Taking cues from Arceus from earlier in the year, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is a cross between a traditional, mainline entry and open world adventures, with three storylines that you can complete in any order you choose. We said it was an “interesting reworking… brought low by its lifeless environments and graphics” in our Pokémon Scarlet and Violet review, and you can play it as soon as your local Pokémon Scarlet and Violet release time will allow. The exception is for those in North America, where if you are on the West Coast, it will be available when it unlocks midnight East Coast time - in other words, at 9pm PST. In summary, the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet release times are as follows for your region:

UK: 0:01am (GMT) Europe: 0:01am (CET) East Coast US: 0:01am (EST) West Coast US: 8pm, Thursday 16th (PST)

This means for those in Europe, you have to wait until midnight to start playing. Our recommendation, however, is to get a good night’s sleep first, so you can start playing fully refreshed in the morning. It should be added the exception to the above is if you have a physical copy of the game, in which case, you can start playing as soon as you get your hands on it. This might explain the various leaks doing the rounds, which Nintendo is battling to contain. (Don’t worry, we don’t spoil anything in our coverage of these early copies.) Our Pokémon Scarlet and Violet walkthrough can take you through the entire game - including The First Day of School, Victory Road, Starfall Street, Path of Legends and when you’re ready, The Way Home and the final boss. Elsewhere, we can help with the Normal Gym test Secret Item menu, version differences, the best Scarlet and Violet starter, EXP farming, shiny Pokémon and learning how to fly, swim, climb and dash. When it comes to individual Pokémon, we can help with Gimmighoul, Ditto, Bellibolt, Pawmot, Scovillain, Frigibax, Sinistea, Brambleghast, Annihilape, Farigiraf, Dudunsparce, Lycanrock forms, Armarouge and Ceruledge.
It is, of course, possible to change as updates as introduced. Though nothing has been confirmed in terms of DLC, as with all games there will inevitably be some small patches and tweaks post-release, so if you are tight on space, best to have a bit of room to accommodate those for when they come in.