The game boasts worse reviews on Metacritic than Pokémon Legends Arceus and Pokémon Sword & Shield.
Few video game franchises have been around for so many years. Pokémon is, without a doubt, one of the biggest in the industry. In fact, it’s the third best-selling video game franchise behind only Tetris Nintendo’s own Mario. But, in the last few releases, the franchise has hit some snags. Now there’s even a Pokémon Scarlet & Violet review bomb, which would have been unthinkable years ago.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are out now for Nintendo Switch. However, instead of causing a positive reaction, it has been the opposite. Social media, and the internet in general, has been plagued with bad reviews directed at performance, graphics, and some mechanics that don’t match what was shown in the gameplay trailers.
Negatives outweigh good gameplay
Since the release of Pokémon Legends Arceus, Game Freak made it clear that they wanted to take the franchise to a new place. Despite having great mechanics and positive aspects, the performance section had certain problems. This is especially true when compared to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild or Monster Hunter Rise.
Therefore, when announcing the development of Pokémon Scarlet & Violet, a great “generational” leap in the franchise was expected. We expected everything positive of Legends Arceus to be taken advantage of, and even more important, to improve all the negative. But, a few days after its release, it has been totally different from what fans of the game imagined.
That “generational” leap we were waiting for has arrived but in a very accidental way. Despite having very interesting gameplay mechanics that add to the franchise, the performance aspect is something impossible not to highlight.
In the past, there were other Pokémon releases that had performance problems. Pokémon Legends Arceus, Pokémon Sword and Shield, and even Pokémon Sun and Moon had notable performance problems. But Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are, without a doubt, the worst-performing games in the entire franchise. To the point that each and every one of the positive aspects of the gameplay is totally overshadowed by the performance.
How bad is the performance?
Just how badly does this game perform? Hold on to your chair, or lean back against a wall because it’s amazing how poorly optimized the game is. From the press to fans of the franchise, to new Pokémon players, everyone is highlighting the negative aspects related to the game’s performance and graphics.
@destructoid Would Pokémon Scarlet and Violet be better if they had been delayed? #pokemon #pokemonscarletviolet #pokemonscarletandviolet #pokemongame #gamefreak #nintendoswitch #pokemonscarlet #pokemonviolet ♬ original sound – Destructoid
On social networks like TikTok and Twitter, we can find thousands of complaints from gamers about poor performance or graphics. What seemed to be a review bombing in the beginning, now seems like an orchestra in tune. Players have come to an agreement that despite all the gameplay, it is unforgivable how poorly made the game is in its current state.
The performance issues have led to a Pokémon Scarlet & Violet review bomb on Metacritic. Although critics currently give the game an average score of 77 out of 100 based on 47 reviews, the user rating currently stands at a pitiful 2.8 with an overwhelming number of negative user reviews. Clearly, players are pissed off.
@thighsniffer12 bro this is a 115 billion franchise ain’t no way 💀💀 #fyp #fypシ #foryou #trending #foryoupage #pokemon #pokemonscarletviolet #gen9 #pokemontiktok #pokemoncommunity #gaming #nintendoswitch #switchgames #funny ♬ original sound – Zack holland
When will Pokémon Scarlet & Violet get fixed?
Although it is expected a quick response from Game Freak to solve all these problems with a patch, it seems that it will never come. The Pokémon Twitter account, they have hidden responses from users to the tweets. As announced by this Twitter user, they have hidden responses from fans highlighting the problems with both games.
Still, many players want to enjoy both titles. Therefore, the gaming press, players, and content creators have had to perform a series of tricks in order to make the gameplay more stable. One solution is to restart your game after a few hours to clear a potential memory leak.
It’s time for a change
After these latest disappointments in the franchise, it is time for an immediate change. This is a clear example of not waiting any longer to launch the game. We’re talking about the same problems CD Projekt had with Cyberpunk 2077, Game Freak has had with this release.
It is inconceivable that in the last three releases of the franchise there are so many performance issues. Many players say it’s because of the Switch’s power. No, my friends. Just look at Breath of the Wild, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, and many more games that have shown what can be achieved with the console. Simply put, Pokémon Scarlet & Violet are clear examples of the poor development done in Pokemon games.
Conclusion
Let’s hope that in the future, the Japanese company learns from this big problem. Let’s hope that in the future, we won’t have more problems with Pokémon releases. As a fan of video games and the Pokémon franchise, I hope that the long-awaited “generational” leap that we all want finally comes.
