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
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  1. Elaami
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    This game has nothing special, and it sold a lot of copies only for being pokemon There is not effort or love for the pokemon games anymore
  2. Bruno_Bastos29
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    • Outdated and poorly optimized graphics.
    • The wilderness is ridiculously poorly made.
    • full of popin.
    • no mega evolution (I hated the megamax system)

    *GameFreak cut DeX in half so I'll cut a score from 10 to 0
  3. Knabben
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    #GamefreakLiedToUs
    Charging 60$ for an incomplete rushed game should be a crime.
  4. sgillan
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    While there are many issues with Pokemon sword and shield, I don't think they warrant giving the game a 1 out of 10. The missing Pokemon, the cut moves, the lack of post game content, the general laziness, and the developer's arrogant attitude are all working together to make sure this game deserves a 0 out of 10. I am a huge fan of previous Pokemon games, and I don't want to see theWhile there are many issues with Pokemon sword and shield, I don't think they warrant giving the game a 1 out of 10. The missing Pokemon, the cut moves, the lack of post game content, the general laziness, and the developer's arrogant attitude are all working together to make sure this game deserves a 0 out of 10. I am a huge fan of previous Pokemon games, and I don't want to see the series fail. I cannot overlook the sloppiness present in this game, however. In the end, it's the worst game ever made.… Expand
  5. Kiohara
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    jogo pokemon desde o game boy, essa minha nota não tem nada ver com natinal dex, é apenas uma critica pela preguiça de uma desenvolvedora gigantesca como a GF de fazer o jogo nas coxas e vender pelo olho da cara, zelda Breath of the wild é um exemplo do que se pode fazer no switch se tiver vontade, pokemon teve muita coisa reaproveitada das versões anteriores como movimento dos personagen,jogo pokemon desde o game boy, essa minha nota não tem nada ver com natinal dex, é apenas uma critica pela preguiça de uma desenvolvedora gigantesca como a GF de fazer o jogo nas coxas e vender pelo olho da cara, zelda Breath of the wild é um exemplo do que se pode fazer no switch se tiver vontade, pokemon teve muita coisa reaproveitada das versões anteriores como movimento dos personagen, pokemons e a câmera fixa da rotas do jogo ( apenas a wild área é mundo aberto), o que não é o problema, e deveria ter dado tempo de sobra pra melhorar outras questões do jogo, como, ataque dos pokemons, e polimento gráfico, um exemplo é o double kick, o sprite do pokemon simplesmente da dois pulinho sem movimentação alguma, parece um papelão a versão digital do jogo é leve, cerca de 9gb e pouco e o switch ja demonstrou que aguenta o tranco, então sem desculpas, pokemon let`s go tem um gráfico MUITO melhor que o sword and shield… Expand
  6. darksoulz31
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Game is absolute garbage. Anyone who's giving positive reviews have been paid off. Graphics don't improve, many mechanics are terrible.
  7. MadViolinist
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Lamentablemente Gamefreak sigue con la mentalidad de desarrollar juegos para la 3DS. Este juego está pensado para esa consola, pero no para la nintendo switch.
    Cero innovación, cero mejoras.
  8. IICapN
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Absolutely sad excuse for a game, this is quite possible the worst game from any top developer in the past decade (not just GameFreak). Nintendo should be ashamed to be associated with this garbage. A very short list of issues:
    - Graphics are OBJECTIVELY worse than Let's Go Pikachu and I would argue they're worse than Pokemon USUM. This terrible excuse for graphics is why we lost over    Absolutely sad excuse for a game, this is quite possible the worst game from any top developer in the past decade (not just GameFreak). Nintendo should be ashamed to be associated with this garbage. A very short list of issues:
    - Graphics are OBJECTIVELY worse than Let's Go Pikachu and I would argue they're worse than Pokemon USUM. This terrible excuse for graphics is why we lost over half of all Pokemon in the game? What a load of garbage.
    - We lost over half of all Pokemon in the game. Not just uncatchable, but they're not even in the game, you can't transfer into the games because they excluded excluded metadata for them and decided to exclude EXISTING Pokemon models from the game, which is what they did for other Pokemon.
    - Only 80 new Pokemon overall. They didn't even try.
    - Their new Pokemon battle concept is essentially: "Look, the Pokemon is now bigger! See how big it is? Pretty cool, huh?" No creativity, it sounds like a throwaway idea someone said jokingly during a meeting that they took as a serious comment and went with it. It's the stupidest thing I've ever heard of.
    - You'd think that Pokemon becoming bigger versions of themselves would mean Pokemon size would be an important thing to scale. Nope. They have Wailord shown as being slightly smaller as the 4'10" trainer (~150 cm). Wailord is supposed to be a 50 ft (~15m) long behemoth. But nope, huge (literally) details are no longer important.
    - Finally, the straw that broker the camel's back: the game froze when I was battling in the Ice-gym. I had auto-save on, but also kept manually saving anyway because I couldn't trust anything in the game at that point. When I restarted the game after it froze, the save point there was in Route 6, basically half the game ago.

    At that point I juts gave up on the game. I lost half the progress because this terrible-developed game couldn't bother to QA their garbage product. I'm going to try to return the game, but doubt I'll be able to. This left a bad taste in my mouth and I may never buy another Pokemon game again unless management changes and they start making respectable games again.    … Expand
  9. Calabasaloka
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Pokémon nunca ha sido una franquicia especialmente ambiciosa. Es más, para algunos su atractivo reside, precisamente, en su anclaje a un estilo de combate por turnos que parece haber quedado en el olvido por el resto del mercado (con excepciones, claro está). A mi parecer, su conservadurismo ha llevado a Pokémon a ser lo que es hoy: un producto mediocre, incapaz de reinventarse, que cadaPokémon nunca ha sido una franquicia especialmente ambiciosa. Es más, para algunos su atractivo reside, precisamente, en su anclaje a un estilo de combate por turnos que parece haber quedado en el olvido por el resto del mercado (con excepciones, claro está). A mi parecer, su conservadurismo ha llevado a Pokémon a ser lo que es hoy: un producto mediocre, incapaz de reinventarse, que cada nueva entrega trata al jugador con mayor condescendencia. Jamás había visto creadores tan ajenos a su producto. Si Pokémon alguna vez fue un proyecto apasionado, ya solo quedan los restos insulsos de lo que alguna vez fue. Los fallos de estas nuevas entregas son muchos, por lo que haré una lista de algunos, aún a sabiendas de que será insuficiente:
    -Apartado gráfico sorprendentemente malo, sumado a las animaciones ortopédicas. No soy ni diseñador gráfico ni animador, solo un jugador del montón. Pero esto tiene que ser de coña. Tomándolo con humor, hasta agradezco que sea tan descaradamente desastroso visualmente; soy de quienes lloran de la risa con la cutrez del primer Resident Evil en este aspecto. No hay mucho que explicar, los que jugamos entregas anteriores sabemos que han reciclado hasta las animaciones de los personajes humanos (que ya de por sí dejaban mucho que desar) y que la cuestionable calidad de modelados y texturas se hacen más evidentes que nunca con el salto al HD.
    -Repartir experiencia forzado, que hace del juego prácticamente injugable. Un juego de estrategia en el que la estrategia es innecesaria, a mi parecer, es muestra de una incomprensión absoluta del modo en el que el juego debe interactuar con el jugador. No hay tensión ni placer en el jugar.
    -Eliminación de la GTS. Nada más que añadir.
    -Sustitución de mecánicas ya consolidadas (véase la megaevolución) por otras más pretenciosas que solo agradarán a los jugadores de Pokémon GO.
    -La ausencia de todos los Pokémon hasta la fecha. Esto no es algo que me moleste particularmente, de no ser por el desdén con el que se ha tratado a sus potenciales consumidores. Espero que la desconexión entre compañía y usuario se vea reflejada en las ventas.
    El único punto positivo de los juegos son los diseños de los pokémon, algunos más creativos que otros, pero tan ideales como siempre; más sintiéndolo mucho, unos diseños bonitos no redimen ni por asomo sus carencias.
    En resumen: la saga Pokémon ha muerto definitivamente, (para quienes lo dudasen incluso tras la salida de los Let's Go) y tristemente, los consumidores de comida basura que son sus fans, los responsables de su muerte, no la dejaran descansar en paz. De hecho, los fans estarán encantados con los títulos, para ellos lo tendrán todo: fanservice a más no poder y la inflada de precio a los 60€ que muy gustosos pagarán en su afán consumista, junto a los múltiples servicios de pago. Ah, y no nos confundamos. Esto no es un producto dirigido a los niños, sino a adultos que se niegan a crecer. La franquicia de Super Mario ha crecido junto a sus jugadores aún siendo accesible a nuevas generaciones. Pokémon intentó crecer, pero no pudo, porque sus jugadores nunca lo hicieron.
    P.D. Muy fan de la escena inicial del juego, que no echa en falta doblaje ni mucho menos.    … Expand
  10. Liamvida
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    In short, this game is awful for advanced players, mediocre for casual player and it's desirable that this is nobody's first Pokémon game, least they get the wrong impression. It is the worst Pokémon main duo ever released and the only positive aspects are derived from the standard Pokémon formula. Being understaffed isn't even remotely enough to explain the unacceptable low quality ofIn short, this game is awful for advanced players, mediocre for casual player and it's desirable that this is nobody's first Pokémon game, least they get the wrong impression. It is the worst Pokémon main duo ever released and the only positive aspects are derived from the standard Pokémon formula. Being understaffed isn't even remotely enough to explain the unacceptable low quality of these games; GameFreak has serious leadership issues.

    This trash heap is the result of complacency, and a lack of effort and dedication. If it had been developed with care and the consumer's satisfaction in mind, it would have been a polished title with a lot of content complementing the new features. Sadly, this is not the case.

    Bugs, no endgame, half pokedex, mediocre graphics, less features than previous games...should I keep talking? Save your money and don't but this dumpster fire of a game    … Expand
  11. pmcnichols
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    It **** sucks, devoid of content. What's the point in buying Pokemon anymore?
  12. Feraligabriel
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    As bad as sword or perhaps even worse, the changes between the games are almost minimal, so there isnt much to enjoy kn buying both copies, i would advise a player to only purchase one of them, but honestly i advise them to not purchase this garbage.
  13. Drezziks
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Game feels 50% incomplete. Horrendous draw distance, pixelated shadows, empty Wild Area, and a practically non-existent post game. This is not a game for veteran players, like GameFreak stayed it was.
  14. ZeroHorugane
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Garden
    4 mounths for GARDEN
    This is a Pokémon Game?
    Pokémon Go have a Best history than this game
  15. Pikario
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. No puede ser verdad, este juego es horrible. No sólo quitaron cosas que a la mayoría de fans le gustaban si no lo sacaron antes de tiempo para poder generar ganancias nada más, ahora resulta que está tan incompleto que hasta borra partidas
    #gamefreaklied    … Expand
  16. DRGXIII
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Full of Bugs and glitches, 3ds style graphics, less features than previous games, half of the pokedex was removed for what turned out to be lies,constant stuttering,and still a bare-bones endgame.
  17. Bdiz
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Made for the hoi polloi with no appreciation for sophisticated strategy and challenge. The selection of carried over pokemon from previous versions is nonsensical (see Mudsdale), Dynamax is LAME, and they spent all that time making the game LOOK good while the pokemon still make garbled 8-bit sounds (except for Pikachu and Eevee). Save your money, play older versions and wait until theMade for the hoi polloi with no appreciation for sophisticated strategy and challenge. The selection of carried over pokemon from previous versions is nonsensical (see Mudsdale), Dynamax is LAME, and they spent all that time making the game LOOK good while the pokemon still make garbled 8-bit sounds (except for Pikachu and Eevee). Save your money, play older versions and wait until the next installment at which point Gamefreak will have hopefully realized their stupidity and reinstate the full pokedex and the deleted move-sets. OH AND WE STILL DIDN'T GET A NEW EEVEELUTION! #gottacatchemall NOT #gottacatchabouthalf… Expand
  18. LordCheezey
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    I can't say this is even close to the Pokemon game anyone wants. I started this game out with high hopes, but as it turns out, this is just a rehash of the 3ds games. And if you're wondering, the money grubbing second version scheme has no benefit past exclusive Pokemon and two different gym battles, Please, avoid this game at all costs and play Heart Gold or Soul Silver for the DS, thoseI can't say this is even close to the Pokemon game anyone wants. I started this game out with high hopes, but as it turns out, this is just a rehash of the 3ds games. And if you're wondering, the money grubbing second version scheme has no benefit past exclusive Pokemon and two different gym battles, Please, avoid this game at all costs and play Heart Gold or Soul Silver for the DS, those games, while old, give a much better experience.… Expand
  19. Ralet
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    worst pokemon ever. No national dex. No endgame. Short and boring story. Terrible graphic.
  20. vylleon
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    A falta da nacional dex, o modelos reutilizados de outros jogos o corte de mais de 400 pokémons no jogo.
  21. Leci
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Horribly rushed, had false advertising, game is a joke when it comes to difficulty, many features were stripped away just to charge extra for them despite being extremely overpriced already.
  22. Kyhrux
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    If you expected to get the full blown home console Pokemon experience with this game, I'll have to disappoint you. Everything in this game just looks like an upscaled 3ds port, the textures are bad, some objects seem like they're from a n64 game and let's not even talk about the animations which were supposed to be of higher quality in exchange for the lower amount Pokemon in the game. TheIf you expected to get the full blown home console Pokemon experience with this game, I'll have to disappoint you. Everything in this game just looks like an upscaled 3ds port, the textures are bad, some objects seem like they're from a n64 game and let's not even talk about the animations which were supposed to be of higher quality in exchange for the lower amount Pokemon in the game. The graphics are really bad we know that already what about the gameplay? What does the new big Pokemon game for home consoles bring to the table with it's supposed revolutionary gameplay? Dynamaxing
    Dynamaxing has been one of the most boring gimmicks for Pokemon since they stared doing them and funny thing is
    You can't even use them in every fight, only in some story missions and arena battles. The other gameplay is very linear and boring and there is next to no late game gameplay.
    I wouldn't recommend to buy this game and I feel so strongly about this game that I would honestly say that hate this game and everything it stands for I'll never ever support gamefreak again.    … Expand
  23. Redx
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    No Dragonite nor other people favorites. Vote with your wallet people! If enough people see this and contribute changes can happen.
  24. OmegaChase1002
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    Just buy Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth Complete Edition, EvoCreo, Temtem, or Yokai Watch instead.
    WHAT the H-E DOUBLE HOCKEY STICK was Gamefreak THINKING!?
    No National Dex, bugs everywhere, cut moves, horrible animations (despite Masuda claiming they would be the best in the series), hand-holding EASY difficulty since we're unable to turn the EXP share off anymore, free full heals literally    Just buy Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth Complete Edition, EvoCreo, Temtem, or Yokai Watch instead.
    WHAT the H-E DOUBLE HOCKEY STICK was Gamefreak THINKING!?
    No National Dex, bugs everywhere, cut moves, horrible animations (despite Masuda claiming they would be the best in the series), hand-holding EASY difficulty since we're unable to turn the EXP share off anymore, free full heals literally everywhere even when not in a Pokémon Center, abysmally short campaign, almost no postgame, a rival who is literally just Hau 2 (right down to his animations), a Champion with an unlikeable egotistical personality, obvious gen 1 pandering, a bug that can actually erase the save data of all your other games saved on your Switch, and a whole host of other problems.
    Stick to the older games from gens 1 to 7. This game is the death of Pokémon.    … Expand
  25. Wakarahen
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Gamefreak, why you lie?
    I mean, it's obvious that players would discover it was all a big lie, then why getting on the bad side of players?
    This brand need to get back to high quality, this is unacceptable for the company of one of the highest selling game brand.
  26. Zazash
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Just the worst pokemon ever. 5xx pokemon, linear story, tiny map, no more mega evolve, useless dynamax, less moves, ugly charadesign
  27. TheBlizWiz
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    They cut features and raised the price.

    This is not the law of equivalent exchange
  28. Kophice
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Really bad game!! Game Freak is literally making fun of his fans! They think you're going to buy it whatever the crap they make! Don't buy this game! If you want to try yourself, wait a friend who already has the game finish it and borrow from him. Just not give give your money to Game Freak, they don't deserve it! At least they don't deserve for this game! But im warning you, it's not good!
  29. JakePlayZ_OG
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Unfortunately, these games were review bombed & very underservingly so too.

    As these games *in my opinion* are in the top 3 Pokemon games EVER. Ranking among Diamond/Pearl & Ruby/Sapphire. The story is easy & straight to the point, not including some mega person who wants to end the universe *Thank the heavens* & the gameplay is overall a lot more fun than some other main-line Pokemon games.
  30. Shaydows
    Mar 2, 2020
    0
    Even though this was a rushed mess, I would have given this at most a 2/10. However, Gamefreak lied to the entire fanbase about why it's so bad and not a complete game. That combined with my original score makes this a easy 0/10, I wish it could be lower.
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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 »