3/5 ★ – ayeitsmikko's review of Pokémon Scarlet.

Pokemon Scarlet was one of my most anticipated games of 2022. With the new change of catching Pokemon in the wild compared to random encounters introduced in Pokemon Legends Arceus, I was super excited to see what Scarlet offered. I went on release night just so I can see if it lived up to my expectations and the hype. The start of the game felt refreshing and disappointing. The opening cutscene had a low resolution look with the “subject” flying around having horrible textures. However once the cutscene ended, it introduced us to the Pokemon world, where you walk alongside wild Pokemon on your way to get your first starter. However, this is where I noticed another problem. There were dips in frame rate and pop in issues when it comes to trees and graphic rendering distance. The sad part is - this is the experience for the majority of the game. The gameplay itself is fun. The last time I had this fun was Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu. There are a lot of wild Pokemon in the over world as you travel across the new region of Paldea. Trainers do not immediately engage you if you make eye contact which is either a blessing when your Pokemon are low in health, but confusing on which trainers you may have already beaten. Catching Pokemon is similar to the normal Pokemon games, but this time you can catch Pokemon off guard by throwing your Pokemon behind the Wild Pokemon. It gives you an extra turn in battle! The story is not streamlined - kind of. Once you complete the tutorial, you are free to choose how to play the game. Do you want to start earning badges and beat the Gym Leaders? Or do you want to explore and figure out the mysteries of titan Pokemon? How about defeating the "Team Rocket" of the game and prevent them from contributing to Paldea issues? It is up to you on how you want to start your new trainer experience. However, there are some roadblocks along the way. While you are free to explore the whole world, there will be Wild Pokemon of a higher level in some locations forcing you to either trainer more or come back later. Pokemon Raids are back! Although a bit different from Pokemon Sword & Shield. Instead of Gigantamaxing, the Pokemon in the raids have Tera Pokemon - the new gimmick for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. The rewards include crafting material which can be used to craft TM's - also a new feature in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, and other beneficial items such as the EXP Candies ranging from S to XL. The battle mechanic is very similar, but this time there is a time limit like structure and anyone can attack at any time instead of turn based actions. I haven't dived into the raids in this game, but it is definitely a welcome and fun change from the previous entries. The one thing I wish GameFreak did was include all of the Pokemon from the previous generations. The total amount of about 400 is a bit low in my opinion, but at least about 100 of the 400 are new Pokemon. I love to collect and complete the Pokedex compared to breeding and having the best stat Pokemon. I have not tried competitive battles so I cannot give any input regarding the competitive battle scene. The post game content is a bit more than Sword and Shield, catching legendaries, re-challenging the gym leaders, completing the Pokedex, a tournament to complete with stronger trainers and Pokemon, and a bit more! I'm still in the process of completing the Pokedex between Scarlet and Violet, but it does become tedious after a while so I am taking my time. Overall I give this game 3/5 due to the performance of the game, glitches, and a bit lackluster post game. While I did have fun for the first time in a while in a Pokemon game, I feel like GameFreak could have done more for this generation and optimize the game to run at a steady 60 or even at least steady 30. The frame rate drops to 20 sometimes to 15 due to either many things happening in the game, or too many objects being rendered. Maybe the next game in the franchise is the refined and polished game we are all waiting for.