Pokémon Scarlet and Violet mark the beginning of the ninth generation of the Pokémon franchise and the first truly open-world RPG for the series. I was looking forward to these new entries after the release of Pokémon Legends: Arceus in January of this year. Arceus introduced some exciting new gameplay features that helped breathe new life into a notoriously stagnant franchise. The game was easily some of the most fun I’ve had with the franchise since the release of X and Y back in 2013.

This review is on the Scarlet version specifically, but apart from theversion exclusive Pokémon and different color palettes, the core gameplay remains the same for both games. Unfortunately, I found myself again underwhelmed by these new games. Scarlet and Violet present some solid foundations but fall short in many other aspects.

Let’s start with the elephant in the room, the graphics, and the overall performance. I’m usually not one to care much about graphical fidelity but this is easily one of the worst-looking and worst-performing games I’ve ever played. Textures are unpolished and the frame rate constantly stutters and drops to a crawl whenever more than two objects appear on the screen.

Pop-in is constant in the overworld and this can make it hard to avoid encounters with Pokémon. Many times I was traveling between locations quickly but was suddenly thrust into battle with Pokémon that popped into existence right in my path.

Additionally, the character animations are easily some of the series’ most awkward and clunky looking. NPCs walk around cities at abysmal resolution and maybe 20 fps. Battles look especially lifeless with a huge variety of bland-looking moves that comprise a majority of what is the most expansive selection for the series thus far.

The real issue with this horrible performance is that it completely destroys any sense of immersion you may feel within the world. This is a big deal for a game series that emphasizes player exploration and adventure as a core aspect. It’s frankly embarrassing to see the performance being this bad from an established studio, let alone one of the biggest franchises in gaming history. It’s clear this game needed at least another year in development but just was not given the chance.

The gameplay for this title features a return to form with slow, grindy turn-based battles that offer very little challenge for the most part. Virtually every trainer you encounter has no more than one Pokémon that can usually be steamrolled through without issue. This wouldn’t be much of a drawback if battles played out slightly quicker like in the previous title.

I did like the addition of auto battles, which allow you to send Pokémon to battle roaming wild creatures and pick up items without entering into a formal encounter that forces you to select commands. These battles are usually decided by the level of both Pokémon as well as type effectiveness and resistance. This feature is a massive quality-of-life improvement and makes grinding for experience much less tiresome. I’d say it is easily the best feature here.

The newest mechanic comes in the form of Terastalization. Activating the mechanic causes your Pokémon to assume a crystalline form that boosts the power of moves that share its Tera type. For a majority of Pokémon, their Tera type will simply be the same as their primary type. However, you can also catch Pokémon that have a completely new Tera type which is indicated by a shine in the overworld.

This effectively allows your Pokémon to change typing mid-battle. While this is a neat idea in concept, the mechanic seems more geared towards spicing up competitive play as the benefit is so minute I never felt that I ever needed to employ it in order to gain an edge in battle. Additionally, I personally found that Terastal forms themselves to be extremely off-putting visually, and more often than not they just make your Pokémon look awkward.

Another aspect that provides a huge hindrance to battles is the camera itself. In the overworld, you have free range of the camera, which is perfectly functional. However, 80% of the time when you begin a battle with a trainer, you can’t even see your own Pokémon without having to change the angle manually. Gym Battles remove camera control in favor of set cinematic angles and this is a dramatic improvement that I wish was translated to all battles in order to increase visual fidelity. 

The main story for this game sees your player character enrolled in a prestigious academy for the development of various Pokémon centric skills. Shortly after receiving your partner Pokémon, you are dispatched to a field research project known as the “treasure hunt.” The hunt consists of three major story arcs, which combine to give a fair bit of content. The first is simply the classic Pokémon League Challenge. You defeat eight gym leaders and then take on the elite four to become the champion.

Next, is the search for the mysterious Herba Mystica. This quest will have you facing various titan Pokémon in order to power up your mount, the legendary Pokémon Koraidon or Miraidon respectively. I enjoyed these battles a lot in Legends: Arceus but found them lacking here. Rather than being exciting mobility challenges they instead share more similarities to totem battles from Pokémon Sun and Moon. Mostly they serve as a slightly more difficult wild encounter.

The final main quest surrounds taking down Team Star, a group of delinquent students who have struck out on their own and cause trouble for others. The team is divided into various crews led by bosses who specialize in different types of Pokémon. Essentially, they act as sub-gym leaders who must be drawn out by defeating the crew’s Pokémon using the auto-battle feature. 

All of the storylines here are exceptionally dull for the most part and collectively they present some of the series’ lowest stakes and most childish characterization. I find it odd that the series continues to double down on this tone considering the franchise has shown appeal for folks of all ages. Now, this doesn’t mean the story needs to be dark and grim, but something a little more complex would be nice for a change.

If I had to pick a favorite storyline here it would most likely be the titan quest. It certainly features the most heartfelt and relatable dynamics between a human and his pet. As far as positives go I’d say my favorite aspect of Scarlet and Violet was the new Pokémon themselves. The designs are quite fun and there are dozens of unique type combos that exude personality.

This game also introduces some great new regional evolutions that breathe new life into some of the more forgettable creatures from past games. I also enjoyed the region design as a whole. The distinct biomes and cities are constructed with care, though this is usually the case for most games within the franchise. The music is solid, but certainly is not the series’ most memorable. My favorite tracks would have to go to the Team Star battle themes. 

I certainly didn’t hate this game despite how negative this review may have been. I like the overall direction toward an open-world model. I also enjoyed a few of the gameplay tweaks. However, I still feel that the full potential here was squandered and that more time was needed in order to flesh out every aspect of this game. If you are a Pokémon fan you will enjoy this title, but it’s far from perfect. I wouldn’t recommend it as a must-play for those who may want to return to the franchise.

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Pokémon Scarlet

59.99

4.5

Score

4.5/10

Pros

• New Pokemon
• Open world
• Auto Battles

Cons

• Dull story
• Abysmal performance and graphics
• Stiff animations
• Unexciting battles