With the recent launch of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Pokémon fans and gamers were excited to try out the new game released by Game Freak. This game is the ninth generation of the Pokémon series, as the eighth generation of Pokémon Sword and Shield was released in 2019. While much anticipation there was leading up to the game, there was disappointment and frustration shown by players.
Warning: From here, there may be spoilers about the game.
The Obvious Technical Bugs
One of the biggest complaints that arose from players was that the game was not thoroughly tested and played through. There were very obvious bugs and glitches. Some of them included: lagging, low frame rates, objects bugging out, and interaction glitches.
The low frame rates caused the game to look like the characters were moving slowly and made the animation look very choppy. This failed to fulfill the smooth experience that players were expecting to have. Some players even experienced the game shutting down on its own (this was something that I also experienced personally), which meant that whatever they were doing was not saved, ultimately interrupting their experience. The performance issues caused players to be very unhappy with the effort and resources that GameFreak put into the game. It led to many negative reviews about the game, calling the team behind Pokémon “unprofessional” and “disappointing”.
With objects bugging out, during battles, players also noticed that some of the pokémon or the NPC characters would become weirdly big or have their 3D features fall apart.
Many players thought it was funny and put some of their own images and screen recordings on TikTok, joking about ghosts and haunted figures interrupting their game. However, many users unanimously agreed that this was not the type of environment they wanted to interact with, nor expected from an experienced team.
Lack of Customization
Players were excited to see the range of customization that was offered at the beginning of the game. The game allows you to choose from a large range of hairstyles, eye shapes, eyebrows, noses, and more for your own character. This was a refreshing feature that a lot of players had been waiting for.
This freedom offered to players allowed for all sorts of players to feel included and seen. It was a great range of diversity, not forcing the user to choose between just a “girl” player or a “boy” player.
…only to be left with a very limited choice of clothes. The game revolves around the theme of a student going to school, and therefore, could only choose between certain uniforms. Although this was a not a huge issue nor a hindrance to the game, players were disappointed that this customization did not continue all throughout the game.
“Lazy” Designs of new Pokémon and evolutions
With a new generation of pokémon and evolutions, players were obviously very excited to see what kind of new pokémon would be added and what they would look like. However, many criticized the team, calling their ideas “unoriginal” and “lazy”. Many of these designs were not creative, giving no other alterations to actual animals, and giving them a slightly different name to make them into a pokémon. There were lacks of new designs, features, and colours given to these new pokémon, disappointing fans.
One of the examples was Flamigo.
Essentially, it is just a flamingo and amigo combined together to make… a flamigo.
Other pokémon, such as Quaxly, left players disappointed as they believed their evolutions had much more potential to look more “charismatic”. However, the pokémon seemed to have the bare minimum for design, regardless of the fact that it is a starter pokémon. Many players were left wanting more than what they were given, and even took it upon themselves to create a new design for the pokémon to express what kind of new characters they would have wanted to see in the new generation.
Overall, the game has had mixed reviews. Many users loved the storyline and the potential that the gameplay had. However, people had expected better performance and gameplay experience, especially for a team that has had years of experience. Veteran players were let down by the immense potential that the game and the new generation had, but failed to showcase.
Yet, the game still offers many hours of fun gameplay and an immense world to explore, for those who are willing to turn a blind eye to some bugs and glitches. Jump in the new generation of Pokémon if you dare.