Today's Pokémon Presents brought us the announcement trailer for Pokémon Winds and Pokémon Waves, the first game of the series' tenth generation.
It's fair to say that Game Freak hasn't been at its best in the Nintendo Switch era. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, in particular, were harshly criticised for their abysmal performance. It's clear the studio struggled to adapt to the console and failed to strike an appropriate balance between performance and visuals.
However, the Nintendo Switch 2 is much more powerful than its predecessor. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet don't look any better on the Switch 2, but they do run significantly better, which could be a promising sign.
It's difficult to tell from a single trailer, but Pokémon Winds and Waves don't look dissimilar from Scarlet and Violet, especially in relation to the character and Pokémon models. However, one area that does look noticeably better is the environments. This was expressed in a recent Reddit thread by _AntiSocialMedia, who expressed "cautious optimism" about the visuals.
In particular, the waves lapping against the side of the islands look crisp. The volcanic cave, too, has lighting that bounces off the Pokémon. It's not something we're used to seeing in Pokémon, which...
