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

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.

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. 

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.  

With contributions from
Read more
Pokemon Legends Z-A screenshot showing Mega Charizard
Pokemon Legends Z-A's visuals aren't "great" say former Nintendo marketing leads, but hope Switch 2 could allow Game Freak to "go back to the drawing board" and add more detail to future RPGs
Pokemon Legends: Z-A screenshot of a Mega Lucario standing in a street.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A is breaking years of tradition to get 10+ age rating, and I think I might know why
Images of three Nintendo Switch Pokemon games on a purple GamesRadar patterned background.
I've been a Pokemon fan since the 90s and I'm finding it impossible to ignore these incredibly low Switch game deals at Woot
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet DLC artwork showing students on an exchange trip
The best Pokemon games, ranked from worst to best
Pokemon Legends: Z-A screenshot
Pokemon Legends: Z-A just catapulted to the top of my most anticipated games thanks to its single-city setting
Dragonite Variant card in Pokemon TCG Pocket
Pokemon TCG Pocket players are furious at the new trading system: "They should probably remove 'Trading Card Game' from the title screen"
Latest in Pokemon
Pokemon Legends: Z-A screenshot
Pokemon Legends: Z-A will allegedly introduce 27 new Mega Evolutions, leakers claim, and we can only hope Flygon gets its chance this time
Shiny cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket
How to get Shiny Pokemon in Pokemon TCG Pocket
Pokemon Legends: Z-A screenshot
Pokemon Legends: Z-A's director appears to be a Xenoblade Chronicles fan, and I'm now feeling very validated about a tiny detail I spotted in the upcoming RPG's gameplay trailer
Pokemon TCG Pocket
Pokemon TCG Pocket is getting yet another new expansion as the addition of shinies and Gen 9 Pokemon keep free-to-play players drowning in new cards to collect
Pokemon TCG Pocket Shiny Cards
Pokemon TCG Pocket Shining Revelry release date and details
Pokemon GO
Despite new ownership's iffy history, Pokemon GO lead claims intrusive ads and playtime restrictions won't plague the game: "Not now, not ever"
Latest in News
Final Fantasy 16 protagonist Clive uses magic in closeup screenshot
Despite fans begging for Tifa, Final Fantasy 16's Clive is "significantly more popular" than any other Tekken guest fighter
Patrick Stewart in X-Men
Marvel fans are already theorizing how Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, and James Marsden's X-Men will be integrated into Avengers: Doomsday
Daredevil: Born Again episode 6
Daredevil's Charlie Cox isn't in the Avengers: Doomsday cast list – but Marvel fans have an idea about how he might still show up
Simu Liu in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Simu Liu had the best reaction to Shang-Chi’s announcement for Avengers: Doomsday, but fans think it's "criminal" there hasn’t been a direct sequel
Mario faces the camera with a thumbs up pose in Super Smash Bros. Ulimate.
Nintendo Direct March 2025 live – all the Switch news, trailers, and reveals as they happen
Batman: Arkham Knight
Rocksteady's rumored single-player Batman game is in development for PC, PS5, Xbox, and "the next generation of consoles"