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. HappyTorchic255
    Jan 3, 2020
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Not a 'great' game but it's also not a bad game. Yes, it sucks that 455 Pokémon are removed from the game (including one of my favorite Pokemon Blaziken) and some animations are honestly bad (like Dubwool using headbutt with its feet). The wild area and Max raid battles are some of my favorite features of this game. Plus this generation introduces in my opinion many great Pokemon's (Dragapult and Cursola are two of my new favorites). The games are flawed, but still fun. So I think 6-7/10 are the most fair and deserving scores this game can get.… Expand
  2. Rebel20
    Dec 20, 2019
    7
    Un juego que ilusionaba por su salto de generación y las posibilidades que está podría ofrecer, hay conceptos innovadores que no concretan un elemento sólido en la experiencia general.
  3. harry_j_harry
    Dec 22, 2019
    7
    The story and difficulty of the game felt non existent. The lack of every Pokémon is lazy. But this is a decent Pokémon experience with a bunch of cool Pokémon design's.
  4. DarthNexus
    Dec 24, 2019
    7
    The Story - 5/10

    The story begins simple enough. You live in a small town called Postwick, in the far southern end of the Galar region. Galar is based on western Europe, and plays that up rather well, as Euro slang such as ‘telly,’ ‘cuppa,’ ‘shut yer gob,’ etc, are frequently seen throughout the game. Your mother is even named ‘Mum!’ You’re quickly introduced to Hop, your rival for the    The Story - 5/10

    The story begins simple enough. You live in a small town called Postwick, in the far southern end of the Galar region. Galar is based on western Europe, and plays that up rather well, as Euro slang such as ‘telly,’ ‘cuppa,’ ‘shut yer gob,’ etc, are frequently seen throughout the game. Your mother is even named ‘Mum!’ You’re quickly introduced to Hop, your rival for the campaign, and you will get annoyed with him faster than Hau from Sun and Moon. His brother, Champion Leon, provides you with your starter (The grass-type monkey Grookey, the water-type gecko Sobble, and the fire-type rabbit Scorbunny). He tasks you with taking on the Gym Challenge, and hopefully one day to face him in a battle (The writing heavily plays up his ‘undefeated’ status). You travel with Hop around the region, collecting Badges, meeting NPCs, and capturing Pokemon. I will refrain from going into specifics to avoid spoilers, but you gain a few new rivals and meet Team Yell along the way.

    Overall, the writing is kind of odd. I felt like I was a side character to the main plot, while the NPCs figured out each of the major driving plot details, and my character was just along for the ride. The end of the story was interesting to me. I will say this much, I was not expecting what happened to happen. The story itself was alright, fit well with the theme of the region, but did not stand out as ‘great’ to me. My play time of the story, including the post-Champion battle story, clocked in at about 25 hours.

    The Gameplay - 6/10

    The core gameplay of catching Pokemon and battling with them has not changed much in the last 20 years. Heck, it took almost 15 years for them to add a new Pokemon type to the series (Fairy-type was added in X and Y in 2013, previous to that the last new types were Dark and Steel introduced in Gold and Silver in 1999) Notable cut features are Mega Evolutions (introduced in X and Y in 2013), and Z-Moves (Sun/Moon, 2017) in favor of the new Dynamax ability, allowing you to grow one of your Pokemon into a giant Kaiju-sized powerhouse temporarily, gaining strength and increased health to combat your opponent. Dynamax does not last until the end of the battle, rather ending after a few turns. In addition, it can only be done in certain places (you're given a minor cutscene at the beginning of a battle if Dynamax is available).

    Dynamax feels like a nerf of Mega Evolution, and personally, I don’t like it. Mega Evolution certain pokemon changing types, or giving them a different passive Ability, on top of changing their appearance. The fact it only lasts for three turns presents a new dynamic of when to use this power spike over the course of a battle. In the context of the story, most times I used it was at the end of a battle where Dynamax was allowed, to help seal victory.

    New Pokemon Designs - 7/10

    91 new Pokemon were added to the game. While not all of the designs look great, a good portion of them look pretty well done. One Pokemon in particular, Alcremie, has 63 different forms. Which one your Milcery evolves into is determined by its held item and how quickly you spin in a given direction. Overall, the designs of the new Pokemon (and the Galarian variants on existing pokemon) mostly fit the theme of the region, and those that don’t do not look out of place in the Pokemon world.

    Quality of Life Changes - 9/10

    Continuing the quality of life changes from the previous games carry over, including seeing if an attack will be super effective (provided you’ve got the pokemon registered in the pokedex), and the Bottle Caps from Sun and Moon return. New to Sword and Shield are the Mints, which will allow you to change what stats are affected by the Pokemon's nature, as well as removing the cap on using vitamins to fully train your Pokemon's stats. These small changes help to open up competitive play to more people! Some other changes are the Name Rater and Move Relearner are present in every Pokemon Center, and you are now allowed to nickname a Pokemon you got in a trade, provided they do not already have a nickname.

    Overall - 7/10

    Pokemon Sword and Shield bring a lot of new ideas to the table, while removing a few things that worked in the past. As for a product that stands on its own, it's ok! Not terrible, but not great. Yes, the controversy surrounding Dexit and some of the graphics bring the score down a bit, but overall it's still a decent entry into the Pokemon franchise, even if it's not the greatest (That honor to me still goes to HeartGold and SoulSilver). The new Pokemon designs are above average, the story feels like it was rushed in order to get the game out on time, leading to a short campaign, the characters you interact with regularly are overly annoying (Looking at you, Hop), and the new gameplay elements do not deliver compelling gameplay compared to previous titles.    … Expand
  5. Wildrover
    Dec 28, 2019
    7
    This game is fun going through the story portion, but fails in online play.

    Joining raids and trading pokemon are a real pain. There is no in game chat to set up trades and surprise trade is a gamble.

    I still enjoy the game for what it is, but it could be better.
  6. Insight_Sami
    Jan 4, 2020
    7
    I like pokemon shield,but it lag.
    Bruhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
    I love pokemon!!!!
    I don't know what i can write.
  7. Hanneymax
    Jan 4, 2020
    7
    There are enough very good Pokémon to make the game fun and although once completed there isn’t much to do, if you rate this below a 6 you are dim
  8. random_person89
    Jan 7, 2020
    7
    For a Pokemon game it's pretty mediocre, it had it's moments when it was fun and sometimes when it's not. The game is not worth $60. It feels rushed compared to other Pokemon games. Some of the Pokemon this generation where pretty cool and interesting. This generation had some of the best music in the series and some good characters. But the characters interact with you too much and thereFor a Pokemon game it's pretty mediocre, it had it's moments when it was fun and sometimes when it's not. The game is not worth $60. It feels rushed compared to other Pokemon games. Some of the Pokemon this generation where pretty cool and interesting. This generation had some of the best music in the series and some good characters. But the characters interact with you too much and there isn't really much of a story. Some of the most suspenseful moments are over when you arrive there. Some of the areas are too small and the textures are some objects are well... not good. Some of the areas look amazing and some just look lazy. They put so much work into some area's but some just look lazy. Also the battle animation with the Pokemon don't really look that good. They don't even move for some of them, some Pokemon have work put into them and some don't. They have done battle animations in the past but why can't they do that now. We can expect these things from game freak but they don't really seem to care about Pokemon.… Expand
  9. Robertinho123
    Jun 20, 2020
    7
    I really enjoy the base game, but there's very little postgame, raiding is okay, but honestly the online system is so crap that 5 star pokemon are almost impossible to catch.

    When some of the mechanics are so broken, it's hard to give it more than a 7. If they fix the online, I'll bump it to 8, but I doubt that'll happen.
  10. noleme
    Jan 28, 2020
    7
    I had a lot of fun playing this pokemon game. Being able to see the pokemon in the grass is a great addition as I can choose the encounters instead of random annoying encounters. Because of this, this is the first pokemon game where I actually wanted to catch them all. The exp share takes away the annoying grinding and encourages you to try new low level pokemon you catch in your party. InI had a lot of fun playing this pokemon game. Being able to see the pokemon in the grass is a great addition as I can choose the encounters instead of random annoying encounters. Because of this, this is the first pokemon game where I actually wanted to catch them all. The exp share takes away the annoying grinding and encourages you to try new low level pokemon you catch in your party. In prior games I would just use a couple strong pokemon as I did not want to grind to level up additional pokemon. There was not an hours long tutorial or as much hand holding as ultra sun had. The gyms being arenas like a sports competition made them feel exciting.

    Dynamaxing pokemon is nothing special. The z-moves from ultra sun are better and provide more strategy in battles. The story in the game is dumb and uninteresting. Especially the team baddies which are just obnoxious fans of an opposing gym challenger and provide no real challenge. Previous games baddies like team magma from ruby were actually interesting and had motivation. The game had no good puzzles to get through. The story advances illogically as if they forgot about it. The wild area was not as fun and interesting as I thought it would be. You can't even catch all the pokemon in it until you beat all the gyms. It is so annoying encountering a pokemon and realizing it is too high a level for you to catch.

    As a casual fan who had no idea the national dex even existed until the outrage from a very vocal minority, I enjoyed this game; Although pokemon can and should be much more than this.    … Expand
  11. Maxtron
    Feb 12, 2020
    7
    A good game but it falls in some parts like in the main game it seems that is unfinished an the climax appears from non-where; the graphics are not the same quality as the other games from the console. But at the end is fun, I would recommend it? Only if you are a big Pokémon fan.
  12. Nitroade24
    Jul 17, 2020
    7
    It felt a bit empty but overall it was enjoyable as a game. Nothing to write home about.
  13. MonkdemMan
    Feb 20, 2020
    7
    Ok gamefreak didn't really push the boat out too far and kinda played it safe. Fanboys giving it a zero need to get a life. This is a game made for all ages and all level of "fans" not the obsessive angry weirdos. Its exactly what I expected from a pokemon game. Travel a decent looking world catch all the pokemon take on gyms ect. I like the graphics not every game needs high detail theOk gamefreak didn't really push the boat out too far and kinda played it safe. Fanboys giving it a zero need to get a life. This is a game made for all ages and all level of "fans" not the obsessive angry weirdos. Its exactly what I expected from a pokemon game. Travel a decent looking world catch all the pokemon take on gyms ect. I like the graphics not every game needs high detail the art work works. The sounds is more of the same and can't say I'm a fan of the music.
    I had a good time with pokemon shield it's an innocent piece of my childhood bought to a colourful great map. It's not a perfect masterpiece but should we really expect that from a game that is made for ages 3 and upwards. I can enjoy it and so can my kids.... when I eventually have some    … Expand
  14. Enterkiou
    Feb 25, 2020
    7
    No es un mal juego, claramente no merece una cero. Lamentablemente no es lo que los fans de pokemon esperaban del juego. No tiene mucho avance en relación a otras entregas de la franquicia, salvo el área salvaje. Cuenta con limitaciones técnicas inexplicables para la época, como texturas mediocres y Pop-In, lo cual no concuerda con lo que uno espera de un triple A. Sin embargo, esNo es un mal juego, claramente no merece una cero. Lamentablemente no es lo que los fans de pokemon esperaban del juego. No tiene mucho avance en relación a otras entregas de la franquicia, salvo el área salvaje. Cuenta con limitaciones técnicas inexplicables para la época, como texturas mediocres y Pop-In, lo cual no concuerda con lo que uno espera de un triple A. Sin embargo, es principalmente más bueno que malo, dado que mantiene la jugabilidad adictiva de otras entregas, y respecto a eso, la jugabilidad siempre debiese tener más peso en un videojuego. Pasarás horas y horas de entretenimiento con este juego, siempre y cuando seas capaz de dejar de un lado sus notorios defectos.… Expand
  15. TheFanOfFans
    Mar 11, 2020
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. So I thought that this game was pretty cool, but has many flaws. First off, the national dex doesn't bother me. It can be a game breaker if you want to use your favorite Pokemon. However I like using the new ones the most, and to anyone on the fence about the game because of this. I say get it and just try some new Pokemon, you might find a new favorite! Now the game is slow paced. The main characters will stop you over, and over. This is definitely a damper on the experience as a whole as when you want to go somewhere you are almost guaranteed to be stopped by a character. The graphics are nice when in towns and on the routes. Nothing crazy, but sometimes the towns actually look great. But in the Wild Area stuff goes downhill. The graphics aren't too great. The tree's look very strange and pokemon pop in and out (though this is an issue with the whole game). In the Wild Area you can do these Dynamax pokemon battles. These I am a bit mixed on. Once you beat the game most if not all raids are 5 stars. This means they put up their shield multiple times. The shields in my opinion aren't very good. A Dynamax pokemon deals 2 bars, while regular does 1. If there is 1 bar, a dynmax pokemon wastes it's attack and still only does one. This wouldn't be an issue except it wastes 1 of your 3 turns in as a Dynamax. Also the CPU players aren't to great. I'll get to the online after this but just know that you get the same pool of CPU Pokemon and it can feel really bad when one just keeps using stat boosters. Now the online (at least for me) is very hit or miss. Sometimes when I try to trade it takes a while to connect, other times it's almost instant. It definitely works more then it doesn't, but that's just something to keep in mind. The gameplay is great, it's just pokemon. The gyms this time are the best they have ever been, definitely a highlight. After you beat the game you can make tournaments with the gym leaders and that is constantly fun. Now there isn't much of a story in this game. Basically Leon and Sonia get most of the action and just tell you about all the crazy stuff that happened. Towards the end stuff starts picking up and you fight one of the Legendary Pokemon. The scaling of him was very weird though. His size seemed to change a lot. Overall I don't mind the lack of story, it would have been nice though and if you want one this game will not deliver. The difficulty is a bit too easy, but I've come to expect that with Pokemon at this point. I might have left some things out, but overall, it's a fun experience that has it's faults. Get it at a discount because $60 is a bit to much.… Expand
  16. JancoBH
    Jun 1, 2020
    7
    Este juego es bueno, no el mejor pero si es bueno y disfrutable, lo malo es que mejora al tener switch online.

    Dentro de poco habrá un DLC que complementará el videojuego y lo hará mejorar mucho, lo malo es tener que pagar 30$ usd por ese contenido.

    También hace falta algunos Pokémon. hola
  17. Faxi
    May 23, 2020
    7
    Pokemon Sword & Shield introduces us to the galar region, with a bunch of new but also returning pokemon from the past games in the series. While the national dex isn't a thing in Pokemon Sword & Shield, the game is still a great pokemon game.

    While the game has a lot of different elements compared to the other pokemon games in the series. It was still fun exploring the Galar region,    Pokemon Sword & Shield introduces us to the galar region, with a bunch of new but also returning pokemon from the past games in the series. While the national dex isn't a thing in Pokemon Sword & Shield, the game is still a great pokemon game.

    While the game has a lot of different elements compared to the other pokemon games in the series. It was still fun exploring the Galar region, and leveling up and evolving one's pokemons.

    The game was far too easy, and the gyms didn't really offer any challenge whatsoever. The game did offer a more open area also known as the ''Wild Area'' with many different pokemon, one could catch.
    While also even your rival isn't even challenging at all, just makes the game far more easy and not challenging at all.

    Other than the easy gym challenges the game offers, there is no elite four, but instead ''Semi-Finals'' which felt like beating the gym challenges all over again.

    The game doesn't even offer a interesting story, but rather an awkward story about your rival and his constant craving beating you.

    Though, even with the small disappointments the game has, the game was still quite fun to play through.

    With the 2 ekspansions releasing later this year, hopefully we will get a lot more of great content.    … Expand
  18. BrunoMacielS
    Apr 29, 2020
    7
    I really had a very high expectation for this pokemon. Unfortunately it is a good game but not what I expected.
  19. Baximi
    May 3, 2020
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Es ist ein gutes Spiel, aber eines der schlechtesten seiner Reihe. Die Story lässt wieder einmal zu wünschen übrig und Dynamax ist meiner Meinung auch nicht sonderlich interessant. Die meisten neuen Pokémon sind sogar in Ordnung, aber ein paar waren wie immer unnötig. Dennoch hatte ich mit dem Spiel eine Menge Spaß.… Expand
  20. pinkdino1
    Jun 19, 2020
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. for the first main Pokemon title for a big system, the game is very mhe.

    the new pokemon are good, with a lot of ones i like.
    but the story is very underwhelming. every time it starts to get interesting, the someone tells you not to worry about it and just go to the next gym.

    it also doesn't help the final boss is a guy so worried about something that won't affect the region for almost 1000 years, that he can't wait one day for the champion to do something then come help him with his plan.

    the gimic of this game, dinamaxing, also isn't as fun as i thought it would be. yes its neat to encounter large wild pokemon, but outside battling the gym leaders, the tournament, and maybe 3-4 random times, the gimic isn't used. its a water down mega evolution mixed with Z-moves.
    (even worse is both Charizard and Gengar have new forms dispight already having megas)

    its a good simple game, but not much more then that. (this review is not counting DLC)    … Expand
  21. jona000100
    Jun 21, 2020
    7
    el juego es decente pero pudo hacerse mejor las graficas en algunos puntos en estan bien en otros no las animaciones pocas son buenas y reusan demasiado contenido de sol y luna pero en general es disfrutable y tiene el mejor competitivo de la saga en mi humilde opinion
  22. 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
  23. 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
  24. Arturos
    Jul 1, 2020
    7
    Fun game to play with friend a family, if you are a big pokemon fan but it.
  25. 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
  26. emilyratesgames
    Nov 20, 2020
    7
    Score: 7
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  27. 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
  28. LucarioSmash246
    Sep 1, 2020
    7
    Lets get this out of the way: I get why people might not like the fact that not all the Pokemon are in the game but that alone doesn't make it terrible. There is still enough mons to play with and alternate between. As for the graphics, I do agree that some of the textures aren't great but there are some good or great ones too like the caves, cities, and forests. The main characters haveLets get this out of the way: I get why people might not like the fact that not all the Pokemon are in the game but that alone doesn't make it terrible. There is still enough mons to play with and alternate between. As for the graphics, I do agree that some of the textures aren't great but there are some good or great ones too like the caves, cities, and forests. The main characters have great arcs and personality and Gym leaders are interesting to listen to and aren't only standing at the end of the gym like some of the other games do while also having personality. All the pokemon designs are either fantastic or just okay and the pokemon animations are either really awesome or bland. I like the activities you can do in the game like the Max Raids and the timed bicycle runs. The Wild area is a great idea though it really needs to be expanded upon(i don't mean size of the area). The only things that i'm not a big fan of is the Y-comm ,though I do like the idea of what it is and it just doesn't update very well, and having a little more people in the bigger cites as well as being able to look at more in said cities. Overall, I think Sword and Shield are good games but not fantastic games and believe they can do better. I don't think they are bad games since they still work and play well. They just aren't groundbreaking games.… Expand
  29. carlosplays
    Nov 6, 2021
    7
    Pokemon games follow a standard formula and this one was no different. I was surprised how easy the game was though...despite not being quite familiar with the new Pokemon after skipping generations it was still a breeze and the game felt a little on the shorter side. Still it wasn't bad at all. It's definitely not a bad game to spend a week or two with if you grind through. I kept puttingPokemon games follow a standard formula and this one was no different. I was surprised how easy the game was though...despite not being quite familiar with the new Pokemon after skipping generations it was still a breeze and the game felt a little on the shorter side. Still it wasn't bad at all. It's definitely not a bad game to spend a week or two with if you grind through. I kept putting it down and then forcing myself to finish it and then I finally did without too much fanfare.… Expand
  30. Jose-Colon
    Oct 3, 2020
    7
    Es un juego hermoso gráficamente comparado con los anteriores. Me encantaron los nuevos pokemon y las nuevas dinámicas dinamax, pero el juego tiene muchos errores y la historia es pésima, llega el momento dónde piensa que la historia no tiene importancia, parece cómo si hubiera cortado la historia para sacar el juego antes de tiempo. Con la expansión de armadura arreglan un poco algunasEs un juego hermoso gráficamente comparado con los anteriores. Me encantaron los nuevos pokemon y las nuevas dinámicas dinamax, pero el juego tiene muchos errores y la historia es pésima, llega el momento dónde piensa que la historia no tiene importancia, parece cómo si hubiera cortado la historia para sacar el juego antes de tiempo. Con la expansión de armadura arreglan un poco algunas cosas, pero esa mala historia daño el juego.… 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.
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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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