Pokémon Scarlet

70%
Game Brain Score Based on 112 reviews
  • story
  • stability
  • gameplay
Pokémon Scarlet Game Cover
Pokémon Scarlet is just a ton of fun.
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"Pokémon Scarlet" is a kids' turn-based strategy game, available in single-player and multi-player modes, featuring an intriguing story and fantastic game mechanics. The game offers a buggy but exciting open-world experience with Pokémon appearing in the skies, seas, forests, and streets. Players can explore freely, battle and catch wild Pokémon in a richly expressed open world, making it enjoyable for all ages.

  • Nintendo Switch
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

70%
Audience ScoreBased on 112 reviews
story19 positive mentions
stability36 negative mentions
  • The game features a surprisingly heartfelt story and well-developed characters, making it one of the best narratives in the Pokémon series.
  • The open-world design encourages exploration and offers a fun gameplay experience, allowing players to tackle challenges in any order.
  • Raid battles and new mechanics like terastallizing add enjoyable strategic elements to the gameplay.
  • The game suffers from significant performance issues, including low frame rates, graphical glitches, and occasional crashes.
  • There is a lack of side-quests and extra content, which can make the game feel less substantial compared to previous titles.
  • Only 400 Pokémon are obtainable in the game, which may disappoint fans hoping for a more extensive Pokédex.
  • story59 mentions

    The story in the latest Pokémon game has received mixed reviews, with many praising its depth and character development, marking it as one of the best narratives in the franchise's mainline titles. Players appreciate the open-world structure that allows for varied quest paths, although some feel that the overall storyline can be shallow and lacks a strong central conflict. Despite these criticisms, the emotional moments and engaging plot twists, particularly in the titan storyline, have resonated with fans, making for a memorable experience.

    • “The characters were surprisingly well developed, and you have a real plot and a real relationship with them as you progress.”
    • “The story starts off basic but slowly becomes more emotional and involved, then goes completely bonkers crazy at the endgame post-E4.”
    • “The storytelling is smooth with well-designed characters and a generous amount of details, with one of the later areas bringing a one-of-a-kind experience for a Pokémon game.”
    • “The story isn't really inspired.”
    • “The storylines were all shallow and the open world concept that sounded so fun made it very difficult to do a real storyline since anything could be done in any order.”
    • “Next reason is the boring storyline, most school-based stories don’t have a lot of motivation and excitement to progress through the story.”
  • stability36 mentions

    The game's stability has been a point of contention among players, with many reporting a variety of graphical glitches, framerate drops, and collision issues. While some users find these bugs to be minor and manageable, others describe the game as "buggy" and "unfinished," indicating that the technical performance detracts from the overall experience. Despite these issues, many players still enjoy the game, suggesting that the fun elements may outweigh the stability concerns for some.

    • “Due to the implementation of these changes and a few more I can't spoil, I will not say this is a bad game, but I will say this is a game that is troubled by how the Switch handles it or the game was developed in terms of performance and glitches.”
    • “It seems like there are constant weird graphical glitches going on, shadows and lighting will constantly flicker, models will turn invisible when they are right in front of you, horrendous pop-in, and the longer you play the laggier it becomes.”
    • “This would have easily been one of the best Pokémon experiences ever, if not for the jarring lack of optimization and the unforgivable technical glitches.”
  • gameplay29 mentions

    The gameplay in the latest Pokémon title has received mixed reviews, with many praising the introduction of new traversal mechanics and the open-world design, which enhances exploration and fun. While some players appreciate the strategic elements of the new tera mechanic, others find it underwhelming compared to previous systems. Despite technical issues and stability concerns, the overall gameplay experience is considered a significant improvement over past titles, making it a satisfying entry for long-time fans.

    • “The introduction of new traversal mechanics added a delightful layer of fun and discovery to the gameplay, allowing for unique and exciting ways to navigate the land.”
    • “The gameplay mechanics such as relearning previous moves easily and traversing the land on a legendary are welcomed additions and make me hopeful for the future of these mainline games.”
    • “The open world gameplay is exactly what I've been wanting for years.”
    • “This is the only depiction of Pokémon and human violence, with Pokémon normally unable to hurt humans in gameplay.”
    • “A definite downgrade from the other mechanics, and the game even discourages you from using it very often.”
    • “I have yet to see a single moment of gameplay where something isn't going wrong.”
  • graphics27 mentions

    The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many players noting a range of minor to significant graphical glitches, including issues with framerate, pop-in, and model visibility. While some appreciate the aesthetic elements, such as the terrastilalization gimmick, others find the overall graphical quality lacking compared to expectations, particularly on the Nintendo Switch hardware. Despite these shortcomings, many players still enjoy the gameplay and hope for improvements in future updates.

    • “Overall, I think the game is great and likely the bugs with the graphics will get sorted out with future updates.”
    • “Despite the graphical issues, the gameplay is top notch in this game.”
    • “The graphics are not my favorite, but they really aren't bad for a Pokémon game.”
    • “On launch it had iffy framerate and several graphical glitches and poor collision.”
    • “It seems like there is constant weird graphical glitches going on, shadows and lighting will constantly flicker, models will turn invisible when they are right in front of you, horrendous pop-in, and the longer you play the laggier it becomes.”
    • “The game is fun, but clearly too much effort was put into the graphics, seeing as the hardware the Nintendo Switch uses cannot process it properly.”
  • optimization14 mentions

    The game's optimization has received significant criticism, with players reporting persistent performance issues, including low framerates (around 25 fps) and frequent stuttering, despite some improvements from updates. Many reviewers noted that the game feels unoptimized and plagued by bugs, detracting from the overall experience, and while it is not visually ugly, it fails to meet expectations in graphical quality. Overall, the lack of effective optimization remains a major drawback for players.

    • “Performance-wise, there are some framerate issues, but it's nothing unbearable.”
    • “I need to acknowledge that this game has its shortcomings mainly in performance, while with the current updates the low framerates are rare, the graphical aspect may be a problem that no patch will solve, while it's not an ugly game, it doesn't look as well as we would expect.”
    • “Performance issues are still present and noticeably worse at times, although it’s something Scarlet and Violet have always struggled with.”
    • “I need to acknowledge that this game has its shortcomings mainly in performance. While with the current updates the low framerates are rare, the graphical aspect may be a problem that no patch will solve. While it's not an ugly game, it doesn't look as well as we would expect.”
    • “The main thing really holding this game back is the massive amount of bugs and performance issues that surround it, since the game is incredibly unoptimized.”
    • “This would have easily been one of the best Pokémon experiences ever, if not for the jarring lack of optimization and the unforgivable technical glitches.”
  • music11 mentions

    The music in the game has received high praise, with many considering it some of the best in recent gaming history, particularly influenced by Toby Fox's work. However, there were notable issues, such as a bug that affected the music during key battles, which detracted from the overall experience until it was patched. Overall, the soundtrack is described as "godlike," complementing the game's strong story and exploration elements.

    • “Having been a Pokémon fan all my life since the first games came out, I can confidently say Scarlet and Violet have some of the best exploration, story elements, music, and Pokémon designs of the series.”
    • “Paired with a surprisingly touching story and killer soundtrack.”
    • “The story is very strong as well as the game music.”
    • “There was also a bug which impacted my playthrough where the music for the Elite 4 and champion battle did not play, and you instead got a boring loop of the first 15 seconds or so of the Elite 4 theme for all 5 of these fights.”
    • “I assumed they had just been lazy with the music for these fights; however, after seeing recent patch notes of this issue being fixed and looking up the music online, I am sad that I was robbed of the experience of having this music for the fights, especially since the game only allows you to complete these battles once since the Elite 4 and champion battle can only be completed once and are not repeatable like they are in all previous generations of Pokémon.”
    • “Game presentation-wise, the music is decent, art style is basic but coherent (except for some evidently self-repeating terrain texture), and the story is way better than expected.”
  • emotional7 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by a surprisingly heartfelt story that evolves from a basic premise into a deeply engaging narrative, culminating in a poignant ending that resonates with players. While some critiques mention a lack of voice acting and a slow start, many users find the soundtrack and emotional moments, particularly in the titan storyline, to be impactful and memorable. Overall, the game offers a mix of touching moments and emotional depth, despite some technical issues.

    • “Paired with a surprisingly touching story and killer soundtrack.”
    • “The story starts off basic but slowly becomes more emotional and involved, then goes completely bonkers crazy at the endgame post-E4.”
    • “Now a bit of a spoiler but the ending of the titan storyline kinda made me cry; if you do get the game, you should do that part of the story first.”
    • “The storyline is incredibly boring; most school-based narratives lack the motivation and excitement needed to keep players engaged.”
    • “I found the emotional depth of the characters to be lacking, making it hard to connect with their struggles.”
    • “The game tries to evoke emotions, but the execution feels flat and uninspired, leaving me indifferent to the characters' fates.”
  • grinding4 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game somewhat mitigated by the open-world design and quick battle mechanics, making it feel less tedious than in previous titles. However, there are criticisms regarding the lack of engaging activities, poor map navigation, and limited customization options, which can contribute to a sense of monotony. Overall, while the game offers enjoyable co-op play, it could benefit from more diverse interactions and improvements to its systems.

    • “So you can stop grinding and just play.”
    • “Bugs all over the place, less avatar customization (no tops or bottoms like previous games), no sense of direction, a handful of Pokémon trainer battles, tediously boring puzzles, an Elite Four that's too dumb for full restores.”
    • “However, the open world and the quick battle mechanics makes Pokémon feel a bit less grindy.”
  • humor3 mentions

    The humor in the game is widely appreciated, with players finding it hilarious and noting that even bugs can lead to amusing moments. Overall, the comedic elements contribute positively to the gaming experience, despite some technical issues.

    • “I found it hilarious, as did my girlfriend.”
    • “Overall, even with the bugs and such, it is a very solid game; sometimes the bugs can make for some funny moments!”
    • “I just have a funny-looking game case and a European game cartridge now.”
  • monetization2 mentions

    Users express disappointment with the monetization strategy, particularly regarding the delayed promised features and the misleading advertising that emphasized compatibility. The inclusion of promotional materials in multiple languages further highlights the disconnect between expectations and reality.

    • “The fact they hyped up the compatibility in ads made me think it would have happened already, but nope, we are in April and still nothing.”
  • replayability1 mentions

    Players find the game enjoyable and worth revisiting after completing it, noting that it offers good replayability and a satisfying experience that encourages multiple playthroughs.

    • “It takes time to beat, has great replayability, and is fun even after you finish the game.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

76% average critic score

Play time

16hMedian play time
11hAverage play time
2-20hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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