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4.0

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 2050 Ratings

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  1. Nov 20, 2022
    5
    The game is not as bad as the drones on this website say. YES theres problems and glitches, but the game is crazy addicting. I've not enjoyed a region like this in a WHILE. NEED a patch tho, the frame rates are def not good, but the content is MOSTLY solid. **** the sandwiches tho
  2. Nov 22, 2022
    5
    The Variety of new and Powerful pokemon is great. The story was perfect all around 10/10 all pokemon fans need to give this game a chance.
  3. Nov 23, 2022
    5
    I'll start by saying this isn't a "bad" game but man it's got some issues.

    tl;dr version PROS: Exploration, Good Sense of Progression, Music, Gameplay CONS: Poor QA & Performance, Uninspired World, Questionable Game Design in some spots Review: Relatively standard faire for pokemon, you collect the badges, stop the "evil" team and fill the pokedex but thanks to the open world
    I'll start by saying this isn't a "bad" game but man it's got some issues.

    tl;dr version
    PROS: Exploration, Good Sense of Progression, Music, Gameplay
    CONS: Poor QA & Performance, Uninspired World, Questionable Game Design in some spots

    Review:
    Relatively standard faire for pokemon, you collect the badges, stop the "evil" team and fill the pokedex but thanks to the open world nature of the game it's a little more conducive to the the longevity of the experience; the main storyline(s) had me clock in at around 50% longer than my average playtime for a pokemon game. Using your legendary gradually to traverse and explore more of the map feels satisfying as you unlock more of its abilities over the course of the game. The pokemon designs themselves are hit or miss, even moreso than last gen. I find it a bit funny that the gen that gave me my new favorite starter also gave me Shutterstock Flamingo Clipart #4337

    While the game itself is pretty expansive, the environments themselves are actually relatively bland for a pokemon game; a lot of expanse but a whoooole lot of empty. It's lacking those cool landmarks you got in previous gens like the Abandoned Ship, Dragonspiral Tower and the Whirl islands to name a few. There is one area (hint hint) that stands head and shoulders above any other locations in this game and I'm sure you'll recognize it when you reach it and it only highlights that much more how uninspired the rest of Paldea feels by comparison. I just find it somewhat of a shame the world can't seem to match the whimsicality of the pokemon themselves.

    The quality control on this game pretty much gamefreak saying "Well, at least they can make it through the game without it catching on fire. Probably." Worst performance of any pokemon game, bar none. It can be smooth in a few areas but the majority of the time you're gonna be dropping frames pretty hard. The switch itself isn't the paragon of gaming performance but a lot of games on the switch fit the same criteria of SV while looking and running better. On occasion you'll be encountering various visual glitches that find their way in your adventure. A lot of people are willing to laugh them off but they can be pretty immersion killing.

    An extra year in the oven and this game probably could've been a 7 or an 8, but for whatever reason the devs and their overseers refuse to re-evaluate their production pipeline for these games. These games make billions but it would be nice if they could take a little more pride in their work instead of just rushing the games out of max profits.
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  4. Nov 24, 2022
    5
    The game itself has really fun gameplay. I'm genuinely enjoying the actual style of it and I want more pokemon games to use this gameplay style. The pokemon being their correct sizes and the freedom to explore the world are nice. Unfortunately, the game is held back by the well known performance issues. It has crashed on me multiple times for seemingly no reason. The frame rate is droppingThe game itself has really fun gameplay. I'm genuinely enjoying the actual style of it and I want more pokemon games to use this gameplay style. The pokemon being their correct sizes and the freedom to explore the world are nice. Unfortunately, the game is held back by the well known performance issues. It has crashed on me multiple times for seemingly no reason. The frame rate is dropping constantly. The people move in choppy and stuttery movements even if you are directly in front of them. You can phase through your pokemon when you are walking with them. I know the developers did what they could in the extremely limited time that Gamefreak and the Pokemon Company gave them to get this game done, but in the end it feels like a it's an indie game in early access and not a AAA first party fully finished game. Expand
  5. Nov 24, 2022
    5
    I want to rate this game a 9 or a 10, becase from how fun and ambitious it is, it would deserve it.

    The open world works perfectly and encourages exploration. The newly added pokemons feel unique and better designed than the past few generations. The 3 stories are very different to what we usually get from a pokemon game and the characters feel human and are way more likeable than the
    I want to rate this game a 9 or a 10, becase from how fun and ambitious it is, it would deserve it.

    The open world works perfectly and encourages exploration. The newly added pokemons feel unique and better designed than the past few generations. The 3 stories are very different to what we usually get from a pokemon game and the characters feel human and are way more likeable than the usually very annoying characters we get. This is in lot of way the pokemon game I always hoped for.

    But the technical issues are present and really aren't excusable. The games desperatly needs more polish and I hope a patch comes out as soon as possible. If these issues are fixed and the game gets expanded on though good DLC content it might redeem itself.

    With this game and the recent Legends Arceus GameFreak / TPC have proven they can make ambitious titles and that gives me hope for future games. But they absolutely need to give more time to developers or hire more to be able to deliver a finished product.
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  6. Nov 27, 2022
    5
    I mean no cap, the story itself was crazy as ever. The plot and the way the game naturally makes the player fall into each character were amazing. I kinda feel like Gamefreak finally understood that their main customers are definitely older than in the past. So 10 points on the game itself.

    However, the graphics optimization was hard to see with my eyes open. Frame drops were occurring
    I mean no cap, the story itself was crazy as ever. The plot and the way the game naturally makes the player fall into each character were amazing. I kinda feel like Gamefreak finally understood that their main customers are definitely older than in the past. So 10 points on the game itself.

    However, the graphics optimization was hard to see with my eyes open. Frame drops were occurring almost every moment, and screen stuttering, lagging, and immersion greatly disrupted my gameplay. It was unpleasantly severe, especially in rainy or polygonal sea fields. It felt like I was playing an online game with a very bad internet connection. They shouldn't have released the game like this.

    To sum up, out of all the Pokémon games they've ever made, it was so fun and interesting that no doubt, I would call it a "masterpiece" in terms of story, game ability, and convenience. That's why I was even more angry and sad that the other parts were ****
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  7. Nov 27, 2022
    5
    Schöne open World aber zu viele technische Fehler. So hätte das Spiel nicht veröffentlicht werden dürfen.
  8. Nov 27, 2022
    5
    The gameplay and story is not enough to save the absolutely horrid graphics and performance. The overworld does have it's moments of greatness, in particular the bamboo forest and Socarrat Trail, however the bad outweighs this. The zones are mostly bland and scarce of features, not helped by the graphics. This is doubly true for the cities, which almost always feel empty and tiny at theThe gameplay and story is not enough to save the absolutely horrid graphics and performance. The overworld does have it's moments of greatness, in particular the bamboo forest and Socarrat Trail, however the bad outweighs this. The zones are mostly bland and scarce of features, not helped by the graphics. This is doubly true for the cities, which almost always feel empty and tiny at the same time. Even if you wanted to enjoy the scenery of this game, it's still a task, due to the abominable performance issues. On a vanilla Nintendo Switch, this game lags constantly while out in the open world.
    Playing through the game was actually rather enjoyable. The variety of Pokemon you could see in the open world was unexpectedly vast, and made me feel like I had a lot of options for building my team. It also made me want to explore around in hopes of seeing something I really wanted to use. This exploration aspect was emphasized in a really great way through the riding Pokemon (either Miraidon or Koraidon respectively). You would unlock new travel features each time you defeated a Titan Pokemon, which sort of created a positive feedback loop. However, these riding Pokemon are ruined by bugs. I fell through the ground not once, but twice while riding Miraidon. There was also a lot of various "jank" I encountered. It's extremely disappointing that this game was sold in a state like this. On another note, this game is actually very different from it's predecessors in terms of how battles are handled. There are basically no compulsory trainer battles in the open world, which I think is fine, however I would've have minded if there was still LoS encounters. There are alternative ways of leveling up your Pokemon, (for me) primarily the Tera Raids. Each time you defeat a Tera Raid, you get a sizeable loot drop, which contains Exp. Candies. This makes it to where you can use Tera Raids as a primary means to level up your Pokemon, which I really liked.
    I really liked the story and characters. Your rival, Nemona, is not a new trainer like you are, and is instead a champion-ranked trainer. She is somebody that is obsessed with battling, and wants to have you get strong enough to challenge her at her full strength. In order to do this, she raises a new team of Pokemon to challenge you as you go along your journey. Overall, her character was surprisingly enjoyable, considering how unenjoyable the rivals have been in previous games. Arven, another character, was also likeable. Throughout the story, you assist him in defeating Titan Pokemon and getting the Herba Mystica they keep guard of in their dens. Arven's motivation for getting these herbs is that his Pokemon, Mabosstiff, is ill, and he had exhausted all other options for curing him. I really liked this storyline in particular. The last aspect of the story is Team Star. It's hard to go into information about this one without spoiling information that is slowly fed to you, but I liked the leaders of Team Star. Overall, the story and characters were a huge step from the previous couple generations.
    The game after beating the story is scarce. You basically just rematch all the gym leaders and take part in a school tournament. Many players were disappointed in the lack of a Battle Tower, and I agree with them. It seems incomplete, however I expect them to >sell< DLC to actually finish the content, which I am really not happy about.
    This game is good, however it's an ugly, buggy mess, and not in a way that they'll actually get around to fixing. I enjoyed it, but I cannot reasonably give it anything higher than a 5/10.
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  9. Nov 30, 2022
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Technical issues aside ( which there are plenty) I've spent a good amount of time with this Game ( Violet and scarlet) and the issues go far deeper that just glitches here and there. to keep it simple.
    Design: the lack of customization options in this partially online game is not only far less then previous games but also bland and lifeless.
    The majority of the "new" Pokémon designs feels nothing more then lazy.
    The overall design of the gym leaders seam purposefully lackluster. this is in comparison to the Team Star crew that all sport a far more unique design.
    That final 4 battle was inexcusably bad following the most pointless and boring mandatory segment in Pokémon history the "final four exam".

    Between the technical issues, Lazy design, poor special additions and overall lackluster story.. I'm only left Disappointed.. This game feels like Gamefreaks put as little effort as possible...at a premium price.
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  10. Dec 2, 2022
    5
    "Pokémon ha toccato il fondo e non contento si è messo a scavare" ... Questo è il commento più sincero che posso fare sui videogiochi di nova generazione, problemi di game design evidenti, world building grezzo, bilanciamento della difficoltà rotto, zero contestualizzazione delle creature nelle mappe, nessun interno di negozi o abitazioni, grafica da pre-alpha ps3, trama interessante ma"Pokémon ha toccato il fondo e non contento si è messo a scavare" ... Questo è il commento più sincero che posso fare sui videogiochi di nova generazione, problemi di game design evidenti, world building grezzo, bilanciamento della difficoltà rotto, zero contestualizzazione delle creature nelle mappe, nessun interno di negozi o abitazioni, grafica da pre-alpha ps3, trama interessante ma raccontata come se il pubblico avesse sei anni e tutto questo pattume è condito da bug e glitch di ogni tipo. Un prodotto nel migliore dei casi molto lontano dalla forma finale e nel peggiore perfettamente conforme alle scarse abilità dello sviluppatore, sicuramente il punto più basso della saga. Expand
  11. Dec 6, 2022
    5
    While the games do have glitches, my copy had essentially none, and actual game quality wise, it's loads better than the slog Pokemon's put out recently. Normally I'd give 4/5, but I'll give leeway due to review bombs from people who haven't played it.
  12. Dec 6, 2022
    5
    Greatest pokemon game in a while, this is the first pokemon game with like full actual Co-op and I can't wait to see what happens with the franchise now
  13. Dec 7, 2022
    5
    The Good: Fantastic new Pokémon and evolution mechanics. Game Freak hit it out of the park as far as those are concerned. Decent story too.

    The Bad: The most extreme frame rate and visual glitch problems I’ve ever seen in a Nintendo game. It becomes downright unenjoyable to play at times. Additionally, I’ve rarely played an open world game such as this one that leans so heavily on the
    The Good: Fantastic new Pokémon and evolution mechanics. Game Freak hit it out of the park as far as those are concerned. Decent story too.

    The Bad: The most extreme frame rate and visual glitch problems I’ve ever seen in a Nintendo game. It becomes downright unenjoyable to play at times. Additionally, I’ve rarely played an open world game such as this one that leans so heavily on the structured story. Half the point of an open-world game is the exploration and “making your own story”. This game doesn’t really do that too much, as the open world feels fairly shallow without much mystery or wonder in it. Also, the game is far too easy. I’m not expecting a Nintendo game to be too difficult, but this game is like a light stroll at the park, even for most children. Lastly, there is almost no postgame content. Once you beat the game, there’s very little to do, which has not been the historical case for Nintendo games which usually try to provide a replayable activity or series of particularly difficult challenges unlocked after beating the main game. This game doesn’t truly have that. All-in-all I would not recommend this game to almost anyone. Children may highly enjoy it, but anyone older than 12 years old is going to be frustrated with the lag, glitches, and ease of the “challenges” and bosses.
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  14. Dec 7, 2022
    5
    Disappointing, but if I were a child, this would have been fun. Now that I'm older I understand when a game is simply not up to parr. It's so incredibly frustrating knowing pokemon is one of the highest grossing franchises and it's games can't even compare to many games that far less popular. Feels like a greedy cash grab to be honest.
  15. Dec 7, 2022
    5
    I would've rated this game a 9, but after sun and moon, the pokemon games are getting worse. The pokemon company should take more time and make a better game than rushing and releasing an unfinished game with so many issues which makes us pokemon fans disappointed to play the new mainline game.
  16. Dec 10, 2022
    5
    This game feels very rushed, doesnt even feel like an actual pokemon game because of how much bugs it has and the gameplay it has aswell, the graphics and sounds are some points, ill give you that, but id rather play pokemon yellow than buy and play this.
  17. Dec 26, 2022
    5
    The game looks glitchy and empty. The map is empty, the cities are empty, all the npcs are useless and doest say anything interesting. You cant customise your character that much, in fact during the online matches we trainers look all the same. The plot is quite interesting but the difficult is set too low. The raids are glithcy as well a
  18. Dec 29, 2022
    5
    Overall, a shockingly disappointing downgrade from Legends Arceus in almost every regard. The world may be open, and you may be able to tackle objectives in any order, but the whole ordeal is so lifeless. It's like looking at a table with various slices of cheese laying about, not on plates or anything, just kinda sitting flat on the table. Some slices are slightly moldy, others have catOverall, a shockingly disappointing downgrade from Legends Arceus in almost every regard. The world may be open, and you may be able to tackle objectives in any order, but the whole ordeal is so lifeless. It's like looking at a table with various slices of cheese laying about, not on plates or anything, just kinda sitting flat on the table. Some slices are slightly moldy, others have cat hair on them, and the rare few that are clean were left out of the fridge for too long and taste somewhat passable, but are a little too soft and dubious to truly enjoy. You can eat the slices in any order you'd like though! Expand
  19. Jan 4, 2023
    5
    The overall gameplay isn't bad but not exactly great either. It's clear it was rushed out the door before it was ready, but hopefully something will be done in the future to correct most of the bugs and glitches.

    I genuinely like the story, even with it being much more darker than the games I've played. It has relatively diverse characters, some that I can even relate to. There are some
    The overall gameplay isn't bad but not exactly great either. It's clear it was rushed out the door before it was ready, but hopefully something will be done in the future to correct most of the bugs and glitches.

    I genuinely like the story, even with it being much more darker than the games I've played. It has relatively diverse characters, some that I can even relate to. There are some characters and aspects of the story that could have been written better but, at this point, I'll take what I can get.

    What has really bothered me is the Tera Raids. More specifically, how the Tera Raids only have a certain amount of time for players to defeat the Tera Pokemon. That also includes how time is taken away whenever a Pokemon faints. I personally believe they should have kept the same or made a very similar mechanic as to Pokemon Sword and Shield. It could still be frustrating but it was no where near as bad as in Violet and Scarlet. I'll be honest that I can be quick to frustration but I've never been so easily frustrated with time-sensitive games until Violet and Scarlet. I've lost count of how many Tera Raids I, and most certainly others, have lost in a row because of the current time mechanic. The most I would change is taking time away when a Pokemon faints, seeing how the more times you faint, the longer it takes to be revived back into battle. I genuinely believe it would make it a much more bearable game.
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  20. Jan 31, 2023
    5
    Lechonk!!!!??!?!!!?!?!??!??!?!??!???!!???!??!?!??!??!??!??!??!??!!?!??!?????!!???
  21. Apr 23, 2023
    5
    as many others have stated; the graphical issues and bugs are uncharacteristic of the series and frankly unacceptable. all made more frustrating considering theyve introduced some great new ideas for the franchise, the writing is fairly solid for pokemon, and that the bones of a good game are here. clawing back aspects of customization from x/y / sw/sh are also unwelcome, as is continuingas many others have stated; the graphical issues and bugs are uncharacteristic of the series and frankly unacceptable. all made more frustrating considering theyve introduced some great new ideas for the franchise, the writing is fairly solid for pokemon, and that the bones of a good game are here. clawing back aspects of customization from x/y / sw/sh are also unwelcome, as is continuing the recent trend of not including all current pokemon (not as necissarily obtainable in the game but at least transferrable from pokemon bank). overall theres decent enjoyment to be found here but i cant recommend supporting such an unpolished realese. Expand
  22. May 1, 2023
    5
    I cannot deny that the gameplay loop and a lot of the concepts in the game are fun, ended up building a classics team full of pokemon from previous gens that I gel'd with. However, the technical state is disgusting both visually and performance wise, especially since I know the switch can handle games like Breath of the Wild, and Fire Emblem engage which run and look better. The new genI cannot deny that the gameplay loop and a lot of the concepts in the game are fun, ended up building a classics team full of pokemon from previous gens that I gel'd with. However, the technical state is disgusting both visually and performance wise, especially since I know the switch can handle games like Breath of the Wild, and Fire Emblem engage which run and look better. The new gen pokemon are grim if I'm to be frank though this is an subjective view. Though lack of voice acting isnt a point against it, it does start to grind on your gears when story battles have characters interrupting the action to talk, with no voices, cut scenes running with no voices. What is the point of attempting to be cinematic if you can't at least make these concessions. Maybe this should've had another year in the oven. Expand
  23. May 16, 2023
    5
    I really wish I could give this the score it rightfully deserves, but when a game from 2017 runs 100x smoother without (almost) any frame issues, it's hard to overlook. I loved the game play and the open world. I loved being able to play with friends. There was so much right about this game, but the performance is really unforgivable.
    Pokemon has to push games out in order to sell
    I really wish I could give this the score it rightfully deserves, but when a game from 2017 runs 100x smoother without (almost) any frame issues, it's hard to overlook. I loved the game play and the open world. I loved being able to play with friends. There was so much right about this game, but the performance is really unforgivable.
    Pokemon has to push games out in order to sell merchandise, TCG products, anime etc. Because of this, the games are rushed and can't be polished in a way that they deserve. I truly believe this game is a high 8 or 9, but is held back so much because of time constraints.
    Game play/Story, the only thing I wasn't a fan of was the Team Star story. I feel like it missed the mark and the older audience. It's certainly not like the story from previous installments and feels less like an "epic adventure" than before.
    I would love to change this score to what it should/could be, but even now all this time after release, the performance has not improved a single bit.
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  24. Aug 11, 2023
    5
    mediocre at best. I have played every pokemon game that has released and I have witnessed this series evolve through its lifetime. The series has become easier and easier and I can see why the pokemon company would this and that's to make it easier for people to play the game. This game was an absolute joke when it comes to seeking a challenge. The story was okay but the fact that I hadmediocre at best. I have played every pokemon game that has released and I have witnessed this series evolve through its lifetime. The series has become easier and easier and I can see why the pokemon company would this and that's to make it easier for people to play the game. This game was an absolute joke when it comes to seeking a challenge. The story was okay but the fact that I had trouble with only 1 gym leader and that the only place that was even remotely challenging was area zero makes this game obsolete. Over the years pokemons designs have continued to plummet and with the recent news with the dogs like Riakou and Suicune becoming dinosaurs the designs just keep looking like utter crap. It is as if someone from the design team left their iPad unlocked and their children got ahold of it and designed something and pokemon company said "Okay we will go with that" Expand
  25. Aug 20, 2023
    5
    A ver, está bien, es un mundo abierto de Pokémon que en lo personal me ha dejado satisfecho, pero no me ha sorprendido. Tiene barbaridad de bugs, los gráficos, detalles y calidad es mediocre para un juego de 60€, no tengo mucho que decir de este juego ya que no es algo que merezca totalmente la pena, si te gusta Pokémon te gustará, está muy guay ir caminando por donde quieras y encontrarteA ver, está bien, es un mundo abierto de Pokémon que en lo personal me ha dejado satisfecho, pero no me ha sorprendido. Tiene barbaridad de bugs, los gráficos, detalles y calidad es mediocre para un juego de 60€, no tengo mucho que decir de este juego ya que no es algo que merezca totalmente la pena, si te gusta Pokémon te gustará, está muy guay ir caminando por donde quieras y encontrarte a los Pokémon caminando, lanzar a tu Pokémon a que haga un combate automático, tenerlo acompañándote y hacer las teraincursiones. Es un juego pasable pero solo para un tipo de público en específico Expand
  26. 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.
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  27. 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?
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  28. 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.
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  29. 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.
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  30. 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.
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  31. 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
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  32. 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.
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  33. 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.
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  34. 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.
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  35. 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.
  36. 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.
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  37. 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.
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  38. 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.
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  39. 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.
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  40. 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.
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  41. 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
  42. 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.
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  43. 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
  44. 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
  45. 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
  46. 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
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  47. 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
  48. 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
  49. 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!
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  50. 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
  51. 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
  52. 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
  53. 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.
  54. 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.
  55. 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
  56. Nov 20, 2022
    4
    Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are the worst running Pokemon games that have ever been released. There is horrendous pop-in, a low and inconsistent framerate, and has various hangups when doing just about anything, including entering menus or entering battle. On top of this, it somehow manages to look worse than any other Switch based Pokemon game, and even worse than Pokemon Colosseum, a gamePokemon Scarlet and Violet are the worst running Pokemon games that have ever been released. There is horrendous pop-in, a low and inconsistent framerate, and has various hangups when doing just about anything, including entering menus or entering battle. On top of this, it somehow manages to look worse than any other Switch based Pokemon game, and even worse than Pokemon Colosseum, a game on the Gamecube from nearly 20 years ago.

    The gameplay is acceptable in some places but takes several steps back in others. Customization is severely limited, and you are not able to change your clothes beyond 4 outfits. The Battle Tower and any post game facilities are gone, likely to be included in a future DLC, if at all. For some inexplicable reason set mode is gone and you are unable to change basic things such as skipping battle animations. You are advertised as being able to challenge the gyms in any order but this is very misleading, as there is no scaling on the gyms, so doing them out of order will mean you are going to either be too high of a level or too low, and never on par with the gyms.

    If a future patch fixed all the bugs and performance then the games would still only be about a 6-7, just due to the removal of features.
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  57. Nov 20, 2022
    4
    It could have been a pretty game. The new Pokémon look overall pretty nice! The idea of an open world is also a nice step towards the right direction. But as stated multiple times by others is the game lacking core things like the possibility to enter buildings and explore those new cities which - from outside- are looking great. The constant frame drops etc shouldn’t be on a console onIt could have been a pretty game. The new Pokémon look overall pretty nice! The idea of an open world is also a nice step towards the right direction. But as stated multiple times by others is the game lacking core things like the possibility to enter buildings and explore those new cities which - from outside- are looking great. The constant frame drops etc shouldn’t be on a console on which you are able to play fortnite, BOTW or Witcher 3.

    If the team would have had the time and hasn’t been rushed like this, this game could probably had the potential to be one of the best of the series.
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  58. Nov 20, 2022
    4
    La personalización del juego es HORRIBLE, me sorprende que tiene la mejor personalización de rostro, pero la PEOR de ropa, de verdad, esos 4 uniformes predefinidos son HORIBLLES, incómodos de ver, ni una maldita tienda hay para cambiarse la playera, pero claro, hay 4 tiendas de lentes Una basura la ropa del juego, la odio
  59. Nov 22, 2022
    4
    I think we deserved a better product from Nintendo and Game Freak. The game has a good gameplay and is an evolution in terms of mechanics and progression. But the game's technical quality is painful: full of bugs, constant frame rate drops, lots of blurry graphics; the open world areas are pretty poor and ugly in terms of design; the open world is empty and generic. I bought it andI think we deserved a better product from Nintendo and Game Freak. The game has a good gameplay and is an evolution in terms of mechanics and progression. But the game's technical quality is painful: full of bugs, constant frame rate drops, lots of blurry graphics; the open world areas are pretty poor and ugly in terms of design; the open world is empty and generic. I bought it and felt cheated as a consumer: from the trailers, one would think the game was more polished and beautiful. And here is the surprise of the final result: a product of poor quality, graphically speaking, although with good gameplay. Expand
  60. Nov 20, 2022
    4
    This game is a shame, game freak can't say they don't have enough money to do a game properly.
    The gameplay is good this story is refreshing , but the technique and graphique are a shame.
  61. Nov 20, 2022
    4
    While the story is intriguing and fun, the glitches, pop-ins, and other technical issues really mar the experience. It's really, I mean really, rough on the eyes to play and if you're not a die-hard Pokemon fan, either skip this or wait until the game gets patched (if that ever happens). Right now it's an eyesore and glitchy and full of bugs. Not sure why these companies felt the need toWhile the story is intriguing and fun, the glitches, pop-ins, and other technical issues really mar the experience. It's really, I mean really, rough on the eyes to play and if you're not a die-hard Pokemon fan, either skip this or wait until the game gets patched (if that ever happens). Right now it's an eyesore and glitchy and full of bugs. Not sure why these companies felt the need to rush this out when Legends Arceus was excellent. They could have easily waited until next year to fix the bugs and release it then. Pretty bummed out as I was looking forward to this game. Expand
  62. Nov 21, 2022
    4
    Yeah the game is really good in tearms of innovations in the story line but it has so many bugs, crashes and stutters. It seems that is still in development
  63. Nov 22, 2022
    4
    Pokemon S/V is a combination of good and bad traits of pokemon games.

    Let's start with something good first. - Big map with freedom to explore like Arceus - Auto Battle make life a bit easier - Crafting TMs instead of making it unlimited right from the start - LP is a nice way to lessen the load on Money management Now about the bad things - Lagging and Warping graphic. I know
    Pokemon S/V is a combination of good and bad traits of pokemon games.

    Let's start with something good first.
    - Big map with freedom to explore like Arceus
    - Auto Battle make life a bit easier
    - Crafting TMs instead of making it unlimited right from the start
    - LP is a nice way to lessen the load on Money management

    Now about the bad things
    - Lagging and Warping graphic. I know this is Pokemon but... now is 2022 and you still can't solve the problem of lagging? Dropping in FPS is annoying. Other games with much more beautiful graphic has no problem running on Switch. Why can't you improve your graphic a bit? Maybe you did something wrong?
    - Lack of trainer customization. You are locked out of Skirts or Fashion throughout the game. Seriously, this is 2022 and female character can only wear shorts in the game. This is a big downgrade. The choice of shirt is also limited to 4. This is so bad.
    - No Mega evolution.
    - You BAN Skirts but ALLOW Wiglett in the game. What a freak.
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  64. Nov 22, 2022
    4
    This is frustrating. The games can be great, but there's just so much holding them back. I had a magical moment of awe when I was battling a wild Jigglypuff, just a random encounter, but it was along a dusty road surrounded by fields of dried grass, the sun setting in the background as a flock of Fletchling fluttered by slightly up the hill. In that instance, I saw that golden flash ofThis is frustrating. The games can be great, but there's just so much holding them back. I had a magical moment of awe when I was battling a wild Jigglypuff, just a random encounter, but it was along a dusty road surrounded by fields of dried grass, the sun setting in the background as a flock of Fletchling fluttered by slightly up the hill. In that instance, I saw that golden flash of greatness this game has. Sadly, it didn't last. Soon, I noticed the flock aggressively shift to their bumpy long distance models while I could still plainly see them. After the battle, I turned back to look at the town behind me, and watched with disappointment as my framerate dipped into the 20's, only being able to sigh as I rode back to the Pokemon Center with game handling like it was full of mud.

    This game is a dream that will keep jolting you awake with painful reality far too often for some (myself included) to enjoy. If you want to buy, wait for a patch or something. It just needs too much work.
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  65. Nov 22, 2022
    4
    people are used to tolerating anything that is related to pokemon as magnificent.. and they forget the huge company behind this game with so many bugs... why the comunity didn't tolerate cyberpunk 2077 in the same way? and it was a tiny company compared to nintendo, wake up!!!!! get your money's worth
  66. Nov 22, 2022
    4
    Good ideas with extremely poor execution. The break from the traditional Pokémon mold is so well thought out and it’s easy to see that there is the potential for a good game. Unfortunately, it looks like a Wii era game and performs even worse. How this game was even released boggles the mind. Pokémon clip through the player character, the player clips through the floor/ground frequently,Good ideas with extremely poor execution. The break from the traditional Pokémon mold is so well thought out and it’s easy to see that there is the potential for a good game. Unfortunately, it looks like a Wii era game and performs even worse. How this game was even released boggles the mind. Pokémon clip through the player character, the player clips through the floor/ground frequently, menus lag to the point that I had to check if my controller was still connected, the frame rate is laughable and the dips are absolutely ridiculous. It’s time for the Pokémon Company to move from GameFreak to a dev company that can actually create a decent product. Pokémon is the highest grossing franchise is history, more than Disney, Marvel, and Star Wars. This game does not reflect that, nor has any other game in recently history. It’s becoming apparent that we will never receive the Pokémon game that we deserve. Expand
  67. Nov 23, 2022
    4
    I'm really sad, i love pokemon so much and the games keep getting worse :/ the new mons are super cute tho! But everytime i play the game for a long period of time it crashes and starts turning into a slide show basically, i believe the fans deserve better, this is unacceptable, i was really hyped up for this game and it was a very big disappointment.
  68. Nov 25, 2022
    4
    I had a fairly long writeup here about this game, but sadly MetaCritic gave me a 404 error and lost it.

    Instead, I'll summarize: Pokemon Violet (and Scarlet) are fun games, even beyond just "it's Pokemon." I'm not an open world fan, but the open world worked... at least when the game worked, that is. The writing is among the top of the series, not that this is a massive compliment
    I had a fairly long writeup here about this game, but sadly MetaCritic gave me a 404 error and lost it.

    Instead, I'll summarize:

    Pokemon Violet (and Scarlet) are fun games, even beyond just "it's Pokemon." I'm not an open world fan, but the open world worked... at least when the game worked, that is. The writing is among the top of the series, not that this is a massive compliment considering the Pokemon games aren't known for spectacular storytelling.

    But the problems with the game are significant - from removal of quality of life features and customization at the minor end, to the massive framerate issues, bugs and glitches, and overall lack of polish on so much of the game. A released game can't be called good if it's not finished, and that's what this game feels like. It needed more time, and whoever is behind the rushed scheduling - likely a higher up at GameFreak, The Pokemon Company, and/or Nintendo - hopefully will at least have to acknowledge that with the negative feedback from players. Sadly, the sales mean that's not likely - but for the miniscule amount it's worth, this game was my attempt to see if getting back into buying the games was worth it, and I don't plan to buy any more mainline Pokemon games moving forward without significant change.
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  69. Nov 27, 2022
    4
    I really wanted to give this game a better grade, it was incredibly fun, I became addicted to the game for 4 days until I finished it. However, it has serious issues in the whole structure which were too impactful to ignore. Therefore, just to clarify, this review and grade do not exactly reflect my real experience, bc I'm considering the whole production context (pokemon is the **** mostI really wanted to give this game a better grade, it was incredibly fun, I became addicted to the game for 4 days until I finished it. However, it has serious issues in the whole structure which were too impactful to ignore. Therefore, just to clarify, this review and grade do not exactly reflect my real experience, bc I'm considering the whole production context (pokemon is the **** most expensive intelectual property in history) and comparisons with other games in the market. Also, I'm taking from a perspective played of a franchise fan who played all games since diamond/pearl (except lets go pikachu/eevee, BD/SP and Legends Arceus).

    1. Grafics/performance 1/10 - I really don't know how the **** this game was let to be launched like that but even for pokémon paterns this game is surprisingly broken. It really impact the player's experience in a way that in the beginning of the game I really wanted to take a refund due to this issue. It's almost impossible to play at 30 fps, thats **** ridiculous, and also the background grafics are at the same level of a ps1 game, without exaggerations, which contrast with the main character's grafics that are far better.

    2. Story 7/10 - It really is the best pokemon game in terms of story, however it still is far worse and non-sense compared to other games in the market and also nintendo ones, just as zelda. Although the character's are far more engaging and relatable which is a strong point of this game.

    3. Gameplay 7/10 - I don't have much to talk about this segment, it is better and more fun than usual because it's a open world game. The amount of things to do in the game is huge and it really improve the experience but is not enough to overshadow the issues of the game.

    There are much more things to say but I don't really know if they are as important as the other points. Although I would like to enlighten a problem across all the pokemon franchise, WHERE THE **** ARE THE VOICE ACTORS, it is unacceptable that the multi-billionaire pokemon company can't give the budget necessary to hire some voice actors, the game 'd be so much better, I think I'd even cry in some scenes, like arven with his dog or the last ones of operation starfall, if there were some dubbling.
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  70. Nov 29, 2022
    4
    The newest edition to the mainstream Pokemon game family is a disappointment. On a technical level the frame-rate, character animation, and general graphics are poor enough as to be unacceptable. 95% of buildings cannot be entered and an equally poor number of NPCs can be interacted with. It looks and plays like an alpha. The amount gameplay is skeletal. No post game to speak of, hugeThe newest edition to the mainstream Pokemon game family is a disappointment. On a technical level the frame-rate, character animation, and general graphics are poor enough as to be unacceptable. 95% of buildings cannot be entered and an equally poor number of NPCs can be interacted with. It looks and plays like an alpha. The amount gameplay is skeletal. No post game to speak of, huge empty zones, a worthless new gimmick, trainers rarely have more than two Pokemon, the gym challenges are creatively bankrupt, and Team Star content consists of slow, stiff animations and a bizarre mini-game in which you just repeatedly press the right bumper until your Pokemon defeat enough opposing Pokemon by bump into them.

    The game can be fun for those first few hours of exploring a new Pokemon game, just like it always is, but expect your enjoyment to run dry after a few days. If you can borrow a friend's copy give it a try and have what fun you can. If the only way you can play it is to buy it I highly suggest you give Pokemon Violet a pass.
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  71. Dec 4, 2022
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A **** game.

    Honestly the only thing carrying this game is the fact that it’s open world and 3D. Everything else is **** The plot is basically written by your average 12 year old who uses wattpad, literally just a bunch of kids who got bullied but the school is different and changed so its up to you to beat their ass to come back. Like wtf? Who the **** approved that **** Way too much dialogue for characters who keep repeating the same **** “I got bullied and decided to come to Team star
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  72. Dec 5, 2022
    4
    I finished playing violet just yesterday, 8 monthes of hype and all i got is 15 medium fps and a criminal group formed by bullied people, im a huge fan of pokemon but this is just ridicolous. I enjoyed this game pretty much cause of my passion for this but if we want to be objective this is pure **** Nothing else to say. Paradox past pokemon the only thing i aprreciated
  73. Dec 7, 2022
    4
    Bug, Glitch, Lag, , Crash and a lot off issues with this game. It's messed up! Only a parch can fix this game. The story it's ok, but it's NOT an open world, the graphic it's bad and the gameplay it's boring. Fix this.
  74. Dec 7, 2022
    4
    The game have really good new pokemon and the story is good.
    I would say thet the game is a 5 out of 5 but there is the problem with the grafic.
    When they do a nice patch thet fix the grafic then the game is a 5 out of 5 but now its a 4
  75. Dec 8, 2022
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Je mets une note en moins pour le graphisme mais sinon ça reste vraiment le meilleur Pokémon que j'ai joué. Le gameplay est une pure merveille il est vraiment très agréable à jouer, et c'est un réel plaisir de remplir le Pokédex. Bref c'était mal parti mais une fois que j'ai commencé à jouer, je n'ai plus réussi à décrocher du jeu Expand
  76. Dec 10, 2022
    4
    El juego esta muy bien en cuanto a concepto, pero no puede estar bien puntuado con los errores que tiene, texturas que van a 2fps, sombras muy pixeladas, da la impresión de que es un juego indie.

    Me gusta mucho la libertad, y los escenarios.
    Echo en falta una banda sonora en condicones, y los preciados puzzles que caracterizaban pokemon.
  77. Dec 19, 2022
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game was ok I loved the added pokemon however, the game felt so empty... Sure we had 3 storylines do the gym challenge to become champion and defeat the new team star and get the legendary... pretty basic stuff for a Pokemon game ....but that was it really... After a while it just kinda became repetitive wandering this vast empty world the game appeared to have so much we could do but it just fell blank... I enjoyed the character designs however I believe we shouldn't have been set to a uniform... Yeah maybe we could change our uniform when we're in school however we where stuck in the same few outfits...we could add accessories but that's really it... It was disappointing to say the least Expand
  78. May 12, 2023
    4
    It's absolutely maddening to me that ANYONE can say that this is the best Pokemon game since gen 5 or whatever their favorite generation is.
    This game is almost entirely irredeemable in how bland, tedious, formulaic and boring it is. I'm a fan since Pokemon Yellow... or rather I was a fan, I haven't liked a Pokemon game since gen 6. Every gen after that has been a drop off the cliff into
    It's absolutely maddening to me that ANYONE can say that this is the best Pokemon game since gen 5 or whatever their favorite generation is.
    This game is almost entirely irredeemable in how bland, tedious, formulaic and boring it is. I'm a fan since Pokemon Yellow... or rather I was a fan, I haven't liked a Pokemon game since gen 6. Every gen after that has been a drop off the cliff into mediocrity.

    Firstly let's start with the latest feature. The open world. Gamefreak, the owners of Pokemon, a franchise that dwarfs the likes of Call of Duty still can't make an artistically pleasing 3d game that runs smoothly. This is one of the worst running and worst looking Switch games available and it's not only embarrassing for this ultra rich mega company but it's disrespectful to the fanbase. The incompetence is dumbfounding. They have all the money in the world and they still can't hire enough talent to make a decent game anymore.
    There's NOTHING to do in this open world. You can collect items, Pokemon, battle pointlessly weak trainers spread out randomly across the empty fields and that's it. Exploration is rarely rewarding, everything looks and feels the same.

    Story, I guess the bar has been set so low that any trash can please the fanbase now. There's three storylines that.... well they function. They're fine. Basic anime tropey crap that is serviceable but you'd think Gamefreak had written a masterpiece. It's dull, it's predictable, it exists to give purpose... I guess. I'll admit to not having finished it, I needed one more team star and the elite four but the game is just too boring and I refuse to punish myself more. You can help a dude make sandwiches and help his Pokemon, if you turn your brain off it's a basic feel good anime plot. You have you weird hyperactive super talented genetically modified rival who is always really happy and excited for no reason. Oh great cool. The third path was so repetitive and dull I can't even recall it. It's all some variation of battling repackaged with a slightly different plot line with very little hook. The world is dead, the characters are basic, why should I care? Why should you?

    Gyms, they exist... Level scaling isn't a thing though in their free open world so the game is either going to be a breeze if you like tediously curb stomping every npc trainer before the gyms, or it's going to wall you with levels and you'll have to go grind with those same tedious braindead trainers over and over and over.

    Oh and they introduced temporary TMs again, I think they're called TRs? And guess what? You get to craft them by grinding! Isn't that fun? No. No it's not. It's pointless, it's a regression of the previous reusable TM system, and it only serves to pad this already painfully tedious disgrace to the franchise.

    Oh and towns aren't unique or interesting anymore. There's not really any buildings to enter, except the gyms which all look the same. There's also like multiple of the same shop slapped around the larger cities in some baffling attempt to bring life to the area by making it clear the dev team didn't care about the city feeling like it's in a magical world of pocket monsters.

    To top it all off character customization has been utterly butchered. Sword is a terribly dull game too but at least you could make your character yours. Now because Gamefreak made a new better character model they would have had to make new clothing models and textures, so they decided to be lazy and not do that. You get one outfit with three slight variations and a few socks, backpacks and hats. I'd like to remind you that Gamefreak COULD have the biggest development team of any single development company and they simply choose not to, because they're idiots I guess.

    I'm just exhausted with this franchise. Every generation since 6 just gets worse and worse and worse. Uglier, grindier, duller, easier and btw I'm fine with an easy option for peeps that don't want to grind or deal with battle difficulties. Cool, just like, can we make that an option?

    If you gave this game a 7 or more, ask yourself what you really like about this game. Ask yourself what you really liked about Pokemon, cause this slop is nothing but a shadow of its former self. This game has one of the worst open worlds to date, the kind of Ubisoft style open world that's used as an argument for why open worlds suck. Then all you have left is Pokemon but worse in every single way. I can't anymore. I couldn't finish Sword or Violet. Amateurs on RPG maker make better Pokemon games than this utter tripe. Please, as a fanbase can we have some quality standards? And no I don't mean a mediocre game that runs well, I mean a GOOD game that runs well, something that like Pokemon R/B/Y was at least ambitious for its time and console. Not the bare minimum full of bugs and mediocre even when its running bug free.
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  79. Aug 23, 2023
    4
    As a Pokémon fan since 1996 ( Pokémon Red first Game ), I began to disaffect myself from the saga as the games began to become increasingly immature, repetitive and therefore boring starting with Pokémon X/Y.
    The level of immaturity and qualitative degradation has reached such a point that I have been forced to stop buying Pokémon games.
    These two chapters: Pokémon scarlet and violet are
    As a Pokémon fan since 1996 ( Pokémon Red first Game ), I began to disaffect myself from the saga as the games began to become increasingly immature, repetitive and therefore boring starting with Pokémon X/Y.
    The level of immaturity and qualitative degradation has reached such a point that I have been forced to stop buying Pokémon games.
    These two chapters: Pokémon scarlet and violet are horrid games, both for the level of quality (very low) and for immaturity. Avoid them like the plague.
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  80. Jan 1, 2023
    3
    Story: 7/10
    Gameplay: it's pokemon 8/10
    Raids: 1/10 buggy af
    Game stability: 4/10
    Customization: 1/10
    If I Didnt recieve this game as a gift, I would have refunded it.
    Honestly would rather go back to sword over this game.
  81. Nov 23, 2022
    3
    i have been a pokemon fan for my entire life, but i believe enough is enough, is time for nintendo to realize they do not have the right to sell unfinished games, with glitches and visual frame drops.
  82. Nov 29, 2022
    3
    bad game
    keeps crashing, unfinished, too much text in battles so it takes forever to do things
    long lopading times
  83. Nov 20, 2022
    3
    The idea of the game is good but it lacks way too much optimization and it is currently unplayable. I have just lost three hours of play because of major bug. It is not the fps or the quality of textures what the problem is, the issue here are the game breaking bugs that the game has. Don't buy this game, I regret to have done it.
  84. Nov 19, 2022
    3
    Rose colored pokemon goggles shouldn't save the performance dumpster fire of Scarlet and Violet.

    Characters and animations often move at a robotic 3fps, clipping, pop ins, stuttering, pausing between actions, ugly textures, wonky camera - and it happens non-stop. Whilst the aging switch hardware is a limitation, there many other better looking and more expansive games that run way
    Rose colored pokemon goggles shouldn't save the performance dumpster fire of Scarlet and Violet.

    Characters and animations often move at a robotic 3fps, clipping, pop ins, stuttering, pausing between actions, ugly textures, wonky camera - and it happens non-stop.
    Whilst the aging switch hardware is a limitation, there many other better looking and more expansive games that run way better than this.

    If somehow you can get past all the performance issues (I couldn't) the game play itself feels mediocre at best. A lot of the innovation introduced by Arceus is ignored here.

    Music and sound is poor with weird silences throughout and the lack of voice acting for a fully realized 3D adventure is disappointing.

    If you want to play a Pokemon game I recommend any other in the series over this. After the "fresh air" of Arceus, this game is a new stifling all time low.
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  85. Nov 19, 2022
    3
    Worst Pokémon game ever (this review comes from a person born in 1993, raised playing pokémon without interruptions from the 1st gen, until BW2, and even Alpha Sapphire, Brilliant Diamond, and Moon, the last one only ''NEW'' main pokémon game I've been playing seriously after the DS era)
    I wanted to buy Violet, but then I've started to see the reviews by ''specialized critics'' here and
    Worst Pokémon game ever (this review comes from a person born in 1993, raised playing pokémon without interruptions from the 1st gen, until BW2, and even Alpha Sapphire, Brilliant Diamond, and Moon, the last one only ''NEW'' main pokémon game I've been playing seriously after the DS era)
    I wanted to buy Violet, but then I've started to see the reviews by ''specialized critics'' here and all over the internet, and I've thought ''mmm, maybe waiting is better''
    I've started to watch some livestreams on Twitch to see the game
    Best decision I've ever done
    Games without a soul, published in a FEW MONTHS (Pokémon Legends came out at the beginning of this year if you don't remember it) just because childish **** were impatient for the new generation
    But hey, the game will sell anyway, so why publish it in 2 years?
    The major responsibles of this disaster are exactly the consumers
    I can understand those who say ''I want to buy it because I want to touch it with my hands in order to judge them''
    But those who always say ''Even though the game will suck I will buy it because I want to see the new pokémon'' or ''because I want to have the new pokémon game in my collection just to expose it'' or ''because I don't want to miss the new generation''
    if you only care about the fu**ing monsters play Pokémon GO and Unite, I've got both of them, and they're cool
    If you only care about mere phisic possession of the game you're nothing but SLAVES
    Pokémon is dying from the beginning of the 6th gen (including the remakes of Hoenn and Sinnoh which are not bad, but so far away from Heartgold and Soulsilver), and you don't even realize it
    Well, keep attacking Pokémon BW, not my favorite games in the franchise, but of course the most underrated
    Unova games were gold compared to this
    60 EURO for THIS is just undefendable
    Of course congratulations to you TPC for being so superficial
    But at the same time congrats to you guys who don't care if buying Garbodor, motivate them to make even more Garbodor
    You're the final responsible for this disaster
    SHAMEFUL SLAVES
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  86. Nov 20, 2022
    3
    While the core gameplay is fun, and *some* innovation from Legends Arceus came through, the game is so fundamentally broken on a technical level that it is impossible to give anything above a 3/10.

    So many features were cut from previous instalments that opens up questions regarding Game Freak's intentions; do they want players to enjoy themselves or feel frustrated? As is with every
    While the core gameplay is fun, and *some* innovation from Legends Arceus came through, the game is so fundamentally broken on a technical level that it is impossible to give anything above a 3/10.

    So many features were cut from previous instalments that opens up questions regarding Game Freak's intentions; do they want players to enjoy themselves or feel frustrated?

    As is with every mainline Pokemon game, there is a 1 step forward, 3 steps back rule. The over-world catching and combat is great, but there are no Shiny sound effects. The models are minuscule (the smallest of the Pokemon are neigh invisible which makes it incredibly frustrating). For some reason the Set/Switch option was taken out of the game. Still no sign of a quick-EV training minigame such as the ones from X/Y. So many quality of life features are missing, with little to nothing to show for it.

    The over-world size is as expected of an open world game, but what isn't expected is the poor graphical fidelity of it, as well as nearly every other aspect of the game, besides the Pokemon themselves, which seem to have gotten model refreshes. The most striking ones are the metallic Pokemon, such as the Pawniard line, which have a shiny metallic finish which really gives it an extra oomph. The rest of the game looks like a poor Playstation 2 era port of a game.

    There are so many glitches, bugs and micro (as well as macro!) stutters. Overall, the game does not achieve 30 FPS at any given moment, at least not in my case. There is constant popping, light and shadows completely breaking and stuttering, clipping through terrain and objects, entire cities blacking out, deleting and then reappearing in the span of 3 seconds, horrible FPS drops and stutters whenever Pokemon spawn, or, lord forbid, you enter a city. Seriously, city proximity turns the game into a slideshow.

    Over half of the Pokedex has once again been cut out of the base game and I have no doubts they will once again sell you bits and pieces of it through a paid DLC. Horrible practice, especially for a €60 first-party Nintendo game.

    Game Freak needs major restructuring. Whether it's more development time, more staff, or a complete work environment overhaul; something needs to change. A $90 billion franchise cannot allow itself to treat their mainline games in this manner. Not only are there massive cuts in the content of each subsequent games, the games are releasing more broken than ever. The visuals aren't just outdated, they are antiquated. Either all of the issues need to be addressed, or Game Freak needs to stop charging €60 for broken, unfinished games. Charge it like every other developer releasing what is clearly an Early Access game, a nice and fair €20.

    This is unacceptable, and Game Freak should feel nothing but shame for this product release.
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  87. Nov 21, 2022
    3
    A buggy, glitchy, jittery mess. If it weren't for all of that I'd give it a 8/10 when compared to other pokemon games. But this is embarrassing. And if you are sensitive to flashing lights, I would suggest to stay away till they fix cause this will more that likely trigger you.
    walking in the city is slow, and when looking at NPCs you can see them smoothly running by at 10 frames a second.
    A buggy, glitchy, jittery mess. If it weren't for all of that I'd give it a 8/10 when compared to other pokemon games. But this is embarrassing. And if you are sensitive to flashing lights, I would suggest to stay away till they fix cause this will more that likely trigger you.
    walking in the city is slow, and when looking at NPCs you can see them smoothly running by at 10 frames a second. I was willing to overlook that, but then go in the grass, any grass, yes the triangle green shapes appearing on the ground. You will experience the worse jitter as the camera cannot seem to decide how to display things. The jitter is on a level I have never experienced in decades of gaming.
    Game freak should really be ashamed of themselves for this one. Glad I didn't buy the two pack at least.
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  88. Nov 22, 2022
    3
    Awful game! I love Pokemon! Nintendo, please save Pokemon and take over the development job!
  89. Nov 19, 2022
    3
    The framerate and pop in is ridiculous. I almost would prefer the old 2D style than this.
  90. Nov 21, 2022
    3
    Super bummed to pre order and play this in the state that it's in. For a franchise worth $92billion on the same system that gave us breath of the wild to run in such a sorry state is a slap to every pokefan's face... Sad times.
  91. Dec 2, 2022
    3
    I loved Arceus, and upon hearing this game will be fully open world I pre-ordered the game. Yet another bitter lesson about not pre-ordering game.

    If you're reading review then you probably already know the development quality is terrible. But as a game dev myself I can also tell you this: no future patch will be able to fix this game. So don't keep your hope up. The fandom might be
    I loved Arceus, and upon hearing this game will be fully open world I pre-ordered the game. Yet another bitter lesson about not pre-ordering game.

    If you're reading review then you probably already know the development quality is terrible. But as a game dev myself I can also tell you this: no future patch will be able to fix this game. So don't keep your hope up.

    The fandom might be telling you Game Freaks will fix it in later patches. That won't happen. This game was made by amateurs, probably half the team are interns they hired to fill in the vacant spots. The only way to properly fix this game is to remake it from the beginning, which won't happen.

    Frame rate spike, jerky animations, camera running underground, 3 meters pokemon view distance. These things will never be fixed. So wait for next pokemon game (and don't pre-order this time) or replay classic version or find another monster-taming game. Just don't buy this.
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  92. Nov 25, 2022
    3
    I am a Pokémon fan since Pokémon Yellow. I've played almost them all. I played all Switch games but I cannot see any improvements on the technical side. Even the specialized critics are lowering their score for the brand and Pokémon Violet/Scarlet has received one of the lowest score for the main games of the brand.
    It is not acceptable that The Pokémon Company and Nintendo give green
    I am a Pokémon fan since Pokémon Yellow. I've played almost them all. I played all Switch games but I cannot see any improvements on the technical side. Even the specialized critics are lowering their score for the brand and Pokémon Violet/Scarlet has received one of the lowest score for the main games of the brand.
    It is not acceptable that The Pokémon Company and Nintendo give green flag to a product which has a lot of problems from the technical side.
    There is no excuse for selling that. Other brands and other company would have been massacrated if they released a game in that conditions.
    It is time to reconsider Game Freak as a developer of the games and apply Nintendo standards for other brands (Zelda, Mario, etc...) to Pokémon.
    A fan here wants Pokémon to became the best they can be.
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  93. Nov 25, 2022
    3
    La manera en que hicieron el cambio a mundo abierto fue muy buena, desafortunadamente el trabajo entregado al final fue mediocre, caidas de cuadros constantes, calidad gráfica pobre que lo hace parecer con escenarios sacados de Nintendo 64 y un sin fin de bugs. Una lastima que Nintendo haya entregado al público un producto en tan terribles condiciones.

    Y para aqueyos que tanto lo
    La manera en que hicieron el cambio a mundo abierto fue muy buena, desafortunadamente el trabajo entregado al final fue mediocre, caidas de cuadros constantes, calidad gráfica pobre que lo hace parecer con escenarios sacados de Nintendo 64 y un sin fin de bugs. Una lastima que Nintendo haya entregado al público un producto en tan terribles condiciones.

    Y para aqueyos que tanto lo defienden, no olviden que hay Breath of The Wild o Xenoblade 3
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  94. Feb 11, 2023
    3
    Didn’t even experience major bugs and still didn’t like it. It just wasn’t fun. Huge areas looked they were made by a freshman game design student as part of a term project. There’s nothing worth seeing here. Wouldn’t have been able to finish it if I hadn’t had covid at the time and needed something to do in quarantine. I had low expectations from the reports about poor performance, butDidn’t even experience major bugs and still didn’t like it. It just wasn’t fun. Huge areas looked they were made by a freshman game design student as part of a term project. There’s nothing worth seeing here. Wouldn’t have been able to finish it if I hadn’t had covid at the time and needed something to do in quarantine. I had low expectations from the reports about poor performance, but was way more disappointed by how low quality the underlying game actually is. Conspiracy theory: the bugs were put in to distract from how bad the game is! Expand
  95. Nov 22, 2022
    3
    I will change my review if GF fixes the disgustingly egregious performance and graphical issues. The actual battles are cool, but the game looks like it's an N64 game in the level of detail and graphics. The performance is terrible with low and inconsistent framerates (even after the "fix" of closing it out and reopening it).

    It's still a Pokémon game, though, and the core formula,
    I will change my review if GF fixes the disgustingly egregious performance and graphical issues. The actual battles are cool, but the game looks like it's an N64 game in the level of detail and graphics. The performance is terrible with low and inconsistent framerates (even after the "fix" of closing it out and reopening it).

    It's still a Pokémon game, though, and the core formula, although beaten to death, has charm and fun. The pre-rendered stuff looks fine. The idea of an open-world core Pokémon game is fantastic, and this can be great - but GF really needs to patch the hell out of it, and soon. Hopefully this will be the No Man's Sky of Pokémon games and turn out to be patched and updated into what it could and should be.
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  96. Nov 20, 2022
    3
    INCREDIBLE. Nintendo and game freak don't have programmer, they have little boy who doesn't know anything about good programing principles.
  97. Nov 21, 2022
    3
    Me duele poner la nota de color rojo, pero me parece que es indefendible que saquen un juego inacabado. Con bastantes problemas de rendimiento (ya no valoro si técnicamente es más o menos bonito). ¡Suspenso! Tendrá que recuperar durante 2023 (ojalá saquen un parche pronto que solucione los problemas más graves). Tiene buenas ideas en lo jugable que se estropea por los errores. Es laMe duele poner la nota de color rojo, pero me parece que es indefendible que saquen un juego inacabado. Con bastantes problemas de rendimiento (ya no valoro si técnicamente es más o menos bonito). ¡Suspenso! Tendrá que recuperar durante 2023 (ojalá saquen un parche pronto que solucione los problemas más graves). Tiene buenas ideas en lo jugable que se estropea por los errores. Es la primera vez que pongo una nota roja. The Pokémon Company y Game Freak ESPABILAR. Expand
  98. Dec 27, 2022
    3
    I said this game was getting better after the patches, but, the DLC is corrupting the saved data LOL. Also, the game doesn’t stop crashing, and the FPS is awful.
  99. Nov 20, 2022
    3
    I like what GF was going for with this generation but jeezus, the performance is seriously taking away from all the good in this game. This level of incompetency in quality is inexcusable. They can even address the performance issues but I doubt they will. This franchise will never die, we can only continue (lol) to hope for improvements.
  100. Nov 19, 2022
    3
    It starts. It doesn't crash. And thats it. It literally barely runs, clipping, frame rate makes game NEARLY unplayable. I say nearly bc it DOES run. And that's it. The game itself is alright. But the technical issues aren't the only cut corners. Don't get me started on bland environments and why take away the catching mechanic that actually works from arceus. Not a 0. But a 3
Metascore
71

Mixed or average reviews - based on 118 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 55 out of 118
  2. 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. 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.
  3. 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.