Video: Digital Foundry’s Technical Analysis Of Pokémon: Let’s Go Pikachu And Eevee

This isn't a game that I really wanted a technical breakdown on. It's easy on the eyes, but not a technical marvel.

I watched it yesterday and it really wasn't their best video. I know they only had two things to say (the resolutions and the poor shadow quality), but they didn't need to bulk out the video with boring statements and common sense...

The game looks fine but...

Pokken runs at 60fps 900p, is a port of a Wii U game and looks + runs better.

MK8D, same story as above but at 1080p

Zelda BotW is also a Wii U port, runs at 30fps 900p, has comparable performance but graphics wise is head and shoulders above this.

Pokémon Let's Go games look fine and that's it, but they prove Gamefreak can and should do way better when looking at Wii U ports on Switch, let alone a native made game.

We'll see what the Pokémon 2019 brings, because even the 3ds games pushed that system more to it's limit than this (means this looks fine and better than 3ds games but can be so much more and better)

2019 will tell

To be fair, Sun and Moon are very late 3DS games whereas this is a relatively early Switch game. Switch's specs will be pushed as Nintendo find more ways to optimise performance and I hope this leads to more graphically intensive games in the future.

I've seen some of the lags but it wasn't enough to kill the gaming experience. I was having too much fun enjoying it like BoTW killing for 4 hours before I knew it and was like oh &^& got work tomorrow...

I think as they update the game itself since it just game out.

I don't think advertising a video saying Leys Go is tecnnically average at best and poor at worst is good advertising for the game. It is the truth though. Lets Go is really very poorly done and not at all pushing Switch hardware. Even the design choices are questionable.

However the game is fun. The sales prove that fun trumps everything else.

I love Pokemon games but I do feel Game Freak are a bit lazy now. I don’t feel Gen 8 will be all that innovative but I know I will enjoy it.

@the8thark it sold because of name and brand recall not because of fun. (Im not saying its not fun)

@diwdiws
That's a fair call too.

I mean yeah the lag doesn’t necessarily affect gameplay that much but navigating Viridiana Forest is horrible and a really bad start to the game. Also, the lag when approaching the Elite Four was pretty bad as it undercut what was supposed to be a cool triumphant moment.

Also, the graphics are average at best as they’re mostly blown-up 3DS assets and nothing pushes the hardware at all. Considering what else we have on the switch with BoTW, Fortnite, Arms, Paladins etc. Gamefreak could have done much much better.

I like the game and I’m hopeful for the next game but the lag really soured both the beginning and the end of the game for me.

Plus the stuttering character moverment which was extremely prominent at the beginning of the game was very frustrating initially.

I like the video. It's always like getting dessert the way they save frame rate and performance for last! Also, the shadow quality was immediately noticable to me, but also doesn't bother me. I just wish there was an option to reduce the resolution in order to increase the frame rate to 60 fps. It would also be nice to be able to use a pro controller. The swinging mechanic for throwing pokeballs is okay, but isn't fun like swirling and throwing them on the cell phone game. Overall it is a good game and I'm glad to see it doing well.

@the8thark "Lets Go is really very poorly done and not at all pushing Switch hardware. Even the design choices are questionable.
However the game is fun. The sales prove that fun trumps everything"
I think it's well done better then previous 3DS Pokemon versions. And the fact you use a PokeBall makes it all more challenging. Just look at the JPN sales are off the charts.

@diwdiws "it sold because of name and brand recall not because of fun. (Im not saying its not fun)"
It's the fun factor and the fact that game play now uses a Pokemon Balls changes everything on it. Pokemon started as trading card and grown since then.

@Rayquaza2510 Both Pokkén games are ports of the ones on the Namco Bandai cabinet made for Tekken 6 and TAG2. DX being a port of a more recent arcade build.

@Rayquaza2510 Pretty much agree with everything you said. My brother came home with Let's Go Pikachu and we threw it on the television and my initial reaction was that it looked fine but wasn't technically impressive in the slightest. The art style is cute, at least for the main characters, but I vastly prefer Sun and Moon's more detailed character models and anime-style visuals. The game seemed to be locked at 30 frames but I noticed a few dips while we played co-op. And from what I saw, there are no dynamic camera pans. I'm really hoping next year's game brings back the style of Sun and Moon with a free-control camera.

This game would not be a technical great game on n64. Still its a fun game.

I’m having a freakin blast with this game. First Pokémon game I’ve played since Yellow on game boy back in the late 90’s (and a little bit of Go) and I forgot just how much fun these games are. Great game to get back into Pokémon and I’m really looking forward to the next entry! Hopefully it really will be out next year

@SwitchForce ‘Pokemon started as a trading card’

Are you sure about that?

Who really cares about realistic shadows in a game like this?
Seriously

@TheFanatic for me that is where I saw it the most.

@arpaktiko "
Who really cares about realistic shadows in a game like this?
Seriously"
They say that when they can't offer anything better on the Switch.

@brendon987 You’ve never played an actual N64 if you’re making such an obviously ridiculous statement.

@SwitchForce BotW had realistic shadows, so you’re point is moot.

Yeah this game is ok at best in the technical department. Gamefreak really should up their coding game because it is pretty weak. I expect their next game be at least 60 fps always, regardless of the artstyle and graphics used.

@SwitchForce so lets say you take the gameplay, story, fun factor of the game and replace the title with Care bears or Digimon, do you think it would have sold as much? It still fun, the gameplay is still there.

@SwitchForce

Lets Go is not the best launch of any Pokemon Game. Sun and Moon and a couple of others had a better 3 day launch cycle in terms of sales.
However in terms of Switch releases in Japan, Lets Go is the 2nd best. Only bested by Splatoon 2.

Also you just confirmed what I was saying. Fun of the game and fun using the pokeball plus is why the sales of the game in Japan are so high. Making fun games is something Nintendo and those they are close too like GameFreak, Monolithsoft etc etc are the best at. A game can be technically average but still be really fun so it sells well.

Lets Go proves you don't need 4K resolutions, great shadows, lighting and other stuff to make a grrat game that sells well.

Also Lets Go is popular because of the fun factor and the brand recognition, it's a Pokemon game. Both helped here. If this was a new IP or something not that popular, I'm not sure people would have been into it as much. But you never know. Octopath Traveler sold well and it's a new IP.

I think it looks pretty great coming from the 3DS games. But, I really think the Switch is capable of more than this.

Probably, one of the worst Digital Foundry videos. A shadow that is actually 1000% zoomed is shown blured and it is mentioned 10 times and that the 8-bit monochrome sprites are better than the new 3d version because ... no reason.

So you guys feature Digital Foundry a lot. Do you have some kind of partnership with them?

@Rayquaza2510 gamefreak are terrible in graphical fidelity and optimization. Everyone knows that lol

the game is very boring and extremely easy, wasnt even a remote challenge, and they just simplified way to many things to bring in a casual crowd for the game... would have been alot better if they didnt change the pokemon formula motion controls are fine but they just over simplified pokemon and for anyone whos played them in the past and isnt 12 years old will laugh at the ease they beat the game.

The shadows still look pixelated from what I can tell. Also, shiny hunting in Viridian Forest is hilarious because the game kinda chokes when you're using a lure in handheld mode. I didn't watch the analysis yet, that's just what I've gathered so far. 😂

"As for Game Freak's efforts with the Switch hardware, there's room for improvement - so expect an even better technical experience in future entries."
Why should we? They put 4 games on 3DS, and couldn't get any to run well. I don't expect much better on Switch.

As for Let's Go, it's okay, but it's extremely lazily made. Many character animations don't look like what the characters are supposed to be doing. For example, the chefs peeling onions/potatoes on S.S. Anne. It's just standard talking animation, rather than making them look like they are actually peeling. This was okay on handhelds in the past where space/processing was limited, but this is an HD console now. It's pathetically lazy.

Here's we go basically Trolling lines again not good enough to be a AAA game but they keep at it thinking if they keep saying it will become true. These are probably the very same people whom keeps saying there isn't enough Switch games. There is so much one can hear before it becomes old and just pathetic. Either don't buy the game or go back to your couch consoles and stop whining. Others just like to have a enjoyment fun whenever and wherever not like being forced onto the couch and not moving anywhere else. And if you look closely the sales of the game tells a different story of what your trying to say.

i actually prefer the traditional top-down camera view over the dynamic ones. just seems more authentically "pokemon" to me. i hated the dynamic camera in the newer games. wish they had left out double battles. never like that either. always felt like a gimmick. also wish they hadnt gone with the pokemon go style catching, unless they made it so you can battle trainers more than once. would make it impossible to grind if they didnt. though i gues this isnt supposed to be that type of game. think ill hold off for the next mainline game or until this is on sale... which considering how often nintendo games go on sale...

@SwitchForce Aha, now I understand: the quality of a game is based on the amount of copies it sells.