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. LesterYida
    Jun 25, 2020
    2
    Worst gen ever. Compared with other games on Switch, the graphic Sword & Shield is not good tbh. But let's forget that, Pokemon is never good with the graphics. But excluding hundreds of Pokemon from the game? Making such a boring story with absolutely no innovation? Selling a DLC with such poor content (oh, that's nice. at least is not ultra sword & shield) ? Game Freak and The PokemonWorst gen ever. Compared with other games on Switch, the graphic Sword & Shield is not good tbh. But let's forget that, Pokemon is never good with the graphics. But excluding hundreds of Pokemon from the game? Making such a boring story with absolutely no innovation? Selling a DLC with such poor content (oh, that's nice. at least is not ultra sword & shield) ? Game Freak and The Pokemon Company seems very satisfied with what they have right now and have no intention to improve anything in the Gen 8. The only good thing about this gen is getting a Pokemon ready for online battle is much easier than before. Unfortunately I don't like online battle. So screw it, worst Pokemon game ever for me.… Expand
  2. Sesma007
    Jul 19, 2020
    2
    More of the same, next generation of Pokémon and we still see same combat mode no effort in the game Nintendo is just milking the franchise
  3. Rjair94
    Jun 21, 2020
    9
    Aventura divertida, competitivo decente, el arte es muy bonito, lo negativo los gráficos son de generación pasada y la poca cantidad de monstruos
  4. Danielife
    Jun 22, 2020
    7
    This game is fun, the story is good, even though I didn't like the end. Every character has their own personality. GF always gets better with characters, story and OST in new games. New Pokémon are very cute, they all are very caracteristic. BUT, this game has lots of problems that distract you from the good points. Of course, graphics and animation, those are very bad, and they can'tThis game is fun, the story is good, even though I didn't like the end. Every character has their own personality. GF always gets better with characters, story and OST in new games. New Pokémon are very cute, they all are very caracteristic. BUT, this game has lots of problems that distract you from the good points. Of course, graphics and animation, those are very bad, and they can't justify the choose of Dex Cut... I honestly don't really care about that, but the Cut was done so GF could improve graphics and animations, which has not been done. There are also problems with how they hand backgrounds... for example, there are 2 battles with a character on 2 different bridges, but only 1 of that has the bridge background. So I think this game was done in 1 year, without lots of quality checks. The online wasn't clearly test, because it's terrible. And this is a big problem for a game with a poor post game.… Expand
  5. Chartium97
    Jun 23, 2020
    0
    The beginning of the decline of pokemon, since the change to the 3d, gamefreak and the pokemon company have found the goose that lays the golden eggs doing less and less effort in each delivery, game and putting more abusive prices than the previous one with absurd dlcs that Supposedly they fix the content of the game, it is very sad that they give a kick to the fans that we have supportedThe beginning of the decline of pokemon, since the change to the 3d, gamefreak and the pokemon company have found the goose that lays the golden eggs doing less and less effort in each delivery, game and putting more abusive prices than the previous one with absurd dlcs that Supposedly they fix the content of the game, it is very sad that they give a kick to the fans that we have supported these games to only become more and more casual with other players, the exploration factor is totally suppressed in addition to the story, getting to do an annual installment to get the maximum possible benefit, when they could use that money to hire more people and that the final product becomes of quality like other games like super mario odyssey or breath of the wild… Expand
  6. Ihatemetacriti
    Jun 23, 2020
    0
    I HATE THAT **** ICE LEVEL WHERE YOU FALL THEOUGH TJE SNOW I HATE IT AND WHEN MY DAD LEFT I DIDNT KWNWO WHAT TO DO BUT THEN I PLAY POMXKON SWOFDAND SHIELD AND I FALL THROUGH THE SNOW **** YOU **** YOU SONY I HATE YOU REMOVE THE ICE LEVEL ****
  7. Darkmagician13
    Jul 22, 2020
    6
    As a massive pokemon fan this surely has been the most disappointing main game yet. The fact that game freak is making us pay extra to "catch them all" the lazy animation and some lazy graphics too. Also the story and plot are really boring and the villain has to be the less memorable of them all.
    On the other hand, the game has a beautiful soundtrack and the multiplayer raids it's    As a massive pokemon fan this surely has been the most disappointing main game yet. The fact that game freak is making us pay extra to "catch them all" the lazy animation and some lazy graphics too. Also the story and plot are really boring and the villain has to be the less memorable of them all.
    On the other hand, the game has a beautiful soundtrack and the multiplayer raids it's something that really is appreciated.
    The champion is actually great, with some charisma and it's actually pretty hard to beat unlike other champions before.
    Overall it's a mesh game, not to bad but not too good.    … Expand
  8. Neku_Tennyson
    Jun 26, 2020
    5
    Pokemon Gen VIII/8 is some mixed feelings for me at its core it's a Pokemon game but doesn't really improve on anything its basically the same formula since the beginning of the franchise. The new addition is the wild area which is great but what's not great so you can't catch a pokemon that's slightly higher level then your pokemon like if your Pokemon is level 28 you can't catch a levelPokemon Gen VIII/8 is some mixed feelings for me at its core it's a Pokemon game but doesn't really improve on anything its basically the same formula since the beginning of the franchise. The new addition is the wild area which is great but what's not great so you can't catch a pokemon that's slightly higher level then your pokemon like if your Pokemon is level 28 you can't catch a level 32 Pokemon, which in my opinion is very dumb. I think The Pokemon Compay should get another company to handle the mainline Pokemon games due to Gamefreak just being done with Pokemon. Gamefreak did handle all the work but I think their workers would be super tired of doing franchise over 20+ years yes I did repeat myself but this needs to be addressed, I'm excited that they are doing DLC instead of making other versions of the Gen 8 games so maybe this a step in the right direction. Oh another thing I didn't like is we lost Megas do to lets make Pokemon gigantic so I hope that for the DLC we get Megas back… Expand
  9. Niwai
    Jun 11, 2021
    2
    Нет русского языка. Игра и так не шедевр, а без русского вообще шлак. Русский язык третий в мире, но разработчику пофиг.
  10. Luts1224
    Nov 30, 2020
    6
    A really basic RPG. Nothing special about it. A few fun moments. Poor graphics. Poor story.
  11. KeybladeHero_05
    Jun 29, 2023
    7
    This game is okay. The only thing I'm going to talk about are the absence of voice acting to some parts of the game. It felt really weird during my first playthrough and I'm sure that I'll feel the same after going through my second attempt.

    The raids however is amazing and honestly, that's the only redeeming thing this game has. A good way to grind via EXP Candies because shared EXP is    This game is okay. The only thing I'm going to talk about are the absence of voice acting to some parts of the game. It felt really weird during my first playthrough and I'm sure that I'll feel the same after going through my second attempt.

    The raids however is amazing and honestly, that's the only redeeming thing this game has. A good way to grind via EXP Candies because shared EXP is a nightmare. If you're playing it for the first time and you don't have any time for grinding, go do the raid den as much as possible.    … Expand
  12. Paragonii
    Jul 20, 2020
    2
    Tbh this game is not good. I just cant understand people who are saying that generation 8 should be the best. It just steps back. If you still want to go through this game, expect like 25 hours, which is definitely the shortest Pokemon game, less content, a story that is non-existent and a rushed game in general. But that is not enough, they destroyed Competitive Play with thatTbh this game is not good. I just cant understand people who are saying that generation 8 should be the best. It just steps back. If you still want to go through this game, expect like 25 hours, which is definitely the shortest Pokemon game, less content, a story that is non-existent and a rushed game in general. But that is not enough, they destroyed Competitive Play with that 20-minutes-timer. The new feature the wild area is not really good, its like an excuse for doing less routes because you have to go through it many times instead of going on a new route and your wont be able to see new stuff there. Playing online while being in the wild area is a pretty bad idea, players gonna teleport around and the performance will be even more bad. The bad graphics is a point you can really see in the wild area, nothing looks really impressive plus things and NPCs are just appearing right in front of you. The only good thing about this game is probably the design of the characters which looks pretty decent. So should you play it? No. Should you play it if you are a big fan of Pokemon? No. And now, they want more money for more Pokemon in the DLC, I cant say how good or bad the newest DLC is, but one thing Im sure about is that Im not gonna waste any more money on Pokemon.
    Title: Worst Pokemon main game.    … Expand
  13. Bahethoven
    Jul 2, 2020
    5
    the game is lackluster and they held back pokemon for the 2DLCS....and the one dlc that realised was bad
  14. Hanekoma
    Jul 3, 2020
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. What this game describes in game freak is very different from what I felt when I was playing. What is more regrettable is that the characters in the game plot have an interesting background and excellent design, but the story they are arranged in the game is too simple and boring… Expand
  15. rparzial
    Jul 3, 2020
    5
    I really wanted to enjoy this game. I ignored all the bad reviews and bought it anyway to give it a fair shake.

    BUT the game is just not a good game. It did some things well, and had some nice additions, but overall the game took 2 steps forward and 5 steps back. The magic and spirit of Pokemon is missing. The biggest complaint is how easy the game is. It's so easy, that it    I really wanted to enjoy this game. I ignored all the bad reviews and bought it anyway to give it a fair shake.

    BUT the game is just not a good game. It did some things well, and had some nice additions, but overall the game took 2 steps forward and 5 steps back. The magic and spirit of Pokemon is missing.

    The biggest complaint is how easy the game is. It's so easy, that it completely ruins any enjoyment of the game, everything seems inconsequential. From gym battles to even catching "rare" pokemon.

    Between EXP share always being on, and the EXP candies, the game is near broken. And in the DLC you get an EXP charm boosting EXP even further. I barely fight trainers or wild pokemon. Much less than you would have to in say gen 1-4, and i am 10-20 levels higher than every gym or trainer. I could EASILY be 30-50 levels higher if i grinded for even an hour on Raid battles for EXP candies. I just about 1 shot every single pokemon i face, even without type advantages.

    You CAN avoid the EXP candies, but you shouldn't have to set obstacles by omitting features of the game to get enjoyment. And without them, the EXP share is still too overpowered and can't be turned off.

    Everything down to the smallest detail is dumbed down. Gen 1-5 your rival always chose the starter that had a type advantage against you. In this game the rival chooses so YOU have a type advantage against him making it even easier. Your move selection tells you what is super effective, or not effective now. It's like they thought of every possible way to hold your hand.

    This is completely avoiding the other issues it has as well like the national dex cut, the poor performance of the game, DLC just to get all pokemon, bland story, etc.

    I could forgive ALL of that, if the game was challenging and fun. But it just isn't :(

    I can only hope they learn and make the next game better. Because the potential and possibilities are endless on the switch for pokemon. To those saying "Pokemon was always easy", sure it was easier than some other RPG's, but you still needed to grind and be smart about your pokemon/move choices. And i don't know a single person who NEVER got wiped out by a trainer at least a few times over the first few games.    … Expand
  16. Kas_scientist
    Jul 4, 2020
    0
    It's sad that a company with so many resources did this.
    FPS problems, there are no strategy in the RPG and it's sooo easy... can't disable the XP share...

    The only thing that it doesn't make me regret buying it, is because I never played a Pokemon game since Pokemon Silver. But I still think that I maybe regret it anyway.
  17. Palletown
    Jul 5, 2020
    5
    Nice but not enough.
    The new adventure starts as every generation, it is impossible to contain the hype as you are in a new region, you meet new characters and so on. The problem starts with the unbalanced battles and the lack of interest to keep on playing, why? Well, basically the game rush through the main story, suddenly characters burst out of nowhere with no reason at all ( as    Nice but not enough.
    The new adventure starts as every generation, it is impossible to contain the hype as you are in a new region, you meet new characters and so on. The problem starts with the unbalanced battles and the lack of interest to keep on playing, why? Well, basically the game rush through the main story, suddenly characters burst out of nowhere with no reason at all ( as Oleanna being wicked towards you). The only character who deserves our attention, is Hop, he grows at the same time we grow and he end up being an amazing rival.
    Anyway, GF put all their efforts in this game, but still is not enough to what habitual players are looking for and how the game feels like a long demo and not a complete game. Therefore, the Galar experience turns into something boring and when you end the main story, there is nothing more to do in the game, like back in the first generation.
    In conclusion, as a huge Pokemon fan, this game is not that bad as to receive such bad critics, but somehow it fails in the main story and the experience of training your pokemon as the Exp share in this generation makes the game a complete joke    … Expand
  18. TwinJacks
    Jul 6, 2020
    3
    I've been playing Pokemon since 2004. I've played every main series game since the GBA era and this is my least favorite Pokemon game of all time. Honestly, I bought this game because our gamestop was closing down and it was on sale. I plan to buy the DLC but rn, I'm just waiting for the next generation.
  19. Saintadi
    Jul 10, 2020
    2
    Boring, nothing new, a bad game is a bad game. It feels like a 3ds game.
    Spend your money else where
  20. publicitystunt
    Jul 8, 2020
    0
    I’ve played every single Pokémon game and I can inform you that this is the worst game in the franchise. Gamefreak decided to cut more than 55% of all Pokémon to take more of your money with dlc. Second if they were gonna do that at least make the game good, this game is complete trash, when it comes to story and difficulty. I could give this game to a 5 year old and they would be able toI’ve played every single Pokémon game and I can inform you that this is the worst game in the franchise. Gamefreak decided to cut more than 55% of all Pokémon to take more of your money with dlc. Second if they were gonna do that at least make the game good, this game is complete trash, when it comes to story and difficulty. I could give this game to a 5 year old and they would be able to beat it. In Gen 6 to Gen 7 (excluding the Let’s Go games) the exp share was OP but at least you could turn it off, but in these games you don’t have an option. This makes every battle easy as hell. Also the friendly rival is trash, his Pokémon will always be 2-5 levels below yours. Also the lack of post game hurts. It’s like they took X and Y’s lack of difficulty and lack of post game and called it Pokémon Sword and Shield. Lastly they took away not only mega evolutions but also z moves, making the gameplay predictable. It’s safe to say that gamefreak doesn’t care about their fans, they only care about money… Expand
  21. Potatonian
    Jul 11, 2020
    8
    When the trailers and announcements first started appearing rumoring the absence of a national Pokédex and the inclusion of only 400 of the 809+ Pokemon (now 893+), I didn't have the urge to buy it like I did for all other main line pokemon games. Especially with the exclusion of Mega evolution, and the poor cutscene animations, the game had needed much to be desirable. Despite gamefreaksWhen the trailers and announcements first started appearing rumoring the absence of a national Pokédex and the inclusion of only 400 of the 809+ Pokemon (now 893+), I didn't have the urge to buy it like I did for all other main line pokemon games. Especially with the exclusion of Mega evolution, and the poor cutscene animations, the game had needed much to be desirable. Despite gamefreaks promise of there being completely new pokemon animations and cutscene animations, they were still clearly present with many pokemon animations appearing as far back as 2 generations prior. This however I believe is not really that perplexing despite the developers' promises as old assets are often used in newer games naturally to save time, resources and production cost which should instead be used to improve upon other parts of a game.

    The wild area graphics such as the infamous tree textures and the stiff pokemon animations are obviously a big let down, I remember the many comparison made to it, most notably the open world of Zelda: Breath of the wild. Despite the wild area being a rather shoddily done job, and being it having much to be desired, I am not particularly displeased as it is the first open world experience in pokemon and the wild area itself is magnificent. It also seems that gamefreak has used some feedback to make the open world of the Isle of Armor DLC. I bought it near launch regardless and found the story and gameplay to be great. Contrary to popular opinion I believe dynamax is a great gameplay mechanic added to the game albeit being a less enticing combination of mega evolution and z-moves.
    It has many competitive benefits and is a great aid in any battle. I believe that the competitive scene can truly be cemented with the inclusion of dynamax, mega evoltion and z-moves, allowing for much more stretegic play and a lot less stalling due to an increase in wall-breaking.

    The story itself heavily differed from the traditional stories of old pokemon games as there was no villain team. It had some similarities with Sun and moon's story. The characters however were much more well thought out than in previous games such as the character development of Hop being similar to Wally but much more involved. Leon being made to appear as a great champion much more than any previous game's champion, even going as far as having a remix of the hall of fame being his battle music which perfectly encapsulates his persona and character arc.

    The music in this game was absolutely fantastic with some being nearly or as good as Zinnia's battle theme, PWT final battle theme, Ultra necrozma's theme etc. To name a few, we have Marnies's and Bede's battle themes, the battle tower battle theme made by the living legend Toby Fox, the champion battle music, the wild area music, Mustard's final battle theme etc. I believe gen 8 music overall is nearly on par with gen 5.

    To name a few unmentioned but nice mechanics: the apparel and customisation in this game, camping and curries, trainer card customisation, pokejobs, max raids, enhanced experience training, nature mints, an actual pokemon 'league' that makes much more sense, and pokebox system.

    One very important and much appreciated thing this game has that no other pokemon game has ever had is a DLC. To explain very briefly why this is the best thing to ever happen to mainline pokemon games: every other mainline pokemon game to come out has always either been a remake or a second version of the game, what concerns us however are the second versions (such as Yellow, Crystal, Emerald, Platinum, Black 2 and White 2, Ultra sun and Ultra moon) all of which had additions and improvements to their older counterparts but too miniscule to be considered worth buying, this is apparent in their sales also as these games have significantly less sales. What the DLC does to benefit us and game freak is rather obvious, it gives us new content for less money whilst guarenteeing a lot more sales than a second iteration would. If this is gamefreak's new formula for the mainline games, it will greatly benefit both parties long term.

    Overall, the absence of key battle mechanics from the past two generations including the absence of many many moves and pokemon definitely knocks off a few points from my rating of the game, as does some poor animations and clear laziness in some parts of the game's development. However, this game is great like any other mainline pokemon game, it has all the mechanics and quirks befitting its status as being part of one of the most illustrious, and important series of games to ever exist. I believe it is a great addition to gamefreak's collection and also an important learning curve for gamefreak. Despite how well-received the game wasn't, I personally still believe that it excelled in many ways and performed better than many of its predecessors in some aspects, and will be remembered as an important game for how great it was and how bad it was.    … Expand
  22. Gorgola34
    May 5, 2023
    9
    Juegazo la octava generación, los legendarios increíbles, la historia simple pero contundente y los dlcs con los pájaros legendarios Buff vaya sacada y la ambientación no puede ser mejor, muy muy recomendable
  23. DantiDurum
    Jul 20, 2020
    7
    Esta nueva edición de Pokémon nos ha traído cosas muy buenas como la música, los diseños de las criaturas, los mejorados gimnasios y una mayor facilidad para introducirse al mundo del competitivo. A su vez, estas cosas buenas vienen acompañadas de otras horribles como los gráficos, que son bastante flojos para una Switch; algunas animaciones y texturas o incluso la historia del propioEsta nueva edición de Pokémon nos ha traído cosas muy buenas como la música, los diseños de las criaturas, los mejorados gimnasios y una mayor facilidad para introducirse al mundo del competitivo. A su vez, estas cosas buenas vienen acompañadas de otras horribles como los gráficos, que son bastante flojos para una Switch; algunas animaciones y texturas o incluso la historia del propio juego, la cual no tiene consistencia.… Expand
  24. emilyratesgames
    Nov 20, 2020
    7
    Score: 7
    -----------------------------------------------------------------
  25. anxotheboss
    Jul 21, 2020
    7
    Pkmn Shield and Sword are not bad games, they're pretty acceptable Pkmn games, but the problem is that we've been playing the same type of games for two decades. Pkmn needs a big change as Zelda has done with Botw. And Nintendo Switch is the perfect platform for this change. I seriously ask Game Freak and The Pkmn Company to try something new with this franchise. In addition, I think thisPkmn Shield and Sword are not bad games, they're pretty acceptable Pkmn games, but the problem is that we've been playing the same type of games for two decades. Pkmn needs a big change as Zelda has done with Botw. And Nintendo Switch is the perfect platform for this change. I seriously ask Game Freak and The Pkmn Company to try something new with this franchise. In addition, I think this game could be very better in technical aspects, it looks like a 3ds game with HD resolution, while there are other games on Switch like Mario Odyssey, Zelda BOTW, Mario+Rabbids or Doom that look amazing.… Expand
  26. ShaddowMaann
    Aug 3, 2020
    6
    I think there is alot of negative reviews here the game isn't bad but its not amazing its a pokemon game with open world which is pretty cool but battles are too easy
  27. Cormacd69
    Mar 7, 2021
    6
    It’s easy to hate on the game because of the graphics, however even if the graphics were better, would this be a memorable experience? In what is in my opinion are worst the worst games to date, Pokemon must wake up and realise it needs to take a leaf out of it’s book and evolve. From a boring world and open area with next to no little grooves and hidden areas to explore, to the theIt’s easy to hate on the game because of the graphics, however even if the graphics were better, would this be a memorable experience? In what is in my opinion are worst the worst games to date, Pokemon must wake up and realise it needs to take a leaf out of it’s book and evolve. From a boring world and open area with next to no little grooves and hidden areas to explore, to the the abysmal and uninteresting story, these games are a hugely disappointing and lazy entry in the franchise. The open area seeks to be something intriguing but instead is a mess, where Pokemon only roam wild when you are close enough for them to pop in, the first encounters may amaze you but it grows old very fast. The DLC adds more to the wild area idea and is definitely a more polished and likeable wild area(s). However these games have let themselves down hugely nonetheless.… Expand
  28. Kiruiya
    Jul 27, 2020
    9
    I really don't care about the missing national pokedex and the ugly trees. I just enjoyed the game the way it is.
  29. Crisener
    Sep 9, 2020
    6
    Pokemon formula has been proving to be timeless for many generations of consoles. Here we are, at the brink of a new decade, with Pokemon being the highest-grossing media franchise of all time, and yet it seems like for a good and polished game we will have to wait another few years.
    Every part of the game feels like it's unpolished in some way, the story is predictable and not    Pokemon formula has been proving to be timeless for many generations of consoles. Here we are, at the brink of a new decade, with Pokemon being the highest-grossing media franchise of all time, and yet it seems like for a good and polished game we will have to wait another few years.
    Every part of the game feels like it's unpolished in some way, the story is predictable and not interesting in the slightest and there are many additions which feel unnecessary, and the resources put to make them appear in the game could have been directed to making graphics look better or making multiplayer work intuitively.
    If you haven't played any Pokemon game for some time, go and grab this one (the best option being resale), as it still is a fun game. The Pokemon mechanics still work really well in 2020, the thrill of catching new monsters and making a team is still there, and the new Pokemon designs are very well done. It's just that Pokemon deserve better and releasing a game like that considering the franchise's position is just outrageous. It may not necessarily be Game Freak's fault, maybe they've done the best they could, and it's the pressure or lack of support from Nintendo or The Pokemon Company that resulted in all of this. But something definitely needs to change.    … Expand
  30. Agiru2003
    Jul 28, 2020
    5
    (I'm sorry for my bad English, but I'm Italian)

    +FOR > The new Pokémon designs are fantastic, I love almost all of them > OSTs are the best in the series > I quite liked the main characters, they're very well written (except Chairman Rose) -AGAINST > Graphics and animations are REALLY bad. It looks like a N64 game > The plot had excellent potential, but it turned out to be the usual    (I'm sorry for my bad English, but I'm Italian)

    +FOR
    > The new Pokémon designs are fantastic, I love almost all of them
    > OSTs are the best in the series
    > I quite liked the main characters, they're very well written (except Chairman Rose)

    -AGAINST
    > Graphics and animations are REALLY bad. It looks like a N64 game
    > The plot had excellent potential, but it turned out to be the usual predictable and poorly written story
    > Dexit
    > The main campaing is only 15 hours long, while older games (like HGSS or BW) lasted something like 40 hours
    > Galar is a terrible region, due to its lacking level design > This game's E A S Y. I haven't lost even once
    > They removed MegaEvolutions and Z-Moves for Dynamax, the least inspired novelty in the series
    > The online is horrible
    > If you wanna enjoy a full experience you have ti pay 300$ (Switch) + 60$ (Pokémon Sword or Shield) + 18$ (Pokémon HOME) + 30$ (DLC). More than 400$ for this bad game.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

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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 »