover monsters. A freely explorable Open World but unable to performing well and killing all the new good ideas. It's a classic from Game Freak, a place where every step forward is followed by some steps backward. And maybe is not enough anymore, it's time to force the best-selling franchise in the world to grow up.

Review in Italian | Read full review

Dexerto
Top Critic
4 / 5
Nov 22, 2022

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet are a stunning glimpse into the future of the Pokemon video game series. Ambitious gameplay and thoughtful narratives create an experience that stands above prior titles. With performance patches to improve the games’ stability, this could be one of the most important generations yet. For now, though, it’s simply a very good one.

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78 / 100
Nov 22, 2022

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is a step in the right direction. Game Freak successfully reimagines the formula in an open-world format and improves on its previous experiments with this design. The ability to tackle any gym is refreshing and the three distinct story paths give more reason to explore. Unfortunately, the number of performance issues cannot be overlooked and these hinder what could have been a highlight of the series.

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Liked-a-lot
Nov 17, 2022
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet In-Depth Review - YouTube video thumbnail
Dec 11, 2022

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet make a strong case for the continued development of open-world Pokémon games, but its frankly unacceptable number of technical issues put a damper on the entire experience.

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4 / 5.0
Dec 5, 2022

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet just have some kind of glimmer that still makes it worthwhile enough to overlook the shortcomings.

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7 / 10.0
Dec 2, 2022

With routine patches and dedicated bug fixes, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet could end up being a transcendent moment in franchise history. The ambition of its branching paths, the size of its open world, and the selection of different Pokemon available are all massive, signaling that Game Freak and The Pokemon Company wanted this to be a flagship moment for the series. Unfortunately, all of that ambition is marred by the technical trials left in its wake, creating some truly infuriating moments during a game where I should be adventuring with a smile on my face. The foundation of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is strong, but there are too many technical shortcomings in the experience to truly call it great.

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