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.
For example, oft-maligned Pokemon Sword and Shield netted an 80, while Pokemon Sun and Moon also have 87. Gen 6 scored 88 with Pokemon Y, and Gen 5 takes an 87 with Pokemon Black (although Black 2 and White 2 both only net an 80). Gen 4 sits around the 85 mark with Pearl, and you have to go all the way back to Emerald - which scored 76 - to find anything lower than Scarlet and Violet. Interestingly, while the reviews for that now-very-popular evolution of Ruby and Sapphire were quite popular, its scores reflect too much similarity to its immediate predecessors - for context, Ruby sits at an 82.
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.
