It might be hard for long-time fans to believe but we are now in the ninth generation of Pokémon games. The series has come a long way since the days of Red and Blue. However, reception to the latest games, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, has been less than great – and now players are asking Nintendo for refunds.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet launched on the Nintendo Switch last week. The games take wannabe Pokémon trainers to the new Iberian Peninsula inspired Paldea region.
For the first time, Scarlet and Violet introduce three distinct quest-lines for players to pursue. They are Victory Road (the classic Pokémon experience), Starfall Street, and Path of Legends. This new approach and the expanded open-world has received praise from fans and critics.
While Scarlet and Violet have fared reasonably well in critic reviews (with an average of 76 on Metacritic), player scores are abysmally low (with 2.9 and 3.4, respectively). Clearly, fans are not happy.
So, why are players requesting Pokémon Scarlet and Violet refunds?
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Refunds – Why Are Players Requesting Them?
While the expanded open-world and new gameplay mechanics have received praise, the main reason players are asking for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet refunds is because of their poor graphics and performance.
As mentioned, we are now in the ninth generation of Pokémon games. But players don’t feel the graphics of Scarlet and Violet stack up to current-gen rivals. Players are calling them “ugly” and saying they “look comparable to games 20 years ago.”
Pictures of low resolution and detail-less textures have been circulating on social media – and it’s clear that players aren’t impressed.
What’s more, Scarlet and Violet‘s performance is decidedly janky with reports and clips of staggeringly low frame-rates and numerous technical bugs.
Bugs include such things as disappearing Pokémon and characters, severe clipping, and broken animations.
Other criticisms levelled at the games include the “worst Elite Four” in series history and the removal of shiny sounds negatively impacting players with colourblindness.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Refunds – Are Nintendo Giving Refunds?
Games launching in a disappointing glitchy and buggy state is nothing new. Cyberpunk 2077 being perhaps the most recent high-profile example. CD Projekt Red reportedly gave 30,000 refunds for that game and many more were given by Sony and Microsoft.
With so much dissatisfaction around Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, players are wondering if it’s even possible to get a refund from Nintendo.
Thankfully, it seems that it is possible to receive a Pokémon Scarlet and Violet refund.
Reddit user ‘sellouthipster’ (who has since deleted their account and post) reported that they got a Nintendo eShop refund for their purchase.
Other users in the comments are reporting that Nintendo customer service has advised they must wait 1-3 days for a decision to be made on a refund.
Hopefully refunds are a prompt for Game Freak to fix the technical issues with Pokémon Scarlet and Violet in the near future. After all, there is a fun experience to be had at their core.
Have you requested a Pokémon Scarlet and Violet refund? Or do you feel the criticism is unfair? Let us know in the comment section and don’t forget to check out our other gaming articles…
