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. 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.
  2. MarioFan91
    Nov 18, 2019
    8
    I don't get all the vitriol surrounding Sword and Shield. The whole National Dex thing caused a bit of a stir long before release, and a lot of Pokémon have been wiped out of the slate. But, the reasons are understandable, as these Pokémon games are massive in terms of scope.

    Pokémon Sword and Shield bring you to the Galar region, which is based on the UK. There you get three new    I don't get all the vitriol surrounding Sword and Shield. The whole National Dex thing caused a bit of a stir long before release, and a lot of Pokémon have been wiped out of the slate. But, the reasons are understandable, as these Pokémon games are massive in terms of scope.

    Pokémon Sword and Shield bring you to the Galar region, which is based on the UK. There you get three new starters, Grookey (the grass type chimp), Scorbunny (a fire type rabbit), and Sobble (the water type lizard). I chose Scorbunny in both games, largely because of his usefulness in the first gym battle, which focuses on grass Pokémon.

    Now. before the whiny fanboys go after me and say I'm getting paid to write good reviews of this game, let me just say this. Do they have their flaws - like inconsistent graphics and a lack of voice acting? Yes. Am I disappointed that some of my favorite Pokémon from the first generation like Squirtle and Bulbasaur have been wiped from the slate? Absolutely. But flaws aside, they're still a lot of fun to play. It's still the Pokémon that's been beloved for years, and flaws aside, I still recommend them.    … Expand
  3. Meris
    Nov 18, 2019
    8
    This game has some technical issues and the decision to not port every Pokemon into the game is sad, but aside from these issues, the game is quite fun.
    It has several interesting fights in the last quarter of the game and the new Pokemon designs are quite fun.
    It is miles above ORAS, Sun/Moon and UltraSun/UltraMoon. This Gen are a step in the right direction and I hope a possible third    This game has some technical issues and the decision to not port every Pokemon into the game is sad, but aside from these issues, the game is quite fun.
    It has several interesting fights in the last quarter of the game and the new Pokemon designs are quite fun.
    It is miles above ORAS, Sun/Moon and UltraSun/UltraMoon. This Gen are a step in the right direction and I hope a possible third game remake from B/W fixes the technical issues.    … Expand
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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
  7. Rukimaru
    Nov 20, 2019
    8
    Mejorable pero tiene sus cosas que disfrutar, historia muy lineal, se hecha en falta mas trasfondo.
  8. SayoNightclaw
    Nov 21, 2019
    8
    most of the negative reviews are people just mad that they cut most of the national dex. they would have to eventually. thats how it is when you have so many pokemon. While the game is by no means a perfect game, its actually pretty fun. graphically its beautiful. a lot of the new designs are clever and i love the way they do the gyms this game. Some issues i personally have is the framemost of the negative reviews are people just mad that they cut most of the national dex. they would have to eventually. thats how it is when you have so many pokemon. While the game is by no means a perfect game, its actually pretty fun. graphically its beautiful. a lot of the new designs are clever and i love the way they do the gyms this game. Some issues i personally have is the frame rate drop that only occurs when youre online and connected to the net and the fact that you need a password to connect with a friend for trading. other than that its an amazing game worth at least a try. don't listen to the haters or review bombers… Expand
  9. IgnaKun
    Nov 21, 2019
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Me parece una de las mejores entregas de la saga, sinceramente: su historia quizá no está a la altura de B&W por ejemplo, o del lore de ciertas generaciones o momentos de pasadas entregas, pero sin duda entra entre las mejores.

    Su dificultad se encuentra entre las más avanzadas de la saga, claro está, en los momentos de la verdad: la liga, algunos bosses como Eternatus, etc.

    Su evolución y desarrollo de personajes me parece quizá los mejores en la saga: las aclaraciones en los conflictos internos de nuestros tres rivales (Bede/Berto, Hop/Paul y Roxy/Marnie) me parecen increíbles, y son mi grupo de rivales favorito hasta la fecha. Lionel/Leon me parece un personajazo de pies a cabeza, que intenta en todo momento hacer que el protagonista no salga de lo que es el recorrido del desafío de los gimnasios y él mismo se ocupe de cosas más peligrosas como derrotar a Eternatus, o siendo más claros, salvar la región. El paso de ayudante a profesora que da Sonia durante la aventura me parece merecidísimo, y hasta ahora es mi profesora favorita: su diseño, personalidad, desarrollo e idales no me dejan otra alternativa.

    Su "equipo villano" como es el Team Yell me parece que cumple su función: no tener objetivos más allá de animar a Roxy/Marnie en todo momento. Su función de ocio y para que el jugador se eche unas risas por ellos me parece muy buena.

    Las mecánicas añadidas como las mentas, facilidad para la crianza y acceso menos complejo para el competitivo es de agradecer.

    Su Área Silvestre, quizá vacía, me parece un gran paso inicial al mindo abierto dentro de la saga, y las raids un acierto muy grande.

    En sí, he vuelto a ser un niño y a disfrutar de Pokémon como cuando era pequeño. Un saludo.    … Expand
  10. Knoxxin
    Nov 21, 2019
    8
    It's an incredibly fun game that is very engaging. I enjoyed traveling the wild area (though I do wish it was bigger) and the new Pokemon are incredibly fun. This is the best gym challenge in the series and all the gym leaders are fun and charming, each with a notable personality.
  11. jojobbb
    Nov 21, 2019
    8
    This game has its pros and cons, most likely, this game is rushed I agree. But it's a decent game and I don't mind forms or z moves are removed for dynamax maybe the devs just like the game to be less complicated for the new fans. The other negative reviews rating below 5 has probably not played the game with weak excuses and not properly giving details on why the game was bad. The gameThis game has its pros and cons, most likely, this game is rushed I agree. But it's a decent game and I don't mind forms or z moves are removed for dynamax maybe the devs just like the game to be less complicated for the new fans. The other negative reviews rating below 5 has probably not played the game with weak excuses and not properly giving details on why the game was bad. The game has a terrible resolution, needs work on the animation system because that has issues into the game, the colors are great because it's very bright showing us a brand new region of pokemon and finally, I'd say the post game was a bit eh. The villains don't impress me and repeats their "well, well, well" it gets old fast and not a neat catch phrase. Other than that, the game has a neat storyline with good characters. 7.5.… Expand
  12. ToughFluffs
    Nov 24, 2019
    8
    Let me be frank here: I made an account specifically to review this game, just because I know the hate this game is getting. I agree and disagree with various criticisms, and I'm gonna try to hit as much as I can here. Let's start with cons, as it never hurts to touch on the bad before getting to the good.

    Cons: -Pokemon creativity You've already heard this one. I don't consider    Let me be frank here: I made an account specifically to review this game, just because I know the hate this game is getting. I agree and disagree with various criticisms, and I'm gonna try to hit as much as I can here. Let's start with cons, as it never hurts to touch on the bad before getting to the good.

    Cons:

    -Pokemon creativity
    You've already heard this one. I don't consider this a big con though. We've been getting less new Pokemon with each new generation. Naturally, when you've made well over 600 pokemon, there become less and less things to model them after. I think in some senses, there should be less focus on trying to continually make new pokemon, and shift more towards a focus on new and innovative gameplay (which they did do! We'll talk about that later though). I think we have enough pokemon. We're good fellas.

    -Story
    I'm not gonna spoil anything here, but the main story IS rather short and doesn't contain a lot of depth. With previous games, you had these huge, dramatic stories that you were pretty deeply involved in throughout most of the game, between gyms and traveling. This definitely didn't feel like it was on the same level as many previous gens, particularly if you look at the stories in gens 4 and 5 (Which I personally think were some of the most fleshed out narratives of almost any pokemon games).

    -Postgame
    Hopefully they add more to this. Given we're in the age of digital download and cloud storage, it's much easier to add new things to games and push it out to the entire audience at once, and I assume this may be the plan with SwSh, however that wasn't really as much the case with Sun/Moon, which also had the same access. Given it is a full-fledged console game though, I feel there may be more incentive to do so, and that could definitely raise this score to a 9 if that were the case.

    Any other cons I had were minor gripes, ones that I don't personally believe need their own section. On that note, time to launch into the pros.

    Pros:

    Gameplay:
    This game felt...GOOD. Movement was smooth, it has all the staples that you expect from pokemon. You know what you expect going into a pokemon game, and you got it. The dynamaxing/gigantamaxing mechanic is fun, although it does feel a little pointless/less useful compared to past mechanics like Mega-evolution. The removal of HMs a few gens ago is still in place and I'm super glad, as it no longer forces you to have one useless HM slave pokemon in your party.
    I'm also a huge fan of the ability to open your pc boxes pretty much anywhere. Small quality of life thing, but it can make a big difference for those of us who are more...forgetful, to put it nicely.

    Environment:
    This game is gorgeous. It manages to pull off the free-roam 3d environment while not taking away from the feeling of playing a pokemon game. A few of the camera angles in the more linear segments can be a little wonky, but you have to ability to move the camera in the larger, central free roam area, and I had no issues with it there. It's also a lovely little touch that you can see the pokemon. There's less running through grass praying you find the one pokemon you want in a wild encounter, which cuts down on some of the grindiness in previous games. It also seems to run pretty much fine. I very rarely ever experienced frame drops (I did get a few in battles, but rarely on the overworld).

    -New features
    Pokemon camps are GREAT. Seems like an improved version of pokemon ami from gen 6. It's lovely to be able to play around with your party, and the food making system is very reminiscent of the poffin machines from gen 4. It's a fun little minigame and a good way to kill time or play with people online. I think this category is lacking slightly, but I'll talk a little bit more about this when I wrap things up.

    -Music
    The ambient music in this is already fantastic, and while I wouldn't say this is by any means as good as the soundtrack we got in gens 3 or 4, it's got some hot tunes in it. Particularly the Gym leader theme, where you can hear the crowd chanting, adds an extra level of immersion that truly helps bring things together.

    Wrap up time!
    Yeah, the game isn't perfect. It's lacking in multiple areas, but the way I see it, this was a test-run from Nintendo. A way of saying "We know this is what you want, but it's also new territory for us." For what it is, it's wonderful. It's still pokemon, and you're still gonna get a fun pokemon experience out of it.
    I think the one big issue with it, that keeps it at an 8 for me, is definitely the lack of postgame content currently, and in general for the past few generations. I've played every generation so far, but 4 will always stick out because of the ability to keep playing for hundreds of hours after the main story ended with contests, the underground, secret bases, and etc. keeping the game interesting.
    With all that said, still a good game, and I had a lot of fun with it.    … Expand
  13. Chozo94
    Nov 25, 2019
    8
    Sword and Shield - Hate or Love?

    What makes a Game a good Game? Do graphic matter? We should all ask ourselfs what do we expect from certain products. Think back to the good old time of the N64 or PS1. How do these games look today? Well, still pretty good tbh - but thats mostly nostalgia. Links Awakening (GB) was a pretty good Game aswell. Was it because of the graphics? Most    Sword and Shield - Hate or Love?

    What makes a Game a good Game? Do graphic matter?

    We should all ask ourselfs what do we expect from certain products. Think back to the good old time of the N64 or PS1. How do these games look today? Well, still pretty good tbh - but thats mostly nostalgia. Links Awakening (GB) was a pretty good Game aswell. Was it because of the graphics? Most certainly not.

    A Good Game is a Good Game (or not) judged by everyone individually. Its combined by the feelings you get by playing, no matter if the graphic is good, RPG elements are on top, the combat ist perfect or whatever (I mean cmon, there are people who say OOT is a bad game).

    Now to Sword

    I now completed the Main Story and became the Champ. i pretty much "rushed" thru the game, I never was the biggest fan of "gotta catch em´ all" heck, i never finished a Pokedex. It took me around 16 hours to become the Champ. Now there is a bunch of Post Game. So time investment is pretty good!

    The Graphics
    Oh man the Graphics. How does it look? Pretty good. Its not a AAA titel and im glad about that. How do Nintendo Games look in general? Not really realistic, every (ok almost every) Game has a set and fitting artstyle. And it doesnt matter if the Trees are 4K UHD Trees with seasonal change and individual Leafs. Important is, if at all fits together and looks good, and yes, Pokemon Sword/Shield looks good. Its, as i said, not something u´d need a RTX 2080TI for, but it still looks good.

    Story
    Well, it is a pokemon game after all. I did not expect the biggest plot twist of all time or a Rival who has a personality that keep me awake at night (to be fair, Hop has no Character at all). You start as a small Kid from a small town to become the Champ. Thats basiclly it. There happens a buncha stuff with the dynamaxing at the Legendarys, the big CEO and so on, but the Story is nothing really to talk about. Doesnt sound that fun eh? I still had alot of fun. I dont play Pokemon for the story, i play it for the Pokemon.

    National Dex/ Pokedex

    Oh boi. The national dex. All the pokemon that are not in the Game. For me, i could not care less. You have over 400 Pokemon to choose from, and to be honest with yourself you will only use 3 of them because u dont need more. I have no idea, why this is such a big deal. Its not Pokemon Gold, Emerald, Pearl or Black, its Pokemon Sword/Shield. Its a individual Game with its own rules. Nothing to hate about.

    Difficulty

    Is it a hard game? No. Did my whole team ever fainted and i had to retry anything? No. Why is that you ask? Is it too easy? It is not too easy. And it is maybe because the target group for pokemon are 12 year olds. I am 25. I have played almost every Pokemon game. Of course Pokemon is not a Dark Souls! Its a game designed for kids. Why should it be hard?

    Well, i had lots and lots of fun with pokemon Sword. Im not done yet, still gotta do alot of postgame or Shinyhunt. Would i recommend it? Hell yes, i would.

    Note: English is not my native language, im sorry if this is kinda hard to read. :)    … Expand
  14. TimFunk
    Nov 27, 2019
    8
    Best pokemon game in years, fixed my Marrige which has been failing since X and Y came out
  15. Larsofmars
    Nov 28, 2019
    8
    My first Pokemon game in a while. The game not having all of the pokemon doesn't really bother me. The game is fun, but it does have problems.
  16. justino901
    Dec 3, 2019
    8
    Pokemon Sword and shield are both really good games.
    They have the best graphics that I've ever seen inside any pokemon game.
    The battles have a good UI and are the same as all the other pokemon games. but the game is not all perfect just as every single game out there pokemon sword and shield are pretty easy to level up the pokemon and the exp share just make exp appear out of nowhere    Pokemon Sword and shield are both really good games.
    They have the best graphics that I've ever seen inside any pokemon game.
    The battles have a good UI and are the same as all the other pokemon games.
    but the game is not all perfect just as every single game out there
    pokemon sword and shield are pretty easy to level up the pokemon and the exp share just make exp appear out of nowhere as the pokemon you are using without any other pokemon in your team will get the same XP as when you defeat or catch a pokemon with a full team of 5 other pokemon.
    The story is really good compared to the previous games in the past as you can slightly edit what some other character is going to say at a certain moment. It integrates the game mechanics perfectly inside the game. The Pokemon camp isn't as easy as one might think as well as getting close to your pokemon might be tough at first as they mostly want to play with the other pokemon instead of talk with you.
    In all this game is great even with the descent which honestly I think was necessary with all the imbalances that pokemon online battles always have now as it kept on being the same pokemon all the time at tournament or random online battles as well and this is with my favorite none-legendary and potentially legendary ( I don't check Pokedex's online in order to not spoil myself from discovering all the new pokemon or new forms of pokemon) being cut from the game which is Torterra and Lugia. Hopefully, you'll give the game a fair trial without having your expectation too high or the game being just dead for you because of the review bomb    … Expand
  17. well_in_town
    Dec 4, 2019
    8
    This game is SOOO FUNNN! Its the best pokemon game I had ever played. But it have a lot of problems and can be better than it is unfortunately.
  18. Militos
    Dec 8, 2019
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A ideia de ter um jogo de Pokémon em mundo aberto (na série principal) é algo sem procedentes. Uma gameplay mais leve, que facilita o treinamento de pokémons, além de novos artifícios para aumentá-los de nível mais rapidamente são muito bem vindos. Porém, alguns detalhes não podem deixar de serem vistos, como a possibilidade real de ter inserido todos os pokémons e a queda de frames quando conectado a internet na Wild Area. E claro, uma história ingame um pouco mais fraca em relação aos títulos anteriores. Posto isso, uma nota 8 é mais do que justa.… Expand
  19. BaldFrog
    Dec 8, 2019
    8
    I would say decent pokemon game, not as bad as ppl make it to seem like, but decent. It can be that my 8 is only from the reson that its pokemon and the core of pokemon is fun.

    Also pokemons that i mostly cared was in the game so i dont have anything to say, but if thay would keep every pokemon every time in the game, the memory ussge would get really big and it would not make sence in    I would say decent pokemon game, not as bad as ppl make it to seem like, but decent. It can be that my 8 is only from the reson that its pokemon and the core of pokemon is fun.


    Also pokemons that i mostly cared was in the game so i dont have anything to say, but if thay would keep every pokemon every time in the game, the memory ussge would get really big and it would not make sence in natural perspective, like why there would be a animal from shout america in europe, daam nature ripping off    … Expand
  20. GreyKompot
    Dec 9, 2019
    8
    First of all I'm a zoomer who has played all the pokemon games except gen 1/let's go (played the gen 3 remakes). -Gen 1 on the gameboy is bad and broken, that's a fact-. My top favourite 3 games are pokemon or/as ,pokemon fire red/leaf green and heart gold /soul silver ,which from what i know most of the community agrees on. (Played pokemon shield on the switch lite, 55hrs*)
    Ok, and now    First of all I'm a zoomer who has played all the pokemon games except gen 1/let's go (played the gen 3 remakes). -Gen 1 on the gameboy is bad and broken, that's a fact-. My top favourite 3 games are pokemon or/as ,pokemon fire red/leaf green and heart gold /soul silver ,which from what i know most of the community agrees on. (Played pokemon shield on the switch lite, 55hrs*)
    Ok, and now that we are done with the introductions.
    Let's get on with the review. Pokemon shield does not deserve the low score it has from the users, it is by far top 3 in my opinion. Beating out the gen 3 remakes , and is edging the gen 2 remakes. I think the game solidly deserves an 8.5/10.
    The game is a step up from gen 7, in gameplay, gyms/trails and gym leaders. Not so the story
    Let's address some of the complaints:

    Graphics: I heard a ton of people hating on the graphics and "old reused animations". Not only are they blatantly wrong, but some of the rumours are just ridiculous, it's like they haven't played the games.
    The game by far looks the best out of the series, with new and improved animations (just watch it on YouTube or something if you don't believe), tbh i loved every single tweak they added and welcomed any change in the animations.
    One complaint would be, everything gets a bit pixelated if you stand like 10m/~33ft from it. It wasn't a big deal for me personally, but i see why people might be frustrated.

    Music: One of the best part of the game, you have some classical Scottish bagpipes, some funky groovy edm and a mix of rock. And it features by far the best gym leader/champion theme. The rival theme is ok but still doesn't beat the best one (the or/as one).

    Story:I'm not gonna spoil it ,but just rank it 7/10. (Took me 26hrs of casual play to finish up till champion.)

    The national dex: I'm gonna be real with you, my favourite pokemons didn't appear in this generation. But we need to move on. Personally I'm a fan of competitive. And i think removing some pokemon (like landorus) can spice up the competition. I will miss the pokemon I love, but I will grow to love new ones.

    Now if you will excuse me i have to get back to catchin' em a--, some of them.


    Btw created an account just to make this review. English is not my first language so i hope I made a satisfactory review.    … Expand
  21. secretpotatoe
    Dec 18, 2019
    8
    Absolutely nothing wrong with this game! Its everything Pokemon has been and continues to be. Sure, there are some animations that are reused from previous games but that doesn't effect game play and the experience you will get by following the story and adventuring the wild.
  22. OWOdude
    Dec 23, 2019
    8
    I just like it. ok let me explain the gyms were good, the story was meh but who plays Pokemon for the story. the pokemon were alright. but completing the pokedex is now easier. I had a copy of Alpha Sapphire and I was so close to completeing the pokedex but then I lost it. I think 400 Is enouth. so yeah 8/10
  23. Plibige
    Dec 27, 2019
    8
    Honestly I was expecting a hell of a lot worse. The way people were going on I genuinely thought i would give up on it after a day. Look it's not breath of the wild, and it's not a huge step away from what we have seen in the past. But it's a great game, and I'd imagine any kid would love it if it was their first pokemon game
  24. AV_Lazy
    Dec 31, 2019
    8
    Overall I thought the game was good. It's fun, the wild area is awesome, as a Brit I loved how they changed some of the language and made characters say phrases from England, the Pokemon made were really cool design and origin wise (with a few exceptions of course), the returning Pokemon are diverse and well picked, the soundtrack is amazing and some characters (especially Hop) are writtenOverall I thought the game was good. It's fun, the wild area is awesome, as a Brit I loved how they changed some of the language and made characters say phrases from England, the Pokemon made were really cool design and origin wise (with a few exceptions of course), the returning Pokemon are diverse and well picked, the soundtrack is amazing and some characters (especially Hop) are written really well. The game is actually one of my favourite Pokemon games out there but I do have a few issues with it. The max raid battles are fun but your teammates are really useless the large majority of the time unless you connect with people online, the graphics and animations aren't that consistent with some being breathtaking and some looking like a 12 year old with animation software and half an hour to kill made them, the story is poorly paced towards the end and the game is extremely easy with the EXP share always being on and EXP candies being common to get however this does mean that it is easier to have a team with more that 6 Pokemon and grinding is put to a minimum.

    The game is pretty good but I do find it unfortunate that it has probably the most toxic fandom and most toxic haters around.    … Expand
  25. BlakeJ
    Jan 6, 2020
    8
    People on here just want to complain about what the game doesn’t have. Come on; It’s Pokémon on a console!! I’ve gotten through the first three gyms and have been thoroughly enjoying it. Difficulty is not there for those who want a challenge, but that’s what competitive battling is for. I would love to see a more difficult game in the future, but for now, Shield quenches the thirst for aPeople on here just want to complain about what the game doesn’t have. Come on; It’s Pokémon on a console!! I’ve gotten through the first three gyms and have been thoroughly enjoying it. Difficulty is not there for those who want a challenge, but that’s what competitive battling is for. I would love to see a more difficult game in the future, but for now, Shield quenches the thirst for a Pokémon game on a console.… Expand
  26. jfranklin
    Jan 21, 2020
    8
    This game really gets overly hated on for silly reasons. People care way too much about what they are missing, like the "National Dex," and a really solid Pokemon game that is just as addicting and fun as other entries in the series. The world feels alive, the characters have more depth than I'm used to in pokemon games... I think the rampant negativity is just caused from unrealisticThis game really gets overly hated on for silly reasons. People care way too much about what they are missing, like the "National Dex," and a really solid Pokemon game that is just as addicting and fun as other entries in the series. The world feels alive, the characters have more depth than I'm used to in pokemon games... I think the rampant negativity is just caused from unrealistic expectations.

    Pokemon Sword and Shield is a great time, and more or less exactly what you expect when you get a pokemon game, with small updates to make things more connected. It's no Breath of the Wild, but that doesn't mean it's not still a very solid game.    … Expand
  27. Flikkie72
    Jan 23, 2020
    8
    What a bunch of crybabies! The game is great, though the post-game story is a bit too brief for my liking and there are a couple too many goofs/exploitable features in it.
  28. nickalleye
    Jan 30, 2020
    8
    First things first: when I play a pokemon game I only use the new gen creatures. That means I don't care about the national dex. People need to stop being so conservative. As for the game itself, it has its fair share of issues (hello always-on exp. share), but it's ultimately a fine game. The designs are pretty cool. Playing it to this day, taking me longer than most cause I want to tryFirst things first: when I play a pokemon game I only use the new gen creatures. That means I don't care about the national dex. People need to stop being so conservative. As for the game itself, it has its fair share of issues (hello always-on exp. share), but it's ultimately a fine game. The designs are pretty cool. Playing it to this day, taking me longer than most cause I want to try all the new monsters.… Expand
  29. Hashirama
    Jun 14, 2020
    8
    Pros: Wild area is where you'll spend most of your time in.

    Competitive friendly, great for winning the battle tower. New Pokémon and new forms

    DLC looks promising

    Cons:

    Pokémon number reduced
    Battling does not compare with colloseum/XD
    Hop follows you everywhere
    Game feels small once finished
  30. Sin-Dre
    Mar 17, 2020
    8
    game play is amazing. i loved playing the game but i think the game would be better if there was voice acting. the story was good. it could been better with voice acting.
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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.
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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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