The Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Edition features a striking design that puts the two legendary Pokémon from the upcoming games bang in the middle of the dock in fiery red and hazy purple. Aside from its phenomenal shift to a true open world, I’ve had one other major takeaway from my time with Pokémon Scarlet and Violet so far that is impossible to ignore: they are a technical mess. It only proves to me that they didn't take their time to smoothen the experience in an effort to get this new game released in time before the holidays.

You will, of course, journey to hone your skills as a Pokémon Trainer, but many more discoveries and stories await you.

In addition, trainer battles are now optional, which works because we usually didn’t want to be distracted from just riding around in the wild — you're able to initiate fights by just talking to the trainers. There's no reason that game could look so pristine and run smoothly where these games look and run like garbage. Which is yet another example as to why they should not have gone fully open world, without the expertise/knowledge in-house and stick to the linear/open hybrid design of Sword/Shield and expanded/improved on that instead. It is, and I will never understand how some people are gleeful every time a rumoured Switch Pro announcement fails to happen. While you can run away from a wild encounter it’s not guaranteed as they can block your path so your level 5 Pokémon could easily be taken out by a level 45 wild encounter.

Unlike the Animal Crossing version in the UK, the Nintendo Switch OLED Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Edition does not come with either game included. That always put's Gamefreak in the position they only have 3 years between the generations to make a new game. Taking a similar approach to the Splatoon model, we can see a whole bunch of iconography from the new entries alongside depictions of the starter Pokémon Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly. I do think it's important to get a palette cleanser from the Series X or the PS5 before judging a Nintendo game - have to be fair with the hardware.As in Legends: Arceus, wild Pokémon appear in the overworld, so you can spot them as they huddle up in grassy fields or dip in one of the ponds. Just more proof how bad Game Freak is and all they have going for is riding the popularity of the Pokemon IP. Even if you’re thorough and make it to the end, you’ll still be finding items, trainers, Pokémon, and little vistas throughout the region. does seem like a lot for people who played a lot of 2, but since we skipped 2 I think it will feel a little more new to us. You can discover new Pokémon and explore unfamiliar areas with your friends and family, opening the door to an adventure more precious and fun than ever!