Pokemon Violet

 Switch
User Score
4.0

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 2050 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 635 out of 2050
  2. Mixed: 205 out of 2050
  3. Negative: 1,210 out of 2050
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  1. Luigithemetal64
    Nov 21, 2022
    4
    The open world and large items list are the positives. I would love to see those in the Kanto-, Jouto, Houen, and Shin'ou Pokémon games. The adventuring freedom like being able to challenge different gyms is fun as you are not blocked away from paths. The auto battling makes leveling up quick when you have better type matchups. You are able to buy type-boosting items and Mints with eitherThe open world and large items list are the positives. I would love to see those in the Kanto-, Jouto, Houen, and Shin'ou Pokémon games. The adventuring freedom like being able to challenge different gyms is fun as you are not blocked away from paths. The auto battling makes leveling up quick when you have better type matchups. You are able to buy type-boosting items and Mints with either money and League Points you have from beating trainers and getting Pokémon. You can also craft TMs.

    The physics are the negatives. Everything flickers, you tend to teleport to far spots when you send your Pokémon out to battle, and you can get stuck on some land when riding. The Abilities never work outside of battles. Synchro no longer changes any wild Pokémon's Nature. That is taking away the variety of getting Pokémon that I often find myself reseting the game to look for a different Pokémon with the Nature I want. It is frustrating when you got a Synchro Ralts with any neutral Nature from the first area. It used to work in the past games since Emerald and even in Generation 8. It is as if SV were made around Legends: Arceus where that action RPG does not have Abilities, and even that was annoying. The character customization seems nice, but the problem is that TPC has a problem with separating the options by sex where the boys have the same hairstyle option as the female's, and can wear lipstick where even if the idea is based on kabuki actors, it is still pointless and weird. The character designs are doll-like like in New Pokémon Snap, and are just kind of creepy when seeing the bumps on the cheeks and depth around the eyes. Pokémon is supposed to be like an anime. It is not like we are expecting Grand Theft Auto graphics or whatever. Cel anime graphics like in the Nexomon and Gal Gun games should have been used to allow potential for much added content, fixed glitches, and smoother gameplay. Nexomon, Gal Gun, and even the Xenoblade games played fine on the Nintendo Switch.

    People say that the Pokémon games should have went back to being 2D games. You can make video games like an anime, and they will sell if you can get the gameplay, physics, and graphics right. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX looks like the Generation 6 games for the 3DS in HD, and looks great and possibly play great too where even if the graphics are "bad", you do not see pop ins and outs nor get stuck in levels. I feel like I am better off with playing ports of old Pokémon games. Code Mystics and Inti Creates might make Pokémon games better without TPC rushing Game Freak, and be better than ILCA.    … Expand
  2. Eilanzer
    Nov 20, 2022
    4
    Game released full of bugs, MASSIVE slowdowns across the game, removed previous options in other games like exp-share and the list goes on and on...
    What i RLY don´t understand is...If they can´t or don´t want to upgrade to good graphics in 3d...Just do cell shade stuff or that semi 2d/3d they did in some games. People would be fine with that in an open world environment with more options    Game released full of bugs, MASSIVE slowdowns across the game, removed previous options in other games like exp-share and the list goes on and on...
    What i RLY don´t understand is...If they can´t or don´t want to upgrade to good graphics in 3d...Just do cell shade stuff or that semi 2d/3d they did in some games. People would be fine with that in an open world environment with more options for the player.
    Pokemon scarlet/violet is just a mediocre fast food version of the franchise, you can eat it...sure...But at what cost you let yourself pay to be **** raw with salt?    … Expand
  3. xChrisMas
    Nov 30, 2022
    4
    I'm trying to write an honest review here. I will not gloss over any flaws I've encountered.
    First of all: I've played all 3 paths and I have finished the Zone Zero Storyline, caught about 100 Pokemon and explored the world for the most part. So I think I gave the game a fair Chance before writing this review.
    Pros: -Cool Rirval -Good new Pokemon and evolutions to prior ones -Nice    I'm trying to write an honest review here. I will not gloss over any flaws I've encountered.
    First of all: I've played all 3 paths and I have finished the Zone Zero Storyline, caught about 100 Pokemon and explored the world for the most part. So I think I gave the game a fair Chance before writing this review.

    Pros:
    -Cool Rirval
    -Good new Pokemon and evolutions to prior ones
    -Nice concept of 3 Paths/Storys to follow
    -Mostly decent graphics
    -I havent encountered any gamebreaking bugs
    -the 3 main storys are decent for a pokemon game (but badly told due to the badly thought out Open World and the limitations that came with it)
    -moving around on your mount is fun when you got all upgrades

    Cons:
    -Open World is not level scaled
    -Open Wolrd is at times bland and empty
    -There's nothing to gather for crafting in the Open World, only Potions, Balls and X-Items (which I can just buy), So why would i go out of my way to explore? There are not Dungeons either
    -The Story cutscenes are repetitive and always play in the same locations due to Open World limitations, which takes all liberty away.
    -Gyms are all the same texture
    -Towns are uninspired and boring, i cant name a single one after finishing the game
    -there are a grand total of 0 NPC quests which would allow for emotional binding with the world and its inhabitants
    -Gym trials are uninspired at best and boring at its worst
    -Every Gym leader except Iono is forgettable
    -Story Cutscenes are barebones and feature no memorable interactions like pokemon battles
    -If you don't follow the intended order of Gyms the game is either too hard (levels are too high) or too easy (if you grind to beat the high level gym) afterwards. The difficulty is fine if you follow the intended path, so why is it fully Open World again if you don't actually have a choice?
    -The battles are awfully slow. Why is there a delay after every action? It could be so much snappier
    -Why are there so many trainers in the open world that only have one pokemon? Where's the difference between that and a random encounter? It just takes 3x as long to battle them so I started avoiding them at a certain point in the game
    -Team Star Bases and trials are boring and repetitive. They're literally the same every time. They almost feel like an afterthought and very rushed
    -The Pokemon league was the most disappointing climax in the whole game. Whos idea was it to make it literally just two boring rooms, one being out of minecraft diamond blocks? There was no reason in making this so boring (unlike the caves or gyms who had to be the same due to interchangeable story cutscenes)
    -The Elite 4 are boring and have zero character (but I think that is like this in every pokemon game, at least they are present outside their League-Rooms, but I too wouldn't want to stay in that depressing room all day long)
    -The last story arc is literally just a walking-sim with your new friends...
    -Most of the story of the last arc is just dumped on you during a boring elevator ride
    -Arven is the only one who got a decent and meaningful character development (and even that is barebones)
    -The last story arc is rushed, there is no sense of urgency and no real dilemma since it's clear what to do and it's over after at max 1,5h depending on performance

    So overall I would rate this game a 4/10 and this is with not even mentioning the common performance issues since i think most people are focusing too much on them when they don't say much about the game at all. I tried to focus only on the game itself and it was ultimately not a good game. I can see most people have fun on a surface level with the core-pokemon mechanics like battles and gyms and some well working additions like the mount. But overall I don't think this offering enough to call S/V a good, replayable game.    … Expand
  4. DoctorTM
    Nov 20, 2022
    4
    Pokémon Escarlata y Púrpura son juegos que, jugablemente, están bien. Es un avance para la franquicia que necesitaba.
    Pero, el juego está roto, necesitas mucha resistencia para aguantar que el mundo abierto se vea horrible y que el juego sea inconsistente en sus fotogramas por segundo. Me llega incluso a marear de su pésimo rendimiendo tanto en modo portátil como en sobremesa. Me parece    Pokémon Escarlata y Púrpura son juegos que, jugablemente, están bien. Es un avance para la franquicia que necesitaba.
    Pero, el juego está roto, necesitas mucha resistencia para aguantar que el mundo abierto se vea horrible y que el juego sea inconsistente en sus fotogramas por segundo. Me llega incluso a marear de su pésimo rendimiendo tanto en modo portátil como en sobremesa. Me parece una falta de respeto no a los fans de pokémon (sin yo serlo) sino a la audiencia en general. No se puede sacar un juego en este estado tan desastroso. Un caso parecido al de Cyberpunk 2077.
    Para mi, los bugs son lo de menos, el problema es que NO ES ESTABLE y cuesta mucho jugar durante mucho tiempo.

    Añádele que el mundo abierto se siente vacio, con popping a dos metros de distancia, que no se pueda saltar cuando vas a pie, que te obliguen a llevar el uniforme sin poder ir a comprar camisetas nuevas (sólo lentes, guantes, calcetas y zapatos), que haya tres mil tiendas en las ciudades pero que los productos sólo sean variantes de color.

    Hace falta una actualización urgentemente.    … Expand
  5. LunarD3ATH
    Dec 6, 2022
    4
    There's no such thing as a "bad" Pokemon game, but this one still isn't great. While there are a lot of really cool improvements, none more so than the open-world gameplay expanded from PLA, this game, even after the recent patch, has HORRIBLE performance.

    The pop-in, the dropped framerate, the terrible slow loading of assets when switching camera perspectives (such as when throwing a    There's no such thing as a "bad" Pokemon game, but this one still isn't great. While there are a lot of really cool improvements, none more so than the open-world gameplay expanded from PLA, this game, even after the recent patch, has HORRIBLE performance.

    The pop-in, the dropped framerate, the terrible slow loading of assets when switching camera perspectives (such as when throwing a Poke Ball at a wild Pokemon in combat) are all jarringly bad and constant.

    I'm sure things will improve somewhat over time, as they at least want to iron out most of the performance issues, but even if they actually FOR ONCE fully fixed a Pokemon game to run well instead of just being good enough (PLA still crashes the game when shiny Giratina uses its signature move, btw; every single time), it is still UNACCEPTABLE for a game to be in this state at launch. There is no reason to have pushed this game out this soon in this state instead of just taking more time to develop it.

    Beyond the general incompetence Game Freak has shown over the years, this game release is just proof of their laziness.    … Expand
  6. rhoxwen
    Dec 1, 2022
    4
    The open World addition is not that and story is actually really good. But all these flaws ruins the experience:
    1- Art direction is the worst it's ever been, Pokémon and Human characters look like Garbage.
    2- The game is WAAAY too buggy. 3- The battle System is painfully SLOW. 4- The Open World feels lifeless and empty. 5- Horrible Performance for game that was developed by company    The open World addition is not that and story is actually really good. But all these flaws ruins the experience:
    1- Art direction is the worst it's ever been, Pokémon and Human characters look like Garbage.
    2- The game is WAAAY too buggy.
    3- The battle System is painfully SLOW.
    4- The Open World feels lifeless and empty.
    5- Horrible Performance for game that was developed by company with a multibillion brand behind it... and running on a console that is capable of so much more.

    not worth of your time and money, Pokémon fans deserve better    … Expand
  7. Dogumentary
    Nov 25, 2022
    4
    A game at the level of ten years ago. And yet it has its moments.

    From a technical point of view, the game is an insult to the buyers. The world looks like a mobile game (which is certainly due to the hardware), there are heavy frame drops, the camera likes to fall through the floor. Small things are also unfortunately lazily implemented, such as status changes. Sleeping Pokemon no    A game at the level of ten years ago. And yet it has its moments.

    From a technical point of view, the game is an insult to the buyers. The world looks like a mobile game (which is certainly due to the hardware), there are heavy frame drops, the camera likes to fall through the floor. Small things are also unfortunately lazily implemented, such as status changes. Sleeping Pokemon no longer close their eyes like in Sword/Shield. On the world map, however, they do so when they are asleep. Sloppy.
    There is little customization for the player.
    The areas are quite dead. NPCs function like puppets without a soul. But that's always been the case with Pokemon, unfortunately.

    On the positive side - the Pokemon themselves are cool (except for some sloppy solutions like the status changes). Catching them is fun thanks to the new implementation, because it's faster.

    All in all, it's a game that excites me because of the technology. Still, I can't put it down. Is it worth the price? No. But for under $50, you can definitely pick it up.    … Expand
  8. OctaneNitro
    Sep 7, 2023
    4
    Unfortunately, more of the same mediocrity that has been bogging down the franchise for years.
    Taking even a cursory at glance at any other major Nintendo franchise, or even a majority of AAA franchises period, the shortcomings and limitations of Pokémon become impossible to ignore.
    Violet and Scarlet may move some aspects of the franchise forward, namely in the open-world environments    Unfortunately, more of the same mediocrity that has been bogging down the franchise for years.
    Taking even a cursory at glance at any other major Nintendo franchise, or even a majority of AAA franchises period, the shortcomings and limitations of Pokémon become impossible to ignore.

    Violet and Scarlet may move some aspects of the franchise forward, namely in the open-world environments and less linearity, but still suffer from a chronic lack of ambition, scope, and polish.

    Ever since the franchise's transition into 3D with XY in 2013, Gamefreak have been open about their desire to remove features, difficulty and complexity from the franchise, in an attempt to appeal to the "kids of today". Unfortunately, coupled with an increasingly brutal yearly release schedule, this has led most modern Pokémon games feeling barebones, empty, and at times, unfinished.

    The abysmal performance and presentation of these games alone would be enough for me to not recommend them, but the added context of how little Gamefreak are utilising the Switch, how much better far smaller franchises consistently are, the laundry list of missing, basic features (voice acting, difficulty options and multiple save slots being big examples), and the rapid rate between releases, just make the situation so, so much worse.

    In 2022, Pokémon has far more in common with franchises like FIFA, Call Of Duty, and Assassins Creed, than other premium Nintendo franchises like Mario, Zelda, and Smash Bros.    … Expand
  9. Black_Mullet
    Dec 27, 2022
    4
    Negatives:
    1. Game lags, barely running above 20fps when moving around.
    2. Even when running fine, gameplay and movement feels slow, cheap and sluggish compared to PLA 3. Game stutters/glitches/freezes/crashes, player clips through walls, random flashes on background 4. Why do boxes take FOREVER to load Pokemon Sprites? Can't describe how awfully annoying that is. 5. Let's Go feature    Negatives:
    1. Game lags, barely running above 20fps when moving around.
    2. Even when running fine, gameplay and movement feels slow, cheap and sluggish compared to PLA
    3. Game stutters/glitches/freezes/crashes, player clips through walls, random flashes on background
    4. Why do boxes take FOREVER to load Pokemon Sprites? Can't describe how awfully annoying that is.
    5. Let's Go feature is bugged, my pokemon might be cycling around wild pokemon and then returning to you instead of attacking (not talking about encountering shinies)
    6. Online raids are broken, constantly glitching, even after 1.1.0 patch.
    7. Many uninspired new pokemon and shinies.
    8. No set mode really? What kind of genius made that decision?
    9. Pokemon don't fit in the screen when battling, especially on double battles, and battle stages are boring.
    10. Any texture other than the Pokemon's is low definition and looks outdated.
    11. Elite four felt cheap, and you can't battle them again. Champion was indifferent. The whole experience was underwhelming, felt as if I'm fighting on my backyard.
    12. No Battle Tower equivalent.
    13. You can just clip through your Pokemon, they act as holograms.
    14. Still no voice acting. It's the first game of the franchise (and a little bit in PLA) that I really noticed the lack of and wanted voice acting.
    15. No shiny indicator in the overworld. Sound and sparkle from PLA was a bit too much but they could add something like a sparkle from the shiny every 2 seconds or something.
    16. Post game just doesn't exist. They will sell it next year with DLC for 50$.
    17. Mass Outbreak Pokemon have random IVs. It would be way better if it was like PLA.
    18. So many features and mechanics from PLA didn't make it. Outfits, aiming, no random wild battles, throwable items etc.They're supposed to be different genres but still, PLA did some amazing things. Why can't a mainline series be action rpg? No one would complain.

    Positives:
    1. Story is is great for the first time in years
    2. Seamless world, you can traverse the map without loading in and out of towns caves etc which is fantastic (for a Pokemon game). Although I dont like the fact that you can go everywhere from the get-go I'd like more restriction.
    3. Kept the mass outbreaks and raids.
    4. Music was good most of the time except when it glitched.
    5. Pokemon textures are great they did a good job.    … Expand
  10. punchynom
    Nov 20, 2022
    4
    I have about 6 hours in the game now and the core gameplay is fun and the design looks nice. However, the game lags so so so badly and random buildings pop in and out, so do lights in the school. People walking around move at 4 fps. Its fun but i cannot recommend the game at this time.
  11. EasyGamerBoi
    Aug 24, 2023
    4
    This game killed any hope I had left for Pokémon. Wether it be Pokémon Presents full of mobile game ads for 25 minutes with absolutely no substance, the lack of effort & passion from GameFreak & the mentally ill take that we NEED a Pokémon game yearly. You could be fooled by the disgusting amount of money these games made, but this franchise has ROTTED from the inside out. The sense ofThis game killed any hope I had left for Pokémon. Wether it be Pokémon Presents full of mobile game ads for 25 minutes with absolutely no substance, the lack of effort & passion from GameFreak & the mentally ill take that we NEED a Pokémon game yearly. You could be fooled by the disgusting amount of money these games made, but this franchise has ROTTED from the inside out. The sense of hope that Legends gave me was obliterated, I really can’t put into words how much Violet crushed me. At least the music is still good even tho I wouldn’t put it in my top 5 of the franchise’s OSTs. Area Zero is my favorite area in the history of Pokémon with it’s Xenogears-like theme. There’s some new Pokémon that have good designs but I wouldn’t call most of them super memorable.
    But this is easily the worst looking “modern” game on the market & the worst optimized. It’s been talked about to death but these games are nearly a year old with ZERO updates to fix the CONSTANT frame drops. It turns my stomach that they’re selling $35 DLC before addressing a SINGLE ISSUE that got this game clapped in review scores. Nothing will change either, cuz YOU IDIOTS keep buying these broken PS1 products. Sorry Nintendo d*ck eaters, merchandise deadlines are NOT a valid excuse for how these games were released. When you really want to suffer, just play online! The raid system & online functionality + interface is *somehow* even worse than Sword & Shield. Raids are simply broken, they weren’t even fun for a short time like D-Max in the last gen, they are a SLOG to this day & you’re better off doing it with AI trainers offline. After playing other RPGs this year like Final Fantasy X & Xenosaga III, there is no reason the battle & catch systems are so SLOW in these games. Those are PS2 games that I could do 2-3 battles in by the time the slogs in Violet were done. BTW, Legends Arceus fixed this issue LITERAL MONTHS EARLIER, if they didn’t have time to implement the QOL features from PLA, MAYBE YOU SHOULD HAVE DELAYED THESE PILES OF CRAP. Why ditch PLA’s lighting fast catching mechanics? Why ditch PLA’s shiny spawn noise when this game forces you to look at the 240p environments for the slightest difference in a Pokémon’s model, some being too small or indistinguishable to even notice? Especially when a lot of them don’t spawn until you are LITERALLY RIGHT ON TOP OF THEM, WASTING EVEN MORE TIME GETTING IN & OUT OF BATTLES WHEN THIS WASNT A PROBLEM IN PLA. The gulf in quality between the 2022 games are staggering. This game seems custom made to waste more of the player’s time than ever. Fans had the nerve to overlook the CONSTANT technical issues cuz “the game is still fun”. This is the most MISERABLE I’ve ever been playing one of these horrid modern Pokémon games. Were they going for a Death Stranding ripoff? Cuz 90% of this game was mind numbingly boring, an entertaining ending doesn’t save the rest of the game. But I’m giving it too much credit, who thinks this Jurassic Park wannabe plot was well written? You’re telling me SCIENTISTS wanted to bring Pokémon from the past & future to live among the present? I shouldn’t even bother talking about a Pokémon plot but this is the same franchise that gave us the Unova games & we’ll never get a level of quality like that again from these duds.
    The sad part is I saw the potential, open world is a direction that can work for Pokémon. But TPC needs to close GameFreak’s doors & get a dev team that has a shred of competence. THEN give the team enough time to make a complete game instead of these yearly proof of concept games we keep getting. A console that’s not weaker than an Xbox 360 would help too! In a just world, we’d get Legends style games as the new norm instead of outdated copy & pasted garbage. Sword & Shield are still worse games, but I can’t lie & say I wouldn’t rather play them than S/V ever again. At least they had a playable frame rate!
    My love for Pokémon is 6 feet under by now, year after year of trash followed by a bit of hope in PLA, only for it to crash back down in the grave again with S/V. Unless we get a Legends style direction for the series, I’m leaving this toxic relationship I have with Pokémon. I’d rather play games that are made with a shred of passion, from people with a shred of dignity. Pokémon Violet is the last Pokemon game I’ll ever touch otherwise. I just wish more fans would’ve stood for something & followed suit in wanting better from a franchise that IS capable of such, instead of giving Nintendo their biggest paycheck yet. The biggest media franchise of all time only has this skidmark to show for itself. Self inflicted wounds tend to suck like that.    … Expand
  12. Bent3ndo
    Nov 25, 2022
    4
    Pokemon titles are a marmite topic for many people when it comes to more recent releases. Half the fanbase forgive the series' technical and visual flaws and appreciate the premise of catching them all (not that you can "catch em all" any more within standalone titles). The other half, and the half of the camp I sit within, expect the largest franchise in the world to treat its IP withPokemon titles are a marmite topic for many people when it comes to more recent releases. Half the fanbase forgive the series' technical and visual flaws and appreciate the premise of catching them all (not that you can "catch em all" any more within standalone titles). The other half, and the half of the camp I sit within, expect the largest franchise in the world to treat its IP with respect, and more importantly treat its fanbase with respect. Scarlet and Violet are no exception to this opinion. If anything, the issues presented this time around are WORSE than what people criticised with Arceus' arrival at the start of the same year.

    Game Freak are not only too small a team to be expected to deliver the content asked of them, but their release schedule is far too crammed to deliver the quality of games expected of what should be the slickest, most polished looking gaming franchise there is out there.

    The Pokemon Company need to pull their act together and provide Game Freak with the budget, team and time that these modern Pokemon titles need. Otherwise people can expect less and less quality from these bigger and bigger titles as time goes on.

    Pokemon deserves better, we deserve better.    … Expand
  13. GalaxyFox_64
    Nov 20, 2022
    4
    Pokémon Violetto non ha solo una grafica scadente che i fan purtroppo hanno imparato ad accettare, ma ne ha una veramente ARRETRATA, nonostante io non la consideri uno degli elementi fondamentali per creare un buon gioco è davvero scadente. I problemi principali di questo gioco, sono il frame rate troppo basso, il costante lag che sarà presente dall'inizio alla fine del gioco (esclusePokémon Violetto non ha solo una grafica scadente che i fan purtroppo hanno imparato ad accettare, ma ne ha una veramente ARRETRATA, nonostante io non la consideri uno degli elementi fondamentali per creare un buon gioco è davvero scadente. I problemi principali di questo gioco, sono il frame rate troppo basso, il costante lag che sarà presente dall'inizio alla fine del gioco (escluse alcune aree) e i design di alcuni dei nuovi pokemon che sono poco ispirati, così come alcune delle aree esplorabili sono troppo simili in certi punti.
    Alcuni dei pochi punti a favore dei giochi sono il worldbuilding per la storia ma NON per le interazioni con hli NPC che non cambiano mai, la funzione open world, e le cavalcature di Koraidon e Miraidon.
    Per quanto riguarda le catture invece sono un misto tra leggende archeus per la possibilità di cogliere di sorpresa i pokémon selvatici lanciandogli una Pokéball con un membro della squadra all'interno e i giochi classici perché si deve per forza ingaggiare una lotta contro di essi.    … Expand
  14. TheLinkgirl
    Dec 5, 2022
    4
    Within the space of creature catching games, Pokémon is obviously top dog. With an extensive history spanning over 9 generations, and now over a thousand critters to choose from, it simply has an inherent advantage no other game has due to its history. That being said, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are not good games.

    Now, I'm sure most everyone is expecting me to bash the game for being a    Within the space of creature catching games, Pokémon is obviously top dog. With an extensive history spanning over 9 generations, and now over a thousand critters to choose from, it simply has an inherent advantage no other game has due to its history. That being said, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are not good games.

    Now, I'm sure most everyone is expecting me to bash the game for being a buggy, unfinished train wreck. No. I honestly don't care about that, and I'm someone who likes buggy games. My issue with Scarlet and Violet is that I simply don't find them that fun. The world feels barren, devoid of life, like it was just auto-generated and key towns were placed wherever. There never feels like there's a lot to do even though you have so many objectives. The only challenging part of the game for me was when I decided to intentionally take on a gym way above my level. Other than that, every single challenge was easy. The creature designs feel like they've also taken a hit for me, and I barely managed to scrape together a full team for this game. There might be something interesting in Pokémon SV, but I couldn't find it. What a disappointment.    … Expand
  15. Tikur
    Mar 9, 2023
    4
    I like Pokemon, I really do so.
    I have spent more than 1200 hours into Sword and Shield and I knew that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet wouldn't be the best games on a technical side.
    However, these games are technically crap. It is like playing a mid 90 's 3D Game on PlayStation before Mario 64 comes out and sets the standards for 3D-Gaming, Clipping, bugs and NPC 's which are moving on    I like Pokemon, I really do so.
    I have spent more than 1200 hours into Sword and Shield and I knew that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet wouldn't be the best games on a technical side.

    However, these games are technically crap. It is like playing a mid 90 's 3D Game on PlayStation before Mario 64 comes out and sets the standards for 3D-Gaming,

    Clipping, bugs and NPC 's which are moving on five fps, when you are not standing next to them. Pokemon can clip into a wall and are not catchable for you anymore. On top a lifeless and empty environment. No city you are visit is appealing to explore, because the only buildings you can enter are the arenas and the ones which you have to, to make progress in the story.

    If you enter a shop, only a menu drops in where you can choose what you want to buy.

    Or to make it short. Waddle Dee Town in Kirby and the forgotten land is more charming, appealing, full of life and beautiful, than the entire world in Scarlet and Violet.

    And if this is not enough, the raids are even worse. Because they simply doesn't work so no fun can be created. The raids are unbalanced, a technical disaster and on top, because of this two major problems are five stars raids or higher online with others not understandable.

    The reason is a huge delay even when you play local and your friends are sitting next to you.

    This is so embarrassing and disappointing, especially when you see that the new pokemon are all really nice and behind some of them is an interesting concept. I like the new Pokemon of Generation nine overall.

    These games could be easily the best Pokemon games, but the huge amount of problems, which are mostly on the technical side reduces the potential fun I could have with these games to a minimum.    … Expand
  16. sebask8tan
    Nov 19, 2022
    4
    Después de haber creado el juego de Arceus , creo que no podrían hacer un juego peor, pero si las mecánicas que ganamos en Arceus( atrapar Pokémon sin combate) la perdimos , ahora el juego debo dar gracias cuando logra correr a 20 FPS si no toca reiniciar el juego para liberar la memoria y volver a los 20 FPS, que mal jugado nintendo , el sello de calidad de hace tiempo atrás debería deDespués de haber creado el juego de Arceus , creo que no podrían hacer un juego peor, pero si las mecánicas que ganamos en Arceus( atrapar Pokémon sin combate) la perdimos , ahora el juego debo dar gracias cuando logra correr a 20 FPS si no toca reiniciar el juego para liberar la memoria y volver a los 20 FPS, que mal jugado nintendo , el sello de calidad de hace tiempo atrás debería de volver , peor Pokémon en estos 25 años… Expand
  17. saulsa_dip
    May 7, 2023
    4
    The game brings a few unique new monsters to the franchise, but I cannot stress enough how poorly the game performs. Even in docked mode, the frame-rate is abysmal and the camera and characters/pokémon do not stop clipping through the floor.
    I bought this game at release and stopped playing after a couple hours due to how many game-breaking bugs I was experiencing and waited for an    The game brings a few unique new monsters to the franchise, but I cannot stress enough how poorly the game performs. Even in docked mode, the frame-rate is abysmal and the camera and characters/pokémon do not stop clipping through the floor.
    I bought this game at release and stopped playing after a couple hours due to how many game-breaking bugs I was experiencing and waited for an update. Some months later I've delved back into the game, and the update has some minor fixes but this still feels like a very unfinished game.

    At the core of the gameplay, of course Pokémon is a solved franchise - solid turn-based combat and a capture system, however this game breaks so often that even the tried and tested formula of the franchise doesn't redeem it.    … Expand
  18. DecoXI
    Nov 23, 2022
    4
    4 only because there are new pokemon, during my gameplay the game crashed 3 times on my oled switch, never a game had crashed on my switch.
    Not to mention the constant 15 fps that the game offers in doc mode.
    try after a 2 hour session on this game to start zelda breath of the wild to feel the difference between these two open worlds exclusive nintendo switch games
  19. pprjackjr
    Jan 18, 2023
    4
    After seeing all the reviews and videos I simply could not believe a pokemon game could be like this so i had to buy it. I want to say that i'm a pretty chill pokemon fan, I enjoyed more or less every title, even sword and shield. This game is truly an insult to the player. It runs just like in the meme videos, laggy all the time, mountains, trees, bushes, entire pieces of landscape appearAfter seeing all the reviews and videos I simply could not believe a pokemon game could be like this so i had to buy it. I want to say that i'm a pretty chill pokemon fan, I enjoyed more or less every title, even sword and shield. This game is truly an insult to the player. It runs just like in the meme videos, laggy all the time, mountains, trees, bushes, entire pieces of landscape appear and disappear, trainers will animate weirdly and sometimes flat out dissapear. The game is "open" and you "can go where you want to" which is a flat out lie. You have access to every area of the game but the game still has them set out in a level progression. I went with a lvl 10 team to an area where the pokemon were level 35 and as you can imagine i got my ass kicked. Sometimes its fun I'll give it that but it feels worse to play and enjoy compared to any title released so far. I forced myself to come into it with a positive view but i cant like this game. The game looks way worse than sword and shield, runs way worse, has worse animations. It feels like this is the beta version. Had it been delayed 6 months im sure it would have been a 10/10 but the way it comes now, its just sad to play.… Expand
  20. Lazyboy4320
    Dec 13, 2022
    4
    So I’ve played the game around 100hrs now it’s crashed more then a dozen times on me. The game is fun but the performance is atrocious something needs to be done immediately about it the frame rate regularly drops to the 15s and make it seem like your trying to move through muddy water had it crash three times when I was doing the water gym. The game could be good but the performance isSo I’ve played the game around 100hrs now it’s crashed more then a dozen times on me. The game is fun but the performance is atrocious something needs to be done immediately about it the frame rate regularly drops to the 15s and make it seem like your trying to move through muddy water had it crash three times when I was doing the water gym. The game could be good but the performance is seriously holding it back fix your game gamefreak.… Expand
  21. Umbra30
    Dec 27, 2022
    4
    PROS:
    - Open world pokemon game
    - Wild exploration improvement - Accessibility improvement - Good soundtrack CONS: - Ugly graphics, Pokemon X/Y (2013) looks better - They changed the iconic humans art style from the series (why? It's like removing Akira Toriyama's art style from Dragon Quest saga) - NPCs design are ugly with few exceptions - Bad performance, some crashes, bugs    PROS:
    - Open world pokemon game
    - Wild exploration improvement
    - Accessibility improvement
    - Good soundtrack

    CONS:
    - Ugly graphics, Pokemon X/Y (2013) looks better
    - They changed the iconic humans art style from the series (why? It's like removing Akira Toriyama's art style from Dragon Quest saga)
    - NPCs design are ugly with few exceptions
    - Bad performance, some crashes, bugs and frame drops
    - The new pokémon design is ridiculous and they don't look like monsters anymore (a half motorcycle lizard? who had this idea? a 5 years old kid?)
    - The new cities are forgettable, they have no content, the houses no longer have interior, there is no reason to explore
    - Gym challenges are pathetic
    - Visual issues like texture pop in or NPCs and distant objects running at 5 FPS

    CONCLUSION:
    - Rushed game with good and bad decisions, sacrifices quality in favor of innovation    … Expand
  22. World_Norsky
    Nov 19, 2022
    4
    Pokemon Violet will literally shift my behavior to purchase a hard copy in the future. It is nonrefundable with the digital version. I looked through hundreds of posts on twitter and decided to refund my preorder the day before it released, but it forced me to download. Even though I knew it would not be so great, the real game nevertheless is even worse than my expectation. The starters'Pokemon Violet will literally shift my behavior to purchase a hard copy in the future. It is nonrefundable with the digital version. I looked through hundreds of posts on twitter and decided to refund my preorder the day before it released, but it forced me to download. Even though I knew it would not be so great, the real game nevertheless is even worse than my expectation. The starters' designs were not fantastic, no access to any buildings except for those in the storyline, rigid motions, too many bugs. GF is absolutely deluded by feedbacks from Arceus. Indeed, players were saying that they wanted an open world doesn't mean you have to follow an advice from laypeople. Game Freak, you guys are the game producers afterall, and you don't even know what to do with this game. That's horrible.… Expand
  23. 6500
    Nov 24, 2022
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Advantage Fun to explore Auto battle is god function BGM feels good Disadvantage Graphics are subtle Poor processing is noticeable… Expand
  24. KinimodYunmi
    Jan 8, 2023
    4
    Hält nicht was es versprochen hat, das erste Start hat mir echt Spaß gemacht, weil´s was Neues war. Ich war von anfang an nicht so von der Idee, dass man sich aussuchen kann, wo man lang möchte, überzeugt, da ich mir sicher war, das es nie im Leben funktionieren kann, es scaled halt nicht wie in The Elder Scrolls Online oder anderen RPG´s. Da folge ich vom ersten legendären Pokémon mit demHält nicht was es versprochen hat, das erste Start hat mir echt Spaß gemacht, weil´s was Neues war. Ich war von anfang an nicht so von der Idee, dass man sich aussuchen kann, wo man lang möchte, überzeugt, da ich mir sicher war, das es nie im Leben funktionieren kann, es scaled halt nicht wie in The Elder Scrolls Online oder anderen RPG´s. Da folge ich vom ersten legendären Pokémon mit dem Sohn vom Akademieleiter einfach dem Pfad zum nächsten Dorf und biete 3 Meter rechts vom Pfad ab und zack hab ich einen Kampf mit meinem Level 16 Pokémon VS ein LVL 50 BLITZA ! WTF ????

    Außerdem läuft das Spiel mit 3 FPS und anfangs hat man sich nach einigen Minuten fast die Finger verbrant und selbst die Play Station war nicht mehr zu hören!    … Expand
  25. Catsup
    Jan 19, 2023
    4
    This game is a broken buggy mess and the balancing of the game is so bad. Every minute your gonna find a new glitch and some of them can cause a seizure. The performance of the game is so **** since its only runs at 30 FPS and it struggles to load things ahead of you. The story is very mid for a modern RPG and the new music is so bad. Please do not buy this game, it's so rushed andThis game is a broken buggy mess and the balancing of the game is so bad. Every minute your gonna find a new glitch and some of them can cause a seizure. The performance of the game is so **** since its only runs at 30 FPS and it struggles to load things ahead of you. The story is very mid for a modern RPG and the new music is so bad. Please do not buy this game, it's so rushed and unpolished. If you want to play this game still, you should pirate the game. The rom can be found on Reddit and zipperto then you will need to get your steam deck and then emulate it through the yuzu or ryujinx emulator.… Expand
  26. Bobaganoosh7
    Dec 15, 2022
    4
    To be blunt, the game has a lot of potential, and with some updates, and, hopefully, changes it could rise to that potential. However, in the state that it is in, best I can do is deem it average. The basic premise of the single player loop is pretty good, but hampered with technical issues everywhere. And for the record, this game is NOT open world until near its completion. The onlineTo be blunt, the game has a lot of potential, and with some updates, and, hopefully, changes it could rise to that potential. However, in the state that it is in, best I can do is deem it average. The basic premise of the single player loop is pretty good, but hampered with technical issues everywhere. And for the record, this game is NOT open world until near its completion. The online aspects of it, particularly the raid battles are horrid. Sword and shield were bad, but workable. Unless you have companions to raid with, you’re stuck with completely random raids with very little choice even in the star level. No problem if you don’t do the raids, but certain items are locked behind completing them. It is a VERY poorly executed idea… Expand
  27. blaqkmagick
    Nov 21, 2022
    4
    The performance of the game is pretty atrocious. Tons of framerate drops, cameras clipping through terrain and N64 era textures. It's a shame because I want to play this game. Catching pokemon feels extremely rewarding and enjoyable, more so than any previous pokemon game. But it's just hard to get past all the performance issues and lazy design decisions. The removal of set battle modeThe performance of the game is pretty atrocious. Tons of framerate drops, cameras clipping through terrain and N64 era textures. It's a shame because I want to play this game. Catching pokemon feels extremely rewarding and enjoyable, more so than any previous pokemon game. But it's just hard to get past all the performance issues and lazy design decisions. The removal of set battle mode and the lack of level scaling is super questionable. What's the point of being able to do the gyms in any order if the pokemon levels don't scale? Game Freak needs to do better.… Expand
  28. BraulioZS
    Nov 19, 2022
    4
    Es increíble como un juego AAA posee tantos errores, bugs y problemas de rendimiento siendo una de las franquicias más exitosas a nivel mundial, simplemente se ríen en la cara de los fans que crecimos con la franquicia.
  29. Zenata
    Nov 19, 2022
    4
    Game just is a buggy mess and runs extremely poorly. Not at all indicative of what this system is capable of. It's clear this wasn't given enough time. Framerate drops, pop-in, visual bugs, etc. Any other first party Nintendo title would've been delayed in this technical state.
  30. RottieWaff
    Nov 25, 2022
    4
    Crashes and bugs aside, this game is really underwhelming. The designs are getting lazier, the story isn’t better, and though you can “do things in whatever order you want” there’s clearly a level order you’re supposed to go in. You may read this and think I’m just another person is just review bombing this, but you can’t even fathom how excited I was for this game. I wanted this to beCrashes and bugs aside, this game is really underwhelming. The designs are getting lazier, the story isn’t better, and though you can “do things in whatever order you want” there’s clearly a level order you’re supposed to go in. You may read this and think I’m just another person is just review bombing this, but you can’t even fathom how excited I was for this game. I wanted this to be amazing! I thought it was going to be amazing! But all I got was mediocre. I’m lease don’t look bad reviews aside as “haters”. There is validity in them.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

3
#3 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2022

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
71

Mixed or average reviews - based on 118 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 55 out of 118
  2. Mixed: 61 out of 118
  3. Negative: 2 out of 118
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jan 24, 2024
    60
    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]
  2. VideoGamer
    Dec 14, 2023
    70
    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.
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  3. Het Nieuwsblad
    Jul 31, 2023
    20
    A square wheel spins more smoothly and fluidly than this game. If three Pokémon or characters come into view at once, the whole game creaks and falters. Edge-off unplayable. And that's a shame. Because the addition of an open world is "on paper" a puffy idea to refresh the franchise. No more linear walking that takes you past gyms and ever stronger and different Pokémon, gotta catch 'em all. You can go wherever you want. With some tactics, you can take on some very tough challenges with Pokémon that aren't nearly strong enough. Fun! Except this game just wasn't ready. It's shameless that Nintendo and Game Freak are still throwing it on the market. Nevertheless: 10 million games sold in just three days.
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