Pokemon Scarlet and Violet models and textures blow Sword and Shield’s away

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's models reveal a convincing graphic glow-up in a fan comparison to Pokemon Sword and Shield.

Redditor u/Minnale101 posted a quick composite of models and textures from the upcoming Pokemon Scarlet and Violet with their older versions from Sword and Shield. The difference is striking, and immediately obvious.

Magnemite looks as though it's had a thorough polishing, with a sheen that you can't miss in comparison to the more flat, cartoony look to its Sword and Shield appearance. Rock Pokemon Stonjourner has a much more three-dimensional appearance with additional shading and textures that better illustrates its likely bumpy surface and embossed features on its legs. Finally, Lucario is fuzzier, with more well-defined shading and distinct features.

The changes are night and day, but with such a small sample size, it's got us wanting to see more in the way of more realistic and detailed mons. For more of what we might get to see, here are all the Pokemon confirmed for Scarlet and Violet so far.

This comparison image makes it clear that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are definitely going to change up the game considerably when it comes to the graphics department. That part was made pretty obvious upon the games' surprise reveal, during which we had our first look at Gen 9's entries. In the footage shown in the first Pokemon Scarlet and Violet trailer, it looks as though the new titles are taking a similar open-world approach, much like January's Pokemon Legends Arceus.

There isn't much to go on just yet, but early glimpses at what Scarlet and Violet will offer reveal higher-quality textures and graphics overall, including what appears to be a new region entirely for trainers to explore.

Luckily, we won't have to wait too long to see how the rest of the new world in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will look. The games are set to debut in late 2022, which means we'll be salivating over more great-looking Pokemon in the coming months.

Jonesing to jump into a Pokemon adventure right now? Don't miss our full Pokemon Sword and Shield review.