Every new Pokémon game released since the dawn of the Nintendo Switch has come with one question from fans: why doesn't it look better? Games like Pokémon Sword & Shield and Pokémon Scarlet & Violet have been widely criticized when held up against titles like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Xenoblade Chronicles 3.
The reason is, of course, obvious. Relatively weaker hardware coupled with ridiculously short development times. That's why Pokémon games on Nintendo Switch never look or run as well as we'd like, and I fear it's going to be the same story on Nintendo Switch 2. Now we've had our first look at GameFreak's brand-new Xbox RPG Beast of Reincarnation? We can safely say the problem was never a lack of talent at GameFreak.
The reaction to GameFreak's latest game has been entirely predictable. Fans are more annoyed than ever now that we know what GameFreak can deliver when they're given actual time to cook. Beast of Reincarnation looks absolutely beautiful, and could end up being one of 2026's best surprises.
"This looks so sweet," one fan wrote on X. "Why can’t they do this for Pokémon? I’m just shocked at the disparity between...
