Pokémon Scarlet & Violet review: The franchise lurches forward

Having received a code for Pokémon Scarlet on the day it came out, we were able to experience this new chapter in the massively popular franchise at the same time that the fans were jumping into it. And, as seems to be the case throughout the media and the fandom, we'd say that our response is a pretty mixed one.

On the positive side, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet finally deliver on something that fans have been day-dreaming about for years. For the first time in the mainline franchise (with Pokémon Legends Arceus being billed as a prequel spin-off instead of a central entry), your character is able to freely explore a wide open-world region where Pokémon are spawning in the wild right in front of you, and you can tackle the eight gym leaders in any order that you'd like.

On paper, this is exactly what fans have been asking for, so you've got to salute Game Freak for making that happen. There is a thrill to seeing Pokémon pop up all around you as you traverse through diverse environments, and there's something incredibly freeing about the overall experience.

Compared to Pokémon Sword and Shield, where progressing through the story often made it feel like you were on rails down a pre-determined path, here it feels like you have actual agency. You can approach the game in any way you want, which is a massive leap forward – it makes the game feel like something special, the stuff that Poké-fans' dreams have long been made of.

But, and it's a big but, the game can't always live up to its lofty ambitions. It tries to do everything you want but somehow feels like less than the sum of its parts. Several elements begin to feel flawed/annoying as you try to explore the Spain-inspired Paldea region where the game is set.

For one thing, it feels like the game cannot load a particularly big segment of its large open map at once, meaning that people, landmarks and creatures are constantly popping up right in front of you (rather than just always being there, which would make the game feel more real and free-flowing).

The constant popping-in of these various elements does get frustrating at times. You might be aiming for a marker on your map, only to find after 10 minutes of exploration that there's an unassailable waterfall in your way. Or a blockade made by the baddies. Or a herd of angry Pokémon that don't get the hint when you try to run away.

For a game that wants to give you freedom, it ends up throwing unwanted blocks in your face instead. In theory, yes, you can do the gyms in any order. But you'll find that some of them are pretty hard to get to, forcing you to take diversions to other towns and biomes, punishing you for going in the 'wrong' direction to start with.

Another frustrating element is the inconsistency in the graphics. While some bits of the game look better than ever (for example, in cut-scenes, the clothing on the human characters looks far more textured than before), others are stuck in past (the character model for Pikachu looks the same as it has since the 3DS era).

When players imagined exploring an open-world mainline Pokémon game for the first time, many of us foresaw best-in-class graphics and something close to realism, as opposed to a strange blend of elements. At times, it looks more like a Wii-era game than a hot new release of 2022.

The being said, there are positives to be found here. The overall idea is strong, and a number of the new Pokémon critters are totally adorable to boot (shoutout to our boy Lechonk). The soundtrack is strong, as well, with surprisingly heavy guitar riffs amping up the atmosphere at points. The writing has some really fun moments, as well, with plenty of humour laced in.

There's a nice mix of things to do – you can take on the gyms, aim to complete the Pokédex, take down Team Star bases or hunt for massively rare creatures. Each town presents its own little challenge to you, too, and these are nicely varied. The new battle gimmick, the 'Terastal phenomenon', keeps things fresh during your big fights as well.

Although there are lots of nits to pick here, there's also the sense that Pokémon Scarlet and Violet does have a lot of good ideas. When they come together, when everything coalesces, it's easy to lose hours at a time as you rush around Paldea and bend the game to your will. If you don't look too closely at the graphics or the glitches (they've been widely reported, although we largely managed to avoid them), you could have a very good time here.

It's maybe not quite the game of your dreams, but it's the closest that Pokémon fans have got. This franchise is moving into the future one awkward lurch at a time, but it's still a fun journey to be a part of.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is out now on Nintendo Switch. You can order your copy from Amazon or check out the deals below.

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