Pokémon Scarlet and Violet (Switch) Review
Updated: Dec 7, 2022
Developer: Game Freak
Publishers: Nintendo, The Pokémon Company
Release Date: November 18, 2022
Platforms: Switch
Overview
After many months of waiting, the start of Generation 9 is here! Although that would be cause for excitement for many (including myself), the game fans received at launch left much to be desired. Many early reviewers harped on the bad performance of the game, but none truly painted the picture of how bad it really gets when exploring the new Paldea region.
Gen 9 may be starting off with a whimper, but that doesn't stop Pokémon Scarlet and Violet from being some of the most fun I've had with Pokémon in years. The game is ambitious and Game Freak continues to build upon the improvements to the quality of life changes in their games. Scarlet and Violet just struggles to keep all these ingredients between the buns of their sandwiches most of the time.
Story
The game begins as any other classic Pokémon game does. Once the player character is old enough, they are kicked out of the house by their mom and begin to enslave cute creatures to battle other cute creatures. Toss in a few goodbyes and we will never visit mom again.
But before we begin the journey outside the house though, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet allows the player to customize their character with the most expansive character creator from Pokémon yet. But be warned, after you lock in the appearance there's no way to alter anything in-game besides hair.
After getting dolled up, we meet our newest rival Nemona, and Sandwich lover Arven. After making it to either Naranja or Uva Academy, depending on the version of the game, Director Clavell will begin the school's Treasure Hunt. The player is then bombarded with choices and may pursue three different storylines in any order.
Gameplay
Coming off the strong reception of Pokémon Legends: Arceus, it was expected that Game Freak would make improvements to their version of the open-world formula. Additions include sending out your Pokémon to initiate Auto-Battles, defeating wild Pokémon now drop materials that are used to craft TMs, and all the terrain traversing Pokémon have been consolidated into the use of one legendary ride Pokémon.
With the ability to tackle any of the main objectives in any order, many trainers may feel underwhelmed when attacking objectives meant for lower-level Pokémon. Unfortunately, the battles are static and do not scale along with the player's progression. The open-world is so much fun to explore, you may find yourself accidentally being over-leveled for the majority of the game.
Of course, the main gimmick of Generation 9 is Terastalizing. A Terastalized Pokémon will be able to change their typing, while still keeping the Same Type Attack Bonus (S.T.A.B.) of their previous typing. This new mechanic helps to cover for Pokémon weaknesses, enhance their strengths, and can catch opponents off-guard.
Raid battles return with improved AI and appropriate NPC Pokémon being brought into battle (no more Magikarps vs 5-star electric types). Tera Raids function differently from Max Raids in that they are no longer restricted by everyone taking a turn. Moves can be buffered and the raid boss Pokémon can hit multiple players at the same time. There is also a timer that decreases over time, and player characters being knocked out harshly decreases the timer. NPC knockouts do not decrease the timer.
A key mechanic removed that was present in Pokémon Legends: Arceus is the ability to throw Pokeballs at wild Pokémonin the overworld to catch them. A battle must be initiated to attempt to catch wild Pokémon. Breeding has also been overhauled. Daycares do not exist in Paldea, so it is up to picnic setups to breed Pokémon. The awesome thing about that is eggs are repeatedly dropped in a picnic basket, removing the need to talk to someone to receive one egg at a time.
Friends can also join in on the picnic fun by using the much-improved Union Station. From the Union Station, players can play within the same world together without needing to stay together. Version exclusive Pokémon will appear for players of the other game to catch and Raids, battles, and trading are much easier to set up. The Union Station is one of the few bright spots where Pokémon Scarlet and Violet outshine most other games.
Presentation
For all the good that Pokémon Scarlet and Violet try to do to push the Pokémon formula, there are twice as many hiccups. The game is quite frankly a stuttering mess that struggles to even manage a consistent 25FPS. Factor in the weather effects or entering a populated town and it is hard to ignore. Earlier in the year, we really liked Pokémon Legends: Arceus but felt like that game was more of a stepping stone to something greater. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is a clear regression.
The draw distance is miserable making vista shots during cutscenes and exploring look like mountains made of PlayDough, Pokémon texture rendering is abysmal unless the camera is right in front of the Pokémon model, and the tried and true tradition of horrific anti-aliasing continues.
With a 10-month turnaround after the release of Pokémon Legends: Arceus, it's clear that this game needed more time in the oven. For all the hate that Switch hardware receives, it has proven capable of being able to run more demanding games at a much smoother experience than what we received with Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
Final Verdict
6/10
Marred by numerous technical issues, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet struggles to shine past it. The storylines individually are fairly interesting and the final storyline is one of the better ones in the Pokémon series; a much-needed upgrade over Pokémon Sword and Shield. The Paldea region is diversified, but it can be hard to navigate.
The game is marketed as being able to go wherever the player pleases, but there are soft locks to parts of the map where traversal upgrades are needed to reach certain areas.
The path towards certain objectives isn't always clear and leads to a lot of Skyrim-like traversal by jumping on mountain tops or arriving at a higher leveled location before the weaker area.
Many of the battles suffered from performance issues and awkward camera angles. Not to mention without any sort of player progression matching and weird open-world design, the game felt a bit too easy past the early game. Terastalizing is an interesting mechanic that should have a bigger effect on competitive play than Dynamxing or Mega Evolutions did, despite being an underwhelming spectacle to look at.
At its core, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is a very enjoyable game with an enjoyable story and cast of characters. The bugs, performance issues, and general lack of polish severely undermining the game are reminiscent of Cyberpunk 2077's release. With promises from Nintendo to address the game's performance, it is probably best to pick the game up after a few patches have been released.
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