Fans are finally beginning to be able to play Pokémon Scarlet and Violet for themselves as midnight, November 18 starts to roll across the globe. As such, we’re officially starting our extended coverage of the games and will be adding new information to the site for players!
Don’t forget to also check out yesterday’s new Lorekeeper’s Log entry and Origin of Species articles!
New and updated Scarlet & Violet content
Below is a list that will be continually updated as pages are updated and added throughout the day on our website. Come back or refresh every so often to see if there have been updates!
Videos
Pages
- Shiny Hunting Guide (NEW, UPD, now includes outbreaks and eggs)
- Version-Exclusive Pokémon (UPD)
- Rotom Phone Cases (NEW)
- Key Items (NEW)
- Rotom Phone Apps (NEW)
- Updated Abilities (NEW)
- New Abilities (UPD, all abilities added)
Review round up
Below are a selection of selection of Scarlet and Violet reviews that have been released so far:
VG247: 4/5
Highlights: “It’s the game I wanted Sword & Shield to be, and all the areas where those titles took baby steps, like with the Wild Area and certain streamlined elements that come to full fruition here.”
Lowlights: “Another area where you can sense a struggle against the principles of open world design is sadly in the performance. Pokemon Scarlet & Violet actually do run okay, with nasty-but-not-unforgivable frame drops here and there.”
IGN: (No rating yet)
Highlights: “Scarlet and Violet are a blast to play, and aside from a few quibbles about the precise way certain systems work, Game Freak largely seems to have figured out what kind of open world design works for the series. It truly delivers on the Pokémon fantasy while embracing a more modern RPG style.”
Lowlights: “In fact, there really isn’t a moment in these games where I’d say they run well. The framerate is all over the place, dipping agonizingly low even when only a few effects such as flowing water or weather are on screen. Character models only a few feet away pop in and out, sometimes rapidly, or chug along at stop motion animation speeds.”
Polygon
Highlights: “The greatest redeeming factor I can attribute to Scarlet and Violet is still its writing, which, like Legends: Arceus, builds toward a truly stellar, compelling endgame.”
Lowlights: “The three [story] routes pave the way for Scarlet and Violet’s wonderful characters and world-building, but also betray their deeply flawed open-world design.”
For Pokémon games, the reviews are a bit more negative than what has been seen in the past, but fans will have to decide for themselves whether or not performance issues will really detract from their enjoyment of the game’s open-world region and three intersecting storylines.
Let us know what you think in the comments below and what information you’d like to see us cover! Don’t forget to join our Discord server, where people are currently super excited for Scarlet and Violet‘s release in their respective regions!
October giveaway: Ends November 9!
