Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Reviews
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.
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.
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.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet just have some kind of glimmer that still makes it worthwhile enough to overlook the shortcomings.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are hardly perfect games, far from it, in fact. But when you look past the visual setbacks and glitches, you'll find an expansive experience that begs to be explored in full. It doesn't do everything right, but it further sets up a future that fans will be excited for once they refine it more.
From visual shortcomings to a smattering of bugs, these games shouldn't be as good as they are. Whether I was on the road or at a family gathering over a holiday weekend, I couldn't put them down once I started playing thanks to Scarlet and Violet's charming storylines, incredible monster designs, sonically rich soundtrack and enthralling battles. I haven't had as much fun with a new Pokémon game in years, possibly even a decade, even if its launch sets a concerning precedent for the series going forward.
While Pokémon Scarlet and Violet may not be a perfect experience, it's still an absolute delight in almost every way.
This game, like Pokemon Arceus, is arguably what many Pokemon fans have requested for years. If Nintendo can keep the positives while fixing the graphical issues, they could easily win Game of the Year in the near future. These two new games do a lot of things right with only a few issues to complain about in the long run. If you are a fan of the Pokemon franchise, we definitely recommend checking out Pokemon Violet and Scarlet.
What we have in our hands is potentially the best Pokemon game in history. If the optimization issues had not undermined the enjoyment of the game, we might be talking about very different things. However, I have great hope that the game will improve in the future. If I had just one wish from Jirachi, it would be for Scarlet & Violet to run smoothly. Don't be in a hurry to purchase, but if performance issues are solved, as a PokeManiac, I would say don't miss this experience.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
Every decision Scarlet and Violet make are good ones. The huge expansion and changes to the single player campaign are great, the size of the world and the joy of exploration are the best in the series, and the new Pokemon and battle mechanics introduced all sing. However, it’s just impossible to shake the thought of how much better the game would feel if it was on more powerful hardware, or simply ran acceptably on Switch.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
Although Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have some, if not all, noticeable issues, it still manages to offer one of the best Pokémon experiences to date. Its deviation from its traditional roots has made the game even more enjoyable, offering a plethora of gameplay and a good amount of content. Both veteran and fresh fans of the game will love this game and it should be recommended to anyone who wants to try Scarlet and Violet.
With a new region, comes new Pokémon, and the Paldean region is home to 400 Pokémon, with just over a quarter of them being genuine to that area. This number includes the two Paldean forms of Wooper and Taurus, the re-imagined evolution lines of Toedstool (Tentacool) and Wiglett (Diglett), all new evolutions for earlier generation Pokémon, and Paradox Pokémon. Paradox Pokémon are end-game Pokémon, reimagined futuristic/ancient forms of previous generations. These forms are also heavily tied into the story, so I won’t be touching on that subject. Whenever a new Pokémon generation comes out, there is a lot of skepticism about the new Pokémon, but I can personally say I’m a big fan of 80% of this generation’s designs.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet represent multiple steps in the right direction with equal trips and falls. Whilst it implements some fantastic gameplay mechanics and provides one of the best narratives in years, it needed more time and polish. It’s a must-play with a patch on the way, so let’s hope Game Freak gets some development help next time.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is a great game, that shakes up the standard Pokemon formula to incredible success. Despite all the good, there are some glaring issues that were definitely avoidable.
Pokémon Scarlet & Violet's high points are among the series's best, but its lows, spanning across both bugs and design choices, are too egregious to ignore.