I never thought the world could use fewer trees. But Paldea surely could. The ‘natural beauty of trees’ doesn’t seem to resonate with the same chords in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet which also seems to be the case with many games from the franchise certain fans believe. While people have been busy learning how to get flying Pikachu in the experience, other folks like myself have just been wondering how the oversight of abhorrent tree textures in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet could have been made after past events with graphic discussions.
The overall look of the trees feels…bland and, in my opinion, they certainly don’t have the greatest design or texturing. It’s not just me who thinks that the trees could look better in their texturing processes. Fans of the series have also chimed in on places like Reddit to describe their experience. Reddit user RickyRespawn_ posted about their “feeling of disappointment” in the technical department (and observably the artistic department) unfortunately.
This is by no means to say that the work that the artists did was sub-par, it just is to say that it feels like there could’ve been some more care and detail given to key assets such as the trees. Creating art is something that takes time and a whole lot of passion and effort. That should be known more throughout the gaming community. Artists are the unsung heroes at the heart of any creative endeavor with games.
There is an important disclaimer to be made here in that the overall design of the trees may be an aesthetic choice, from higher-ups or otherwise, which if it was then they have hit their mark. Alas, if that mark was to make the trees look as though they were mashed up stale chocolate cake, then it has most definitely been hit with a bullseye. You won’t ever escape the trees in the experience because you will likely be learning how to catch Pokémon on trees during the game.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are available right now for the Nintendo Switch.
