What a strange experience. Violet is riddle with bugs, looks average, is unfinished in areas, and yet I thoroughly enjoyed it. Pokemon over the past year has finally ventured into new territory and it’s paying dividends. They are throwing some great ideas into play and with a bit of polish this could have been one of my favourite games ever. It’s not all great, I didn’t enjoy the star bases all too much and there is literally no reason to fight normal trainers. Pokemon are also difficult to spot depending on their size if you are on Miraidon, and also issues with render distance.

Having said that, Area Zero is one of the best areas I have ever played in a game, they excelled with its presentation and it helped the end portion of the game go out with a bang. It’s things like this, and Arven’s entire plotline that really helped this game as it helped make the game feel new, and stray away from the usual tried and tested formula.

Pokemon mainline finally feels competent for the first time in years and I’m genuinely looking forward to the inevitable DLC and future titles.