POKEMON SCARLET: THE BEST POKEMON IDEAS IN YEARS, IN THE ROUGHEST POKEMON CODE

7.0 of 10 bananas. The first truly open world Pokemon: three storylines, a whole region to roam in any order, and co-op exploration with friends. A joy to play and a mess to look at, with frame drops and glitches that patches never fully fixed.

By the Alpha. Switch cartridge listing. Updated Oct 31 2026.

Honest note: This is not a fresh hands-on playtest. I built this verdict from launch reviews, critic consensus, update history, and what is known about the game today. If I put real hours in on stream, I will update the score and say so.

Platforms: Nintendo Switch only, and it also plays on Switch 2 with a free update that improves performance (developed by Game Freak, published by Nintendo and The Pokemon Company, released November 18 2022). The Amazon button is the US Version Switch cartridge. At my Oct 31 2026 check it was sold by a third-party seller named eKings and shipped by Amazon, under the 59.99 dollar price. Sellers and prices change, so look at the seller before you pay.

Store check, Oct 31 2026: new copies on offer from a third-party seller, eKings, shipped by Amazon. Prices and sellers change, so look before you pay.

Sit with me a moment. For twenty five years Pokemon was a straight line of towns and gyms. Then Game Freak finally opened the gates, gave the kids a legendary lizard bike, and said go anywhere. The troop loved it. The frame rate did not.

What It Wants To Be

Pokemon Scarlet is an open world RPG set in the Paldea region. You are a student at an academy, and you can tackle three storylines in any order: the gym challenge, hunting giant Titan Pokemon, and fighting Team Star. You ride Koraidon across the map, catch Pokemon you see in the world, battle with the new Terastal mechanic, and explore with up to three friends online. Scarlet has some exclusive Pokemon that differ from Violet.

What Works

It sold over 10 million copies with Violet in its first three days, Nintendo said, and players loved the freedom. Exploring Paldea with friends is the series' best co-op ever, Terastal adds strategy to battles, and the endgame story is one of the strongest in Pokemon history. Critics placed it in the low 70s on Metacritic.

What Breaks

Listen well. Technically it is rough: low frame rates, pop in, and glitches were widely reported at launch, and patches only helped part way. The open world looks empty and plain in places. The difficulty is very low for veterans. And this copy came from a third-party seller.

Who Should Play

Play it if you love Pokemon and want the most freedom the series has given, especially with friends. Skip it if performance problems ruin a game for you; Pokemon Legends: Arceus feels better to play.

Related: Pokemon Legends: Z-A, Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Sources: Amazon Switch listing, checked Oct 31 2026, Metacritic, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet on Wikipedia.

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