Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are a great showcase of fun open-world design that keeps you coming back for more. It’s the dream Pokémon game everyone’s always wanted, and yet it’s totally awesome at the same time.
After a lukewarm response to the earlier 2021 remakes of Pokémon Shining Pearl and Brilliant Diamond, fans of the multi-billion dollar company were thrilled when Pokémon Legends Arceus came along and tore up the playbook.
Building on the open-world success of Pokémon Sword and Shield a few years back, Legends Arceus created an immersive environment full of beloved Pokémon characters.
True, it was sometimes devoid of life and things to do, but the game was engaging and allowed fans to become the free Pokémon trainers they’ve always wanted to be.
Fast forward to November 18th, 2022, and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have been released and represent the 9th mainline entry in the long-running series. With 400 Pokémon, gyms, Titan Pokémon, new species, and a full, open world map to explore – it finally looked like the definitive Pokémon game.
pokemon scarlet and violet is a double edged sword
As a trainer you can go wherever you want from the get-go without any restrictions, have a picnic while a bunch of hoppis float by carefree, and tackle the main quests in any order. Truly complete freedom, and not a sign of the sleeping Snorlax blocking your way in sight.
It’s such a shame that it manages to be the best Pokémon game in the series in terms of its gameplay, sound design, and overall enjoyability and longevity, but completely falters when it comes to visuals and performance. and falls on his face.
Even though it seems to have beaten the matter to death at this point, it’s a month later and I still haven’t been able to get over how ugly this game is and how poorly it runs.
There’s an enduring association when it comes to experiencing Pokémon Scarlet and Violet because it gives you the flawless freedom to run around Palladia, see random Pokémon popping up, and battle and catch them.
But the sad thing is, even when you’re right next to them, things still appear out of thin air. As you move your character, you’re subject to a horrendous frame rate drop of anywhere between 10-30 fps, regardless of whether the Switch is docked or not.
Walk into one of the game’s many cities and you’ll watch in horror as NPCs walk by like they’ve been put through 0.25x speed on YouTube.
It’s quite fitting that Scarlet and Violet have massive outbreaks, as this explains the glitches in this game with both versions having more bugs than Viridian Forest.
Game Freak needs to learn from his mistakes
This isn’t an indie-developed title on a tiny budget we’re talking about, it’s Game Freak – a game developer founded in 1989 and has historically overseen the development of around 40 unique titles of which over 20 There are pokemon games. ,
It’s not even that this is the company’s first foray into open-world games either as we’ve already guessed from their efforts with Sword and Shield and Legends of Arceus.
The only reasonable explanation is that the company has been thrown into possibly dire straits. considering we now have four new pokemon game Going back to Pokémon Snap in April 2021, in only 20 months.
Is this a classic example of a company being overworked and having to produce a product to meet deadlines? For one thing’s for sure, the Nintendo Switch is in dire need of an upgrade when it comes to graphics and polish, in the form of the Pro model, or the rumored Switch 2 console.
As a result, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is possibly the most conflicting Pokémon title ever. No matter how much I fret my way through choppy frame rates and graphics that would make a PS2 game blush, the well put together gameplay whizs away the hours seamlessly.
We must hope that Game Freak and The Pokémon Company have learned from this experience because yet another inch-perfect depiction of a Pokémon trapped in the mire of performance pain may prove too much for many loyalists.
If you too are enjoying the incredible aspects of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, we have several guides to help you on your way:
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Image credit: Game Freak