Quick answer: These are the lowest rated mainline Pokemon games ever made and also the biggest launch in Nintendo's history, which tells you most of what you need to know. The story and the open world are genuinely strong. The technical state was so bad Nintendo issued a public apology. The crucial thing nobody tells you: the performance was never fixed on the original Switch. It was fixed on 5 June 2025 by the free version 4.0.0 update, and that update only does anything if you play on a Switch 2. On Switch 1 it still runs the way it did in 2022.
Original illustration created for IGGG Guides.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is the strangest entry in the series to write about, because almost every strong opinion about it is partly right.
It is the worst reviewed mainline Pokemon game. It is also Nintendo's fastest selling game of all time and the second best selling Pokemon release in history. It launched in a state bad enough to force an apology from a company that almost never apologises. And it contains one of the better stories the series has produced. All of that is true at once.
Four years on there is one question that actually determines whether you should buy it, and it has nothing to do with any of the above. It is which console you own.
The scores, and the gap between them
| Measure | Score | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Metacritic, Scarlet | 72 | 118 critics |
| Metacritic, Violet | 71 | 118 critics. The lowest rated mainline Pokemon games on record |
| OpenCritic | 48% recommend | rated Fair |
| Metacritic users, Scarlet | 3.6, Generally Unfavorable | 4,196 ratings. 63% negative |
| Metacritic users, Violet | 4.2 | 2,850 ratings, 54% negative |
| Copies sold | 28.46 million | as of 30 June 2026. Second best selling Pokemon games ever |
A thirty five point gap between critics and players is enormous, and it is not review bombing in the usual sense. Critics scored the design, the story and the open world and then deducted for performance. Players lived in that performance for a hundred hours and scored it accordingly. Both groups were reporting honestly about different things.
Note the two games differ slightly in user score, 3.6 against 4.2, despite being almost identical products reviewed by the same critics. Scarlet simply drew more reviews, and frustrated players tended to review whichever version they had bought rather than both.
Original illustration created for IGGG Guides.
The sales, which are genuinely historic
Put the reviews aside for a moment, because the commercial story is the opposite in every direction.
Scarlet and Violet sold over 10 million copies in three days, including 4.05 million in Japan. Nintendo confirmed that as the highest global sales for any software on any Nintendo platform in that window, which makes it the biggest launch in the company's history. They were the most pre-ordered games the series had ever had.
| Date | Copies sold | Milestone |
|---|---|---|
| 21 November 2022, three days in | 10 million | Nintendo's biggest launch ever |
| 31 December 2022 | 20.61 million | highest for a Nintendo game in its launch quarter |
| December 2023 | 24.36 million | after the DLC launched |
| December 2024 | 26.38 million | still selling two years on |
| 30 June 2026 | 28.46 million | second best selling Pokemon games of all time |
For scale, Pokemon Legends Z-A launched in October 2025 and sold 5.8 million in four days, roughly half what Scarlet and Violet managed in three. The worst reviewed entry in the series is also the one that sold best on the platform.
The performance story, which is the whole decision
On the original Switch this game targeted 30 frames per second at a dynamic resolution around 900p docked, and regularly dropped into the low twenties. Distant objects animated at a crawl. There is a windmill in Artazon that became a running joke because it turned at a handful of frames per second. Pokemon popped in a few metres away, the on-screen spawn count was capped at roughly fifteen or sixteen, and fast travel loads ran to twenty seconds.
Nintendo publicly apologised and promised improvements. Patches followed through versions 1.x, 2.x and 3.x, ending with 3.0.1 on 1 February 2024. They fixed real bugs. They did not fix the frame rate, and some players argued 3.0.1 made things marginally worse.
Then on 3 June 2025, ahead of the Switch 2 launch, Game Freak shipped version 4.0.0.
| Measure | Original Switch | Switch 2, after version 4.0.0 |
|---|---|---|
| Frame rate | 30 target, often low twenties | 60, with occasional small dips |
| Resolution docked | dynamic, around 900p | up to 2160p |
| Pokemon visible at once | capped around 15 to 16 | 30 or more |
| Fast travel load | 9 seconds | 4 seconds |
| Blueberry Academy to Paldea | 17 to 20 seconds | 3 to 5 seconds |
| The Artazon windmill | a few frames per second | fixed |
Version 4.0.0 does nothing on the original Switch. Nintendo's own support page lists the 4.0.0 changes as applying only when the game is played on Switch 2. If you own a Switch 1, the performance you get in 2026 is the performance people were complaining about in 2022, and there is no patch coming to change that. This single fact should decide your purchase.
Even on Switch 2 it is not a locked 60. Digital Foundry found the game usually hits its 60fps target docked but still drops occasional frames while traversing the open world, and other hands-on reports noted brief dips to around 55 in dense foliage. That is a transformation rather than perfection. Anyone telling you it is flawless now is overselling it.
What the game actually does well
Three storylines instead of one. After leaving the academy you choose freely between Victory Road (the eight gyms), Starfall Street (dismantling Team Star) and Path of Legends (hunting Titan Pokemon). You need all three finished to unlock the finale in Area Zero. None of the three is filler.
Starfall Street is about bullying, and it handles it with more care than the series usually manages. You are sent to break up a delinquent group and gradually learn why each leader ended up there. The beats are predictable to an adult and quietly devastating to the right teenager.
Path of Legends is about a sick pet. Arven is gathering herbs because conventional treatment failed his Pokemon. That is the entire motivation, and it lands harder than most things in the franchise. Each Titan you beat yields an ingredient for a sandwich that unlocks a traversal ability for Koraidon or Miraidon, so the mechanical reward and the emotional one arrive together.
The gyms stopped being corridors. Each gym now sets a themed test before the leader fight, including a sunflower hunt, an auction, a hide and seek and an olive rolling minigame. Leaders have personalities rather than type assignments. For the record, the academy is Naranja in Scarlet and Uva in Violet, so your version changes the name.
Terastallizing is a good battle mechanic. It changes a Pokemon's type outright for the battle, usable once per fight and recharged at a Pokemon Center. It is a genuine strategic layer rather than a bigger-number button. If you want more open world worth measuring, see our biggest open world maps compared.
What is still wrong, even on Switch 2
Original illustration created for IGGG Guides.
There is no level scaling. The world opens up immediately but the content does not adapt, so wandering into a late area early means a wall, and doing things in the intended order means the back half is trivially easy. This is the design flaw the Switch 2 update could never touch.
It is too easy once you are rolling. Auto Battle lets you send a Pokemon to fight wild encounters without entering a battle, which makes levelling almost passive. Combined with no scaling, you will outgrow whole regions without noticing.
Cities feel hollow. Merging the Pokemon Mart into the Pokemon Center was convenient and removed most of the reason to walk into a town. The academy classes are optional and most players skipped them.
Visual bugs persist. Falling through terrain or clipping into scenery still happens, and the fix is fast travelling to a Pokemon Center. The lighting still flickers between shadow and light in some areas, which is worth knowing if you are sensitive to that.
The control mapping is cluttered. Menus are bound across the directional pad, so hitting the wardrobe or camera while trying to turn is common. The dedicated Pokeball throw button is the one genuinely good addition.
The DLC, and whether to bother
The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero costs $34.99 and comes in two parts: The Teal Mask on 13 September 2023 and The Indigo Disk on 14 December 2023, plus a free epilogue called Mochi Mayhem added on 11 January 2024. Together they add over 230 returning Pokemon that are absent from the base game.
Reception was middling. The Teal Mask scored 65 on Metacritic with 39% of critics recommending it, and holds a 5.0 user score. The Indigo Disk did better at 70 with 48% recommending, and was praised for its Black and White callbacks.
Two buying traps with this DLC. First, it is version locked. The Scarlet expansion only works with Scarlet and the Violet one only with Violet, and the two parts cannot be bought separately. Second, at $34.99 it costs more than half the price of the base game, and the first half reviewed worse than the game it is attached to. Buy it only if you finished the base game and want more, not as a fix for anything. Reports of internal Game Freak figures suggesting roughly 6.15 million DLC downloads and a 25% attach rate come from unverified leaked slides and should not be treated as official.
Buy, wait or skip
| You are | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| On a Switch 2 | Buy | 60fps, higher resolution, far faster loads and more Pokemon on screen. This is the version the game should have shipped as |
| On an original Switch | Think hard | Nothing was fixed for you and nothing will be. The story is still good but you are buying the 2022 experience |
| Sensitive to frame rate or flickering light | Switch 2 only | The Switch 1 version will genuinely bother you |
| Here for the story | Buy | Starfall Street and Path of Legends are among the best writing in the series |
| Wanting a challenge | Skip | No level scaling and passive Auto Battle levelling make the back half a walkover |
| Considering the DLC first | Base game first | $34.99, version locked, and the first half scored 65 |
| Waiting for the next generation | Reasonable | Legends Z-A arrived in October 2025 and reviewed poorly with players, so this remains the better Switch 2 Pokemon game |
Verdict: a very good Pokemon game that shipped inside a broken one, and the repair arrived two and a half years late on hardware that did not exist at launch. On a Switch 2 this is an easy recommendation: the three branching storylines are the best structure the series has tried, Terastallizing is a real mechanic, and at 60fps the open world finally reads as intended. On an original Switch it remains exactly what the 3.6 user score describes, and no further patch is coming. The lack of level scaling is still the deepest flaw and no hardware fixes that. Check which console you own before you check anything else.
Frequently asked questions
Was Pokemon Scarlet and Violet ever fixed?
On Switch 2, largely yes. Version 4.0.0 on 3 June 2025 brought 60fps, higher resolution, faster loading and more Pokemon on screen. On the original Switch, no. Nintendo's support page states those 4.0.0 changes apply only on Switch 2.
Does it run at 60fps on Switch 2?
It targets 60 and usually holds it, including in Casseroya Lake which was the worst area on Switch 1. Digital Foundry still recorded occasional dropped frames in the open world, so it is not perfectly locked.
How many copies did it sell?
Over 10 million in three days, the biggest launch in Nintendo's history, and 28.46 million as of 30 June 2026. That makes it the second best selling Pokemon release ever and the best selling on Switch.
Why is the user score so low?
Launch performance. Critics scored 72 and 71 while users gave 3.6 and 4.2. The design was well received and the technical state was not, and user scores set in 2022 almost never get revised.
Is the DLC worth $34.99?
Only if you enjoyed the base game. The Teal Mask scored 65 and The Indigo Disk 70. It adds over 230 returning Pokemon and a free epilogue, but it is version locked and the two parts cannot be bought separately.
Which should I buy, Scarlet or Violet?
They are the same game with different exclusive Pokemon, different legendary cover mascots (Koraidon in Scarlet, Miraidon in Violet), a differently themed academy and a different professor. Pick on the legendary and plan to trade.
Can I pick my starter freely?
Yes. Sprigatito, Fuecoco and Quaxly are brought to you before the adventure begins and your rival Nemona then deliberately picks the one weak to yours.
Is there a right order to do the three storylines?
No fixed order, and both paths out of the first city lead to equivalent content at the same levels. You must finish all three to unlock the Area Zero finale.
Where to go next
- If the Switch 2 upgrade is what sold you, see our Nintendo Switch 2 games rundown.
- For another game whose launch reviews stopped being accurate, read our Battlefield 2042 review.
- And one that was rebuilt properly over years: The Division 2.
- On open world scale measured rather than guessed, see the biggest open world maps compared.
- For creature collecting with a different shape, our games like Minecraft roundup covers the sandbox end.
- On why huge budgets keep producing rough launches, read why AAA games are not fun anymore.
- Browse the RPG, Open World, Adventure and Action hubs.
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