Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Speaking of “rough go at launch,” Game Freak’s Pokémon Scarlet and Violet games are still in pretty rough shape after their November 18 launch. You’ve probably seen all the game’s flaws and glitches if you’ve spent time scrolling through any part of the internet in recent days, or maybe you read about them all here on Kotaku’s pages. Either way, these twin releases are some of the most busted games of this year.

Scenery would disappear when you threw a Poké Ball. Characters’ limbs would contort like they’re competing in a bone-breaking dance competition. Pokémon would vanish entirely, whether that was during open-world exploration, in the middle of combat, or both. These games have just been an absolute mess, with a patch causing some folks to question if anything was fixed while others attempted to get their money back. Even Nintendo acknowledged the haphazard state the games have been in, which really is saying something. In spite of its copious issues and performance hiccups, though, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are still being enjoyed by fans the world over. That’s nice. Now, only if the games actually worked like they were supposed to.