Pokemon Scarlet & Violet

Nintendo’s billion-dollar series is at its most revolutionary with a new open world and multiple story paths, but it’s marred by presentation and performance issues

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There’s hardly been a shortage of Pokemon games on the Switch, but Scarlet and Violet are the ones fans have been waiting for… perhaps for their entire lives. The mainline series’ ninth generation finally delivers a true open-world Pokemon experience.

This latest dose is available in two versions with slight differences in content. We played the Scarlet one, but the setup in either case is the same: you create your own character before embarking on a journey to become a Pokemon trainer in the Paldea region.

You soon realise the familiar structure has been completely shaken up. There’s still the goal of becoming the best trainer by battling the region’s gym leaders, but now that’s just one of three storylines. You can also take down a gang of bullies called Team Star, or seek out Titan Pokemon. And you can do it in whatever order you wish.