CRASHES IN. HELLO THERE.
You're looking at the world's biggest Pokémon fanatic. I try to be as unbiased as possible when it comes to recommending a Pokémon game--because some of them are kind of terrible, in my opinion--depending on what you're looking for. When it comes to Scarvio, the reviews are pretty mixed, and for good reason, I think. There's a lot of good and a lot of bad, but hopefully I'm able to help you discern whether or not it's going to offer you what you're looking for in a Pokémon experience!
Minor spoilers ahead?
The Obvious, Glaring Issues Upon Release
It's best to get the worst of it out of the way, which were the terrible bugs & glitches when the game was released. Some people had more issues than others, and while I found my game didn't suffer nearly as bad as some others', they were still there. I'm sure you've seen the videos/images LOL. That begs the question... have they been fixed? Well, kind of. I haven't seen any recent major visual glitches (except for a few while in camera mode), but they do still exist. It's still possible for me to clip out of bounds in one cave, but it's easy to warp away when you're done exploring, so I don't consider it game breaking by any means. The issues with models stretching/warping aren't present in my game, but the real issue comes down to the camera. Sometimes it bugs out in battle and likes to show me what's beneath the ground. Taking photos with the in-game camera is... questionable at times (particularly in selfie mode). Raids still have an issue with the camera clipping underneath the ground. General gameplay, however, doesn't seem to suffer too much from this. Personally, I don't consider the bugs/glitches game breaking anymore, as it's been a long time since I've struggled with anything super frustrating. You'll definitely find yourself in a situation or two where something looks wonky (the lighting likes to bug out and make Arven look goth sometimes, but hey, it's not the worst look for him given his personality).
The second glaring issue upon release was the lag. Boy, was it terrible in some locations... and, unfortunately, it still is. They pushed an update a while back that lowered the rate of Pokémon spawning in areas prone to lag, which has done wonders for my ability to touch Casseroya Lake for more than a few minutes at a time, but it's not perfect and lag does spike in other areas. There are locations in the game that I just don't frequent because of the lag, but it's a bit of a give and take. If you really like being in the water & swimming around, then you're going to experience more lag than someone who prefers to stay on land. That one comes down to what you can stand & where you'll spend most of your time.
Graphics
They're not the best. I'm still not the biggest fan of the models; they remind me a bit of clay or Play-Doh. The lighting of the game just doesn't do them justice, but I'm also speaking from a perspective of having gotten really used to cell-shaded games these last few years. Pokémon did it for a while and Legend of Zelda is pretty famous for that look as well, so I don't think it's necessarily awful--just not my taste. The environments do suffer from low resolution textures. It's laughable in some areas. You can tell where the team ran out of time/resources, and you can tell which parts of the game the team's budget went into creating. With that being said... some of the cutscenes use that budget to the best of their ability. There are a few that I still like to go back and watch for that reason, but does it make up for the lack of polish elsewhere? That's for you to decide.
Story/Characters
Here's where we come to a crossroads. Some people found the story very refreshing, while others preferred stories of games past. Personally? The plot did a lot more for me than SWSH's plot did. I think they tried to balance story with gameplay in Scarvio, which they've struggled a lot with in the past, and for what it's worth I think they did a decent job. I tend to be more of a story fanatic than a gameplay fanatic, so it'll come as no surprise that some of my favourite Pokémon games are Black/White/Black 2/White 2 and Sun/Moon. I also love Gold/Silver and its remakes. Take that information how you will!
You'll need to complete all three "plotlines" in order to progress to the final stage of the game, so I'll do my best to cover those here. I found the "Victory Road," or League plotline, to be pretty enjoyable. We don't see much of the gym leaders, but if I'm being honest I think that's par for the course in a lot of Pokemon games. They exist, you battle them, and then you move on. With that being said, I actually found myself enjoying our conversations before & after battle. Each gym leader has their own personality & quirks, which makes them fun. They also have their own gym challenges, which range from hilariously dumb to kind of fun to... well. There's a few that I just didn't like, but that's to be expected. I didn't like a lot of the gym leader's designs when they were first revealed, but after talking with them in-game their personalities beat out any dislike I had for the designs. Nemona is your League rival, and personally I'm a big fan of her. She's fun and gets a little ahead of herself, but she's strong-willed, full of energy, and battle savvy. I wouldn't say it was challenging by any means if that's what you're looking for out of a League, though.
"Starfall," or the "evil team" plotline was the weakest for me, but others really enjoyed it. Sun & Moon introduced Team Skull, and it kind of feels like every game since then has tried to re-capture the magic that was a band of misfits just trying to make a statement. Director Clavell is hilarious, though, and makes me cringe in the best way possible. Penny is my least favourite of the main cast; I never felt that I got to know her as well as the others, but her design is cute and she loves Eevees. The Team Star Bosses all have their own distinct personalities as well. You can see how they're all friends despite being so different, which I liked.
"Path of Legends," or the main plot, centers around Arven. This is the part of the game that honestly hooked me. The first couple times we interacted I was indifferent, but by the time we reached the third Titan I knew he was going to become a favourite of mine. I wouldn't say the story is unpredictable; there are aspects of it that I was a little on the fence about, but ultimately it played out about how I expected, minus a few reveals that my husband saw coming that I didn't. It gave me something I've been wanting out of a Pokémon game for a while, and I genuinely enjoyed all the cutscenes, so I'd say it's what made me fall in love with the game despite all its other issues. I like messing around with Pokémon lore, so it gave me a lot to think about.
The School
There's a lot to be desired with the class system/dorm rooms. You can still learn a few things from some of the teachers, but I found myself just getting through it most of the time. Some of the classes give you a little more insight into the game's characters, though, which is fun, and the teachers all have a little bit of a side plot going on outside of class--some more enjoyable than others.
The World/Pokémon
It's open world, but don't expect anything truly open world. There are still loading zones in some areas. You can do things in any order, but nothing is scaled, so there's an order that's recommended for sure. Even so, I enjoyed exploring the world. My only gripe is that the towns feel lifeless even with people walking around them. I miss going into houses (which was planned, apparently, but scrapped). Each town has a general theme/aesthetic, but even with those differences I just don't find them memorable. Running around on the back of Koraidon/Miraidon is certainly fun, though, and this game is the first game in which I've wanted to complete a full shiny Dex. It's possible to just run into them on accident, but increasing your odds has never been easier in my opinion. I'm not the type of person who can grind for hours on end, so it was a welcome change. The Pokémon also look pretty good; they updated some of the models and textures. I generally enjoyed exploring and seeing the Pokémon of the region!
Customization
Customizing faces is great! The lack of hair & clothing is not so great. There are many accessories, but if you like things to be colour-coordinated then a lot of it you can't use depending on which version of the game you have... just because it looks ugly. Still, I enjoyed mixing and matching to see what I could come up with, and I ended up turning my Scarvio character into a fully-fledged OC. This one comes down to personal preference.
Overall
If you're still on the fence, I'd recommend waiting until at least the first wave of DLC comes out to make a decision. If you're an avid Pokémon fan who wants to give the game a try but just needs a little push, then I'd say, yeah, go for it. I went into the game expecting to be disappointed, and while I was definitely disappointed in some ways... I still found myself falling in love with the characters and the story. There isn't much of a post-game, so the DLC will be the real kicker in determining if the game has lasting play value, but for what it's worth, the game somehow wormed its way into my heart and really drew me in. I didn't want to like the game based on its initial reception (due to glitches, graphics, etc.) but it still managed to make me love it--and I can't say that for every Pokémon game. Ultimately, it comes down to what's more important to you in a Pokémon game, but I'd recommend it if you've got the time, money, and love for Pokémon. I had a lot of fun!
Eindride
