Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Review: A step back into the open-world era

For all Pokemon scarlet and Violets stumble in their attempts to usher the series into a new chapter, the most notable among them is that 10 months ago, with the release of , a more compelling, ultimately superior, blueprint for the future of the series was created Pokémon Legends: Arceus.

Arcus was determined to make the world of Pokémon so immersive that you could explore it in a mechanical sense, which is how the series has always felt thematically. It is for that Employing fluid traversal and action-packed combat systems, it evolved into one of the most thrilling experiences the series has yet to offer. scarlet and violeton the other hand, go out of their way to make today’s Paldea region feel more alive and filled to the brim to do things. But actually doing these things never sings quite the way it happened back then Legends: Arceus.

Pokemon scarlet and violet make an effort to create a greater sense of freedom than the Pokemon series of newer mainline games like Pokemon sun and moon, and Pokémon sword and Sign. This time the world is your Cloyster, and it pretends to give you free rein to follow the map-wide quest lines at your leisure. However, as I ran, drove, and flew through Paldea, I realized that much of this promise of freedom was a facade.

scarlet and violetThe central hub of is an academy that sits right in the middle of the map: Naranja Academy or Uva Academy, depending on whether you’re playing scarlet or violet, respectively. (I played violet for this review.) This is where students from all over Paldea come together to study Pokémon, life skills, and all other kinds of science under the tutelage of a colorful group of teachers. The Academy acts as a precursor to many of them scarlet and Violets small and big stories.

Within the school I met teachers and faculty who were more than willing to share their knowledge and stories with me. The social simulation aspects aren’t as deep as RPGs like Persona, but I appreciate the sense of community at Uva Academy. I felt compelled to learn more about my teachers (like eccentric Academy Principal Clavell) and my classmates (like cocky, supportive rival Nemona).

The relationships I’ve built with my teachers are all well and good, but most of the relationship building is there scarlet and violet occurs in its open world via three main routes. All students of the academy are sent to the region to find their “treasure”: one involves defeating eight gym leaders together with Nemona; One tasks you with taking out passing bases scarlet and Violets designated Evil Group, Team Star; In the third, you help Arven, the son of the region’s professor, to conquer massive Titan Pokémon that appear around Paldea. The three routes pave the way for scarlet and Violets wonderful characters and world building, but also betray their deeply flawed open world design.

First, it’s true that you can tackle these three storylines in any order you like. But as I began traveling through Paldea to earn my eight Gym Badges, I realized that not only do these challenges not scale for players who can arrive at any point in their journey, but they often do through Progress in has been limited Miscellaneous Stretch. For example, a Team Star barricade blocking my path could only be taken down by defeating the boss at a nearby fortress. In another instance, I stumbled upon trainers and wild Pokemon that far exceeded the level of the team I had built. I’ve spent a lot of my gaming time on it violet Feeling disoriented, I tackled these routes with a seemingly whimsical precision, only to encounter sudden spikes in difficulty or sections where my opponent’s Pokémon were a dozen levels below mine.

It’s the nature of open-world games to invite you into certain areas while alienating you from others. but scarlet and violet It lacks many of the methods previous Pokémon games used to signal if you were in a dangerous zone. The removal of random battles means you can walk right past a wild Pokemon without seeing its astronomical level. You can go through entire cutscenes only to stumble upon a fight on the other side that you weren’t cut out for. scarlet and violet are full of scenes in which director Clavell assures the students that they can pursue their own goals whenever they want. After just a few hours in the field, however, those words ring hollow. There is a disconnect between what scarlet and violet promise and what they actually allow.

These frustrations are compounded by the fact that scarlet

and violet Don’t integrate multiple of Legends: Arceus‘ Quality of life changes that made interacting with the open spaces manageable, satisfying and fluid.

scarlet and violet Traverse Paldea on the backs of Koraidon and Miraidon, two legendary dragon-type Pokémon that gain a variety of exploration abilities as you progress. But these mounts never achieve the same mobility as the local Pokemon you’ve encountered on your journey Legends: Arceus — they are sluggish and slow even when flying over the landscape. I’ve used fast travel points more often than riding the Miraidon’s back.

In one of his biggest mistakes, scarlet and violet I took a step back too Arceus’ action-based Pokémon capture mechanic. You borrow Arceus’ Stealth system that allows you to duck and sneak behind unsuspecting Pokémon before throwing one of your own monsters at them for a pre-emptive strike. But there’s no way to aim a Poké Ball directly at a target; There is no way to catch Pokémon without having to participate in a battle. and there is certainly nothing suitable Arceus’ Further development of the core catch-’em-all mechanic; scarlet and violet can’t come close to pure joy Arcus found while exploring, collecting and documenting in an open world.

On a finer level scarlet and violet bring their own twists to the series’ combat mechanics, most notably in the new Terastal forms, which allow you to change or boost a Pokémon’s elemental type to experiment with new tactics. Even when playing against trainers in single player, it was satisfying to see new strategies unfold. In one instance, a Gym Master turned a Sudowoodo (usually a Rock-type Pokémon) into a Grass-type opponent. Initially, I sent out my Water type Quaxly to take advantage of Sudowoodo’s weakness to the Element, only for the Terastal form to put me on the backfoot. Suddenly I was vulnerable.

Most generational gimmicks Pokemon Games usually offer a short-term boost of power, often accompanied by an impressive transformation and a new piece of lore. But they’re pretty simple in how they change gameplay. Compared to sword

and Sign gigantamax function X and Yes Mega Evolutions, Terastallizing feels like it could have lasting strategic effects on Pokémon competitive scene. At its core, the mechanic is calculated and strategic, opening up so many ways a single Pokémon can transform over the course of a battle.

Despite the promise of this combat feature, this is the biggest redeemer I can attribute to it scarlet and violet is still his writing that how Legends: Arceus, builds into a truly outstanding, compelling endgame. Despite my frustration with its structure, mechanics, and the fact that it looks and runs like a mediocre GameCube game most of the time (there have been several instances, even outside of the open-world realms, where character animations have almost stalled – planes of motion of the movement), I still left scarlet and violet enamored with his character relationships and neatly linked themes to find his own joy in the big, wild Pokémon world. I found Game Freak’s newest Pokemon Stories are some of the best the series has ever told and I’m confident that whatever comes next will follow suit scarlet and Violets narrative leadership.

I go Scarlet & Violet with a lot of anticipation for the future, but still: it’s a strange phenomenon to see a series enter a new generation while still grappling with its identity as a whole. Pokémon Legends: Arceuswith all its strengths was a piece of sand in the microchip of Pokemon‘s almost annual machine. But it held so much promise in its fluid exploration, intuitive acquisition, and unified systems. To see scarlet and violet Falling behind 10 months later is more than a little disappointing.

At its base, it’s a pretty compelling Pokemon game, with stories that are among the most memorable of the series. However, as I think about it scarlet and violetI think back to myself Pokémon Legends: Arceus rather. It had a few loose screws of its own, but it has attracted so many more that are still jostling scarlet and violet. I hope so Arcus is the basis for the next excursion in the series, although there are also lessons to be learned in the open fields of Paldea.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will be released on November 18th on Nintendo Switch. The game has been verified using a pre-release download code provided by Nintendo. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not affect editorial content, although Vox Media may earn commissions on products purchased through affiliate links. You can find For more information on Polygon’s Ethics Policy, click here.