When Game Freak’s Scarlet and Violet hit the shelves, it became both the fastest-selling Nintendo Switch title and poorest reviewed Pokemon game in years. Plagued with performance issues such as constant frame rate drops, unforgivable bugs, and far too many soft locks for a big-budget title, it makes perfect sense to be skeptical of how the game would perform online. My expectation was that the performance issues would be exacerbated when playing Pokemon in online multiplayer due to the peer-to-peer connection that Nintendo’s online service relies on. However, in the end, I had one of the most captivating online gaming experiences the Switch has offered in years. Despite its technical problems, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet offer an engaging online co-op experience full of open-ended possibilities and an interesting new gimmick known as Tera Raid Battling.
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First and foremost, it should be noted that the performance issues did not vanish when playing online. The game is still a mess by most accounts, and the bugs for a premium title such as Pokemon remain inexcusable. It is worth mentioning, however, that playing online did not make any issues worse than they already are. P2P experiences like Nintendo’s online service often cause issues such as difficulty connecting with other players and dramatic frame rate drops, which were never significantly noticeable when playing Scarlet and Violet in co-op. In Scarlet and Violet, the technical problems are consistent and expected, but connecting with other players is never an issue. It is remarkably easy to trade, battle together, and explore each other’s worlds.
Scarlet and Violet offer incredibly feature-rich online gaming experiences compared to previous installments, despite the games’ current reputation for being full of bugs. Unlike other Pokemon games, players are given the freedom to continue exploring each others’ worlds while online, virtually unchained by the choices of the players that they’re working with. For example, I could be working on beating a gym while a friend of mine is on the other side of the map completing his Pokedex. Even if two players are doing completely separate and unrelated activities, they can decide to meet up or work on something together relatively easily. Each player’s location is indicated on the map, and if an activity allows for more than one player to be involved, such as a raid battle, a notification will appear for each player to allow them to easily join each other. Compared to Arceus or Sword and Shield, which hardly had any online features, these are groundbreaking improvements.
Along with the robust new features, players can expect the traditional multiplayer activities that have defined Pokemon for generations. Trading and battling Pokemon is easier than ever with the addition of online connectivity and the ‘Union Circle,’ essentially a meet-up spot for online players that is similar to the Union Room or Trading Room of previous Pokemon titles. Connectivity through the Union Circle for Scarlet and Violet is more consistent than previous games; at one point, while hosting another player, I even shut off my game while the other player was in battle. The other player remained in battle and was only removed afterward, maintaining any loot or experience. In previous generations, removing a cartridge or logging off in the middle of activity could have caused the game to break or players to lose progress. Although this is a more secure way to play Pokemon in co-op, the mode lacks double battles and the ability to battle wild Pokemon or AI with friends, which some may find frustrating.
By far, the most interesting activity players engage in together are the Tera Raid Battles. This generation’s gimmick is that Pokemon can now ‘terastalize,’ or essentially become a stronger, crystallized version of the Pokemon with a different type attributed to them. Scattered throughout the world, players have opportunities to battle these stronger terastalized Pokemon together in teams of four. Every successful battle will drop loot that benefits the player, such as experience candy, rare candy, or beneficial hold items for your Pokemon. By completing these battles with other players, the grind that Pokemon was once known for is essentially eliminated. Although experience cannot be gained directly from the tera battles, players can amass a large amount of experience candies, which makes leveling up Pokemon ridiculously easy. Rather than spending time leveling up my Pokemon, I could complete a few Tera Raid Battles with some friends and double or triple my Pokemon’s level within minutes. While some people may be frustrated by the lack of direct experience gain, I found the abundance of candies extremely beneficial to expediteing the process of leveling up my Pokemon. This way, I could more easily dig in and explore the rest of the Paldea region early in the game.
Overall, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet offer far more for friends to do together through co-op than any Pokemon title that came before it. Even with its inherent bugs and constant performance issues, the experience of playing online was enjoyable. The accessibility and ease of leveling up Pokemon compounded with the sheer number of activities that are available for players working together in an open world make this game a great addition to a Pokemon enthusiast’s collection. However, these games are impossible to recommend as an introductory point to the series due to the countless technical problems and overwhelming amount of features.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are available now exclusively on the Nintendo Switch
