Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are currently the lowest-reviewed main series game in 17 years

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Scarlet and Violet sits behind Sword/Shield and Sun/Moon, but above Emerald

Pokemon Scarlet Violet review
(Image credit: Nintendo)

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is currently the lowest-reviewed game in the mainline series since Pokemon Emerald on the Game Boy Advance.

Ahead of its release tomorrow, reviews for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are now out in the world. Other than being useful for those still undecided about picking up the game, these reviews also help to make up a game's Metascore on Metacritic, and right now, the new Pokemon game currently has the lowest score of the mainline series since 2005. 

It's important to note that since Pokemon Scarlet and Violet isn't due to officially release until November 18 (there have been several instances of fans getting their games early though) that the two games' metascores are currently made up of just critic reviews, meaning their current score is likely to change due to the user reviews set to come in after release. 

That being said, Pokemon Scarlet currently has a 78 on Metacritic with Pokemon Violet getting the exact same score as well. That's not an inherently bad score, but right now, it's the second-lowest score ever for a mainline Pokemon game.

In our Pokemon Scarlet and Violet review, we said the game was "the most interesting Pokemon game in a long time, for better and worse." Some of its highlights include Paldea's open world, a great soundtrack, and the new Terastallizing mechanic. However, Joel wasn't a fan of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's performance and graphics or its story which "lacks focus and direction."

If you're still trying to decide between Scarlet or Violet, take a look at our Pokemon Scarlet and Violet differences and exclusives explainer. 

Hope Bellingham
Hope Bellingham
News Writer

After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training.  My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.  

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