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Pokemon Scarlet

 Switch
Pokemon Scarlet Image
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Mixed or average reviews - based on 110 Critic Reviews What's this?

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3.2

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 2812 Ratings

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  • Summary: The Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet games, the newest chapters in the Pokémon series, are coming to Nintendo Switch. With these new titles, the Pokémon series takes a new evolutionary step, allowing you to explore freely in a richly expressed open world. Various towns blend seamlesslyThe Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet games, the newest chapters in the Pokémon series, are coming to Nintendo Switch. With these new titles, the Pokémon series takes a new evolutionary step, allowing you to explore freely in a richly expressed open world. Various towns blend seamlessly into the wilderness with no borders. You'll be able to see the Pokémon of this region in the skies, in the seas, in the forests, on the streetsall over! You'll be able to experience the true joy of the Pokémon seriesbattling against wild Pokémon in order to catch themnow in an open-world game that players of any age can enjoy.
    Meet the First Partner Pokémon
    The three Pokémon from which you'll be able to choose your first partner are Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly. How will you meet these three, and what sorts of Pokémon are they?
    Sprigatito
    Type: Grass
    Category: Grass Cat Pokémon
    Height: 1'4"
    Weight: 9 lbs.
    Ability: Overgrow
    The capricious, attention-seeking Grass Cat Pokémon.
    Fuecoco
    Type: Fire
    Category: Fire Croc Pokémon
    Height: 1'4"
    Weight: 21.6 lbs.
    Ability: Blaze
    The laid-back Fire Croc Pokémon that does things at its own pace.
    Quaxly
    Type: Water
    Category: Duckling Pokémon
    Height: 1'8"
    Weight: 13.4 lbs.
    Ability: Torrent
    The earnest and tidy Duckling Pokémon.
    Introducing the Main Characters
    As one of the main characters, you'll set off on your adventure. Your outfit will vary depending on whether you play Pokémon Scarlet or Pokémon Violet. Who knows what kind of story awaits you?    … Expand
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Pokemon Scarlet And Violet: Big Changes Explained

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 55 out of 110
  2. Mixed: 54 out of 110
  3. Negative: 1 out of 110
  1. Digitally Downloaded
    Nov 23, 2022
    100
    I have had such a wonderful time with Pokémon Violet and Scarlet. None of the issues that I have with these games are anything but the most mild and forgivable irritations. Meanwhile, the promise of a big but blissfully uncomplicated world, filled with adventure and monsters to collect, brought me right back to what drew me into the whole Pokémon franchise in the first place. Is Scarlet and Violet a technical mess? Sure. Do I care? Not in the slightest. I’m here for the pokémon. Not to count frames.
  2. MGG
    Nov 17, 2022
    85
    If Pokémon Scarlet and Violet offer us an invigorating adventure in the colors of the Iberian Peninsula, we can feel that some sacrifices had to be made, on the graphics and technique in particular, in order to let players explore the immense region of Paldea. Breathless, it's not on Nintendo Switch that the pocket monsters will shine, but this 9th generation will at least have the merit of offering us something new in the license. The open world gameplay is what many fans have been waiting for for ages and Game Freak succeeds in offering interesting scenarios and a worthy end-game with mechanics borrowed from Arceus' success.
  3. Oyungezer
    Nov 22, 2022
    80
    What we have in our hands is potentially the best Pokemon game in history. If the optimization issues had not undermined the enjoyment of the game, we might be talking about very different things. However, I have great hope that the game will improve in the future. If I had just one wish from Jirachi, it would be for Scarlet & Violet to run smoothly. Don't be in a hurry to purchase, but if performance issues are solved, as a PokeManiac, I would say don't miss this experience.
  4. Multiplayer.it
    Nov 17, 2022
    74
    Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet focus on exploring, but the technical issues are hard to ignore. The story struggles to expand its limits, so it's weak and shallow; the gameplay is solid as ever, luckily, and it introduces some new mechanics perfect for PvP. Discovering and capturing pokémon is enjoyable thanks to many new ways to explore the region of Paldea. We hope they will be the last transitional pokémon games.
  5. Siliconera
    Nov 23, 2022
    70
    Pokemon Violet and Pokemon Scarlet certainly don’t put their best feet forward. They run rough. Visual downgrades are clear. But ultimately, once you settle in, they’re certainly full Pokemon games. We’re hoping some post-launch bug-squashing will help them run better, but in the long term, The Pokemon Company might need to implement a plan that offers Game Freak longer development windows for tentpole releases.
  6. GamingTrend
    Dec 6, 2022
    65
    Pokémon Scarlet and Violet try to take the franchise in a new direction, but can feel empty and hollow as a result. The open world has bright spots, especially multiplayer, however a lack of care in its design leads to a game that’s haphazard and lifeless.
  7. TheGamer
    Nov 20, 2022
    40
    Ultimately, Pokemon Scarlet & Violet finally lets you experience a story in this world that doesn’t feel out of place, marked with a tone of childlike innocence that, for once, doesn’t diminish the seriousness of the subjects that it presents. Unfortunately, the performance is so abruptly bad that it completely ruins, to an infuriating extent, what otherwise could have been the best Pokemon game to date.

See all 116 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 294 out of 1656
  2. Mixed: 132 out of 1656
  3. Negative: 1,230 out of 1656
  1. Sheepsyhere
    Nov 19, 2022
    10
    Pokémon scarlet and violet are masterpieces, also I’m first review which is nice but go play this game
  2. Derpcat
    Nov 25, 2022
    9
    Okay… so it has a 2.9 user score right now. That’s not good. So what are all these complaints about? Is it the successor of Arceus?

    The story    Okay… so it has a 2.9 user score right now. That’s not good. So what are all these complaints about? Is it the successor of Arceus?

    The story is amped up from Sword & Shield. By that I mean it’s much better. The characters are more fleshed out, and I actually like some of the gym leaders. I’m not going to spoil because it’s brand new.

    It plays a lot like Arceus, which is good. There are some changes, my least favorite being the removal of the roll. You also can’t cycle between Pokémon just by pressing L or R. There is a new way to battle without going into a battle sequence, and it’s helpful. Yeah, the overall gameplay is very good. But the presentation….

    The Switch is no powerhouse. Anyone who has played a ported console game will know. Scarlet and Violet does not look good. Adding insult to injury, it runs at like 15 fps. At the start it’s really noticeable, but everywhere else it looks fine. The soundtrack, however is stellar. Toby Fox composed some of the songs, and some sound like they’re straight out of Undertale or Deltarune. The presentation doesn’t bring it down too much, but it is a valid point.

    It has tons of content. I don’t even know how long it takes to beat, let alone 100%. Whoever plays it will be satisfied with 3 different stories, Elite 4, and a post-game, I’m guessing. I personally think it is better than Sword and Shield. Pretty controversial, and someone could say it’s rushed. It has basic features, and comparing it to Mario Tennis Aces would be a bad idea. If you are planning on giving this to someone for Christmas, they won’t complain about it unless they’re 30 and live in your basement. The people who complain about it do have valid points, but I think it’s good, and it’ll probably be fixed later.    … Expand
  4. Gnomesbane
    Nov 21, 2022
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Performance wise, the game is pretty bad. I haven’t run into any of the big bugs I’ve seen people talk about, but for the Lake Titan boss fight of the story, and also the Fairy Base for Team Star, the fact that there is some water nearby makes the game chug down to a snails pace. Really kills the fun and dynamic aspect of a big cool boss fight when all your Pokémon attacks look like a slow-mo move from the Matrix. Menus also run pretty slow, and you can feel the game struggling to keep up. Graphics range from “wow look at the textures of fur on Hoppip!” To “are those mountains copy/paste backgrounds from Goldeneye 64?” Graphics aren’t always a big deal in these games, to me at least. It’s about the adventure and the discovery of stuff. The story is where this game honestly shines, and is really all that’s propping this up from being a complete joke of a game. Most Pokémon games are more or less the same. Fight the gyms, save the world or whatever from some bad guys. This game has three separate storylines to complete in more or less whatever order you want. There’s the usual Gym/Elite 4 battle, which is whatever. Then there’s the Titans, where you help a person find these rare herbs to ultimately heal one of his Pokémon, and not gonna lie I kinda cried at the end. It felt very relateable. Then the third story is about stopping the “bad guy Team”, Team Star in this region. Turns out there’s a lot more to it going on, and even though a few of the twists are kinda obvious, the ending again has a good message to it that I think a lot of players can relate to. The core gameplay is great. If you liked Legends Arceus, you’ll probably like this even more. It’s still classic Pokémon catching, but a HUGE world that manages to feel both very empty and bursting with things to see at the same time. Lots of little winding paths and holes to look in, or mountain trails to nowhere for exploring. By far the most fun I’ve had with a Pokémon game, just held back by technical difficulties that can hopefully be fixed.… Expand
  5. krythix
    Nov 19, 2022
    1
    Pokemon Scarlet is an unoptimized and half baked game that clearly needed more time in development. I can't help but feel thatPokemon Scarlet is an unoptimized and half baked game that clearly needed more time in development. I can't help but feel that Nintendo/Gamefreak rushed this game out pre-maturely to slot it in with the holiday sales window for 2022 when it clearly needed to be delayed. The game targets 30 FPS but often fails to achieve that with frequent glitches and dips into the single digit frame rates. I attempted to catch a Psyduck only for pokeballs to glitch through the ground and the camera angles to show a 'black' zone outside the bounds of the map. Nintendo slowly chips away at the 'Nintendo seal of quality' with each modern mainline Pokemon game released these last 5 years. Nintendo has shown their hand and they are more than willing to sacrifice on quality to make a quick buck at player's expense. Cannot recommend this game in good faith unless it recieves considerable patches to improve performance. I criticize the game so harshly because i care deeply about this franchise and want to see it improve into the game fan's truly deserve.… Expand
  6. Dzk281
    Nov 28, 2022
    0
    Is a big piece of sh1t!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It sucks, it's broken in every way, frame drops in open places and they don't even talk about the bugsIs a big piece of sh1t!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It sucks, it's broken in every way, frame drops in open places and they don't even talk about the bugs that make you fall into the void… Expand
  7. valosagutas
    Nov 25, 2022
    0
    this somewhat seem like a fan mod for pokemon legends arceus that has pokemon sword and shield assets. it adds nothing to the series andthis somewhat seem like a fan mod for pokemon legends arceus that has pokemon sword and shield assets. it adds nothing to the series and pokemons looks like **** there is some building in vast empty world. biggest settlement in the game is some mini-castle lmao. this somewhat feels like playing no man's sky but imagine you are stuck in the same planet lol

    graphics for me okay but the year is 2022 and the video game console is switch so what's their excuse for ps2 graphics? but that's not why the graphics look bad. for example zelda botw has ps2 graphics but at least it aesthetically looks good but this game has amateurish ps2 graphics

    I'm not sure if my switch is going to die or this game has bad optimization or if this game going to break my switch if I run it again, though I have no performance problem while playing zelda botw or any other games. until I'm sure the game is fixed I won't run this game because switch is expensive AF and I cannot afford another one. though good thing I rented this game because it's plain **** so game freak has a week until they fix this weak game before I'm unable to play the game again because I don't want my switch to break :DDD

    lastly I have no idea why pokemon style started to be anglo-saxon these years. I love british stuff but it doesn't look good on pokemon series. perhaps most people like me loved pokemon games just because of its first anime series and we still want to play a video game like that but the only game we have is pokemon yellow and its remake. which that's why the only pokemon games I ever bought was pokemon yellow, ultra moon and let's go pikachu but still they are not enough of a good pokemon games yet game break believes they can still satisfy people with pokemon games that's even worst than yellow

    at this point I'll only buy a pokemon video game that's like the first pokemon anime. I want surviving system, I want to place a tent wherever I want. I want to enjoy camping. I want optional party I can travel with. I want the sense of adventure. I want the sense of making a difference in world beyond main story. I want multiple huge modern cities and lots of villages I can travel to, like gta san andreas. I want to experience snowy mountains, desert and jungle just like zelda botw. bruh game freak, did you even watch the first pokemon anime lol

    I wanna be the very best
    Like no one ever was
    To catch them is my real test
    To train them is my cause
    I will travel across the land
    Searching far and wide
    Teach Pokémon to understand
    The power that's inside
    Pokémon! Gotta catch 'em all! (It's you and me)
    I know it's my destiny
    Pokémon! Oh you're my best friend
    In a world we must defend
    Pokémon! Gotta catch 'em all! (A heart so true)
    Our courage will pull us through
    You teach me and I'll teach you
    Pokémon! Gotta catch'em all (gotta catch 'em all!)
    Yeah!
    Every challenge along the way
    With courage I will face
    I will battle every day
    To claim my rightful place
    Come with me
    The time is right
    There's no better team
    Arm in arm we'll win the fight
    It's always been our dream!
    Pokémon! Gotta catch 'em all! (It's you and me)
    I know it's my destiny
    Pokémon! Oh you're my best friend
    In a world we must defend
    Pokémon! Gotta catch 'em all! (A heart so true)
    Our courage will pull us through
    You teach me and I'll teach you
    Pokémon! Gotta catch'em all (gotta catch 'em all!)
    Gotta catch'em all!
    Gotta catch'em all!
    Gotta catch'em all!
    Yeah!
    Pokémon! Gotta catch 'em all! (It's you and me)
    I know it's my destiny
    Pokémon! Oh you're my best friend In a world we must defend Pokémon! Gotta catch 'em all! (A heart so true) Our courage will pull us through You teach me and I'll teach you Pokémon! Gotta catch'em all (gotta catch 'em all, Pokémon!)    … Expand
  8. Netluiz
    Nov 19, 2022
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Designer of the pokemon every game is worse, and there is no subtitle portuguese-Brazil.… Expand

See all 1656 User Reviews

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