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. katttdillehay
    Nov 18, 2019
    0
    I don't even know where to start. I've been playing pokemon since Pokemon Gold and Silver came out close to 20 years ago. I have never been more disappointed with a game in my life. Pokemon sun and moon were bad but this is just embarassing. Countless pokemon were cut so longtime fans can't even bring pokemon they've had for over 15 years with them into the new games. Mega evolutions and aI don't even know where to start. I've been playing pokemon since Pokemon Gold and Silver came out close to 20 years ago. I have never been more disappointed with a game in my life. Pokemon sun and moon were bad but this is just embarassing. Countless pokemon were cut so longtime fans can't even bring pokemon they've had for over 15 years with them into the new games. Mega evolutions and a crazy amount of content was cut for a rushed, lazy, disappointing game. Do not waste your money on this game that could barely be considered finished.… Expand
  2. 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
  3. Bojack349
    Jan 9, 2020
    2
    Unacceptable DLC price when the game is still stuttery online/doesn't really change the Pokemon formula.
  4. Xelfyy
    Jan 9, 2020
    2
    Historia pobre, personajes secundarios poco interesantes, te lo puedes llegar a pasar bien si le echas imaginación, el area silvestre está laggueadisima. Le hubiese puesto un 4, pero me entero de que van a sacar DLC'S... ENCIMA! se han cagado en la saga.
  5. UniversalReview
    Nov 15, 2019
    5
    Pokémon Sword/Shield are fun, fresh, new Pokémon experiences. You can catch nearly one-hundred new creatures, explore never before seen towns and cities, and interact with a colourful cast of new characters. However, the same can be said for every new Pokémon generation in the history of the franchise, and for perhaps the first time ever, the cuts and flaws really start to bring thePokémon Sword/Shield are fun, fresh, new Pokémon experiences. You can catch nearly one-hundred new creatures, explore never before seen towns and cities, and interact with a colourful cast of new characters. However, the same can be said for every new Pokémon generation in the history of the franchise, and for perhaps the first time ever, the cuts and flaws really start to bring the experience down.

    Through two decades of handheld releases with the same formula, the question was always there: “what if?” What could Pokémon look like, what could the series achieve, if finally freed from limited handheld hardware and brought onto modern home consoles?

    As it turns out, the answer is more of the same. And that is exactly the problem.

    Sword/Shield are a graphical upgrade from their 3DS predecessors, yet still look mediocre for their hardware. They offer plenty of new features, at the expense of everything new introduced the previous generation. They promise a new experience, yet have less content than DS and Gameboy Advance games released 10-15+ years ago. All the boxes are ticked, but that doesn’t account for everything that is missing.

    It could be argued that Sword/Shield are a product of Gamefreak’s shifting design philosophy. Since 2013’s X and Y, franchise leaders have made it clear that accessibility is a priority. Case in point, 2014’s ORAS famously removed Pokémon Emerald’s Battle Frontier because “kids would get frustrated with the difficulty”, completely disregarding the millions who grew up with the games regardless.

    This mentality is overwhelmingly present in every aspect of Sword/Shield, to the extent of actively removing player-choice in many situations. Sword/Shield are arguably the most linear games in the franchise: outside the Wild Area, you’ll mostly be moving from A to B, with a noticeable lack of traditional “dungeons”, various inaccessible areas and major plot points happening off screen. Even worse, the EXP-Share is no longer optional. To many, it was a major factor in X/Y & Sun/Moon being far easier than previous instalments, resulting in the player often being comically over-levelled in major battles, and here its removal limits player choice for simply no good reason. By focusing on simplicity and linearity, everything suffers, producing easier and shorter experiences that feel less like RPG adventures and more like a guided tour.

    But now comes the main event: Dexit. Pokémon’s largest ever controversy, and for good reason: you are finally unable to “Catch ‘Em All”. Roughly 500 creatures simply cannot be transferred into Sword/Shield. Disregarding the ethics of forcing players to use a (likely paid) service to store Pokémon that might be in a future game, improved graphics and animations were specifically cited as the main reason for this decision. Sadly, that explanation simply doesn’t hold true. Sword/Shield look mediocre for their hardware, in many cases lacking simple details such as battle backgrounds, decent textures or proper attack animations. Furthermore, many animations and models are outright reused, and while the jury is still out on whether Gamefreak lied about using “new models”, it’s indisputable that a AAA title in 2019 shouldn’t look this poor, especially if visuals are used to justify shortcomings elsewhere.

    However, perhaps Sword/Shield are expansive enough to justify the cut content? Sadly, this isn’t the case either. At a moderate pace, Sword/Shield are roughly 15-20 hour games, average for the franchise, and offer significantly less post-game content compared to many previous instalments. Sword/Shield cost $20 more than previous Pokémon experiences: console prices for console games, but nothing about the story, formula, length or breadth of content reflects that. New features like the Wild Area, Dynamax and Pokémon Camp are fun, but every new Pokémon game in history has brought new features to the table, and nothing about Sword/Shield particularly screams bigger or better.

    Sword/Shield are undoubtedly fun games. Pokémon’s core formula is one that works. But to many, they are also indicative of a stagnation that has plagued the franchise over the past five or so years. Sword/Shield are on a home console, but downgrade the graphics and they would be indistinguishable from any 3DS Pokémon release. Even with Sword/Shield being the series’ fourth consecutive yearly releases, they can expect to sell 10-15 million copies, so there really is no incentive to give the franchise the “Breath of the Wild” moment it deserves. But in 2019, on the most powerful hardware yet, the bare minimum simply isn’t good enough anymore.

    When your visuals are rivalled by a Wii spinoffs from 2006, you offer less content than DS releases from 2009, and players have less freedom than in your Gameboy debut, that’s a sign things need to improve.    … Expand
  6. LuckyAbsol
    Nov 15, 2019
    5
    Your average pokemon game that'll probably be fun for the casual fan. The story is below par compared to past pokemon games, suffering from clear pacing issues towards the end. The graphics were only slightly better while some of the animations are also lacking. Clear pop ins and low resolutions textures litter the game while severals bugs are also present. For example, the battleYour average pokemon game that'll probably be fun for the casual fan. The story is below par compared to past pokemon games, suffering from clear pacing issues towards the end. The graphics were only slightly better while some of the animations are also lacking. Clear pop ins and low resolutions textures litter the game while severals bugs are also present. For example, the battle backgrounds not always matching up with battle. The quality of life changes were very welcomed but the EXP Share was still too strong and could not be turned off. On a more personal level, I believe Shield has the better exclusives.

    I must also add that the soundtrack was very forgettable this time around which is strange for a pokemon game, the postgame is also extremely short with it only being about 1-2 hours long. The battle tower makes a return but it's been stripped down to it's bare bones.    … Expand
  7. Palomero3000
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Este juego fue apresurado y solo se hizo en mente para sacar dinero de manera facil sabiendo que su fan base pagarian por cualquier cosa sin importar la calidad del producto.
  8. pico901
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    This game is simply not worth 60 not even half the price! GameFreak (Masuda) Lied to us for cutting 60% of the pokedex for ''better animations'' all we seen is some dynamax animations and RE USED battle animations! this is just a quick crashgrab! out of town the graphics are simply laughable unfinished and unpolished! The trees look worse then most ps2 games the rock textures wow! theThis game is simply not worth 60 not even half the price! GameFreak (Masuda) Lied to us for cutting 60% of the pokedex for ''better animations'' all we seen is some dynamax animations and RE USED battle animations! this is just a quick crashgrab! out of town the graphics are simply laughable unfinished and unpolished! The trees look worse then most ps2 games the rock textures wow! the rocktextures! there have been massive framerate issues in dynamax battles i saw a player fishing in a town area then when the battle came the background changed to the wild area! Inhouse battles get backgrounds simply not matching with the enviroment you just battle in a void. The gym missions are so easy to the point you can just walk to the other side without anything stopping you! You get so many potions revives and all that bullcrap u find it everywhere! the game is dumbed down so much with so many missing features. This game is unfinished and unpolished even pokemon lets go pika and evee are better polished and even looking better in alot of aspects. Gamefreak failed and i will never be buying anything pokemon related ever again! ''improved animations'' when my raboot pokemon used the move headbut and it kicked instead of actually headbutting this game is the fallout 76 of pokemon and the casual fanboys will never admit this shame on you! shame on gamefreak and shame on Nintendo for letting this come out! It's all about money these days and you can clearly see it TAKE THIS L gamefreak!… Expand
  9. FoolPhilosopher
    Nov 15, 2019
    2
    Lets talk beyond the obvious dexit controversy. This pokemon game highlights that Gamefreak does not think that the gaming demographic that wants challenge, variety, and quality is worth pursuing. The graphics are bland, the game refuses to let you be alone to breathe/explore for a moment, the difficulty is nonexistent even for a pokemon game, which are already traditionally pretty easy.Lets talk beyond the obvious dexit controversy. This pokemon game highlights that Gamefreak does not think that the gaming demographic that wants challenge, variety, and quality is worth pursuing. The graphics are bland, the game refuses to let you be alone to breathe/explore for a moment, the difficulty is nonexistent even for a pokemon game, which are already traditionally pretty easy. Make no mistake, this is Gamefreak phoning it in. There are so many game devs out there pouring their heart into their projects, and they are much more worthy of your time than this hacked out half-hearted garbage.… Expand
  10. Revoltado
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    - ~400 pokemon
    - movimentos apagados
    - Pokemon com tamanhos desproporcionais - Modelos antigos, por preguiça não mudam nem a posição dos pokemon desde a gen 6 - Soundtrack ruim no geral, com algumas exceções - 99% dos pokemon tem o grunhido do game boy - Endgame curto sem muito o que fazer - Gráfico bom, animações ruins e muitas vezes reaproveitadas - Pior liga de todas as    - ~400 pokemon
    - movimentos apagados
    - Pokemon com tamanhos desproporcionais
    - Modelos antigos, por preguiça não mudam nem a posição dos pokemon desde a gen 6
    - Soundtrack ruim no geral, com algumas exceções
    - 99% dos pokemon tem o grunhido do game boy
    - Endgame curto sem muito o que fazer
    - Gráfico bom, animações ruins e muitas vezes reaproveitadas
    - Pior liga de todas as gerações, e como resto do jogo também utiliza reaproveitação
    - Cooking system (gosto pessoal, odeio essa mecânica em todos os jogos)
    - Sem legenda pt-br
    - Preço alto pelo baixo conteúdo
    Estranho as revisões de sites "especializados", pois o jogo parece ser produzido para jogadores novos, minimizando os custos e priorizando os ganhos reaproveitando e cortando conteúdos    … Expand
  11. samuelglynnr
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    When considering that this is a Pokémon game for a Nintendo home console, it’s an embarrassment. Pokémon Coliseum and Pokémon Gale of Darkness for GameCube, two games which came out 15 years ago, are on par graphically and have better animations and scaling AND a better story (with a similar amount of Pokémon!). Literally look up an image of Wailord in Pokemon Coliseum and then look upWhen considering that this is a Pokémon game for a Nintendo home console, it’s an embarrassment. Pokémon Coliseum and Pokémon Gale of Darkness for GameCube, two games which came out 15 years ago, are on par graphically and have better animations and scaling AND a better story (with a similar amount of Pokémon!). Literally look up an image of Wailord in Pokemon Coliseum and then look up Wailord in Pokémon Sword / Shield and feast your eyes on the ineptitude.… Expand
  12. Rolawa
    Nov 15, 2019
    2
    As somebody who has played this I can tell you it is not worth the buy. Especially at full price. It honestly is worse than previous installments in the series and fails to make use of the better hardware available in the form of the switch. Honestly if you want a Pokemon game on the switch play Let's Go. It somehow manages to be better than this. Story was uninspired and boring. Way tooAs somebody who has played this I can tell you it is not worth the buy. Especially at full price. It honestly is worse than previous installments in the series and fails to make use of the better hardware available in the form of the switch. Honestly if you want a Pokemon game on the switch play Let's Go. It somehow manages to be better than this. Story was uninspired and boring. Way too much handholding. No challenge and it results in a boring game. Camp was neat but felt like a mediocre version of Amie New Pokemon are kinda cool. Happy with the scorbunny line personally

    Graphics look worse than a Nintendo 64 game. Some lag. More than I would expect. Pop in is terrible. Makes the overworld pointless Characters are rehashed or not at all interesting

    Animations look like a pitch somebody gave to an animator but the animator died before fixing them

    The list of removed features were not improved upon or replaced. Dynamaxing was uninspired and often made the models look worse. Absolutely not worth the cost of the game. Fails to make use of the switch hardware. Game freak continues to fail to listen to what people actually want out of the games. It instead delivers poor rushed games that get worse with every installment    … Expand
  13. BadThingsHappen
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Pokemon Sword And Sheild are the worst games in the series, dont let THANKYOUGAMEFREAK and others like IGN lie to you, the models sre re-used, the game is overall very boring, the new pokemon forms (the only things that come close to new models) are boring and ugly, Skip this entry and wait for the next one with the full dex #Gamefreaklied
  14. LarsCramer
    Nov 17, 2019
    3
    CONS:
    The dex cut. You can't transfer non-Galar mons outside of a small handful. Pokemon Home is not a solution, I like my mons on a physical cartridge I own and not on a server who knows where. Pokemon Bank won't last forever, eventually it won't be possible to transfer from older games at all.
    Reused models. It would be obvious even if I wasn't actively thinking about it because of you    CONS:
    The dex cut. You can't transfer non-Galar mons outside of a small handful. Pokemon Home is not a solution, I like my mons on a physical cartridge I own and not on a server who knows where. Pokemon Bank won't last forever, eventually it won't be possible to transfer from older games at all.
    Reused models. It would be obvious even if I wasn't actively thinking about it because of you guys. It looks bad.
    The opening drags. Before you can challenge the gyms, you have to talk to like three other people.
    The game crashed. It only happened once, but I still prefer my AAA games to not crash.
    Characters disappear when you're far away. The only reason I didn't realize this was a problem at first was because I'm nearsighted IRL.
    The entire plot with the chairman. You go break into his building because the plot says so, then there's a weird non-animated cutscene, and finally an anticlimactic boss fight where the version mascots do most of the work.
    I'm about to fight the champion, and I don't feel anything.
    Postgame consists of a series of battles against Dynamax pokemon at gyms and a couple of rematches. Battle Tower is as barebones as they come.

    PERSONAL GRIPES:
    Hop is an idiot

    PROS:
    Random encounters were changed to be less annoying, and there are plenty of overworld encounters
    Most of the gym leaders have good designs and fun personalities (grass dude still looks weird tho)
    Bede and Marnie are alright rivals    … Expand
  15. Skizor
    Nov 15, 2019
    5
    I have already cleared everything including postgame. This is going to be a spoiler free review, i will only focus on the positive and negative aspects and what needs to be improved.

    Positives: *Some areas in this game look absolutely gorgeous, like the towns Ballonlea and Circhester. *Most of the new Pokemon look pretty good. *IVs and EVs, and by extension Competitive battling,    I have already cleared everything including postgame. This is going to be a spoiler free review, i will only focus on the positive and negative aspects and what needs to be improved.

    Positives:

    *Some areas in this game look absolutely gorgeous, like the towns Ballonlea and Circhester.
    *Most of the new Pokemon look pretty good.
    *IVs and EVs, and by extension Competitive battling, are more accessible than ever.
    *You can change your Pokemon's Nature with Mints.
    *Pokemon Camp, with new features, such as said Currydex.
    *New "Open-World" Wild Area for encountering higher level Pokemon.
    *Most in-depth trainer customization to date.
    *Move Tutor/Remover/Name Raters are now in every Pokemon Center.
    *You can access PC almost anywhere.

    Negatives:

    *Hundreds of Pokemon were cut from the game, such as previous Starters, Legendary Pokemon, and many others.
    *100+ Moves were cut, the most notable being Return/Frustration, Pursuit, and Hidden Power. Signature moves of certain Pokemon were also cut, even though the Pokemon themselves are in the game, like Vespiquen's Heal Order and Woobat's Heart Stamp.
    *There are multiple examples of the game feeling rushed or unfinished, like how the "Corviknight Taxi" Fast-Travel system doesn't have an animation and is just a screen fade, every NPC walking on rails, time stopping when you climb a ladder, and the entire Wild Area feeling empty, with low-resolution textures, pop-ins, and broken shadows.
    *Any battles that are not major battles, such as Wild Battles and most Trainer Battles, have the same generic backgrounds. When you are outside, the battle always takes place on a dirt road with grass, trees, and mountains in the background, and when inside a building, the battle uses a generic white void for a background.
    *Post-Game Content is confirmed to be very short, less than 2 hours to complete, similar to X&Y. It's basically just "catch Box Legendary, go to Battle Tower."
    *Most Pokemon Moves, and the Pokemon themselves, have had no noticeable improvements made to their models or animations. Everything that isn't brand new is recycled, and even some of the brand new stuff, like Hop, uses recycled animation, from Hau.
    *Riding a Bike forces you to wear an ugly biking outfit instead of your custom clothes.
    *Most of the "Story" takes place off screen, and only really makes an appearance near the end of the game. The "Story" itself is also lackluster, in that it's incredibly short and forgettable.
    *The EXP Share is mandatory, and cannot be turned off. This makes the game very easy.
    *Strange changes that don't make much sense logically, like how the sound control settings are locked behind a Key Item you get from a random NPC in Motostoke City.

    Summary:

    IMO this is the most disappointing Pokémon game i played, since i had high expectations about this game being on a console like Switch.
    They really need to add all Pokémon back in the game since there is nothing here to justify the cut of so many Pokémon.
    GameFreak need to hire more devs so they can polish and finish this games better.    … Expand
  16. EpicGamer420
    Nov 15, 2019
    3
    We live in a society where gamefreak can get away with making a half baked game and changer 60 dollars. With only a fraction of old pokemon and not even 100 completely new pokemon.
  17. allewel2
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Overpriced now ($35x2 used to get you all of the game and now $60x2 only gets you 55%).

    GameFreak just needs to sell Pokémon and let someone else give it the attention it deserves.
  18. Ziop98
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Low quality graphics, Game Freak lied about dexcut connected to new models and better animation, the story is probably the worst for a main line pokemon game, no post game, bad soundtrack, just 3 legendary, new pokemon desgins suck. Probably is worse than LGPE, which was in my opinion the worst pokemon game until this
  19. QuarterLife
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    Imagine making ~40% of a game, and then charging ~120% for it. That's Pokemon right now. This game is rushed, buggy, and overall an insult to anyone that has enjoyed the series before. You might consider it if it's your first Pokemon game, but if you have others in your library just keep playing them -- they're better.
  20. mrfrank79
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    a pesar de reciclar todo el contenido de 3ds, utilizar la misma bases de Lets Go, y tener un desarrollo de 3 años el resultado es la mediocridad en estado puro
  21. BlockFort
    Nov 15, 2019
    2
    The release of Pokemon Sword and Shield sadly confirmed all the fears I've had during the build up to it's launch. I've been a huge Pokemon fan since its inception and always dearly loved this series, however the last couple of entries have been getting progressively worse when it came to aspects such as polish, removing features, difficulty, dungeon complexity, post game and many more. MyThe release of Pokemon Sword and Shield sadly confirmed all the fears I've had during the build up to it's launch. I've been a huge Pokemon fan since its inception and always dearly loved this series, however the last couple of entries have been getting progressively worse when it came to aspects such as polish, removing features, difficulty, dungeon complexity, post game and many more. My enthusiasm when it came to Pokemon slowly faded away. But I remained hopeful. Afterall Gamefreak promised us that Generation 8 would be "for the hardcore fans". And it would be the first mainline game on a home console, a huge step for the series!

    Despite my initial optimism for these new home console entries I couldn't ignore all the glaring and obvious problems that were observable in all the pre-release material. Graphical quality not even on par with last gen console games, complete lack of care and polish in regards to animation, reusing as many outdated assets as possible; and these were just the issues that were quickly noticeable from a first glance. But the more time passed the worse things got. The removal of basic features like the national dex and the subsequent cutting of over half of all Pokemon was the straw that broke the camel's back. The following PR disaster of justifying all of this with blatant lies certainly didn't help. I could go on but you get the point.

    And now here we are and Pokemon SwSh is exactly what is looked like it was going to be; a soulless, unpolished and short mess of a game not worthy of belonging to the most successful multimedia franchise in the world. I think the Eurogamer review said it best when it used the new Dynamax mechanic as an analogy to SwSh themselves: "Pokémon Sword and Shield project a sense of scale and ambition far beyond any previous ones in the series, but to take it back to those gargantuan new Dynamax forms, the size is merely a shadow. A shallow projection, in place of the real thing."    … Expand
  22. koophakuna
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    We need more pokemon We want better visuals
    We want a real pokemon game in Switch
  23. someactorkid
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    This game is a massive disappoinment. The animations are incredibly lack-luster, the reuse of assets is embarrassing, and overall, Game Freak's heart just doesn't seem to be in these games anymore. I wanted this game to be good and to succeed, and I stayed positive despite all the backlash online, but this game has proven to be more than Game Freak could, or wanted, to handle.
  24. nikospant
    Nov 15, 2019
    2
    In the beginning I was so excited about the upcoming games and the first couple of trailers seemed entertaining both in designs and the future of the game. As the time passed by, I was feeling less and less excited about the game and I will try to summarize the main points after having already finished the game after only 16 hours of gameplay, as an early copy arrived yesterday.In the beginning I was so excited about the upcoming games and the first couple of trailers seemed entertaining both in designs and the future of the game. As the time passed by, I was feeling less and less excited about the game and I will try to summarize the main points after having already finished the game after only 16 hours of gameplay, as an early copy arrived yesterday.

    Longevity and replay value:
    First of all, compared to previous Pokemon games, only 16 hours of gameplay to beat the whole game seems way underwhelming, especially considering that I caught all the new pokemons that I found, explored the Wild Area and passed through it as many times as deemed possible, as long as there was something interesting to day (Hint: there wasn't much). I feel that except the online component, there isn't much replay value to the games and I don't feel the need to play them again.

    The price tag: $60 compared to a $40 a couple of years back, for less amount of content seems way overpriced in my eyes.

    Characters:
    Most of the in-game characters seem bland, not interesting and especially the rival seems... not like a rival should feel. Even the Champion seems like a naive person the least .

    Plot:
    Easy, predictable, no depth, I really wonder if someone thought through the whole story from the beginning or was creating on the way..

    Difficulty:
    It is a pokemon game, I do not expect to have actual difficulties from a game designed also for children and here is the main point, mario odyssey is also designed for children and everyone can complete the game, but it also have more content, targeted on more mature audience with an actual difficulty to complete 100% of all the game aspects. There is no such option in this pokemon game. Exp.Share gets OP and all my pokemon are overleveled, even after switching all the overleveled ones mid-game.
    On the other hand, handholding and cutscenes in every route does not make me feel and experience the map as it should be and there is always someone telling me where to go, who to speak to and how to handle every aspect of the game without me feeling responsible for the decisions made in game at any level.

    Graphics:
    Graphics don't seem like an upscale compared to previous 3ds games and for being the first mainline game in a console, I would expect something better, for example natural-moving characters or introducing pre-rendered movie scenes in times where the movement seems unnatural (e.g. when the 2 legendaries turn around when they face each other). To get it even a notch further, voice acting in a mainline console gaming doesn't seem far fetched but they didn't even cover the basics so, that is too much to expect from what they have given us.

    Controversy:
    I am not gonna use any buzzwords, I totally understand about large number of designs logistics and that doesn't hinder my ability to play the game, so all the other reasons are why I give such a low score for the game.

    All in all:
    A pokemon game is never gonna be awful, because of the successful formula they have and because of the size of the franchise, but the way the company is going, we are never gonna have a truly great Pokemon game ever again (eg. HG/SS, Platinum, Emerald, B2/W2).

    It is not a 0, but anything above a 2 would be unfair, so my score is gonna be exactly that.    … Expand
  25. TioBizarro
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    It has barely content. Too easy, too short, no nat dex. Shame on you Game Freak.
  26. Pablo92
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    worst pokemon game to date. lack of content, bugged,no post game basically and lackluster animations.
  27. Eddieman
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Not worth the 60 dollars! You're paying for a couple of incomplete and glitchy games! Its just a copy and print 3ds version of the Pokemon games, but without the whole National pokedex
  28. JeanRiver
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. GameFreak Lied.Disappointed about this shxt work.I won't buy and Pokemon Game util they apologize and do something really matters… Expand
  29. Sneakybreeze
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Poor excuse for a pokemon game. Unfinished and undeserving of any sort of praise.
  30. Kevin12
    Nov 15, 2019
    6
    El juego es más de lo mismo en torno al pokemon de toda la vida, con mejoras gráficas evidentes. Sin embargo se nota que Game Freak no ha explotado la capacidad de la Switch especialmente en las animaciones que lucen genéricas y mediocres. El mundo es vacío y te obliga a continuar la historia lineal, y no explorar el mapa
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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.
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  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]
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