Pokemon Scarlet/Violet Receive A Metascore Of 78

Review aggregator Metacritic has published the Metascore for Pokemon Scarlet And Violet.

With 36 critic reviews at the time of this writing, Pokemon Scarlet And Violet has been given a metascore of 78. Although reviewers were generally impressed by the open-world format and overall direction, it seems the game’s performance left much to be desired.

Despite the massive hype surrounding the titles, this is the second lowest metascore given to any mainline Pokemon game released on Switch so far, with the highest being Pokemon Legends Arceus with a metascore of 83, and the lowest being Pokemon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl with a metascore of 73.

You can read excerpts from some of the reviews below:

VG247 ~ 80

Perhaps the best thing I can say is that this game feels more like the anime than ever. Part of that is down to the art, which continues to advance closer to the TV show. Part of that is down to the sense of openness, which imparts a real feeling that this is your adventure, and not just a rollercoaster where you experience somebody else’s. On balance, Legends: Areus probably just pips it based on the novelty factor of its entirely different approach, but Scarlet & Violet is a delightful vibe – and that vibe is difficult to diminish. What a year to be a Pokemon fan!

GameSpot ~ 80

While undercooked presentation and visual issues hold the games back, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are still the best mainline Pokemon games in years. They build off Pokemon Legends: Arceus’s open-ended design in some thoughtful and surprising ways, and retain that same level of depth that the mainline series is known for.

Comicbook.com ~ 80

Compared to other recent open world games, even those released on the Nintendo Switch years ago, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is something of a disappointment especially in the graphics department. But for better or worse, Pokemon games are rarely judged by their immense fanbase against anything that’s not a Pokemon game. And as a Pokemon game, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is an absolute joy with a deeper storyline than usual, a ton of fantastically designed Pokemon, and continued quality-of-life improvements that makes for a less tedious Pokemon experience without sacrificing any essential bits. Pokemon fans will love Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, and even casual players or lapsed Pokemon fans will enjoy the allure of “catching ’em all” provided they don’t place a premium on graphics.

VGC ~ 80

The huge expansion and changes to the single player campaign are great, the size of the world and the joy of exploration are the best in the series, and the new Pokemon and battle mechanics introduced all sing. However, it’s just impossible to shake the thought of how much better the game would feel if it was on more powerful hardware, or simply ran acceptably on Switch.

Nintendo Life ~ 70

There are still plenty more ways we’d like to see the Pokémon franchise evolve, but Pokémon Scarlet & Violet has us excited about the series’ future. We really hope Game Freak can figure out how to smooth out the series’ ongoing performance issues on Switch because they’ll certainly rub some players the wrong way — and they’re going to become a serious detriment over time. Scarlet & Violet is most fun and exciting when you’re just exploring the world, and while there are many small new details and improvements to the Pokémon formula, it still plays it safe in a few areas. Regardless, things point toward a promising future for Gen 9 and beyond. It’s a smaller step than many may have hoped for, especially considering what Pokémon Legends: Arceus did, but it’s definitely one in the right direction.

GamesRadar+ ~ 60

The basic mechanics of Pokemon remain largely untouched – it’s still catching, battling, and training as you remember it – and while that may be enough for many devotees, Generation 9 is a tougher sell for those who need more of a reason to engage with the series, impacted as it is by technical issues, mechanical oversights, and a lack of vision. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet should have been a bright and bold entry that sets the series up for future expansion, but an attempt to modernize while staying loyal to the past hasn’t really succeeded in doing either one – and the headache doesn’t help, to boot.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.