{"id":129117,"date":"2022-10-21T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-21T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/#article-139623"},"modified":"2022-10-21T13:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-10-21T13:00:00","slug":"hands-on-pokemon-scarlet-violets-performance-distracts-from-neat-new-features-and-flourishes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2022\/10\/21\/hands-on-pokemon-scarlet-violets-performance-distracts-from-neat-new-features-and-flourishes\/","title":{"rendered":"Hands On: Pok\u00e9mon Scarlet &amp; Violet&#8217;s Performance Distracts From Neat New Features And Flourishes"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><a href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/934ab80eb4104\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/934ab80eb4104\/small.jpg\" class=\"media_thumbnail\"><\/a><\/div>\n<aside class=\"object object-youtube\">\n<figure class=\"youtube\" data-videoid=\"yigAWZhwKSw\">[embedded content]<figcaption class=\"youtube-sub\">Subscribe to <a class=\"external\" rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/subscription_center?add_user=nintendolife\">Nintendo Life<\/a> on <span class=\"g-ytsubscribe\" data-channel=\"nintendolife\" data-layout=\"default\" data-count=\"default\"><a class=\"external\" rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/nintendolife\">YouTube<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Recently we were invited by The Pok\u00e9mon Company and Nintendo to pop down to TPC\u2019s UK headquarters in London to give a build of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/pokemon_scarlet_and_violet\">Pok\u00e9mon Scarlet &amp; Violet<\/a> a right ruddy going over. It\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/guides\/where-to-pre-order-pokemon-scarlet-and-violet-on-switch\">less than a month until launch<\/a> \u2013 and we were informed that the build we played was not the final release build \u2013 so how is everything looking as we rapidly approach the 11th hour?<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s get the bad news out of the way first: in the build we played, performance is not very good. We were really quite disappointed at how the game ran in docked mode, and were unable to test its handheld capabilities. There was plenty we absolutely <em>did<\/em> like about the game, but we want to cover this hotly queried topic straight away.<\/p>\n<p>The game appears to be running at around 720p whenever you\u2019re in the overworld, with little to no anti-aliasing as far as we can tell, and the maximum frame rate of 30fps is not consistently achieved when moving around the world in a reasonable manner. Objects and characters that are only a few in-game metres from the player run, in busy scenarios, at an even further reduced rate, a technique used by a lot of games to prevent frame drops and poor performance elsewhere, but in this case it\u2019s not enough to keep the master frame rate consistent.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"gallery\">\n<div class=\"cols\">\n<div class=\"col\"><a title=\"Pok\u00e9mon Scarlet &amp; Violet - Battle without UI\" class=\"scanlines\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/7a6a400609cb1\/pokemon-scarlet-and-violet-battle-without-ui.large.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCA0NDUgMjUwIj48L3N2Zz4=\" width=\"445\" height=\"250\" data-original=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/7a6a400609cb1\/pokemon-scarlet-and-violet-battle-without-ui.445x.jpg\" alt=\"Pok\u00e9mon Scarlet &amp; Violet - Battle without UI\"><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"col\"><a title=\"Pok\u00e9mon Scarlet &amp; Violet - Town Shopfronts\" class=\"scanlines scanlines\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/6d1be57ea1acf\/pokemon-scarlet-and-violet-town-shopfronts.large.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCA0NDUgMjUwIj48L3N2Zz4=\" width=\"445\" height=\"250\" data-original=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/6d1be57ea1acf\/pokemon-scarlet-and-violet-town-shopfronts.445x.jpg\" alt=\"Pok\u00e9mon Scarlet &amp; Violet - Town Shopfronts\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"caption\"><em class=\"credit\">Images: Nintendo<\/em><\/figcaption><\/aside>\n<p>You might remember <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2022\/10\/lengthy-pokemon-scarlet-and-violet-trailer-unloads-heaps-of-new-information\">the recent trailer<\/a> that showed off a gym challenge where the player had to corral Sunflora, with the Pok\u00e9mon behaving in a very choppy manner even immediately behind the player; this is indicative of a lot of the busier scenes we encountered. Worse yet this was true with a Sunflora that we encountered in a battle during the same challenge. Our Pok\u00e9mon\u2019s frame rate was consistent with the rest of the world, but the Sunflora was idly bouncing around at as little as half the rate, possibly lower, and when we tried to switch our Pok\u00e9mon to another it took a suspiciously long time, as if the game was having to free up some RAM to make space for the next Pok\u00e9mon\u2019s model. <em>Hmm\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Textures in a lot of the more open areas can be extremely smeary as well. In the main city of Mesagoza (which is not part of the open world and requires a separate loading screen), walls and floors and chairs all practically blur together into what we can sadly only call <em>a mess<\/em>. The game isn\u2019t pretty in busy, open areas, and yet it still doesn\u2019t manage to maintain a decent frame rate. Frankly, we were gutted with what we saw.<\/p>\n<p>What compounds this even further is that interiors \u2013 such as shops, gyms, and the like \u2013 not only have much higher fidelity textures <em>everywhere<\/em>, but also seem to run at a significantly greater resolution with a solid frame rate. We ran into the mentor\/rival character Nemona in a gym and her model was absolutely gorgeous, same with the player character. It felt like we were getting a glimpse of what the developers <em>wanted<\/em> the game to look like, but something \u2013 be it funding, the engine, or funding to develop a new engine \u2013 was holding things back.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"gallery\">\n<div class=\"cols\">\n<div class=\"col\"><a title=\"Pok\u00e9mon Scarlet &amp; Violet - Nemona\" class=\"scanlines\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/88c8359374f87\/pokemon-scarlet-and-violet-nemona.large.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCA0NDUgMjUwIj48L3N2Zz4=\" width=\"445\" height=\"250\" data-original=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/88c8359374f87\/pokemon-scarlet-and-violet-nemona.445x.jpg\" alt=\"Pok\u00e9mon Scarlet &amp; Violet - Nemona\"><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"col\"><a title=\"Pok\u00e9mon Scarlet &amp; Violet - Desert\" class=\"scanlines scanlines\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/f955700120a82\/pokemon-scarlet-and-violet-desert.large.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCA0NDUgMjUwIj48L3N2Zz4=\" width=\"445\" height=\"250\" data-original=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/f955700120a82\/pokemon-scarlet-and-violet-desert.445x.jpg\" alt=\"Pok\u00e9mon Scarlet &amp; Violet - Desert\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"caption\"><em class=\"credit\">Images: Nintendo<\/em><\/figcaption><\/aside>\n<p>But performance aside, there\u2019s still plenty to enjoy from what we played. A whole host of quality-of-life features have been introduced to streamline the gameplay and make things <em>just feel better<\/em>. Trainer battles no longer use the \u2018line of sight&#8217; system, instead requiring you to interact with said trainer in order to kick their level 4 Hopip back to the stone age. A small change perhaps, and although the nostalgia bug in our brain is telling us that the older system was better because it could run on a Game Boy, we can\u2019t deny that this has been overdue for a little while now. All stylings are completely gender non-specific as well, so that haircut and those boots you fancied in Sword and Shield that belonged arbitrarily to the other body type are no longer out of your grasp. Nice.<\/p>\n<p>Caught Pok\u00e9mon now have this delightful animation when their Pok\u00e9dex entry is completed: slamming their personalised book of info and jamming it onto the appropriate digital shelf. It just makes catching a Pok\u00e9mon feel more like an event, you know? Pok\u00e9mon that are nearby when you engage another in battle remain where they were for the duration, just sort of standing there. It\u2019s slightly odd to see but mechanically means that entering a mass of Pok\u00e9mon by accident can spell disaster if you\u2019re not prepared, as you\u2019re forced to take them out in succession or do your best to weave your way out. Pok\u00e9mon are (largely) beasts, after all, you should be made to feel at least a tiny bit intimidated.<\/p>\n<p>We weren\u2019t sure what to make when the new Tera Raids were shown off at first, assuming they\u2019d just be Dynamax Raids with more of a grandmother\u2019s crystal swan souvenir from <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bourton-on-the-Water\">Bourton-on-the-Water<\/a>-vibe. Pleasingly although the core concept is the same, the execution is much better. The real-time battling system keeps the tension high and prevents an indecisive opponent from boring the rest of their team to tears. The atmosphere is quite excellent as well, as the Terastallized Pok\u00e9mon is reflected on all sides of the chamber like it\u2019s trapped inside an enormous <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fox%27s_Glacier_Mints\">Fox\u2019s Glacier Mint<\/a>.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"gallery\">\n<div class=\"cols\">\n<div class=\"col\"><a title=\"Pok\u00e9mon Scarlet &amp; Violet - Hairstyles\" class=\"scanlines\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/87c4f57105091\/pokemon-scarlet-and-violet-hairstyles.large.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCA0NDUgMjUwIj48L3N2Zz4=\" width=\"445\" height=\"250\" data-original=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/87c4f57105091\/pokemon-scarlet-and-violet-hairstyles.445x.jpg\" alt=\"Pok\u00e9mon Scarlet &amp; Violet - Hairstyles\"><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"col\"><a title=\"Pok\u00e9mon Scarlet &amp; Violet - Singer in Town\" class=\"scanlines scanlines\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/6c5e61b447f1b\/pokemon-scarlet-and-violet-singer-in-town.large.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCA0NDUgMjUwIj48L3N2Zz4=\" width=\"445\" height=\"250\" data-original=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/6c5e61b447f1b\/pokemon-scarlet-and-violet-singer-in-town.445x.jpg\" alt=\"Pok\u00e9mon Scarlet &amp; Violet - Singer in Town\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"caption\"><em class=\"credit\">Images: Nintendo<\/em><\/figcaption><\/aside>\n<p>Multiplayer is also something we were pleased to try out. There\u2019s no laundry list of available activities for you to take part in with your chums outside of battling and trading, but the complete lack of restriction in regards to where you can go means you\u2019re just free to go about your adventure however you see fit, and your friends can do the same at their own pace as well. It\u2019s just nice to be able to faff around with chums.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s a lot of passion that\u2019s been poured into the game, which makes it all the more frustrating that the performance is so consistently sub-par. Little flourishes can be found all over the place, such as the onlookers chanting as you whittle a Gym Leader down to their final Pok\u00e9mon, or your player character shielding themselves from the rain with their arm as your sprint through the landscape. Little details like this are what can take a game from \u2018good\u2019 to \u2018excellent\u2019, but we just can\u2019t look past how disappointingly poor it performs and looks in a lot of its environments\u2026 because it\u2019s everywhere.<\/p>\n<p>We <em>really<\/em> hope that the final build of the game irons out a lot of the technical shortcomings that we experienced, because the core concepts that the game offers are quite exciting. This close to release, however, we\u2019re dubious as to whether or not things will be ship-shape in time. Keep an eye out for our full review when it goes live in due course \u2014 hopefully, we\u2019ll have cause to be singing a different tune.<\/p>\n<p class=\"disclaimer\">Please note that some external links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Please read our <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/advertising\">FTC Disclosure<\/a> for more information.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-products article-products-list\">\n<div class=\"items\">\n<div class=\"item\" data-product-id=\"17710\">\n<div class=\"image\"><a class=\"external\" rel=\"sponsored noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/nintendolife.com\/p\/17710\/139623\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/products\/17710\/100x100.jpg?v=804892e789c37e7c67fb3c8c0f6cd319\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" alt><\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"item\" data-product-id=\"17709\">\n<div class=\"image\"><a class=\"external\" rel=\"sponsored noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/nintendolife.com\/p\/17709\/139623\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/products\/17709\/100x100.jpg?v=304ed07de3c9a002fa9bd3fe6c45ec56\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" alt><\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[embedded content]Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube Recently we were invited by The Pok\u00e9mon Company and Nintendo to pop down to TPC\u2019s UK headquarters in London to give a build of Pok\u00e9mon Scarlet &amp; Violet a right ruddy going over. It\u2019s less than a month until launch \u2013 and we were informed that the build [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-129117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nintendo-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129117"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129117\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}