Where past Pokemon games had a more linear structure - gyms sitting in that matrix like dungeons in Zelda - this game is more wide open. Like that game, there’s no one thing you should go off and do – the choice is yours. Though the comparison is fairly tired, this makes it more like Breath of the Wild. This is a full-fat Pokemon experience - but it’s got less hoops to jump through.īasically, this game’s ‘streamlining’ mostly appears to mean removing barriers and simplifying the game flow - which plays into this title’s status as a true open world, where you can go anywhere and do whatever you want. Pokemon representatives there to guide us through the game casually referred to it as the “most streamlined” Pokemon game to date - but that doesn’t mean these games are simplified, nor easier. In some ways, what these new Pokemon titles are shooting for is mildly contradictory. You could even say that fellow Pokemon Trainers have evolved. Time with Scarlet is equivalent to time with both games, though - and I left the hands-on impressed with the evolution of the series, which is less gentle and safe-feeling than I thought it’d be. In a 90-minute hands-on session, I got to play around in the world of Pokemon Scarlet - one of the two releases which will arrive next month, with a fairly traditional content split of Pokemon, legendaries, and even two different Poke Professor mentors. In how it cherry-picks ideas from Legends, from Sword and Shield, from series tradition and also yes, anew out of thin air, it’s arguably the most significant generational Pokemon reset in the history of the series. That question is an interesting invitation for the Pokemon series to evolve, and Scarlet and Violet do appear to have a firm, full-throated answer. The question that Scarlet & Violet face is easily asked, but challenging to answer: what does the next evolution of Pokemon look like, with all the tradition-disrupting ideas that Legends Arceus put forth taken into account? A new Pokemon generation is always time for introspection, consideration, and gentle evolution - but earlier this year, a mere Pokemon spin-off tipped expectation of what the series can be upside down.

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, the flagship games of a new Pokemon generation, find themselves in an interesting spot. Check out our extensive preview chat here with loads of brand new footage.

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