Pokemon Violet

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet's technical problems and lackluster multiplayer are unable to overshadow its triumphant leap into an open world. Compelling characters, a huge batch of new creatures and an excellent OST help the titles on their mission to renovate the franchise. They celebrate everything that makes Pokémon games endearing: the mysteries, the surprises, the feeling of freedom - and, in doing so, create an experience that's probably the best in the entire main series.

Despite some technical problems, the new formula created by Pokémon Scarlet and Violet for the franchise has delighted us. A wide variety of interesting Pokémon, a more mature story than usual and a very fun gameplay cycle result in the most complete installments of the saga and an outstanding experience for players both veteran and new.

Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet prove that the series has not rested on its laurels. It's the most groundbreaking game in the main saga since Black and White, and will allow you to play Pokémon in a different way to the formula that was already starting to show wear and tear. Technically it could (and should) be better, but its modeling is so good and so varied, that it doesn't prevent you from enjoying the experience even if you would have liked a step further in the graphics and animations.

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet are very worth it. This is a fantastic wrap up to a great year on the Nintendo Switch, and I can't wait to see how Game Freak and The Pokémon Company take everything that worked here and expand on it in the future.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet capture all the magic of the past and fuse it with the improvements of the future, resulting in two fresh installments with very good ideas.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is exactly how you adapt years of tradition to the current design formulae. The game is living proof that each and every change is a perfect chance to take a step forward. In that specific sense, the risks that Nintendo undertook have certainly paid off: the ninth Pokémon generation will certainly be one to be talked about for years. Paldea is not about representing a culture, but those of us who live within it. I can only be proud to belong to a place that is seen with so much beauty from the outside. Long live Pokémon, long live Game Freak and long live all of those that made happen this beauty of a game.

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet is a must-play adventure for everyone, even for those who have yet to take the first step on their own Pokémon journey.

Design-wise, this is one of the best and most revolutionary Pokémon games, but there are way too many technical issues.

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet definitely suffer from underdone development, and I hope the final behind-the-scenes reaction at Nintendo and Game Freak is to give the series' dev team more time to work on future sequels. We don't need new generations so often! But the adventure of these games, the wonderful new set of Pokémon, the winning cast of human characters and a sensational story all work to save the experience and make them worth playing and enjoying, warts and all. [Issue #63 – January/February 2023, p. 75]

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet needed to be playtested a lot more before release. There are some genuinely jarring issues, but they don’t take away from the fact that there’s a really fun game here at its core. The storyline is better and more real than almost any Pokemon storyline I’ve seen in years. It’s hard to miss the flaws in this game, but if you’re a fan of the series, it’s far more interesting than it is disappointing and I’m glad I spent my time playing the game.

Pokemon Scarle and Violett for the series blew a wind of change. It broke the Pokemon series used for more than 20 years of linear design. But it still reflects the low technical ability of the GameFreak. It's far from a good game, but it's still the most fun Pokemon game on Switch today, enough to make me look forward to the next generation.

If Pokémon Scarlet and Violet offer us an invigorating adventure in the colors of the Iberian Peninsula, we can feel that some sacrifices had to be made, on the graphics and technique in particular, in order to let players explore the immense region of Paldea. Breathless, it's not on Nintendo Switch that the pocket monsters will shine, but this 9th generation will at least have the merit of offering us something new in the license. The open world gameplay is what many fans have been waiting for for ages and Game Freak succeeds in offering interesting scenarios and a worthy end-game with mechanics borrowed from Arceus' success.

With their open world concept of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Game Freak does a great job! Nearly from the start on, the players are free to explore the diverse region of Paldea and in the way, in which order they want to deal with the main story mission branches. There is some room for having an imbalanced gaming experience in that. But thanks to a clever world design with some natural boundaries the game is as good (or worse) as its predecessors on that point. The biggest weak spot consists of the technical flaws mainly based on the limited hardware power of Switch. Still these imperfections can't ruin an overall great experience Pokémon fans will love.

Despite technical shortcomings and some filler content, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are chock-full of meaningful additions to one of gaming’s most popular franchises. At worst, these games are steps towards the Pokémon games for which players have clamored, but more often, they serve as effective thesis statements for where the series goes from here. Either way, I can’t wait to see where Game Freak evolves the experience from this point.

Ultimately, these games were the result of Game Freak and Nintendo taking a risk and giving the fans something they've been begging for over a long while. It tries to mix Legends: Arceus with the main series, and it half-succeeds. Some things brought innovative and fun changes, while we learned others were better off they way they were before. If Pokémon fans can look past the obvious flaws and limitations, there's so much to appreciate here.

As the first mainline entry to depict a school-life story, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet has appealing characters, mysterious twists and a well prepared ending, making it one of the best stories the series has ever had. While it struggles as an open world, the game approaches multiplayer in a new way and is full of elements that can be enjoyed for a long time.

Despite any gripes about the performance, I really think that this generation gets a lot of things right and I feel confident in future games if they continue in this direction. The battles are as good now as they were in Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue all those years ago, and somehow capturing Pokémon has become even more addicting. The ability to tackle what you want to do first and in which order to do them is a great addition to the formula. Pokémon was always destined to become a fully open-world game at some point, and Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet demonstrate a very good effort to achieve just that.

I plan to spend many more hours in the game completing my Pokedex, challenging Tera Raid battles with my friends online, and hunting for shinies. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet just have some kind of glimmer that still makes it worthwhile enough to overlook the shortcomings.

I really wish this game didn’t come in as hot as it did. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet represent an excellent new vision of what a Pokemon adventure can be, and it says a lot for how many good new ideas are in here that I still found the game incredibly enjoyable despite the severe technical problems. I understand schedules must be kept. Well, the schedule was kept. It’s too bad what it ended up costing, because something this absorbing shouldn’t come with so many provisos.

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 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 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.

While Pokémon Scarlet and Violet may not be a perfect experience, it’s still an absolute delight in almost every way. Memorable characters and storylines are the highlight that pulls together the open exploration, which is truly impactful. It’s hard to stop playing with every corner having a Pokémon hiding and potentially something new to find along the way. A trainer can go through every area and still miss one or two hidden surprises that are so much fun to uncover when coming back. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are the best titles in the franchise in over a decade, with the only thing holding them back being performance hiccups we hope manage to get fixed down the line.

They may be limited to what the Switch can put out, but Pokemon Scarlet and Violet take things to the next level and highlight a new generation of what Pokemon games should feel like. At the root of it all are two games that excel in the thrill of discovery and invite you into a world you just want to keep exploring.

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.

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.

I think this is a really good step forward for the series and I love how much the series has been growing, how they’ve been incorporating more modern features and becoming more accessible for players. I still had a ton of fun playing. Really, the biggest knocks against it would be the repetitiveness of some challenges and the graphical issues.

Pokemon Scarlet is that product that many fans requested, with a vast open world to explore, an adventure without ties, and an exploration full of surprises. The game achieves everything I just mentioned, and there is no doubt about that. The main issue is that the game makes a lot of technical sacrifices to achieve everything the fans asked for. The result is a title that performs poorly at times that may not matter but happens many times. The gameplay is entertaining, solid, and deep, but it's all wrapped up in a broken package.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is the biggest leap the franchise has made since its arrival to 3D, but there is a real need for the series, an urgency even, to tackle the technical performance.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet takes two steps forward and one step back, much to blame for its performance on Nintendo Switch. Still, the new formula is solid and could very well serve as the basis for the next games in the franchise, with plenty of room to grow. With a whole new generation of Pokémons to meet and novel mechanics to master, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet will please new and old fans, casual or competitive alike.

Highly anticipated after a Sword / Shield that was a little too shy and Arceus much more daring, but very different, Pokémon Scarlet / Purple clearly advances a license that has always stagnated too much, and takes many paying risks. If we manage to ignore the really disappointing graphics, it's a safe bet that this 9th generation of Pokémon will be a milestone. Game Freak has clearly understood very well how to design an open world with non-linear progression, ideally thought out for a series that needed this much appreciated little facelift. One day, perhaps, the technical aspect will follow and the holders of the most profitable franchise in the world will offer us a real revolution capable of making an impression. In the meantime, we remain on a very satisfying episode which is good for the license.

A significant advancement on Pokémon Sword and Shield and while it’s not hard to see how it could be improved further this is the most ambitious and entertaining Pokémon has been in a long while.

Perhaps the best thing I can say is that this game feels more like the anime than ever. Part of that is down to the art, which continues to advance closer to the TV show. Part of that is down to the sense of openness, which imparts a real feeling that this is your adventure, and not just a rollercoaster where you experience somebody else’s. On balance, Legends: Areus probably just pips it based on the novelty factor of its entirely different approach, but Scarlet & Violet is a delightful vibe – and that vibe is difficult to diminish. What a year to be a Pokemon fan!

While undercooked presentation and visual issues hold the games back, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are still the best mainline Pokemon games in years. They build off Pokemon Legends: Arceus's open-ended design in some thoughtful and surprising ways, and retain that same level of depth that the mainline series is known for.

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.

There’s no doubt that Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are the best in the series. The open world is fantastic, the story is incredible, and the game looks amazing, even if the performance is very rocky. There are problems, and quality of life issues, but for every negative there’s a dozen more positives that blew me away every step of the way. It will be divisive, but for me, it’s almost everything I want from a Pokémon game.

Compared to other recent open world games, even those released on the Nintendo Switch years ago, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is something of a disappointment especially in the graphics department. But for better or worse, Pokemon games are rarely judged by their immense fanbase against anything that's not a Pokemon game. And as a Pokemon game, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is an absolute joy with a deeper storyline than usual, a ton of fantastically designed Pokemon, and continued quality-of-life improvements that makes for a less tedious Pokemon experience without sacrificing any essential bits. Pokemon fans will love Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, and even casual players or lapsed Pokemon fans will enjoy the allure of "catching 'em all" provided they don't place a premium on graphics.

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.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet take the beloved series in a long-awaited open-world direction on the Nintendo Switch, one that's filled with enjoyable battles and multiple storylines.

This is one of the best Pokémon games ever made, if not THE best. This is due to its excellent gameplay, well-crafted audio, sense of freedom and engaging adventure. What gets in the way of the experience considerably, however, is the game's lousy performance. In particular, the frame rate is a drama at times, which can be a bit annoying.

Pokémon Scarlet & Pokémon Violet had everything to be the best generation in the history of the franchise, and maybe these games still are, but the expansive and fun story is hurt by the enormous amount of visual bugs and performance issues, as well as the fact that the movement freedom is limited by the fixed levels of challenges. Despite that, it's a game worth playing.

In spite of all its strengths, Pokémon Scarlet & Violet keep stopping the player and has them always peeking back over their shoulder, even when they should be looking forward.

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.

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet manages to deliver a sense of freedom and has gone from being a traditional JRPG to a genuine open world game. It's nice to choose a path on this adventure, but the game maintains his linear approach through the experience. Unfortunately, it has several technical problems in that do not let it stand out. However, its is the first step of the renewal that the franchise sorely lacks.

Scarlett and Violett, in all their hicupps and issues, try to do something new for the franchise. We can't definitely say that they are good at everything they do (not at all) and they still run pretty bad on Nintendo Switch, but some of their ideas are way more entertaining than what we saw in Sword and Shield. And, maybe, in Sun and Moon, too.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are a wonderful foundation for future Pokémon adventures, but what’s been put atop this foundation for now is rather shaky in a number of ways. Poor performance this far into the Switch’s lifecycle doesn’t bode well for GameFreak or the pressure they are put under to meet holiday deadlines, nor does the phenomenal sales success mean they have much incentive to refine what’s here, when such time and resources could be better spent on whatever pair of titles succeeds Scarlet and Violet.

Pokémon Violet is the game that makes the leap to the open world genre, along with the expected change that this brings. We have more freedom, the game is much more accessible than other installments, and it is still a lot of fun to hunt down a Pokémon. It has some technical problems, although they do not influence the gameplay, it causes dissatisfaction.

It pains me to give that score to games I think are groundbreaking in terms of their respective franchises, but mediocre graphics and problematic performance issues hurt what is - on the gameplay side of things - Game Freak's best work to date. A work that even rivals Legends Arceus.

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet are excellent games, and, if it weren't for the technical problems, they would surpass the feats of Legends: Arceus, which started a necessary evolution in the classic Nintendo franchise. The game features a beautiful open world full of Pokémon, so you never feel like you're exploring something empty. The Pokémon campaigns finally showed an interesting maturity, which seems to want to keep up with the audience that has so much prestige to the series since 1995, without losing the children's audience that still drives purchases. However, most of Scarlet & Violet's potential is wasted simply by avoidable technical issues such as a lack of graphical and performance polish. A game of this relevance within a franchise of this magnitude cannot succumb to repeating these mistakes and not improving, especially in light of the criticism that the latest title has had.

The open world sparks a sense of adventure and the typical Poké-collecting fever, but beyond that it hardly has any exciting ideas in terms of gameplay.

Summing up the new Pokémon game always means triggering a conflict between heart and head. By heart, among other things, Scarlet and Violet have plenty to sell. Although very diluted and with a very staid pace, the plot entertains and surprises especially at the end, and the many supporting actors of this new epic are among the funniest and most intriguing of the entire franchise. Overall, Game Freak packs a fun and content-rich adventure, despite some of the new features not fully convincing. The open world works but at the same time is limited by a great underlying repetitiveness, while some of the most interesting achievements achieved by the spin-off on Arceus have been revised and adapted - not always positively - for the new formula. Unfortunately, to weigh on the final judgment are the many technical problems on which it is now really impossible to postpone. In the hope that the development team, sooner or later, will be able to align their productions with current generational standards, we can still assert that the new pair of Pokémon games is interesting.

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet takes the next step for the franchise thanks to the lush open world. Even the new Terastallizing mechanic is great fun, although it is kinda a reskin of an earlier mechanic. Amazing music and some smart design choices make it a game you can't miss. At least, that is what we would've said if the performance wasn't as bad as it is.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are great games mired by a host of technical issues.

While there's still many stumbling missteps as Game Freak try to find their footing in the future of Pokémon, Scarlet and Violet is an endearing, and enjoyable attempt at a fundamentally different Pokémon experience. New ideas, some quality of life improvements, and some excellent new Pokémon designs make the trip to Paldea worthwhile.

Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet focus on exploring, but the technical issues are hard to ignore. The story struggles to expand its limits, so it's weak and shallow; the gameplay is solid as ever, luckily, and it introduces some new mechanics perfect for PvP. Discovering and capturing pokémon is enjoyable thanks to many new ways to explore the region of Paldea. We hope they will be the last transitional pokémon games.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet take the long-awaited step into a fully open-world, but one poorly implemented and marred by frustration. A compelling story and characters are a saving grace in what is ultimately a fun game, but Pokemon's attempts at modernising continue to fall disappointingly short.

None of this is nearly enough to spoil everything Scarlet and Violet get right, such as some of the best (and downright strangest) monster designs in some time, and absorbing final act and postgame, and a soundtrack that could well be a new series peak. [Issue#380, p.121]

There are some mechanics that ultimately feel gimmicky, but Scarlet and Violet's storytelling and exploration feel like the breath of fresh air the franchise desperately needed. More than anything, I have hope for how eventual DLC might be able to improve the overall experience or how Game Freak can learn from its mistakes to create an even more memorable experience in the future.

Pokemon Violet feels like a giant step in the right direction for the franchise in most ways, but also a step back in others. While I still consider Pokemon Legends: Arceus a more polished experience, there is no denying the quality of core gameplay, new mechanics, and music in Pokemon Violet. The whole experience is held back by abysmal performance and poor visuals though. 

Pokémon Violet is a highly enjoyable game. While it is hard to figure out a balanced path in its open world, it will also bring hours and hours of fun to those who want to fully explore it. Despite adding some fresh ideas, the story isn’t memorable, but the great variety of Pokémon, the art, and the turn-based battle system will surely please fans and newcomers alike.

Hugely engaging monster hunting, but not without major problems.

Moving to an open-world concept is a brilliant step forward for the Pokémon series, but currently, this release lacks the Nintendo quality that we expect from their published titles. In terms of mechanics, vision and gameplay elements of Pokémon, this is a shift in the right direction, and it only makes me get excited to see what future games do on new Nintendo hardware, whenever that arrives. I still recommend Pokémon Scarlet and Violet to fans of these wonderful little critters or to people who grew tired of the original formula, as the shift to an open world makes for a more exciting experience. Just be prepared to suffer from something that is very un-Nintendo like with this game’s inconsistent frame rates and the occasional glitch, which will put a dent in what should have been a wonderful new direction for the extremely popular creature collecting series.

Scarlet and Violet offer some great new ideas for the Pokémon franchise, ruined by a world that seems very rushed and unfinished.

This time it's up to us to set the pace. With a successful incursion into the open-world, Pokémon evolves, and the result is unfortunately shamefully ugly. It's minus one.

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.

Scarlet and Violet takes the evolution of the Pokémon series one step forward and two steps back. It excels in providing an excellent open-world gameplay experience, but falls flat on a technical level, feeling more like an alpha build than a final product. Unfortunately, the severe lack of polish and optimization holds Scarlet and Violet back from what very well could have been the best Pokémon generation yet. That doesn’t mean I didn’t have enough enjoyment to make it well worth my time, but Pokémon Legends: Arceus tickled my fancy just a bit more.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet manages to be a fun adventure in spite of numerous technical issues thanks to great open world design.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet contain high highs and low lows. The open world feels very liberating, but technical problems wear it down.

By and large, Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet are fun. It's telling that I had a lot of fun with them despite the absolutely unforgivable performance problems. The basis for an extremely strong and engaging Pokémon game is here, but it's out in the wild without the extra months of development that it still needed to improve performance issues. If you're willing to forgive some jank for an otherwise great Pokémon experience, then you'll have a great time. Otherwise, it's probably worth skipping until it gets some patches. Even die-hard Pokéfans might have trouble getting past seeing their favorite Pokémon crawling along at five fps.

Pokemon Violet and Pokemon Scarlet certainly don’t put their best feet forward. They run rough. Visual downgrades are clear. But ultimately, once you settle in, they’re certainly full Pokemon games. We’re hoping some post-launch bug-squashing will help them run better, but in the long term, The Pokemon Company might need to implement a plan that offers Game Freak longer development windows for tentpole releases.

These would be the best Pokémon games ever if not for the performance issues. Gen 9 provides an amazing plot, the fun battling mechanics we've always loved, and freedom to explore just about anywhere. However, extreme choppiness, lag, and frame rate issues sour the experience.

Ugly visuals and an all around lack of polish detract from what is an incredibly strong, compelling, and well designed core adventure, one that represents the series' strongest outing in a very long time otherwise.

As a whole, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is the most fun I’ve had on a Pokemon adventure in a long, long time. But this is completely in spite of itself. There are unforgivable graphical issues, and despite endless charming creatures and characters, the open world itself lacks nearly completely in personality or a sense of progression. Nonetheless, it has never felt better being a Pokemon trainer than it does in Gen IX, thanks to the smoothest mechanics yet and quality-of-life improvements.

The transition to true open world play may not be going as smoothly as we might have hoped, but the technical issues have yet to push me away. In the end, I’m really just here for the weird wildlife, and there’s certainly no shortage of that in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

Anyone who can overlook the difficulties will still have fun with the new generation. After all, the core remains collecting medals and completing the Pokédex, which is also entertaining in the new editions, coupled with the open structure. Maybe the Pokémon Company will be able to fix the current construction sites for the tenth generation in a few years.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet feel like the awkward second evolution of one of its starters. It's growing into something resplendent, it's showing signs of an exciting second type, but it's got that weird vibe of a 20-something that hasn't quite figured out who they actually are. Add that weirdly stretched feeling to the constant technical oddities and you've got a game that's undoubtedly good fun, but it's still not even its final form. I can't wait to see what Pokemon becomes, but it’s not quite there yet.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is a real step forward for a series that’s been locked in a holding pattern for well over a decade. The open-world pivot successfully reinvigorates a stale premise by giving trainers more control over the pace and difficulty of their journey. Like every recent Pokémon game, however, deteriorating tech and half-hearted experimentation still makes it feel like we’re five years away from the franchise’s true return to glory.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have finally delivered on the promise of an open-world entry, but with all the technical issues and stripped-back features, it’s hard to not feel like the Nintendo Switch held these games back. But if this is what an open-world Pokémon game is now, it's tantalising to consider what is coming in the future.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet take a step forward that fans have wanted to see for years — but it’s not quite far enough.

There are still plenty more ways we’d like to see the Pokémon franchise evolve, but Pokémon Scarlet & Violet has us excited about the series' future. We really hope Game Freak can figure out how to smooth out the series’ ongoing performance issues on Switch because they'll certainly rub some players the wrong way — and they’re going to become a serious detriment over time. Scarlet & Violet is most fun and exciting when you're just exploring the world, and while there are many small new details and improvements to the Pokémon formula, it still plays it safe in a few areas. Regardless, things point toward a promising future for Gen 9 and beyond. It’s a smaller step than many may have hoped for, especially considering what Pokémon Legends: Arceus did, but it's definitely one in the right direction.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have some excellent ideas that push the franchise in a fresh direction, but they’re unfortunately bogged down by unacceptable performance problems at every single turn. While my biggest problems with the games could theoretically be addressed in future patches, I’m not sure how feasible that is given the capabilities of the Switch’s hardware. That said, there is still a lot to enjoy, but it’s hard imagining that these games will have wide appeal outside of the dedicated Pokemon fans that are willing to put up with the issues and inconvenience.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have failed as open-world games. Its premise with three routes seems original, but it becomes a repetitive task in which some mini-games in the gyms are really boring. Although the Pokémon are better recreated than ever in their wild environments, the overall performance of the game is terrible, affecting the gameplay and giving the impression that we are playing an incomplete game.

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.

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.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet offer a unique and incredibly engaging experience that the series has desperately needed since its transition to 3D back in 2013. Unfortunately, it has also been released in an incredibly unoptimised state which sours the whole experience.

Despite the score, I’m going to spend a stupid amount of time in the world of Paldea. The technical issues with the game will eventually be fixed, and what will be left is a great Pokemon experience. If you’re still on the fence at this point, it’s certainly fair to wait for patches to smooth things out, but at some point I hope everyone can come along for the ride. And based on the opening weekend sales, I might’ve gotten my wish already.

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet represents the power struggle between innovation and execution. There’s so much promise in the idea of a fully integrated, cooperative Pokémon game, yet the final product I experienced with Pokémon Violet falls short of those aspirations. There’s still a lovable structure found within the game, driven by a more immersive world design and a new generation of adorable mons. Though the polish is lacking, failing to completely realise the ideas put in place and falling short of expectations.

With its world now completely open, Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet clearly make for the best episodes of the saga, but also the most innovative. But on the other hand, it's also the worst in the entire franchise, because of its many bugs that make the internet laugh and its technique that harkens back to the PS2 era. Empty backdrops, blurry textures, framerate dropping all the time, gamers deserve better than this.

A milestone in the franchise - in both good and bad ways. In the end, the flaws of the 9th generation prevail, these editions do not go beyond disappointing average.

Not a bad game. It still has its solid core, new Pokémon, and what's worked for years continues to work. The open world is a questionable addition in my opinion. [Issue#324]

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet brings the Pokémon series to an open world experience and while there's plenty here to enjoy and co-op gameplay stands out very positively, there are several elements that needed more work, namely the difficulty balance that puts a hindrance on open world exploration, and the technical performance that raises unnecessary obstacles. Overall Pokémon fans still have plenty to explore here, and the plot grows increasingly interesting near the end, but Scarlet and Violet definitely could have benefited from a bit more time in the works.

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet brings forth a much-needed evolution for the series. The core gameplay has been refined and rejuvenated to please fans new and old, however, its performance betrays it, preventing these games from reaching their full potential.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet bring a lot of innovation to the mega-popular series of collecting and battling lovable pocket monsters, but all those great new ideas are undone by the game's criminally poor performance and bugs.

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.

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.

Playing with friends, coming up with battle strategies, and catching Pokemon are the most entertaining activities in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Unfortunately, the bland open world and technical problems weigh down what could have otherwise been another exceptional main series Pokemon game experience. The bones are here to build something special, so hopefully future Pokemon games do the concept of an open-world Pokemon game justice.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is an audacious experiment toward the franchise's future and hosts a lot of potential to grow into something that changes everything we know about Pokemon for the better. It has a lot of issues in performance which could do with some tender love and care, but that doesn't stray from the fact it's a solid, wholesome Pokemon game down to its core.

It’s hard to make a bad Pokémon game because the series’ standard gameplay is still so satisfying. But you can make a disappointing one, and that’s exactly what Game Freak did here. Whether it can be blamed on a lack of time, a lack of resources, or a lack of talent within the developer itself, Pokémon Violet is not up to the level where a game of this caliber should be. And while I will gladly continue to fill out my Pokédex until I’ve captured every critter hiding in this world, I’m always going to be left mourning what this game should have been rather than what it ended up being.

As good as it is bad, Pokemon Violet & Scarlet doesn't do anything lightly. For the first time in the series, we experience a pure freedom. Paldea is very huge, Pokemon are numerous and it has never been so exciting to complete your Pokédex. However, the technical aspects are a pure disaster. Instead of being a Nintendo Switch must-have, this 9G starts is just a hyper addictive okay game.

These are games that anyone that has ever considered themselves a Pokemon fan deserves to play; but not today, and not in this state. One can only hope that a day will come when that recommendation can come easily; I’d like nothing more than to be able to do so.

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet is the greatest design leap in the history of this storied series. Unfortunately, it’s also unfinished, unpolished and doesn’t meet the fans' high expectations. There can be no more excuses for the woeful technical quality and graphics.

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet is a frustrating beast. I’ve enjoyed my time with it, and if you’re a Poké-fan you won’t begrudge it for the technical issues and design flaws, but it’s impossible to recommend when it feels so half-baked. There are good ideas here, but it feels like it would have benefited if developer Game Freak had been given a little more time to refine the numerous ideas here.

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.

The open-world gameplay of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is a brilliant direction for the future of the franchise, but this promising shift is sabotaged by the numerous ways in which Scarlet and Violet feel deeply unfinished.

Unfortunately, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet didn’t get the development time they deserved. It’s hard to see a franchise that means so much to me finally start heading in the right direction only to come up short. I sincerely hope that Game Freak and Nintendo will start listening to fans and critics and turn things around.

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

The basic mechanics of Pokemon remain largely untouched – it's still catching, battling, and training as you remember it – and while that may be enough for many devotees, Generation 9 is a tougher sell for those who need more of a reason to engage with the series, impacted as it is by technical issues, mechanical oversights, and a lack of vision. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet should have been a bright and bold entry that sets the series up for future expansion, but an attempt to modernize while staying loyal to the past hasn't really succeeded in doing either one – and the headache doesn't help, to boot.

Here, Game Freak draws up an exciting new open-world blueprint for the Pokémon franchise, but appears to have lacked the time and knowhow to deliver it to spec. Compare this with June’s gorgeous Xenoblade Chronicles 3, which runs on the same console, and it’s hard to shake the feeling that you’re beta testing an open-world Pokémon. With more time in the oven, this could have been genuinely exciting. As it stands, this fun-filled adventure asks you to put up with an awful lot more of the rough than the smooth.

Pokémon Scarlet is a good game undone by extremely poor performance. The open-world set-up is fantastic, and the title does a good job of letting you wander into the deep end, but not forcing you to drown. Unfortunately, the copious amount of technical issues with it prevent it from reaching the heights it should have.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet somehow manage to be the best entries to the series and the worst ones, at the same time. Even though there’s plenty of fun to be had in Paldea, awarding these unbelievably buggy games a higher score would be a disservice to everyone, including Game Freak.

Pokémon Scarlet/Violet had the potential to become the most exciting adventure in its entire history. New battle mechanics, an improved UI and a gameplay that has matured over the years, along with the appearance of an open-world region, could have been the game that all fans deserved. Ultimately though, The Pokémon Company delivers a rough-on-the-edges, unpolished and underdeveloped game, with an amount of graphical and technical inconsistencies that reveal the lack of time the developers had.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is an imaginative reinvention of the iconic Pokemon adventure, with a heart wrenching story and a real sense of soul, which is let down by sloppy mechanics, half-fulfilled ideas and disappointingly common cut corners.

Pokémon Violet offers a ton of familiar and enhanced fun, but the lack of polish and outright unacceptable performance let it down as one of Nintendo's most iconic franchises. The open-world setting and gameplay additions hint at an exciting future for the Pokémon franchise, but the state this was released in too often overshadows that. Before it's been patched up and optimised, it's tough to recommend.

What nearly sinks Pokémon Violet in the end isn’t any pretense of player freedom. Rather, it’s the game’s glaring technical issues, as this is easily one of the sloppiest-looking triple AAA titles in recent memory.

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...It’s still fun, sure, but that fun is not enough to excuse its many, many failings. Not at all.

Ultimately, Pokemon Scarlet & Violet finally lets you experience a story in this world that doesn’t feel out of place, marked with a tone of childlike innocence that, for once, doesn’t diminish the seriousness of the subjects that it presents. 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.