Pokemon Shield

 Switch
User Score
4.7

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 3465 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,154 out of 3465
  2. Mixed: 587 out of 3465
  3. Negative: 1,724 out of 3465
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. sojasonk
    Nov 20, 2019
    1
    Lazy writing, bad graphics, an absolute mediocre and underwhelming introduction to Mainline Games for the Nintendo Switch. GameFreak has done the community a disservice by removing integral parts to long time loyal fans such as the National Dex. They do this because they feel they can get away with cossting simply on the name of Ppkemon alone
  2. InTheMood
    Nov 20, 2019
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is by far the worst Pokémon game I have ever played. Most people have complained about the exclusion of Pokémon species as their main concern, but I put all of those basic complaints aside when I played. The graphics are essentially the same as Pokémon Sun. The different being able to look around in the wild area. However, Pokémon and people “pop” in and out of the world with a clear lack of regard for proper rendering. Towns are built as if you can look around, but you can’t, so everything looks off and it’s hard to interact with stores and NPC’s. I like the idea of being able to “dynamax” but honestly it just makes battles longer without adding any extra difficulty. My major beef is that there are no difficult or long routes in the game. All the routes are very short and there are hardly any trainers to battle. I do like how they changed the championship battle, except it’s made extremely easier than any elite four because they heal your Pokémon after every battle. Also, it only took me 25 hours to beat even though I caught over 200 Pokémon and explored every area/battled every trainer. On top of that, the only post game content is the battle tower. There are no new areas to explore, no new trainers.... it’s a very short game and a very short post game. I don’t understand how the metacritic score is so high when this game sucks so bad.… Expand
  3. Lawrence7
    Nov 20, 2019
    10
    For anyone debating whether they will like the game or not - stay assured that game freak put a lot of thought and love into this game. I played non-stop the last few days, and I have had a blast. A very charming and fresh addition to the series. There is always room for improvement of course, and I hope the next games on the switch are even better. As a casual Pokemon fan I am very happyFor anyone debating whether they will like the game or not - stay assured that game freak put a lot of thought and love into this game. I played non-stop the last few days, and I have had a blast. A very charming and fresh addition to the series. There is always room for improvement of course, and I hope the next games on the switch are even better. As a casual Pokemon fan I am very happy with it and don’t regret buying it at all.… Expand
  4. Gonz04
    Nov 20, 2019
    0
    This game is so disappointing, I literally ended this game in two days, and my favorite Pokémon is not here, don’t buy it (trust me, don’t do it) this is not worth $60 :(
  5. julianym89
    Nov 20, 2019
    6
    Nueva entrega, en general continuista, con algunas nuevas mecánicas, dirección artística muy buena (inspirada en UK) aunque motor gráfico rozando lo mediocre. Las animaciones en combates han avanzado poco.
    Mantiene el encanto y sigue siendo adictivo.
  6. Ruvi
    Nov 20, 2019
    9
    It's my first real Pokemon game though so I don't know all the drama behind the expectations other people had for it. I think It's relaxing and fun. Well thought out!
  7. HollyS
    Nov 20, 2019
    2
    Very short, bland and low quality Pokemon game. It is definitely not worth $60. It uses graphics from the 3DS and has many bugs in gameplay, it can even fry your Switch and all other games save files. It only has about 40% of existing Pokemon available. It is very tutorial and baby proofed feeling the entire game. Too easy. Characters are annoying and constantly interrupt gameplay.
  8. GabrielCZ
    Nov 20, 2019
    1
    The backgrounds are not good Glitches all the time
    Graphics are so simple and the attack’s animation made me cry
  9. dirvin
    Nov 20, 2019
    3
    Very underwhelming Nintendo Switch title. It felt as though they took a 3DS game, added very little unimportant features, made the game super easy and also cut a lot of content that people originally enjoyed about Pokémon such as being able to catch all of the Pokémon, instead of having a limited Pokédex. The graphics are also horrible for a main entry title and the animations areVery underwhelming Nintendo Switch title. It felt as though they took a 3DS game, added very little unimportant features, made the game super easy and also cut a lot of content that people originally enjoyed about Pokémon such as being able to catch all of the Pokémon, instead of having a limited Pokédex. The graphics are also horrible for a main entry title and the animations are horrible. I’ll be selling my copy very soon.… Expand
  10. Rukimaru
    Nov 20, 2019
    8
    Mejorable pero tiene sus cosas que disfrutar, historia muy lineal, se hecha en falta mas trasfondo.
  11. exts4
    Nov 20, 2019
    10
    Hace tiempo que no me enviciaba tanto con un juego. Aunque es ligeramente más fácil que las entregas anteriores. Muy buen juego.
  12. Mattminty
    Nov 20, 2019
    10
    Best Pokemon in time loved it. Great Pokémon great mechanics . I’ve been a fan since gen 1 . The only reason the user score is low is be cause some children are having a strop(tantrum) about not having all the Pokémon in the game.
  13. DumbFum
    Nov 20, 2019
    0
    I just think it’s bad they don’t have the national Dex Honestly I know not everything is black and white and such but I genuinely believe they rushed the game for sales every November since Sun and moon there’s been a new Pokémon game I don’t like that Sure this game does a LOT right but I still think it deserves this low score to show gamefreak we care about The National Dex and want ourI just think it’s bad they don’t have the national Dex Honestly I know not everything is black and white and such but I genuinely believe they rushed the game for sales every November since Sun and moon there’s been a new Pokémon game I don’t like that Sure this game does a LOT right but I still think it deserves this low score to show gamefreak we care about The National Dex and want our Pokémon games made with time and love feel free to disagree because the simple fact is yeah this mostly cause of the National Dex it’s not cause I want all the Pokémon well I do but still I think slowly but surely if this yearly release thing keeps going then Pokémon’s gonna become no different then Say Madden or Freaking EA sports games bold claim I know but it’s what I believe so yes this is a good game but I’m giving it a low score so maybe hopefully the next Pokémon game is made without the stupid deadline but maybe IM the stupid one… Expand
  14. Spington
    Nov 20, 2019
    6
    Let's just get this out of the way real quick. Pokemon Sword and Shield are NOT 0/10s. While Pokemon Sword and Shield aren't perfect, they also don't deserve that unfair rating.
    The graphics in Pokemon Shield are a hit or miss to be honest. Sometimes they look really good, and other times they look pretty shaky. But overall, I will say the game does look...nice. Not fantastic,    Let's just get this out of the way real quick. Pokemon Sword and Shield are NOT 0/10s. While Pokemon Sword and Shield aren't perfect, they also don't deserve that unfair rating.
    The graphics in Pokemon Shield are a hit or miss to be honest. Sometimes they look really good, and other times they look pretty shaky. But overall, I will say the game does look...nice. Not fantastic, just...nice. I'd give the graphics a 6/10. They aren't bad, but they aren't anything to talk about.
    As for the animations...Yeah they can be pretty bad. Some of the animations for specific attacks in a Pokemon Battle can look really good! The same goes for the Pokemon Trainers when they first send out their Pokemon. Something as simple as throwing a Pokeball was given so much character and personality. However, I will say that a lot of the Pokemon battle animations just resort to the Pokemon hopping in place while an effect plays to show an attack happening. Some of the choices are really strange too (For example, Scorbunny will run up and kick a Pokemon when using "Tackle", but will only hop in place when using "Double Kick"...? Also, the Pokemon Dubwool will use it's hind legs and kick when using the move "Headbutt"). While some moves are given actual animations, as confusing as some of them may be, most of the moves that I've seen resort to simply moving the model around and using fancy effects instead of giving us an actual animation. Not to mention the models are ripped straight from older games, instead of what GameFreak promised, which was giving us brand new models. Speaking of ripping from older games, even some animations for trainers were ripped from older games, such as Hop having some of the exact same animations as Hau (Pokemon Sun and Moon).
    I also have a complain that I haven't really seen going around before, and that's...the lack of brand new Pokemon, and the mass of older Pokemon. When there's a brand new Pokemon game, with a brand new region, people want to see the new Pokemon, catch and train them, to see how good they all are! However, the game features...a surprisingly small amount of brand new Pokemon. They do give you a good handful at the beginning, but after that it becomes rather difficult to find new Pokemon, you just keep finding the same Pokemon you've already seen before (and no, Galarian forms of old Pokemon don't count as "brand new Pokemon"). In my opinion, all the routes should have been filled with brand new Pokemon in order to support the new region, while the "Wild Area" would be filled with Pokemon from other generations for those who want to seek them out.

    Despite these negatives...I can't say it's a bad game. It's definitely a breath of fresh air from how all the other Pokemon games are handled. Participating in the gym challenge is treated more like a sort of sports league, and it's a whole celebration for new and upcoming trainers. It gives you a far greater feeling than just grabbing a Pokemon and walking up to a gym leader, for them to say "Oh, you're a trainer. Cool, let's fight, I guess." This game's gyms are handled just differently enough for them to feel nice and fresh. This also extends to the final challenges in the main story, which I will not spoil here.
    The fact that you can see all the Pokemon just walking around, doing their own thing, is really cool. I know that the "Let's Go!" games did this before Pokemon Sword and Shield, however it's still something to appreciate.
    The Galar Region is absolutely beautiful, and is easily one of my favorite regions in all of Pokemon. The land is filled with such diverse areas and it's so fun to simply just look around them.
    The ability to customize your character in this game is very diverse (for a Pokemon game) and it really does help add your own personal touch into this game. It may not be anything ground-breaking, although it is a nice addition to see included.
    Dynamaxing is also a really nice mechanic...although I will say, gym battles will often just resort to "Let's Dynamax our last Pokemon, then see who hits harder." Also, the idea is just...really dumb in my opinion. It's just the Pokemon growing bigger. I feel like they could have used a bit more creativity here.

    If you like Pokemon, you'll like this game. I only give it a 6/10 due to the negatives listed earlier, and since this doesn't feel like enough of a change from the other Pokemon games. It feels like they did the bare minimum of what they could do for a new Pokemon game. Today, we expect more from Pokemon, especially when The Legend of Zelda and Mario have games like Breath of the Wild and Odyssey. So in short...it's what you'd expect from the next Pokemon game. Changes are made, but not as much as you'd like.    … Expand
  15. F4g077
    Nov 20, 2019
    0
    It seems like they ported the game from the 3DS. the laziness of the developers really shows everywhere in game.
  16. Fidelator
    Nov 20, 2019
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Terrible graphics, laughable battle animations, missing half the pokémon, there is no voice acting, the wild area does not have anything to do, Dynamax is ridiculous and not nearly as good as Megas. The story on the game is utterly recycled and terribly bad. They took away useful mechanic, specially the world trade center. 0/10, would not buy again, go spend your money on Witcher 3 or dragon quest so you can see the definition of a well made game.… Expand
  17. fidalgo0
    Nov 20, 2019
    9
    The story is amazing and entertaining. The pokemon selection, despite incomplete, is perfect for the region. The music is amongst the best of all the franchise. The wild area is immersive, and a great step forward in the franchise.
  18. AvalonBunny
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    Half the pokemon for 20 extra USD. Game Freak is simply not up to the task, Nintendo should takeover and hand the franchise to real developers or give the current one enough resources.
  19. Lugui96
    Nov 20, 2019
    10
    Haven't been this excited for a Pokémon game for so long. The graphics are not mindblowing, but thats not what I expect out of a Pokémon game. For me, the gameplay and atmosphere are what matters most, and this game nails it.
  20. dandan791
    Nov 20, 2019
    4
    I have been a long time Pokemon fan, and I totally feel the disappointment in the negative reviews. I originally gave this a rating of 2 simply because I’m horrified by some of the choices that were made in creating this, but I decided to change my rating to a 4 because even though it’s a “bad“ game compared to other pokemon games it’s still a Pokemon game. I wish they had simply focusedI have been a long time Pokemon fan, and I totally feel the disappointment in the negative reviews. I originally gave this a rating of 2 simply because I’m horrified by some of the choices that were made in creating this, but I decided to change my rating to a 4 because even though it’s a “bad“ game compared to other pokemon games it’s still a Pokemon game. I wish they had simply focused on really showcasing what they could do with a Pokemon game on the Switch, but rather they chose to cut corners where they IMO really shouldn’t have (especially considering the promises that were made during the creation of the games). I don’t know why, but Let’s Go seemed more polished than this.

    You have 8 preset character designs to choose from, all of which are really really boring, and I wish a more thorough character customization tool (besides hair, eyebrows, and eye color) were in place. They cut a ton of my favorite Pokemon (all in all they cut 400 pokemon out of the games completely). The graphics are bad compared to other switch titles (but obviously good compared to the 3DS versions of Pokemon, but that should go without saying). The story is flat, the characters are uninspiring, and the conversations are dry. “Dynamaxing” and “Gigantamaxing” seem gimmicky. The latter was slightly more intriguing, but I cannot understand the big difference between this and the Mega X&Y forms, so to release it as a “new” feature seemed a bit odd to me. Also, why spend time on that and not time on including all the Pokemon and polishing the game? I managed to ignore other annoyances like the occasional stuttering, lifeless 3DS style animation in trees and greenery, and the odd bug here and there. However, my disappointment peaked towards the end of the main story (no spoilers) when they chose to suddenly change the typical 3D movie scene of people talking to a few still images of blatantly obvious concept art with subtitles running below. It felt random, out of place, lazy, and like a total break from the general art style in the rest of the game. It literally only happened once in the entire game, but during a pretty important conversation. The concept art images were pretty ambitious, so I assume they just didn’t have time to finish the actual scenes. It made me see just how rushed this game was, and it also made me critically look at just how many corners they cut (and promises they broke) in making this game – it’s a lot.

    If they release updates and DLCs in the future I am more than willing to change my review, as I feel like there is a solid skeleton in place here. It just feels hollow compared to other titles. So... as a Pokemon fan I’m incredibly disappointed with these two games, but it seems obvious to me that this is not a proposal to the core fan base. This is to all the parents that want an easy holiday present for their kid and it will sell like hot cakes regardless of the reviews. Kids will gobble this up and be happy, as is the case with every single Pokemon game.    … Expand
  21. Dazar
    Nov 20, 2019
    3
    A lot of reviewers are saying this is the best Pokemon game ever. How? Look, it has the fundamental bare bones stuff, but it also has a lot of crap and cut out good parts. Lets start with the ones I have the greatest issue with. So, this game was touted as being for the long-time and competitive fans. I disagree.

    First lets look at the EV system. You can no longer see what your exact EV    A lot of reviewers are saying this is the best Pokemon game ever. How? Look, it has the fundamental bare bones stuff, but it also has a lot of crap and cut out good parts. Lets start with the ones I have the greatest issue with. So, this game was touted as being for the long-time and competitive fans. I disagree.

    First lets look at the EV system. You can no longer see what your exact EV values are. Which sucks. You can not instantly reset all EVs, you need to use berries specific to each stat. Where do you get these berries? The stupid boring Max Raid battles. You have to farm them. There is no berry garden to cultivate them in this game either. Have fun with that.

    The GTS is gone as many are aware, but now you need to use both Nintendo Online service as well as communicate with the person you want to trade with before you start. Have fun using Discord or this game's Wonder Trade (I know it is called something else) to get version exclusives that you may want (HA Darmanitan is going to be fun to try and get for shield).

    Lets talk about Max Raid and dynamaxing. They are boring. Now I never liked Z-moves all that much but they were more interesting than dynamaxing. The fact that the Megas were also cut for this
    crap sucks. The number of moves you have when dynamaxed is so limited and brainless. I believe all status moves become a glorified 'protect' as well. Even Z-moves had more varied effects. The worst part is you are pretty much forced to use it unless you want to get a lot of your guys killed in gyms.

    We already know about the dex cut so there is no reason to talk about it in too much detail. That said the animations outside of battle are nice, but very pointless and should not have had resources put into them.

    It has fun moments, but whereas there was stuff I used to enjoy (like the gym and the battles to become champ) this game has made me dread it. A majority of the new Pokemon I like, but for the first time they actually created Pokemon I dislike. Five of them. This game gets a 3 out of 10 for going backwards in too many ways and adding forced unpleasant mechanics. Hopefully, gen 9 comes out better, but I am concerned. Due to gen 8 being the basis of the possible gen 4 remakes, I have no hope for those games. I do hope they patch some problems out, but can in no way patch everything out. Also, turn autosave off for this game.

    Edit: The games sold well. Expect the drop in quality to continue.    … Expand
  22. Joelfusetti
    Nov 20, 2019
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. O novo jogo de Pokémon é um desrespeito aos fãs. O que se esperava de um game para console era uma coisa inovadora e com um grande potencial. O que foi jogado por agua abaixo com um jogo cheio de bugs e absurdos gráficos. Jogoa feito por uma pequena empresa de 10 pessoas dão de 10 a 0 nesse fiasco comandado por uma empresa multnilhonaria. Fico triste com a situação e mais triste ainda com quem compra e apoia cegamente. Quem sabe um dia a gamefreak a gamefreak visa mais o público doque dinheiro.… Expand
  23. Vasiliid
    Nov 20, 2019
    10
    Good game, if you like Pokemon world, all thacute little creatures, that definatly your game, fun to catch, fun to watch, fun to play that's all what need from good game!
  24. Reprise
    Nov 19, 2019
    6
    Pokemon Sword and Shield can only be described as a huge disappointment. Despite these games being hyped as the first 'real' Pokemon games on the Switch and the next generation in the series, Pokemon Let's Go (the sort of spinoff/Pokemon Yellow remake) released last year was actually a far more enjoyable game.

    Instead of taking the series forward, Sword and Shield take things backwards.    Pokemon Sword and Shield can only be described as a huge disappointment. Despite these games being hyped as the first 'real' Pokemon games on the Switch and the next generation in the series, Pokemon Let's Go (the sort of spinoff/Pokemon Yellow remake) released last year was actually a far more enjoyable game.

    Instead of taking the series forward, Sword and Shield take things backwards. It looks and feels like a 3DS game, but more importantly, the gameplay feels a bit stale. You experience the same story beats play out once again, the environments aren't great and catching and battling Pokemon just doesn't feel as good as it used to.

    Overall, I don't feel Pokemon Sword and Shield are bad games per se, they are reasonable adventures and I'm sure younger audiences will find them mostly enjoyable, but for those who have played Pokemon games before, will find that not only do these new games fail to take the series forward, but there are also far better Pokemon games out there.    … Expand
  25. Gtwoodin
    Nov 19, 2019
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Pokémon has been a mainstay in my life since I was 6. I’ve loved Pokémon and even battled in the world championship. I honestly loved the game. I’ve played over 24hrs and for a busy student that’s a feat. Negative:

    But I have some unavoidable problems. First off the bat not a full Pokédex. Game freak is lazy simple as that. The laziness is felt through the game and that makes me mad and disappointed. Each town feels so close to good that it sucks. We see locations that are constantly not explorable. This is laziness that needs to be fixed. Pokémon that are in the game sometimes don’t even make sense. Why is Durant in the game when mareep a literal sheep Pokémon not in a game that has a use for sheep Pokémon. Then not being able to fit all the Pokémon in the game is bs and the models look like exactly what they are, up scaled sun and moon models. The cut of moves and TR system is stupid. Team yell is the worst yet, they aren’t even evil just something in the way. If game freak thinks the gym challenge is enough for a campaign they are sorely wrong. Constant frame rate issues gets in the way too. Mega evolution was the last time a gimmick truly worked but I’m neutral on dinamaxing. Bring me more to do. If there was a second region with an updated Kalos story I would have been way happier. Pokémon camp is just bad Pokémon ammie

    Positives:
    Great npc designs, I love the gym leaders and their trainer cards. I have never caught so many Pokémon in a main story campaign I have a 150 in the box rn. Games look great, from a spectacle standpoint. I do honestly enjoy the max raid battles and it’s fun to do in that sense but in gyms it’s dumb. I love most all of the new designs. Some of my favorite were hatterne, coalossal, and duraludon. Some of these new Mons’ look great for competitive. And the music is really well composed the gym theme really gets you hyped up. Overall had fun but game freak has their work cut out to make it up to the fans and I really hope they do. Pokémon is just such a heartwarming phenomenon and deserves better than what gamefreak put into this game.

    5/10-ok not great had more fun than sun and moon but sun and moon has more to do with a real story.    … Expand
  26. Mikki1986
    Nov 19, 2019
    10
    Storymode took me 30hrs to finish. Playing docked and graphics are really nice. 400 pokemon are more then enough for me. Me and my 11 year old love it 10/10
  27. Meteorsmash
    Nov 19, 2019
    0
    The Short Version: Hire Genius Sonority again for 3D games. Gamefreak is incompetent.

    The Long Version: GameFreak wanted to spare efforts cutting down content as much as possible for maximum profits, their reason for doing so is: "It's Pokemon! Even if it's garbage it will sell! The consumers are kids and adults who disregard quality after all, right?" WRONG! And I think the overall    The Short Version: Hire Genius Sonority again for 3D games. Gamefreak is incompetent.

    The Long Version: GameFreak wanted to spare efforts cutting down content as much as possible for maximum profits, their reason for doing so is: "It's Pokemon! Even if it's garbage it will sell! The consumers are kids and adults who disregard quality after all, right?" WRONG! And I think the overall Metacritic score speaks volumes. Let me list the issues of the game once again...
    -The game is full of low quality environments and textures.
    -Pop-in is Awful.
    -Cutscenes that look like they were meant to have voice acting makes the game feel awkward...this is inexcusable in 2019
    -ALL FAN-FAVORITE POKEMON CUT FROM THE GAME!! There's NO starters from previous regions, NO fossil pokemon, No legendaries from previous games either, hell, they went out of their way to piss a lot of people off. What was the point of Pokemon Home then??! Greedy and lazy summarizes GameFreak's "efforts" this generation.
    -Story is the most dull and boring I've seen in any pokemon game...
    -Recycled models and animations from the 3DS, AND NO, THEY ARE NOT "NEW" MODELS, THEY ARE THEY VERY SAME! There's a pretty absurd rumor online that the models were made from the ground up, that's an obvious lie, unless you are blind.

    Overall: Gamefreak need to wake up, it's 2019, this piece of garbage is inexcusable, Switch games so far have set the bar pretty high, if you compare this game to Zelda, Mario, Xenoblade, Smash, etc. GameFreak should feel ashamed of themselves for releasing this game in its current state, shame on you...    … Expand
  28. Starfree
    Nov 19, 2019
    8
    This game a lot of issues, but IMO the positives outway them all. This feels like a Pokémon game I know and love. The atmosphere is great the characters are great, and the graphics are pretty good.MAX RAID BATTLES ARE AWESOME!!! However with the story it’s clear that this is an unfinished game. Their is a lack of story content compared to past Pokémon titles, and the last 2 gyms aren’tThis game a lot of issues, but IMO the positives outway them all. This feels like a Pokémon game I know and love. The atmosphere is great the characters are great, and the graphics are pretty good.MAX RAID BATTLES ARE AWESOME!!! However with the story it’s clear that this is an unfinished game. Their is a lack of story content compared to past Pokémon titles, and the last 2 gyms aren’t even gym challenges, the 7th gym is literally a hallway. But the game is still super fun… Expand
  29. LosAndos
    Nov 19, 2019
    9
    I don't understand what's wrong with everybody. These games are for sure not the best Pokemon games ever, but also not the worst. Let's be honest, most hate is just out of spite.

    The real disaster happened on November 18 2016, when Gamefreak released a Pokemon Game with: A tutorial lasting more than an hour Cutscenes lasting longer than 10 Disney movies Horrible Pokemon designs    I don't understand what's wrong with everybody. These games are for sure not the best Pokemon games ever, but also not the worst. Let's be honest, most hate is just out of spite.

    The real disaster happened on November 18 2016, when Gamefreak released a Pokemon Game with:

    A tutorial lasting more than an hour
    Cutscenes lasting longer than 10 Disney movies
    Horrible Pokemon designs
    The same boring map design everywhere
    Annoying NPCs
    Every dialogue being about friendship and stuff like that
    Dancing-1-Hit-KO moves (how creative!)
    The most childish story ever in a Pokemon Game
    I could mention so many more points why Sun/Moon is the game that should get all the hate.

    All this is NOT the case in Sword/Shield, but it was in the "just great" Sun/Moon.

    Sorry for being real, now have fun disliking my review, nerds.    … Expand
  30. Floobersman
    Nov 19, 2019
    3
    Despite the fact this generation of Pokemon games feature some of the best new Pokemon and the best new exploration features since Gold/Silver. This game shows a lack of GameFreaks willingness to improve their games to the high quality of a AAA game which would be expected from highest grossing video game franchise in the world. The game feels like a game that highly underutilizes theDespite the fact this generation of Pokemon games feature some of the best new Pokemon and the best new exploration features since Gold/Silver. This game shows a lack of GameFreaks willingness to improve their games to the high quality of a AAA game which would be expected from highest grossing video game franchise in the world. The game feels like a game that highly underutilizes the power of the Switch and still uses the same graphics and mechanica for a smaller handheld console. Being a fan for many years it is frustrating that Game Freak will not change their practices and bring the Pokemon franchise the a better quality of game with their first leap onto a large console.… Expand
  31. Thatcriticguy
    Nov 19, 2019
    8
    I'm sick of all the whiners that do nothing but complain. I'm thoroughly enjoying this game and the multiplayer and other new things give me plenty to do. My wife loves it as well. Too many gripers whining about end game like its world of frickin' Warcraft.
  32. XsGamer
    Nov 19, 2019
    10
    NOTE: If you are review bombing because of the pokedex. Grow up, you're a child and should never be taken seriously. I would urge anyone actually reading these user reviews to ignore the ones spouting crap about it due to a pokedex (not all the pokemon being in the game). Their opinion in this matter is invalid.

    With that said: Pokemon sword/shield provide a different experience than    NOTE: If you are review bombing because of the pokedex. Grow up, you're a child and should never be taken seriously. I would urge anyone actually reading these user reviews to ignore the ones spouting crap about it due to a pokedex (not all the pokemon being in the game). Their opinion in this matter is invalid.

    With that said: Pokemon sword/shield provide a different experience than previous games. None of my favorite pokemon are in the game. However that sort of thing doesn't bother me. Unlike people complaining about the lack of the entire dex I know it would take tens of thousands of hours to animate every single action and attack.

    The biggest downfall is the performance issues when you play with the online enabled in the wild area. Other than that it's really not a big deal. The entire experience is enjoyable and I've done nothing but enjoy my time spent playing.    … Expand
  33. XperiencdGamR
    Nov 19, 2019
    9
    These bad reviews are lies.I chalk this up to a few bad comments over things wanted in the game, then others going into the game with the same negative outlook, which attracted more negativity. The truth. Its a great pokemon game!!! For everything everyone says its lacking it more than makes up for in its Online battle system, its wide variety of pokemon to collect from multipleThese bad reviews are lies.I chalk this up to a few bad comments over things wanted in the game, then others going into the game with the same negative outlook, which attracted more negativity. The truth. Its a great pokemon game!!! For everything everyone says its lacking it more than makes up for in its Online battle system, its wide variety of pokemon to collect from multiple generations, and its open wild areas to catch pokemon from. Does it give fans every thing they asked for. No, but it does give some of the key aspects fans wanted, all while not deviating too much from your standard pokemon adventure youve come to love. Dont listen to all the negative reviews , try the game yourself, and put in more than 1 hour worth of game time, and you will come away happy and glad you played this game.… Expand
  34. picnick
    Nov 19, 2019
    0
    This game has too many problems to recommend.
    No national dex, Bad Performance, Bad textures & WAY TOO MANY UNSKIPPABLE CUTSCENES. all of this could've been fixed but pokemon is too lazy. I will wait until they release a good game before I buy another pokemon game.
  35. Breo2019
    Nov 19, 2019
    3
    You need to understand game freak that you are not Pikachu, you have to evolve and make a whole new rpg pokemon game, the one we have been dreaming and waiting for.
  36. drpro
    Nov 19, 2019
    9
    A lifelong fan here and this is the BEST pokemon game among series.
    I played the game for 17 hours straight and cannot stop; I haven't finished the game because there are so many playable elements that I fall in love with.
    Comparing to old pokemon games: 1) I can see my friends walking around in the wild area and I camp with them. We can see each other's pokemon, so I started to    A lifelong fan here and this is the BEST pokemon game among series.
    I played the game for 17 hours straight and cannot stop; I haven't finished the game because there are so many playable elements that I fall in love with.

    Comparing to old pokemon games:
    1) I can see my friends walking around in the wild area and I camp with them. We can see each other's pokemon, so I started to spend more time catching rare pokemon so that I can show off.

    2) I needed more money to buy pretty clothes, do makeup and change hairstyles so that I can amaze my friends; I start to battle NPCs to make money. To win the battle faster and make money faster, I needed to build a better pokemon team and build a better move combination.

    3) I fight Dynamax monster with friends in the wild areas. To show off my pokemon skills, I spend more time to figure out the best move combinations for new pokemon at each stage of the game. Yes, I like showing off ;) and my friends too.

    4) I am more addicted to berries because I want to make different curries.

    5) Beating the gym is not just walking around and battling with annoying NPCs. There are more interactive puzzles to solve and "I NEED THEIR MONEY TO BUY MORE CLOTHES!". Gym battles are excited, there are audiences cheering for you.

    6) A better soundtrack, it makes gameplay much more immersive and exciting.

    7) Great and beautiful old pokemon game core is kept: Collect, trade and battle. And new features serve for these game core well.

    8) You can see pokemon walk around. Unlike old pokemon games, now I can avoid unnecessary battles. Most importantly, pokemons are so cute when they wander around!

    9) The most amazing thing for pokemon games since the old series; I call it "pokemon culture": it brings your friends together and you guys will discuss your discoveries like scientists.

    However, there are disadvantages:

    1) I played a physical copy and turned off the auto-save feature as others suggest. The sd card issue did not happen to me. If the sd card issue is related to the game, this is BAAAD.

    2) In the wild zone, other players are lagging(not sync). It's 2019, really, this should not be an issue.

    3) Hmmm... What happened to Gorythmic???

    4) Even though my fav pokemon is not gone, I feel sorry for those whose fav got cut.

    5) Where is pokemon bank? :(

    I am glad that gamefreak made changes to improve the gameplay. Good work!    … Expand
  37. achillescubel
    Nov 19, 2019
    1
    Made to be a handheld game you can play on your TV not a console game you can take with you. Charging 60 dollars. Horrible animations for 2019. No voice acting, with the excuse being they were released in too many languages. Bad graphics for 2019. Missing half the total pokemon. This could have genuinely done something amazing, but gamefreak chose to do the minimum knowing it would sell anyways.
  38. alcremieimpidip
    Nov 19, 2019
    10
    My favourite game for sure. It was so so funny, the pokemon designes are perfect! I love this so much!
  39. Krakuan
    Nov 19, 2019
    7
    Its by no means perfect but the game is fun to play. The new pokemon look cool and i particularly like the look of Dragapult and toxitricity. I'm a bit bummed about the fact that i can't bring in Regus ( my swampert from my emerald game) but it's honestly a minor annoyance for me as i tend to use a team of new gen pokemon anyway and only bringing in one or two old favourites from previousIts by no means perfect but the game is fun to play. The new pokemon look cool and i particularly like the look of Dragapult and toxitricity. I'm a bit bummed about the fact that i can't bring in Regus ( my swampert from my emerald game) but it's honestly a minor annoyance for me as i tend to use a team of new gen pokemon anyway and only bringing in one or two old favourites from previous gen games.

    Collecting all the pokemon is only one aspect of pokemon and I've always maintained that its the journey and becoming champion that are the main aspects of pokemon. Personally i don't do multiplayer at all for anything so i don't really do the whole battling other people thing. Dynamax raids are a bummer in this regard but hey i can just not do them so its fine. I would have liked team yell to be a bigger threat and since i still have all my pokemon in my pokebank i have still basically almost caught them all ( still struggling with dreepy aquisition) so it doesn't really matter if i can't have them all in one game as i still have them. I do recommend getting it on special or do what i did and split the price of a sword and shield bundle with a friend or family member to reduce the cost. Graphics are a bit lackluster but honestly as someone who plays almost all his games on low quality i don't really care ( this is a personal thing) and i would have liked the option to turn shared exp so that i actually use pokemon to get them to evolve (this is actually a very good way to find out move sets and abilities about pokemon you thought sucked based on looks but turn out to be awesome when you take the time to battle with them. I would have liked some more end game content like in emerald with the battle frontier or something similar to heartgold with those race minigames and pokemon contests from emerald where you could be a coordinator. All in all its not a bad game its just missing a few minor things some some people are blowing a bit out of proportion. You can still catch all the pokemon you just can't have them all in the same region now and lets be honest that makes sense. Satoshi doesn't take all his pokemon with him when he goes to a new region ( he just takes pikachu) he leaves them in kanto. I view this the same way i just wish i could have taken my version of pikachu ( Regus) with me    … Expand
  40. Squishydew
    Nov 19, 2019
    5
    Pokemon sword & shield show everything thats wrong with mainline pokemon games.

    Every generation it becomes more obvious that gamefreak puts in minimal effort with lacking animations, graphics, and this time a story that is outright annoying, being delivered by CONTINUOUS npc interuption. Even worse, at times the npcs run off to experience the real story while you just do a    Pokemon sword & shield show everything thats wrong with mainline pokemon games.

    Every generation it becomes more obvious that gamefreak puts in minimal effort with lacking animations, graphics, and this time a story that is outright annoying, being delivered by CONTINUOUS npc interuption.

    Even worse, at times the npcs run off to experience the real story while you just do a meaningless task.
    On top of the Dex cut, subpar online functionality and FPS drops, these games feel rushed and uninspired.

    There are redeeming qualities - Like overworld pokemon are amazing and miles better than random encounters, but its sort of ruined by the extremely obvious pop-in issues the game has.

    The leap to console should've been amazing, sadly its below average at best.

    This is a €20 game being sold for €60    … Expand
  41. Insejnar
    Nov 19, 2019
    2
    Where do i begin... I was really hopeful for these games thinking how cool it would be to play a mainline pokémon game on a console and how it will look way better, It didn’t look better. Framerate dropping during cutscenes and battles felt reasonable on the 3ds sun and moon era but now it baffles me how the games can look so cheap with such terrible animations when walking or when usingWhere do i begin... I was really hopeful for these games thinking how cool it would be to play a mainline pokémon game on a console and how it will look way better, It didn’t look better. Framerate dropping during cutscenes and battles felt reasonable on the 3ds sun and moon era but now it baffles me how the games can look so cheap with such terrible animations when walking or when using some attacks. This could’ve been amazing but gamefreak messed it up. Still no character customisation apart from choosing skin colour and clothes/hair. I was really hyped to get a mantle like leon but that seems impossible.

    And then we get to the pokemon and the ones they chose to bring over. When they announced the end of national dex i said fine, they will be able to pick the right pokemon from each generation. But now that I’ve played through both games it feels like a huge troll. I saw maractus, throh and sawk, diggersby, pelliper, vanillite line, delibird, baltoy, seismitoad, BASCULIN!?, barbaracle, elgyem and beheeyem, shiinotic and just dumb **** Sure there’s some good choices like machamp, lucario, gyarados and excadrill but overall it’s a huge disappointment. Also charizard gets sucked off again and i hear people are not happy about that. It has some good ideas like the wild area and dynamaxing but it feels tedious that the Gigantamax form raids are Impossible to find if you aren’t the luckiest person alive. The online raidsystem does not work it’s impossible to get into a good raid and if you are connected online while in the wild area the game starts lagging and people and pokemon can appear out of the blue because the game’s rushed.

    It feels bad to say that the franchise I’ve always loved and respected has let me down so much.
    2/10    … Expand
  42. Maliao01
    Nov 19, 2019
    9
    Tiene grandes mecanicas que pueden sen mejor utilizadas pero este juegoe s odidado por su fandom que es el mas toxico
  43. lokiface
    Nov 19, 2019
    10
    It's a great game with brilliant characters, the new Pokemon are exciting and the battles are a treat. The wild area is incredibly addictive and it's fun to go back and see what new Pokemon show up, and seeing the other players running around/biking. I've felt encouraged to play with friends using the raid system and have teamed up several times with my buddy in California. The gymIt's a great game with brilliant characters, the new Pokemon are exciting and the battles are a treat. The wild area is incredibly addictive and it's fun to go back and see what new Pokemon show up, and seeing the other players running around/biking. I've felt encouraged to play with friends using the raid system and have teamed up several times with my buddy in California. The gym challenges / battles feel epic and the actual difficulty is well-crafted (first gym Pokemon are level 20). The camping and curry making system is really fun too. Don't listen to all the negative reviews you'll just miss out on a good game.… Expand
  44. freddyfred
    Nov 19, 2019
    10
    I’ve been playing Pokémon since red and blue, and this is the first one I’ve felt compelled to finish in a LONG time. This game has so many quality of life improvements from previous games; the inclusion of multiplayer online is excellent; and I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH how little the graphical inaccuracies matter or are noticeable. This game is FANTASTIC. Don’t let people who haven’t playedI’ve been playing Pokémon since red and blue, and this is the first one I’ve felt compelled to finish in a LONG time. This game has so many quality of life improvements from previous games; the inclusion of multiplayer online is excellent; and I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH how little the graphical inaccuracies matter or are noticeable. This game is FANTASTIC. Don’t let people who haven’t played it tell you otherwise.… Expand
  45. TurricanFan64
    Nov 19, 2019
    0
    I’d rather play Thexder while having someone repeatedly kick me in the nuts than play that pile of **** again. -10/10, would not recommend.
  46. Flare748
    Nov 19, 2019
    10
    The flaws are so minor they really don’t matter to me. I haven’t had this much fun in a Pokémon game since XY. I would recommend this game to everybody. Gyms are so hype now thanks to the music, setup and camera angles. The wild area is so fun and full of fun and engaging max raid that you can play online and locally. Towns look amazing on the Switch and I will be playing this game forThe flaws are so minor they really don’t matter to me. I haven’t had this much fun in a Pokémon game since XY. I would recommend this game to everybody. Gyms are so hype now thanks to the music, setup and camera angles. The wild area is so fun and full of fun and engaging max raid that you can play online and locally. Towns look amazing on the Switch and I will be playing this game for hundreds of hours.… Expand
  47. Felipecarneiro
    Nov 19, 2019
    10
    Joguei somente o modo offline, passando até o pós-game, mas gostei bastante do jogo. Ainda sinto falta dos Pokémon que não estão na dex, mas o que realmente me deixou chateado foi a desculpa da GF sobre os “problemas operacionais”, mas o jogo em si, me diverti e ainda estou me divertindo bastante ✌️
  48. SK1Y101
    Nov 19, 2019
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Wonderful, impeccable, outstanding, trailblazing.
    These were the promises Game Freak made to us about this game, and yet what did we receive?
    An empty shell of a game, clearly rushed and barelypolished, without a shred of any of the former games shining features, Including, but not limited to:
    Shiny starters
    Mega-evolutions
    having access to every move, ever item, every Pokémon, every gym.
    The elite four existing.
    Victory road existing.
    Decent graphics,
    actually getting to play the game rather than being railroaded....
    The list of features missing in SwSh goes on.

    A glorified Pokémon go, with less effort than should be physically possible to inject into a franchise this large.
    If you want to play Pokémon, pickup Gen 4, Gen 7, hey, maybe even Gen 1 if you want; Don't expect to find anything desirable in sword and shield.    … Expand
  49. Blu21221
    Nov 19, 2019
    10
    This game is very very good, people are just mad about their favourite Pokémon not being in the game, and to reply to some people, LGPE is a bad pokémon game compared to SwSh, LGPE fused mechanics from Pokémon Go and from the main series and it was really disturbing and terrible.
    Here, the game only has mechanics from the main series and some addition which makes the game very good and    This game is very very good, people are just mad about their favourite Pokémon not being in the game, and to reply to some people, LGPE is a bad pokémon game compared to SwSh, LGPE fused mechanics from Pokémon Go and from the main series and it was really disturbing and terrible.
    Here, the game only has mechanics from the main series and some addition which makes the game very good and easy to understand, since it's designed for children it's very well designed.    … Expand
  50. Akayomi
    Nov 19, 2019
    7
    Short version:
    The Good:
    - Refreshing feeling overall - Good character designs - Good looking graphics and animations (Half of the time, more on this down on the 'bad') - Wild Area is amaizing The bad: - Lazy animations on a lot of attacks (Which makes it even worse, considering some attacks have beautiful animations) - FPS drops on the Wild Area, even in Docked mode - Cutting    Short version:
    The Good:
    - Refreshing feeling overall
    - Good character designs
    - Good looking graphics and animations (Half of the time, more on this down on the 'bad')
    - Wild Area is amaizing

    The bad:
    - Lazy animations on a lot of attacks (Which makes it even worse, considering some attacks have beautiful animations)
    - FPS drops on the Wild Area, even in Docked mode
    - Cutting the National Dex to "include better animations". Animations that are not in the game.
    - General unpolished feel to the game. This game needed at least 3-6 more months of development, and it could've easily been the BEST pokemon game of all time. Instead, we get a half-baked, mediocre pokemon game.

    Overall: If you enjoyed pokemon games, you will have fun. The game lacks in a lot of aspects, but it's still an enjoyable experience. I wish GameFreak would've taken more time to polish it a bit more, or at the very least that they adress the issues on patches down the line.

    Long version:
    I'm glad I bought this.

    Yes, the game has issues (FPS drops, some animations are cheap as **** it's generally unpolished, unnecesary dexit) but the game really ISN'T as bad as leakers and naysayers would have you believe. It pisses me off because if they had a few more months (say, 3 months, like Animal Crossing) this game could have been the BEST pokemon game ever. Instead, we get a half-assed mediocre game, but with enough fun stuff that it guarantees a huge profit for GameFreak, therefore they will not learn, and will continue to half-ass games, most likely. That's pretty sad.
    Also, anyone saying "the game is short!!! you can beat it in 8 hours!!" is full of **** I haven't even finished the main story and check it: 26hs and ticking. And I haven't even started doing max raids or anything endgame like that.
    The XP share turned on all the time is a pain in the ass, and we SHOULD have an option to turn it off.
    The difficulty is... very low. You can just mash A and you will probably win most fights. That being said, difficulty does spike in a few battles here and there. But most of the time it's very easy.

    Is this game perfect? No, not at all. Is it bad? Not really. It's average, or mediocre, whatever word you prefer to use. But it's fun. If you walk into the game wanting to hate it, you'll nitpick and hate every part of it. If you walk into the game wishing to have fun... well, you'll have tons of fun.

    Whether or not this game is worth 60$ is up to you to decide. For me, it should be 40$ and not a cent more. But I still bent over and paid full price. Even tho I reckon it shouldn't be full price, I personally am having lots of fun, and that makes it worth my time and money.    … Expand
  51. BoomBa35
    Nov 19, 2019
    8
    One of the better pokemon Games I have played. This game does have flaws with it (Such as the missing pokemon that have been around since ever), but if you are willing to forgo those pokemon that are gone, it is one of the better pokemon games I have played. I would bump it up one more point if every single pokemon was in the game.
  52. ArosFarron
    Nov 19, 2019
    9
    Dispite the controversy around certain aspects of the game. I can say it was well rounded and overall good quality. The online does need a bit of work as the Y-Comm systems is not as easily useful as the Festival Plaza or the Comm feature in XY. Despite that however, you don't feel the lack of a national dex because if diverse each and every Pokemon is. The battles are still as fast passesDispite the controversy around certain aspects of the game. I can say it was well rounded and overall good quality. The online does need a bit of work as the Y-Comm systems is not as easily useful as the Festival Plaza or the Comm feature in XY. Despite that however, you don't feel the lack of a national dex because if diverse each and every Pokemon is. The battles are still as fast passes and strategic as always.… Expand
  53. Sweetpair
    Nov 19, 2019
    0
    This is a disaster! All content is cuter away! No Pokemon from previous gens! No National pokedex! It's terrible!
  54. Hermis27
    Nov 19, 2019
    2
    Nice graphic and awesome sound but dameplay is boring. Side characters are dumb. No opinion to transfer my colection of shinies from 3ds.
  55. Silv3r1997
    Nov 19, 2019
    4
    Purtroppo è un gioco con molte mancanze. A livello grafico inaccettabile (dopo aver giocato a BOTW). C’è una differenza abissale tra la grafica su tv e sullo schermo della switch. Nelle terre selvagge ci sono lag a non finire. Alcune mosse sono state fatte in maniera approssimativa e palesemente di fretta. A livello contenutistico sono state introdotte sicuramente delle novità (terrePurtroppo è un gioco con molte mancanze. A livello grafico inaccettabile (dopo aver giocato a BOTW). C’è una differenza abissale tra la grafica su tv e sullo schermo della switch. Nelle terre selvagge ci sono lag a non finire. Alcune mosse sono state fatte in maniera approssimativa e palesemente di fretta. A livello contenutistico sono state introdotte sicuramente delle novità (terre selvagge principalmente), ma con il famoso “vizio” della Game Freak di non discostarsi, manco dopo vent’anni, nemmeno di un millimetro dai canoni per quanto riguarda la “trama” (sempre scontata e banale). Altra mancanza, appunto, è il classico proseguire linearmente dall’inizio alla fine del gioco facendo azioni ripetitive e a tratti addirittura alienanti (sconfiggere gli 8 capipalestra, sfidare allenatori deboli nei percorsi privi di qualunque originalità, fatta eccezione per pochissimi[La difficoltà del gioco non è regolabile]). Da questo punto di vista la Game Freak ha cercato di introdurre elementi di novità, come le missioni nelle palestre, e sono state ben accette. Ma ciò non toglie la noia di sapere già prima di iniziare il gioco come sarà tutto il gioco successivo (uguale a quelli degli ultimi 20 anni). Alcune città sono state davvero ben fatte, ma sono piccole, molto piccole. Troppo piccole.
    In conclusione le idee c’erano ma sono state mal sviluppate a mio parere rendendo il gioco una sorta di beta di quello che avrebbe dovuto essere. Secondo me il più grande difetto di un gioco è che possa annoiare, e a me questo, da grande fan del brand, mi ha annoiato in molti punti.    … Expand
  56. himbaba78406
    Nov 19, 2019
    0
    糟糕的寶可夢建模、難看的戰鬥背景
    一堆好寶可夢被踢除
    吼吼鯨有夠小
    寶可夢畫質差
    只有人設能看的遊戲
    不如拿錢買本本
  57. NaKaGaWa13
    Nov 19, 2019
    0
    Game Freak killed that game! No National pokedex, no starters from previous generation, no Totodile, no Croconaw, no Feralligatr...Weird leveling system...Worst Pokemon Game ever...
  58. Xarai
    Nov 19, 2019
    0
    First of all I still own this game I did not return it in hopes they release dlc or an expansion because that is literally the only way they can redeem some dignity in the game. I have played the entire series from red and blue all the way to sword and shield including the 3rd "installments" to each series.

    First problem - This is by far the easiest game in the entire series. Arriving    First of all I still own this game I did not return it in hopes they release dlc or an expansion because that is literally the only way they can redeem some dignity in the game. I have played the entire series from red and blue all the way to sword and shield including the 3rd "installments" to each series.

    First problem - This is by far the easiest game in the entire series. Arriving at the first gym I was already 30 levels above their pokemon and this remained common all the way til the end so my absolute biggest gripe is it is way way way too easy. at least in the older games like black and white for example the game wasnt totally easy it but had SOME challenges.

    2nd problem - Pretty much no story at all - took me a few hours to beat the game, and that saddens me probably the most because yeah we all know pokemon stories aren't complex or anything surprising but come on! Next to no story not really any villains at all just some moron who wasn't evil or bad or anything he was just stupid thats not a story hell that isnt even a lesson.

    3rd problem - team yell yeah nuff said right there and I thought pokemon sun and moon had horrible "villains"

    4th problem the map/areas - these are tiny, minuscule I didnt feel like I was exploring any of them, I breezed right through every single area in less than 5 minutes - how long did we all spend on victory road? or caves? or the frozen caves? or mazes list goes on, these were nice to look at but they were tiny.

    5th problem the running animation - not a big problem but this felt like a mobile game

    6th problem - the graphics - wow this is the nintendo switch the same console that brought us...zelda breath of the wild brings us...sword and shield... the nintendo gamecube game wannabe game. and you actually used the exact same models as you did from the 3ds which brings up the most obvious problem

    7th problem - laziness galore! - holy crap using the same models and saying theres not enough time to bring all 1k pokemon? that was utter **** btw theres barely any new pokemon in galar and it seems like no effort was put into these new pokemon like seriously a **** apple!!!! a god damn apple is a pokemon let alone the teacup like seriously wtf. the map is tiny, like really really tiny.
    and there are only 3 legendary pokemon, 1 you are guaranteed to get anyways.

    8th problem - this might be the absolute worse problem of them all... end game content
    yeah lets talk about this huge problem - there is none, the battle tower that is literally it. besides the tiny quest for your legend there is nothing to do once your done, no re-exploring the map to find new secret areas, no new region, nothing notta. no exciting minigames, no battle factory. nothing
    like wtf i beat the game in like 4 hrs and then i cant do anything except level my pokemon up for ig online play against other ppl.

    9th problem - maybe this is nintendo problem but.. ya internet play sucks.. like horribly also wtf no global trade station? da actual hell is that, you made trading EVEN WORSE how did you do that? oh i know by literally removing it and leaving us to find random ppl in hopes they have what you want for what you have which isnt likely gj now we gotta rely on **** like discord for simple trading.

    10th problem - oh wow double digits on problems thats never good. this was in my graphics complaint but still dexit had a good point. not all the pokemon are included which is a huge problem also, reusing old sprite models means you didnt even make them from the ground up and adding then wouldn't have been that hard to do.

    11th problem - the gameplay hours - the most important part.... pokemon shoudnt be a small quick game that takes 4 hours to beat unless you are speedrunning the game with foreknowledge of what to do where to go and how.

    12th and final problem on the top of my head - raids - why is this a problem? because they are available way way way too soon making the ability to level up to literal max way to early way too soon and way way too easy    … Expand
  59. Lighty
    Nov 19, 2019
    5
    Too easy, Game Freak lied so much about it, poor graphic and FPS performance, rushed, boring characters, no personality and charm, too much cut content (moves, Pokémon, etc.), boring gameplay, and some minor issues. Wild Area is good though.
  60. GongHawkeye
    Nov 19, 2019
    3
    I'm one of those who bought the game even knowing all the issues that were surrounding the game. The thing is that I cannot recomend this unless you're a hardcore Pokémon fan.

    The game itself it's enjoyable, but you cannot just get over all those little and big details: Poor graphics, lack of post game, Dexit....you can find way more things on the internet but basically this is the main    I'm one of those who bought the game even knowing all the issues that were surrounding the game. The thing is that I cannot recomend this unless you're a hardcore Pokémon fan.

    The game itself it's enjoyable, but you cannot just get over all those little and big details: Poor graphics, lack of post game, Dexit....you can find way more things on the internet but basically this is the main problem: Pokémon sword and shield are not bad games, they just cannot be accepted as a good standard for the franchise. This is not an step forward but another step back on the record of the main game saga.    … Expand
  61. Jakey92
    Nov 18, 2019
    10
    The best game in the series to date. The Wild Area in particular is any Pokémon lovers dream.
  62. GP_Gamer
    Nov 18, 2019
    9
    While flawed, it is still a really good game. It has lots of things to do. I would a shame if you didn't give it a try
  63. Pookytookybaby
    Nov 18, 2019
    7
    I had a lot of fun with the game. I was a little shocked at the lack of graphics and textures, especially in the wild area. Zelda botw and Mario Odyssey set a standard for this generation Nintendo games. This game is not great in that department. I have a lot to say about this game, but not here. Was wanting more out of a console Pokemon game.
  64. EverydayAliens
    Nov 18, 2019
    10
    Fantastic game! I’m 20 hours into it and I’m only on the 3rd gym badge. You’ll definitely get your money’s worth if you’re not a basic crybaby that loves hearing things just to hate them.
  65. Seanl12317
    Nov 18, 2019
    10
    BEST POKÉMON GAME EVER!!!!
    This game is a must buy that ever switch owner should get
  66. MysteryFruit
    Nov 18, 2019
    5
    A lot of controversies surround the release of the first main series Pokemon game for the Nintendo Switch. I have had various hours to play and complete the Pokemon Shield version of the game and grew to enjoy it. I do, however, stand disappointed as a Pokemon Fan of many years at what was cut from the game. It is a good game, but not an excellent game, with amazing features such asA lot of controversies surround the release of the first main series Pokemon game for the Nintendo Switch. I have had various hours to play and complete the Pokemon Shield version of the game and grew to enjoy it. I do, however, stand disappointed as a Pokemon Fan of many years at what was cut from the game. It is a good game, but not an excellent game, with amazing features such as over-world pokemon, challenging gym battles for new and returning players, dynamic character arcs, however as the saying goes, for every step forward Pokemon Co. takes two steps back. Half of the Pokemon were cut from the game, Mega evolution was forgotten entirely rather than built upon, gigantamaxing feels like an empty feature to fill what Mega evolutions once brought to the table. The disappointment, in my opinion, comes from a fear of what the Pokemon Co. holds for its fans, whether it will always just release mediocrity at a rushed pace to make deadlines meet, or if it will do the fans right and release what we know a company as big, wealthy and recognized as Pokemon can. For now a full-fledged Pokemon game on the switch such as Sword and Shield are acceptable and worth the play, but hopefully, the next release of Pokemon can lay to rest any doubts we have about Pokemon's future and produce the best Pokemon game of them all.… Expand
  67. GemsofStarlight
    Nov 18, 2019
    4
    So many cut corners, barely any animation or customization. Wish my character didnt have to look 12. All Pokemon not present or able to be imported to the game. Animation is lackluster, dialogue is cheap and superficial. They just want to pump out half games to make money and they will literally kill the franchise if they keep this up. The fans are OVER it.
  68. Frenish
    Nov 18, 2019
    5
    Finished the shield under 25 hours, now I’m playing sword. The game is pretty underwhelming. The design of the Pokémon are underwhelming as well. I got a eve evolved it into sylveon and got it to lvl 60 while everyone one else was 20-35 Including gyms, so pretty easy. The feature of dynamaxing is also lame.
  69. Deadgar
    Nov 18, 2019
    0
    Gotta catch none of those lame pokemon.

    It's incredible how disappointing it is to have less pokemon than a small handheld like the 3DS can handle, on a console which is capable of running Doom, Zelda BoTW and also The Witcher 3! 1000x better looking than Pokemon SW/SH. On top of that, the game looks and plays as a small 3DS game... These game should've have never existed until they met    Gotta catch none of those lame pokemon.

    It's incredible how disappointing it is to have less pokemon than a small handheld like the 3DS can handle, on a console which is capable of running Doom, Zelda BoTW and also The Witcher 3! 1000x better looking than Pokemon SW/SH.

    On top of that, the game looks and plays as a small 3DS game... These game should've have never existed until they met the optimal quality of the switch.    … Expand
  70. xXDank_HillXx
    Nov 18, 2019
    0
    Pokemon has grown stale, earlier this year is was getting into pokemon alpha sapphire and thought that was great, went to pokemon moon and was pretty dissapointed by the environments, imo these games looked better in the 2d pixely style of before, I get a general lack of motivation when it comes to playing these newer pokemon games because the art is so bland, ever get that feeling whenPokemon has grown stale, earlier this year is was getting into pokemon alpha sapphire and thought that was great, went to pokemon moon and was pretty dissapointed by the environments, imo these games looked better in the 2d pixely style of before, I get a general lack of motivation when it comes to playing these newer pokemon games because the art is so bland, ever get that feeling when your like "man I really don't want to play this anymore" and you feel bad? thats kinda where pokemon is now, walk from point A to B fight and/or catch pokemon, with or without talking to someone first, the dialogue is unmemorable, and I don't really care about the characters in the game, but then again, that was never why I played pokemon anyway. At this age I realize it was always, walk from here to here, catch or fight pokemon, and then sometimes before you catch or fight pokemon you get to read some bland dialogue… Expand
  71. Miitsu
    Nov 18, 2019
    1
    This game is an insult to the Pokémon community. It would be one thing if gamefreak actually did work on new models and that’s why they cut the national dex out. However they straight up lied and re used models and still the pokemon roster is minimal. Don’t even get me started on the animations and textures. Of like a company is going to make a game don’t half ass it. #gamefreaklied
  72. DiminicC
    Nov 18, 2019
    0
    Le faltan muchas cosas, es verdad que en el área silvestre están feos los árboles, de hecho pienso que si GameFreak hubiese añadido la PokéDex Nacional, TODO, absolutamente TODO se hubiese digerido de mejor manera, incluso las megaevoluciones, ahora también nos falta la GTS, como se supone que voy a obtener pokémon de la otra edición sin GTS y sin amigos?.
  73. Kainolan
    Nov 18, 2019
    10
    Beautiful graphics, great mechanics, a super fun time. I can't put it down.
  74. RandomS0lar
    Nov 18, 2019
    7
    It's an average game and although I thought what game freak did was wrong, I thought it was a pretty decent game. I'm neutral on the national dex because I feel bad for the people that got affected by this but at the same time it doesn't really affect me. I liked the new pokemon and the dark type gym but, I wasn't a fan of Hop. He seemed a little annoying and some of the facial design inIt's an average game and although I thought what game freak did was wrong, I thought it was a pretty decent game. I'm neutral on the national dex because I feel bad for the people that got affected by this but at the same time it doesn't really affect me. I liked the new pokemon and the dark type gym but, I wasn't a fan of Hop. He seemed a little annoying and some of the facial design in this game feels out of place.… Expand
  75. BobaSkidz
    Nov 18, 2019
    3
    THE MOST RELIABLE REVIEW LACKING MAJOR SPOILERS

    Truly Disappointed with this release, as an avid Pokemon fan it's frustrates me to see such a lack of effort endorsed into this game in comparison to its predecessors. This game was mediocre in the greater sheme of things at best within the view of my eyes aswell as what seems to be the majority outside of Gamestop and IGN. Establishments    THE MOST RELIABLE REVIEW LACKING MAJOR SPOILERS

    Truly Disappointed with this release, as an avid Pokemon fan it's frustrates me to see such a lack of effort endorsed into this game in comparison to its predecessors. This game was mediocre in the greater sheme of things at best within the view of my eyes aswell as what seems to be the majority outside of Gamestop and IGN. Establishments such as IGN claiming that this is the greatest game of the franchise is quite repulsing considering the time and effort Game Freak put into its other titles, in contrast to there modern day ethic which is highly juxtaposed to past titles and as a result this means that Game Freak will continue to construct this level of negative quality continously.

    Objective Praise
    The game is beautiful with some great visuals and locactions and captures the feel of English Culture within the Galar Region. The game also has a flourishing new roster of Pokemon which intertwine eloquently with the shortened roster of the Pokedex. The introduction of the wildlife area and new mechanics such as the Rotom Bike, Dynamax and Crowd Atmosphere enhance the games emersion, and online interaction has became a satisfying new haven for players.

    Subjective Criticism
    This game has the worst overall plot line in Pokemon history lacks any form of integrity in its formula and lacks characters of significance and their personalities remain very one dimensional and bland.
    As there is no Evil Team within the games for the first time in franchise history (with Team Yell working alongside the player and Marline co-operatively) the games story seems disfigured as it seems there is no sideplot beside the Gym Challenge and the pacing of this game seems very confusing and lacking and due to the poor region design its very lackluster.
    The limited Pokedex is also highly damning and lingers in the mind of Pokemon veterans throughout the course of the game that such a vast quantity of Pokemon are inaccessible such as some of the fan favourites in Venasaur and Blastoise aswell as others, irrespective of the fact Game Freak had already designed the models for those Pokemon in the game; aswell as the updated switch character models for the Let's Go Games for the original 151 which they refused to include. Finally there are numerous bugs and glitches which interfere with the games emersion significantly which removes it from its potential experience. Conclusion
    This game feels very rushed and a poor reminder of the significance this developer has to the gaming industry and it almost feels Game Freak is disrespecting its own creation which is frightening for future games in the franchise as the duration of time and commitment declines every single title removing the anticipation for future projects. There is incomplete texture designs, poor writing poor creativity which is highly frustrating as the potential for this game was so high and is ultimately a shame becouse the potential for this game was so high apon release. For long time fans, this game may be deemed inacceptable such as myself, however this game indicates a good outlook on the Pokemon world aided by its visual direction. This game is by no means a terrible game as the is plenty of thrill and enjoyment that can be received remains. However I am happy it is receiving the negative critism outside of IGN that I feel it deserves as hopefully it can act as as a stepping stone to improve on future projects.

    It's establishments like IGN that accept mediocrity and overpower the use of the games visuals and take priority over the other aspects of the game which is ultimately the reason why Game Freak will deem this project a success regardless of the smaller organisations as the larger organisations accept this.    … Expand
  76. Herowill
    Nov 18, 2019
    6
    Gentlemen, you have talked a lot about the game. Your rating should not be 3.3 how it is valued in metacritical, however, the game should not cost $ 60 either.

    In my opinion, I give it a 6.8, Gamefreak should check and fans who defend the indefensible too, as well as those who are not obedient to it (hate). The franchise is not on the right track, Pokémon played from Red and Blue and it    Gentlemen, you have talked a lot about the game. Your rating should not be 3.3 how it is valued in metacritical, however, the game should not cost $ 60 either.

    In my opinion, I give it a 6.8, Gamefreak should check and fans who defend the indefensible too, as well as those who are not obedient to it (hate). The franchise is not on the right track, Pokémon played from Red and Blue and it is worth it.

    The comparison is made taking into account the console where it runs and this game does not take even 60% of the benefits of Nintendo Switch. You just have to see Zelda.    … Expand
  77. Camilohey
    Nov 18, 2019
    1
    El juego carece de nuevas características con respecto a los de 3ds y sin hablar del tiempo del tiempo de juego que es muy reducido, es necesario que se mejore, mi recomendación es NO COMPRARLO hasta no tener algo de calidad, que realmente valga 50US
  78. Sammy98
    Nov 18, 2019
    0
    Another Pokemon
  79. noxer94
    Nov 18, 2019
    0
    Game left a lot to be desired. As a long time pokemon fan I was expecting so much more.
    Wild area which was supposed to be the selling point of the game looks bland with not much else to do other than catch some pokemons - there really is not much to explore, if anything at all.
    The story left a lot to be desired; it was okeish up until the 3rd gym, then it felt rushed and not very well    Game left a lot to be desired. As a long time pokemon fan I was expecting so much more.
    Wild area which was supposed to be the selling point of the game looks bland with not much else to do other than catch some pokemons - there really is not much to explore, if anything at all.
    The story left a lot to be desired; it was okeish up until the 3rd gym, then it felt rushed and not very well worked on. I know it is supposed to be a story for kids, but even then, the story felt very much unispired, boring and lackluster when compared to other pokemon titles. We are introduced to game elements out of nowhere and the explanation for those - giantmaxing - is as bland as it could be.
    Speaking of game elements - a lot of game definiting elements are missing. No national dex (more than 60% of the pokemon were cut! last time we had such few pokemons it was 2006 and pokemon pearl was being released!), no mega evolutions, no z moves, more than 150 moves were cut...you get the point.
    Game looks bad for a switch release. Let's be honest here, pokemon was never about graphics, but this is the freaking switch and there were to be expected MUCH better graphics than the ones we got. Pokemon Battle Revolution from 2006 looks BETTER than this! Models are LITERALLY the same as the 3DS ones for XY released in 2013, animations are poor, and textures are horrible albeit masked by some good lighting effects.
    The sound is also not the best. There are some crucial parts where we dont even got music going on due to pure laziness. Music used to be great, but honestly it's quite bad in sword and shield.

    I beat the game in 15h, its shorter than the other titles and the postgame is pretty much non existent.    … Expand
  80. Lupinwolf89
    Nov 18, 2019
    10
    Great addition to the franchise. Game is fun and beautiful and the sound track is amazing. Have been playing since the beginning and am excited to see where the franchise goes.
  81. Ya_boi_Jingles
    Nov 18, 2019
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I absolutely love and adore this game. I am aware of the flaws it has which is why it doesn’t get a perfect score, but it’s just such a blast to play, and the Champion, Leon, was one of the most amazing fights I’ve played in Pokémon. It really was challenging. The new Pokémon are fantastic, and the music is amazing.… Expand
  82. DuckTurtle
    Nov 18, 2019
    9
    The game has a lot to offer and is with out a doubt the most difficult modern Pokemon game especially in the second half. The animations are smooth and the frame rate didn't drop. Most of the landscapes look great. While the did cut half of the Pokemon there are still a ton of Pokemon in the game (400), and most of the new Pokemon look good. Honestly a very solid game.
  83. Weegee400
    Nov 18, 2019
    4
    -Graphically terrible
    -Story is a mess
    -No national dex
    -No battle frontier

    +new pokemon are cool
    +raid balttles

    Below average pokemon games
  84. galazyevent
    Nov 18, 2019
    10
    I'm blown away. This game is a natural growth and has everything I want in a Poke game. So fun!!
  85. voltopt
    Nov 18, 2019
    10
    This game really makes me happy. I love the wild area and the animations. Plus the length of game is tight.
  86. Beautybrand
    Nov 18, 2019
    10
    I love it!!! This is an incredible game, and a lot of fun. I think it will go down as the best.
  87. Kaiserbobasaur
    Nov 18, 2019
    2
    I wanted to love this game. And there are GREAT new Pokémon. Dreadnaw, Cramorant and Dragapault come to mind. However, this thing barely seems like a 3DS game. Terribly rendered graphics, a ton of Pokemon being left out, weird system bricking issues, and annoying side characters all combine to make the WORST mainline Pokémon game ever. Buy at your own risk, but don’t expect anI wanted to love this game. And there are GREAT new Pokémon. Dreadnaw, Cramorant and Dragapault come to mind. However, this thing barely seems like a 3DS game. Terribly rendered graphics, a ton of Pokemon being left out, weird system bricking issues, and annoying side characters all combine to make the WORST mainline Pokémon game ever. Buy at your own risk, but don’t expect an experience on the level of Black and White or even X and Y.… Expand
  88. Ignoritus
    Nov 18, 2019
    6
    Minor spoilers; no details.

    Pokemon Sword and Shield feel like the incomplete beta of a really good game. I mean that in both a technical and a design sense. These games are fun to play through, no doubt. But most of what's ultimately fun about these games are the basic mechanics that have made up the Pokemon franchise for 20 years. When you look at everything these games do that    Minor spoilers; no details.

    Pokemon Sword and Shield feel like the incomplete beta of a really good game.

    I mean that in both a technical and a design sense. These games are fun to play through, no doubt. But most of what's ultimately fun about these games are the basic mechanics that have made up the Pokemon franchise for 20 years. When you look at everything these games do that doesn't fall back on "being Pokemon" you're left with a very half-baked array of good ideas that feel like they weren't given the polish or thought they needed to really shine.

    First of all, the elephant in the room: these games suffer on a technical level. Badly. I honestly cannot understand the constant defenses these games have received in terms of "who cares about that" when talking about frequent and incredibly visible graphical bugs that one would expect out of a demo, not a triple A release. In my playthrough I encountered dozens of cases where the games glitched visually or just lacked in aesthetic polish. And that's only to speak of the GRAPHICAL problems. These games actively lag, especially in the Wild Area. Their framerate varies from "perfectly fine" to "genuinely unplayable" based on a lot of circumstances, including what video output I used.

    But the technical shortcomings aren't the only ways in which these games feel incomplete. The Wild Area is an incredibly promising new mechanic that makes it fun to explore and discover new Pokemon. But after the initial magic of it wears of you start to realize that it is actually rather small and that there is very little to really "explore". You can find various items lying about on the ground, and of course different patches of grass feature different Pokemon, but that's about it. The Pokemon just exist, wandering endlessly in circles and leaving you with little real interactivity besides running into them to battle if you want. You can't even experience the joy of seeing something exciting off in the distance and journeying over to discover it because the render distance is absolutely pitiful. The Wild Area is a big step in the right direction, but it would benefit greatly from Pokemon being a bit more natural rather than just all popping into existence and wandering in circles. The Wild Area is a concept that invokes our imaginations of a wide open area full of Pokemon living and waiting to be discovered, but ultimately its execution is effectively a big space with a controllable camera and the overworld Pokemon mechanics from Pokemon Let's Go. The raids featured here are similarly fun at first, but start to become very frustrating when you begin to take on higher level ones. The NPC partners you can team up with border on sabotaging you at times with ridiculous sets and terrible Pokemon choices for the raid, meaning high-tier raids are really only fun with human partners. Waiting for human partners takes a while and requires you to pay for Nintendo Switch Online.

    The Galar region is genuinely gorgeous and I commend the team on the aesthetic design. However, it's just that: a gorgeous setpiece. The game consistently places superficial barriers in your way to make sure you stay in very tight designated "play areas" which often leave you no room whatsoever to explore the environments. They're pretty backdrops but don't feel like real places because you're given no room to explore them. There is one town late in the game in which the Pokemon Center is literally the only building you can enter. Routes are similar in that despite there only being 10 of them only about 3 of the routes in the game actually feature any level of exploration or depth. Most of the routes are simply straight lines from point A to point B with no real exploration available. When you couple this with the constant interruptions for large chunks of NPC dialogue you begin to spend the entire game feeling like you're on rails.

    And the NPC dialogue interruptions really are a problem. The games feature a whole host of characters almost all of which ultimately never end up being relevant. Sonia spends the entire game trying to crack a mystery that is blatantly obvious to anyone who has seen the game's box art. Hop interrupts you in virtually every route and town yet almost never says anything of any importance to you. Bede and Marnie were the bearable rivals because they were more conservative with their interruptions, but both ultimately end up being of minimal importance in the grand scheme of things. Bede's story is entirely self-contained and Marnie's doesn't really culminate in any character growth for anyone involved. Despite the game interrupting you non-stop for exposition throughout its entire playtime, the actual plot climax comes out of the left-field with no buildup and resolves in under an hour. The rushed plotpoints don't make a lot of sense in the bigger picture and left me genuinely scratching my head trying to understand certain characters' motivations.    … Expand
  89. Fran2211
    Nov 18, 2019
    10
    The Game is fresh air for the pokemon franchise Si Manu new Pokémon takes out in part de sadness of not having de national dex and the feeling of epicness un the gyms is really good
  90. LokidoFR
    Nov 18, 2019
    0
    Déçu. Aucune difficultés. Un jeu digne d'un gosse de 5ans. On attend un jeu à la sauce "pokemon call of the trainer" !!!
  91. NinjaSox7
    Nov 18, 2019
    10
    Well since I've actually played some of the game, I think the user reviews are very gross. Don't judge a book by it's cover and actually bother playing it. I know I'm not helping by giving it a perfect 10 but somebody has to balance out the BS this toxic fanbase is causign. In actuality I'd probably give it an 8 so far. The game is very fun and I seriously recommend giving it a second chance.
  92. mashedtatter
    Nov 18, 2019
    6
    I originally posted a review giving Shield a perfect 10, mostly to offset the review bombing of angry former fanboys who haven't even played the game and believe bogus reviews. But that doesn't really help out in the end, so this is going to be a very honest review.

    I like this game. I don't LOVE it. But it's not bad. If I had to rank this generation against the rest, I can say it's at    I originally posted a review giving Shield a perfect 10, mostly to offset the review bombing of angry former fanboys who haven't even played the game and believe bogus reviews. But that doesn't really help out in the end, so this is going to be a very honest review.

    I like this game. I don't LOVE it. But it's not bad. If I had to rank this generation against the rest, I can say it's at least better than every Pokemon game that isn't Heart Gold/Soul Silver, Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, or Black/White/2.

    I don't really miss any of the old Pokemon, and even though I having a Living Pokedex on my copy of Ultra Sun, I don't mind not being able to bring them all over to this game. That said, I get why people are upset, but also think they're blowing it out of proportion. Anyone with half a brain would realize they couldn't just keep throwing the same 800+ Pokemon into each game forever. You call it "laziness", I call it realizing a lot of the Pokedex is useless filler.

    The story thus far (I've only gotten up to fourth gym as of this review, currently 15 hours in and I'm taking my time exploring the wild area) isn't really much to write home about, sure. But you don't REALLY play these games for story, do you? I don't. I play to catch cute creatures.

    The music is some of the best Masuda had done yet. All the battle themes just might end up being my favorites of the whole series.

    The graphics/art are much improved over the last gen, though I will always miss the sprite art.

    Overall, I'd say this game is worth your time if you're not horribly attached to old Pokemon and don't mind that a bunch of moves were cut as well. It's not bad. It's just not great either. Middle of the road, I guess.    … Expand
  93. Dysingeriii
    Nov 18, 2019
    10
    Shield has quickly become my favorite game in the series. The new wild area is easily addicting
  94. PixelChicken
    Nov 18, 2019
    9
    I want to start by saying the only reason this got a 9 instead of a 10 is purely because i believe nothing can be perfect. Pokemon shield (and sword but whatever) is a great game and lives up to the rest of the series easily.

    As the first real entry on console it does a good job showing off how expansive the world can be with the wild area. While this doesn't take up the whole game you    I want to start by saying the only reason this got a 9 instead of a 10 is purely because i believe nothing can be perfect. Pokemon shield (and sword but whatever) is a great game and lives up to the rest of the series easily.

    As the first real entry on console it does a good job showing off how expansive the world can be with the wild area. While this doesn't take up the whole game you can spend hours just wandering around finding things you wouldn't expect, i'm looking at you level 60 pokemon and final evolutions. It actually starts to feel like how the pokemon world is in the anime and i love it.

    People complain about the graphics but honestly if you think graphics are the most important part of a game then i don't think your playing games right.

    There is more i want to say but haven't got time so i'll end with this

    Toby. Fox. Made. Music. For. The. Game

    that's all the convincing i needed    … Expand
  95. Nintedofan
    Nov 18, 2019
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. All the people giving it a 10 are people who are just feeding there natrual desire to protect an overlord like gamefreak they haven't even played the games… Expand
  96. Juggernub
    Nov 18, 2019
    0
    The game is missing many key aspects that make a Pokemon game a Pokemon game as well as just feeling like more of a grind to be able to progress rather than natural progression
  97. Ctwilliams98
    Nov 18, 2019
    10
    Pokémon Shield is an excellent game and for a long time pokemon fan it brought back the magic to me that I used to get from the games as a kid. I loved going into the game completely blind and feeling surprised at finding a new Pokémon. All the new Pokémon designs are fantastic and it took a lot more time to settle on a team because there were that many great Pokémon to choose from. EvenPokémon Shield is an excellent game and for a long time pokemon fan it brought back the magic to me that I used to get from the games as a kid. I loved going into the game completely blind and feeling surprised at finding a new Pokémon. All the new Pokémon designs are fantastic and it took a lot more time to settle on a team because there were that many great Pokémon to choose from. Even though all of the Pokémon were not in the game I never felt like I was missing anything and the Pokémon that were in the game made sense. With the amount of Pokémon there are now it's understandable that eventually they would need to make cuts. Pokémon Sw/Sh are amazing games and I recommend them to any long time fans that are still on the fence. Game Freak did a great job and I think they should be proud of what they have achieved!

    Also don't let the review bombing cloud your judgment, the Pokémon community is incredibly toxic    … Expand
  98. Interface9009
    Nov 18, 2019
    10
    I love this game, I have played about 23 hours now and I'm just about to enter the challenger's cup. I don't understand all the criticism for this new entry for Pokemon. It's just a really solid game in general.
  99. tigermetals
    Nov 18, 2019
    8
    TLDR: I've played every Pokemon game so far (except x & y) and this is my favorite one and a step in the right direction for the games. Unlike most of these reviewers, I actually played this game. 8 badges in.

    Pros: New Wild Area gives you access to a whole bunch of pokemon and challenges (optional) upfront in addition to the traditional routes. Quality of Life improvements all over.    TLDR: I've played every Pokemon game so far (except x & y) and this is my favorite one and a step in the right direction for the games. Unlike most of these reviewers, I actually played this game. 8 badges in.

    Pros: New Wild Area gives you access to a whole bunch of pokemon and challenges (optional) upfront in addition to the traditional routes. Quality of Life improvements all over. Raid battles give you excellent rewards. Not grindy. More pokemon available in the main game than ever before. More of the pokemon you want earlier.

    Cons: The game needs voice acting! I would like to see a bigger wild zone with more challenges and options and content.

    Overall: It's a lot of fun and a step in the right direction for the series, I hope they continue in this direction and branch it out further.

    People say the game is easy but remember you can also turn battle style to "set" instead of "switch". and sell your potions and healing items.    … Expand
  100. HombreLombre
    Nov 18, 2019
    8
    I've enjoyed the game yes it has flaws but is no way near as bad as some reviews have made out . Its a classic Pokémon adventure with a few twists if you like pokemon you'll enjoy this game.
Page:

Awards & Rankings

76
#76 Best Switch Game of 2019
3
#3 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 89 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 69 out of 89
  2. Mixed: 20 out of 89
  3. Negative: 0 out of 89
  1. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Apr 30, 2020
    90
    Sword & Shield have a lot to love for old and new fans, and they're pure quality from top to bottom. [Issue #44 – January/February 2020, p. 72]
  2. GameCritics
    Feb 6, 2020
    75
    I enjoyed my time with Pokemon Sword and Shield, but I ended feeling conflicted. I appreciate many of the changes and felt that it generally respected my time, but I almost felt like a passive participant. The more complex gym challenges had a meatier role, but the narrative shouldn’t have been shoved to the side. Overall, I would recommend it to players who want to have a Pokemon experience, but this one won’t stick with me the way the older ones have.
    Read full review
  3. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Jan 14, 2020
    78
    Pokemon Sword/Shield is uncharacteristically user-friendly: now there’s no need to backtrack half across the world to heal your entire team of pokemon or to get to a particular city, for example. [Issue#242, p.66]
See all critic reviews »