The terastallize "gimmick" which acts as a temporary evolution is particularly uninteresting and boring. This trend continues where almost every game needs to have some kind of extra evolution. Also, if you've spent time leveling up your creatures' exp., the opponent's terastallize doesn't really matter, they'll still lose. Nice environments, but it feels like they "tried" too hard with those as well, since the map is a big island, but the biomes change every now and then. They tried to load the screen with too many things and so, it doesn't run well on a regular Switch. It's more worth it on Switch 2. The soundtrack is also just "noise" in the background, with 2-3 nice tracks. The "story" is, in the same way, mediocre, but a big plus is that it somewhat addresses the issue of bullying in schools. From what I understand, it was targeted towards the new, younger generations, but with a simple story, Pokemon Blue, Silver, and Ruby had much better plots, and with some important messages.
Prefer Pokemon Legends: Arceus and/or Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl.

I have had the game since it was released, including the DLC. The positives are that it is open world and you can explore, it is a bit more interactive, etc. For grinders like myself, shiny hunting is very easy. The graphics are somewhat better than the previous ones. Now for the negatives. It freezes countless times, the story mode is quite easy and finishes quickly, even with the DLC, when you finish them, it doesn't take you anywhere. Unfortunately, they are trying to push online gaming a lot, where even there, you don't get a smooth experience. In other words, in order to play something substantial online, you need to have the DLC, as there are Pokémon given there, since they are more meta-relevant in the online game, the ogre oustin, which is in the first DLC, and the co-op for the BBQ points, which is in the second DLC, so the game doesn't go anywhere. Anyone expecting experiences like Pokémon Emerald or Battle Towers can forget about it. So basically, we're talking about a 100 euro game that, beyond the online play, you do the same things over and over again and don't go anywhere.

Mixed feelings about the game! Having almost completed it (only missing the exclusive violet ones), I can say that I had a good time with the game and overall I really liked the gameplay! I bought it on day 1, so unfortunately I saw all the bugs that the game had and I confirm everything that is written. Very low frames (dropping to around 15 fps quite often) and glitches like the graphics "disappearing" under the ground many times when entering a battle. Also, in the beginning when it was released, in the area with the lake, you couldn't even explore because there were frame drops well below 15! After all that, some of these issues were fixed to some extent, but it seems like they didn't give enough time and attention from the start, so some things, as it seems, cannot be fixed (for example, when catching a Pokémon, the ground on which the Pokéball falls has terrible graphics and looks like NES graphics). Now, as a game, it has several good ideas and you will have a good time with its gameplay. Having played Pokémon Legends: Arceus in the same year, I can now say that with time passing, Arceus is by far better and a more polished game, and I hope the series continues like this. Unfortunately, in Scarlet/Violet, they didn't use enough elements from Arceus for those who are looking for them. So, 4 stars because it could have been a very good game, but I condemn the rush to release a new Pokémon game every November, even if it's not ready. It is unacceptable to have games on the Switch like Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Luigi's Mansion, Super Mario Odyssey, which are technically flawless, and to release titles with so many problems like Pokémon Scarlet/Violet.

Very good game although it has many negative comments due to the graphics, which are quite good for the switch's standards. Also, regarding the bugs, because I have played both versions, most of them were in the violet one, but they are not serious or big enough to say that the game is unplayable. I enjoyed it a lot and I have to say that it is one of the best Pokémon games for the switch.

As for the gameplay, the game is quite addictive and there are many things to do after finishing the story and the Pokédex, such as shiny hunting, which is much better than in sword/shield and diamond/pearl, games that I abandoned after completing the story and Pokédex since I got bored quickly, especially with sword/shield, which is useless without the DLC, while on the contrary, scarlet/violet are very nice games even without the DLC.

The world is huge and requires many hours of exploration. If you have played open-world games like Elden Ring, Zelda, etc., you will not be disappointed, but on the other hand, if you are used to the old Pokémon games, it may disappoint you (old Pokémon games: gen 8 and earlier).

That's all from me. I hope I helped. However, if I have to recommend one of the two, I would definitely say scarlet without a second thought, but the decision is entirely yours

The game, no matter what you say, is fantastic!

First of all, from the BEGINNING of the game, you are in an open world where you have ABSOLUTE freedom. You can only play Raids and fight Tera Monsters that have better stats than the ones you find. Remember the Feathers that gave stat boosts? Well, you can earn those and XP candies from the raid (like Pokemon GO but with the Switch gamestyle).
Didn't excite you... from the beginning, you can choose Victory Road (badges + Championship), Path of titan, something like mini raids (solo) that later helps with Legendary Hunts or Hero of the game (defeat the evil Team Star).

You don't just go straight and everything on a plate (first emblem, something happens, fight the bad guys, go to the second emblem, find an element for the legendary, go to the third emblem and meet the bad guys again)...

Now the only negative thing is the FrameDrops. I won't blame the Poke-company, I'll say that the Switch needs better components... I didn't enjoy Crisis Core on the Switch because it had FPS drops and shutter... unfortunately, Nintendo NEEDS a new next-gen console. While it doesn't lag, when the world opens up, you reach a big city or find many pokemon from the Sandwitch, then yes... 30 at 5-10fps hurts... but it's not bad optimization, it's that a 5+ year old console can't handle new games.

I remember how God of War on the PS4 would struggle so much that you would think it would catch fire just to avoid FPS drops. The same goes for the Switch...
It's worth it, Nintendo release a Switch 2 with 8-8.5" OLED and an RT Core GPU and stay at 1080p@60fps but don't lag with your new open-world games!

Update: 20/03/23
The patch is out... They fixed the Frames and it's a stable 30fps (there are still a few spikes). The game's solution was to downgrade graphics quality and reduce NPCs/Wild Pokemon to "handle" the game on the Switch... as I said before... Nintendo, it's March 7, 2017 console, we're in 2023... Get with the program... It's not a solution to lower graphics quality or reduce the game's resources to not show bottle on outdated components... If the PS5 offers 4K@120Hz+SSD for 500€ these days, I think with 250-300 you can make a nice switch 2 with 1080p@60/120Hz...

The game is finished, the content is infinite and I like the older prehistoric versions of Pokemon that have pseudolegendary stats, abilities, etc. After finishing the game, you fight gyms-team star and the Elite Four again. You unlock food (sandwiches) that spam infinite pokemon species, you catch the best and shiny ones. By doing raids, you find herbs that change the nature of pokemon, so if you see a brave (att up/speed down) but it has the best sp. Attack and bad sp. Def, you change it to the appropriate nature, give it boosts, and easily and funnily have the perfect salamence, for example, instead of putting bacon+ditto and walking 50,000 steps to get shiny+best nature+best stats! Players who have done this for competitive PvP know...!
That's it!

If you respect yourself and your wallet, do not buy this monstrosity.

Once again, the giant companies behind Pokemon have let down their entire fanbase and delivered an unfinished game that should have been delayed for at least 6 months.

The game is currently running terribly, with dozens of bugs and glitches, and can barely reach 25fps. Furthermore, from a technical standpoint, it is 20 years behind. Games from the Gamecube and PS2 are far more visually appealing. The textures are awful, and in 2022, there is no trace of voice acting. The environments are completely empty and boring. The Pokemon simply exist in the space and walk around, with absolutely no interaction between them or with the player. The cutscenes are lifeless, without any direction or production value. Even without the technical issues, the game would still be visually very poor. It is the ugliest exclusive game for Nintendo and the Switch.

In terms of gameplay, things are lukewarm. The open-world aspect is interesting and will appeal to many people. You can progress through the story in any way you want. You can tackle the 8 gyms in any order you prefer and generally complete the 3 main plots in any sequence. However, the environments are so empty that you quickly get bored of the exploration aspect of the game.

The battles have taken a step back. Any improvements made in Legends Arceus have been thrown out the window. To catch a Pokemon, you have to battle it and reduce its health; you can't catch them without being seen like in Arceus. The player no longer moves during battles, and the Pokemon's moves that make contact with the opponent now happen from a distance. Additionally, there is a significant delay every time a battle starts. The "Set battle style" option has been removed, further limiting the player's choices to bring difficulty to their liking, and the EXP share is once again permanently activated. Difficulty options do not exist, of course.

Do not give them your money because they don't deserve it. The Pokemon Company insists on annual releases, and it seems that GameFreak cannot keep up with the schedule. In the past 12 months alone, we have had 3(!) major Pokemon games (Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Legends Arceus, Scarlet & Violet). Games of this scale require 3 or 4 years to be developed. Every time, they take one step forward and five steps back. However, these games make astronomical sales, so they don't care. It's a shame to see the Pokemon name in such a miserable state and to witness the people in charge of it not being held accountable. Truly depressing.