I played Pokémon Scarlet and Violet on Switch 2, here's how they run

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet might have some of the more interesting world and game design of the series, but the games are remembered for only one thing. That's bad performance, as the Nintendo Switch version of these games is the only version that was available prior to the Switch 2 launch, and ran like trash. That's not unnecessary hyperbole, as the games were incredibly buggy and ran at an abysmal frame rate. While the bugs were able to be fixed on the Nintendo Switch, the frame rate and bad resolutions were not.

As part of the Nintendo Switch 2 launch line-up a bunch of Switch games have received free updates to improve the performance on Switch 2, and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet were on the list, but the exact improvements were vague. The Nintendo site simply states that there will be improved frame rates and resolutions, but in order to find out what exactly that looks like, I have played the opening hours of Pokémon Scarlet for the second time, but for the first time on Nintendo Switch 2.

What exactly are the improvements in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet?

Smooth like butter

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet run at 4K resolution and 60 FPS while docked, with the handheld version holding the same frame rate but at a lower resolution. That's the advertised performance, but in practice it seems to run at that stable high frame rate. Considering that, under the best circumstances, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet ran at 30 FPS, but often dipped even further down in areas with a bunch of Pokémon, which is most outdoor areas in the game. Even with herds of wild Pokémon around me on Switch 2, the frame rate hasn't dipped below 60 FPS. Battles, cutscenes, and exploration all feel significantly improved. Unfortunately, I didn't make it far enough into the game to unlock gliding and some of the more intensive means of transportation, but based on what I have seen, I expect it to maintain the 60 FPS without issue.

Improved resolution has as many drawbacks as it does improvements

The in-game textures have not been updated

While the boosted frame rate is an obvious upgrade, the improved resolution is a bit of a monkey's paw in terms of how it makes Pokémon Scarlet and Violet look. While this issue wasn't present while I played handheld, playing on my 4K LG OLED, I could see some of the blemishes that were present in the original versions, but now are front and center after other issues have been solved. The biggest issue is the texture of certain parts of the game, like the ground and other surfaces, and incredibly low quality. This update didn't touch those, so I now get to look at the green ground pretending to be grass in 4K, which makes it even more obvious what parts of the game got more love and care. Characters, smaller buildings, and Pokémon themselves all look great at the new resolution, since those textures were relatively well done in the first place. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are ugly video games, and this update not only doesn't improve that aspect, it makes the issues much more apparent.

Should you play Pokémon Scarlet and Violet on Switch 2?

The update being free makes this an easy play if you already have the game

It feels a bit odd to have to make a recommendation for a free update, but people's time is valuable too. If you already own Pokémon Scarlet and Violet and have a desire to play those games on Switch 2, you absolutely should. The improved frame rate makes the game feel drastically better compared to the original Switch version. If you skipped out of these games because of technical issues, this is the best possible time to jump in, although if your issue was specifically that the game is ugly, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are still ugly.

If you don't necessarily feel compelled to return, it might be worth loading up an old save and just running around for a bit, to see what the game should have looked like in the first place. Plus, the DLC for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are both excellent, and also ran poorly on the Nintendo Switch, but should run at a nice and smooth 60 FPS now. This update isn't as drastic as some of the biggest critics of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet might have hoped, it does feel drastically improved, and since its free, anyone interested should check it out.