Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Review (Nintendo Switch): Is It Worth Playing?

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are the latest main series games in a franchise plagued by problems. While Pokemon is still selling, decisions surrounding the game series have drawn criticism in recent years. The “Dexit” controversy in particular left many fans feeling like Game Freak didn’t care. The positive reception to Pokemon Legends: Arceus made it seem like things are about to change, but Scarlet and Violet show that while it’s been the most fun I’ve had with a Pokemon game in years, there are still major issues would have.

This time things are a bit more complicated. As a student at a prestigious Pokémon Academy in Paldea’s largest city, Mesadoza, you’re tasked with going on a “treasure hunt” to achieve a goal you find truly meaningful. In addition to the standard Pokemon League challenge, you’re also tasked with defeating the rampaging Titan Pokemon and battling the infamous Team Star.

Early Access vibes

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet feels like an alpha of a really great game – the best entry in the series since the 3DS days. You can see that all the pieces are in place to craft the Pokémon adventure fans they crave. But unfortunately it could have used a few more years in the oven.

Graphic errors are everywhere. There are rampant frame drops, lag spikes, and pop-ins. Model collision is terrible, and it’s not uncommon to see Pokémon floating in the air when standing on any incline.

Switch games always get a pass because the hardware is behind the times. However, Game Freak has struggled with optimization since the DS days, and it’s only gotten worse since the series switched to 3D. However, Scarlet and Violet make Sword and Shield and Arceus look like Breath of the Wild.

Game Freak is basically a first-party developer from Nintendo at this point, and Pokemon is one of the best-selling and most popular franchises of all time. Given the series’ history and bankrolling sales, there’s no excuse for Scarlet and Violet to be sidelined with such performance issues, especially considering Game Freak has already removed content like the Nationaldex to ease development.

lack of progress

But Scarlet and Violet’s biggest sin, and one that kills the game’s momentum halfway through, is the lack of level scaling. In theory, you can attack any Gym, Titan, or Team Star Hideout at any time. In practice, however, there are two routes that almost everyone will take.

If you get through the intro and are sent on your treasure hunt, you can exit Mesagoza through either the east or west gates. What lies beyond is a series of gyms, hideouts, and titans that gain height as you follow a semi-circular path north of Paldea.

The weird thing is that the progression of the east and west path levels is exactly the same. So if you hit the halfway mark and are rocking a level 40-50 team, you’ll need to go back down the path you didn’t take and face the Gym Ladders with level 15-25 Pokemon.

Alternatively, you could switch between East and West to keep the challenge reasonably balanced. However, in the end you will only become more overleveled if you choose this route.

Of course, this whole problem could have been solved if at least the trainer Pokemon had scaled with you. If that were the case, I might be a bit scared when I have to go face down in the Bug Type Gym with my Meowscarada at level 50. As it is, I can stomp my way through this point even if I’m just using grass-type moves.

Stuck in the past

But there are also many good things about Scarlet and Violet’s design. This is the series’ first true open-world entry, and it’s been an absolutely fantastic move to ditch the series’ linear paths for good. Pokemon is meant to be about adventure and exploration, and you’ve never really gotten that sense of wonder and grandeur as you navigate a narrow path from point A to point B. Now do it, even if there’s still work to be done – you’ll still land in a straight line between gyms, hideouts, and titans.

You also still need badges to control Pokemon over a certain level. Suppose you accidentally stray too far in the wrong direction – in which case you could catch Pokemon that you’ll completely ignore if you try to command them in battle. It’s not like there’s a carefully crafted scale of difficulty here. So if you manage to catch a Pokemon, you should be able to use it without restrictions.

This problem permeates almost every aspect of the game. For example, you can change your character’s shoes, socks, hat, glasses, face, hair color, hairstyle, gloves, backpack, and phone case in the game. However, you can only choose one of four seasonal school uniforms. The game was praised early on for having outfits that aren’t gender specific, but that’s really only a half-truth. You can no longer customize your outfit, only your accessories.

It all adds up to a Pokemon game so close Getting it right, however, stumbles at almost every corner. If Game Freak refines the concept laid out here, we could pave the way for something great for the future of the series – however, having said the same thing about Arceus, it’s disappointing that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet isn’t the big step forward towards which we wait impatiently.