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. Gilligfan
    Nov 16, 2019
    1
    Lousy graphics and animation in places!
    Laggy in places!
    Several launch day and pre-launch day
    bugs and glitches.
    A sad day for the franchise.
    Less quality and content with a higher price
    tag
  2. Icebrows
    Nov 16, 2019
    2
    Although there are fun parts, everything in the game feels like a hollow shell of the masterpiece it could have been. The story is short and linear, the endgame is non-existent, the wild area is very gimmicky, and missing textures or music or confusingly bad animations constantly keep you from getting immersed. Don't get it if you have any other experience with Pokemon, you'll just beAlthough there are fun parts, everything in the game feels like a hollow shell of the masterpiece it could have been. The story is short and linear, the endgame is non-existent, the wild area is very gimmicky, and missing textures or music or confusingly bad animations constantly keep you from getting immersed. Don't get it if you have any other experience with Pokemon, you'll just be disappointed.… Expand
  3. Dillium
    Nov 16, 2019
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. While some areas of the game are absolutely stunning to look at, the wild area, which was the games big selling point, has graphics that would be disappointing on the wii. The trainer and Pokémon models also don’t interact well with the terrain, for example the player often floats, especially when on the bike and water Pokémon don’t make ripples when they are swimming. The game has seen very few improvements in battle animations and many battles have their backgrounds set to a colourful void. Battles also pose very little challenge due to the forces use of a full party exp share leaving Pokémon over leveled very quickly. The story is short and very simple with very little post game content, pretty much just the box legendary, eternatus and a very bland bare-bones battle tower, a world away from the ds games that had multiple post game legendaries and a battle frontier with varied battle challenges that always kept them interesting.

    The addition of certain quality of life improvements, such as the nature changing mints, which make it far easier to obtain competitive-quality Pokémon, are a welcome addition, as is the fact that the player character now has expressions instead of the horrifying blank stares of sun and moon.

    The new gimmick of dynamax and gigantamax are interesting for a while but they just seem like a rehashed version of both mega evolutions and z-moves, both of which were removed from this game. The fact that their use is also heavily limited also makes them feel less impactful.

    The rival Hop shows up a little too often and it sometimes feel like you can’t walk for five minutes without bumping into him, which makes him quickly become irritating.

    Due to this I do not believe the removal of hundreds of Pokémon was a worthwhile trade off given the other issues with the game. However the game is fun, but Pokémon games are almost guaranteed to be fun to play purely due to the premise, but it could have been so much better than it is, it doesn’t feel like playing a switch game, it feels like playing a 3ds game, it feels like GameFreak wasn’t able to take advantage of being on a new console.    … Expand
  4. Sirotik
    Nov 16, 2019
    10
    Simply the best Pokémon game I've played, the pokedex is a non important detail, the game is marvelous and the landscapes are really beautiful.
  5. kelvin78643
    Nov 16, 2019
    2
    the graphic is pretty lag in some places. Also, the story is kinda lagging as I am able to finish in one day. Not much post-story content as compared to the past Pokemon games. hahaha, also the bag is ugly and I realised u took it off during the battle scene.... Lastly, the dynamax Pokemon is kinda like not proportion to the actual size of pokedex. For example, wailord's normal size isthe graphic is pretty lag in some places. Also, the story is kinda lagging as I am able to finish in one day. Not much post-story content as compared to the past Pokemon games. hahaha, also the bag is ugly and I realised u took it off during the battle scene.... Lastly, the dynamax Pokemon is kinda like not proportion to the actual size of pokedex. For example, wailord's normal size is suppose to be super big yet the size is is smaller than a person. This kind of details are super important for the gameplay feel and sense. For example, like monster hunter games, the size of monsters make everything different and the environment we explore in more fun, and adding in more personality and action of them surviving in wild will be nice (etc picking berry to eat). All in all, there is a lot of work to be done. Also, they should remove all Kanto Pokemon like pikachu so as to be fair to the other removed Pokemon and fulfil their statement of wanting people to use new Pokemon only. Not just for the sake of doing less work, and put in popular Pokemon as marketing materials.… Expand
  6. Death_ball13
    Nov 16, 2019
    10
    Absolutely love the open world mix between old and new school Pokémon the game mechanics and handling are amazing this has made me fall back in love with Pokémon after the fault of ultra sun and moon. Graphics are great love the camping and the raids aswell
  7. B4bs
    Nov 16, 2019
    10
    I'm 11 hours in and beat the third gym and damn I'm having a lot of fun, it's the first pokemon game i play since black and white 2 and i'm having a blast! Really glad i bought a switch this year
  8. DrMalign
    Nov 16, 2019
    10
    Buen juego. Ya era hora de un Pokémon de nueva generación. Un must en toda regla.
  9. LJavier91
    Nov 16, 2019
    10
    Buen juego con muy buenos graficos y una gran historia y variedad de Pokémon en las diferentes zonas
  10. R4F43LL
    Nov 16, 2019
    6
    No geral o jogo é muito bom , porém o corte da dex com a falta de qualidade gráfica acaba deixando o jogo mediano para ruim
  11. falloutcoyote
    Nov 16, 2019
    3
    Overall feels like a rush job by a half-rate studio, not one of Nintendo's flagship titles. The game is weirdly buggy, looks bland and recycled and just...overall lacks content. For the little bit of content that is there, since I can't import a lot of my favorite Pokemon from previous titles I can't even get the usual replayability I would out of the game.

    I have tried to keep positive    Overall feels like a rush job by a half-rate studio, not one of Nintendo's flagship titles. The game is weirdly buggy, looks bland and recycled and just...overall lacks content. For the little bit of content that is there, since I can't import a lot of my favorite Pokemon from previous titles I can't even get the usual replayability I would out of the game.

    I have tried to keep positive during all the online hate and had high hopes all the way up to launch since Gamefreak said they would use that extra time from the cut content to add new animations and polish the game, but this is basically a rehashed 3DS game (and a bad one at that) with a higher price tag, half the content and the worst gimmicks yet (looking at you Gigantamax/Dynamax/Raids). For how well Nintendo's been doing with the Switch and its flagship titles so far, this is a confusing inexplicable mess and the first game in awhile that just doesn't feel like its worth the money.    … Expand
  12. Pengin
    Nov 16, 2019
    2
    Pros:
    -It's Pokemon (People buy it for the cute characters and game-play formula)
    -Some improvements to mechanics (removing the worst part of the grinding is indeed not bad) -Graphics are better (Because it's not on a 3DS) Cons: -Albeit graphics being improved, don't expect anything close to Zelda or Xenoblade. This game is made for getting a passing mark from the average child,    Pros:
    -It's Pokemon (People buy it for the cute characters and game-play formula)
    -Some improvements to mechanics (removing the worst part of the grinding is indeed not bad)
    -Graphics are better (Because it's not on a 3DS)

    Cons:
    -Albeit graphics being improved, don't expect anything close to Zelda or Xenoblade. This game is made for getting a passing mark from the average child, -not- to entertain you.
    -This is probably the easiest Pokemon game, and you are forced to have EXP share enabled. Regardless of how much you skip, you'll out-level everything, and Pokemon that you don't even use will always keep up.
    -The national Dex is gone.
    -The franchise doesn't put emphasis on exploration anymore.
    -Attack animations & Pokemon idle animations, are entirely copy-paste from previous games.

    The Pokemon franchise is huge and Game Freak is a decently big company with about 150 employees. This game was supposed to be compared to Zelda, but in terms of both graphics and game-play, these two games are leagues apart. People expected a Pokemon game shortly after the switch release, but Game Freak chose to 'work more on it', yet somehow they manage to deliver what feels like a half finished game. Copying old animations, and reskinning the 3DS models, is by no means something bad, but in the light of Game Freaks statements as to why the national-Dex is gone, it's evident this game was never meant to deliver anything more than the minimum of what could be called a main-series Pokemon game. If this wasn't a Pokemon game, people would probably say "this game has promise" rather than "this game is good", and that might very well be Game Freaks saving grace. They should make a proper game next time, and then this might be forgotten as a transitional game, rather than a main series game.

    A final note: Game-play wise, the Pokemon series is showing change that may or may not make old time Pokemon fans like me quit the games. Since X&Y, the games has put less emphasis on exploration and combat. Today, neither should be a reason to buy the game, since decisions in combat are largely irrelevant, and there isn't much to explore. At least the issues with combat could easily be circumvented by adding a difficulty setting.    … Expand
  13. billythorton198
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    Half the pokemon missing means these games arent worth anything, and the fact that they lose to their fans
  14. FabioGarcia
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    The worst Pokémon ever. PSX graphics (the cutscenes are disgusting). Very easy. GF removed a loooooot of Pokémon from the ND. It seems an PSX game with a lot of limitations. REALLY GF? We wait for this game for decades and you give us this SH?
  15. merkstw
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    Short game, crap, I didn't like it at all. I finished it in 3 hours. Not recommended at all, please buy another game.
  16. Tkm7
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    Barebones. Would have been a decent 3DS game. No post game, bad graphics. Some of the new Pokémon have promise, but it’s just so, so disappointkng
  17. TheOnlyShape
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    Played about 45 minutes, blindlessly A button pressed through pointless/badly animated cutscenes and hand holding opening battles and realized that it's the same old garbage that's been repackaged and resold for the past 20+ years.

    Honestly, if you play through the first hpur tou'll immediately understand. Took it back to Gamestop under their 48 hour full refund policy and exchanged it    Played about 45 minutes, blindlessly A button pressed through pointless/badly animated cutscenes and hand holding opening battles and realized that it's the same old garbage that's been repackaged and resold for the past 20+ years.

    Honestly, if you play through the first hpur tou'll immediately understand.
    Took it back to Gamestop under their 48 hour full refund policy and exchanged it for a game that hopefully won't treat me like a braindead child.

    0/10 Pokemon is **** dead    … Expand
  18. Alanmaster
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    Corte de pokedex jogo porco sem mega mega sem pokemons suficientes e qualidade porca tudo nesse jogo é ruin
  19. KrawzerOn
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    Primero que nada es una traición al concepto de la saga al no tener todos los Pokémon disponibles en el juego para atrapar o transferir de anteriores entregas, el desgano y prisa de los desarrolladores está patente en el pésimo apartado técnico, una lástima que teniendo tan buena música, dirección artística y diseños de nuevos Pokémo no hayan logrado una buena sinergía entre todos estosPrimero que nada es una traición al concepto de la saga al no tener todos los Pokémon disponibles en el juego para atrapar o transferir de anteriores entregas, el desgano y prisa de los desarrolladores está patente en el pésimo apartado técnico, una lástima que teniendo tan buena música, dirección artística y diseños de nuevos Pokémo no hayan logrado una buena sinergía entre todos estos elementos, el área silvestre tiene el peor apartado técnico visto en un juego de Switch, de lejos el peor juego de la saga principal.… Expand
  20. Zp999
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    Underwhelming gameplay, terable graphics compared to what game freak was eluding to, unbearable loss of my personal favourites like kingdra, metagross, etc. Not worth a penny out of your pocket...
  21. cancer2
    Nov 17, 2019
    0
    Garbage. Nintendo should buy out the shares for Pokemon and get a new developer. Game freak deserves to be dissolved over this rushed game that is devoid of content and looks like it was a port from the 3DS.
  22. Kuroi_Zero
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    I do not like that this game has very few Pokémon, I do not like that they said that they made all of the Pokémon from 0 when it’s very likely that they used 3DS models for the Pokémon’s. They removed some of my favorite Pokémon, and that is just plain sad, Pokémon is a franchise I’ve been following loyaly since I am 10 years old now I’m 23 and I feel very sad I feel scammed. I feelI do not like that this game has very few Pokémon, I do not like that they said that they made all of the Pokémon from 0 when it’s very likely that they used 3DS models for the Pokémon’s. They removed some of my favorite Pokémon, and that is just plain sad, Pokémon is a franchise I’ve been following loyaly since I am 10 years old now I’m 23 and I feel very sad I feel scammed. I feel betrayed by a company which now just seeks money or at least is how I feel them now. Sorry gamefreak.… Expand
  23. ZonnedX1
    Nov 16, 2019
    6
    It's not bad, but they could have done more. My feelings on this game are mixed. It's a Pokemon game it has almost everything you would expect from a Pokemon game. However the GTS system and the national dex are both missing and these were things I loved playing with in past entries. You have to endure an almost hour and a half tutorial before you can even start the game but once youIt's not bad, but they could have done more. My feelings on this game are mixed. It's a Pokemon game it has almost everything you would expect from a Pokemon game. However the GTS system and the national dex are both missing and these were things I loved playing with in past entries. You have to endure an almost hour and a half tutorial before you can even start the game but once you finally free yourself the game picks up a bit. I like the new Pokemon and the wild area is an interesting addition. However the game has no real story to speak of the villainous team in this game is something of a joke. This kind of makes me sad because I was expecting at least a generic save the world story. It hits most of the check marks that will make a casual fan enjoy it. There are Pokemon to catch, places to explore, gym battles to win but it's not really a step up from what we had on 3DS aside from the visuals. I would argue it's a step back because the improved visuals don't make up for lacking the GTS and national dex. Though despite the visuals being improved they do not look like the best the Switch can do I have seen better in Breath of the Wild. I have mixed feelings on this game part of me likes it because it's a Pokemon game but the other half just feels there was a lot of lost potential here. Overall I recommend this for casual Pokemon fans who liked the Let's Go games but I think the more dedicated players will be a bit disappointed with so much missing.… Expand
  24. Bolvin
    Nov 17, 2019
    0
    The game is nice but you cant get all pokemon and thats a no go for a pokemon game so 0 points!
  25. Sparkbomber
    Nov 17, 2019
    3
    Pokémon Shield was advertised as THE leap forward for the series: more powerful hardware, new features, better graphics and new Pokémon. Then the bad news started trickling in. No national dex with most Pokémon of prior generations cut out, no mega-evolutions, no Z-Moves. It got worse: factually the same models and animations, endless graphical glitches, the game potentially autosaving toPokémon Shield was advertised as THE leap forward for the series: more powerful hardware, new features, better graphics and new Pokémon. Then the bad news started trickling in. No national dex with most Pokémon of prior generations cut out, no mega-evolutions, no Z-Moves. It got worse: factually the same models and animations, endless graphical glitches, the game potentially autosaving to the detriment of your Switch, handholding worse than Sun/Moon/Lets Go and paywalled online play.

    I got the game as a gift, but oh damn is it bad. I can live with the graphics mostly, even if they could have featured on the 3DS easily. The slowdown is undeniably bad though, any scene with more than 3 characters involved seems to suffer from it. Pokémon and objects will appear out of thin air when the Switchu loads them, something that was common in '90's 3D games, but which most modern games do not suffer from.

    I love a lot of the Pokémon designs included in the game. Wooloo deserves to be a poster-mon for the franchise in my opinion. But all the Pokémon in the world do not make up for the pathetic attempts at story-telling and the excessive handholding and powerleveling. Yes, you can FINALLY skip parts of the tutorial segments, but it still feels as if you're poked along from a-z, rather than letting players explore. Frankly, I am shocked at just how many pokeballs you get. From the moment you visit ye moms to tell her you're leaving home to become a trainer (5) to the catching tutorial (20) and the trip to the professor (3) you're literally being overfed with the things. Add to that the 31k in cash you have along by that point and... where's the challenge? Where's the challenge even discounting that when your entire party has leveling rockets stuck up their *sses so that you can skip grinding because they'll gain a level from even frigging Magikarps that are 5 levels below them. You cannot turn off the darned xp-share function, being an actual part of the battle is just an auxiliary boost to the Pokémon's gains.

    Postgame's something I haven't gotten to yet, but I've heard there's not a lot. Competitive play and trading are limited to either physically being close to another player, or paying the damn Nintendo monthly fee just to use the internet connectivity.

    The total sum of this all, and more, is that Pokémon Shield is a game I cannot recommend. As a long-time Pokémon fan I cry bitter tears at this obviously rushed release. Had Gamefreak actually taken a step back and insisted on finishing this game properly it could have been a leap forward. Instead, it feels as if they have been forced to release before the holidays and much like contemporary games (Failout 76 to name one) it shows and does not do the franchise any favors. To all those considering to buy the game even so... The only saving grace is the fact that the new Pokémon designs are nice, mostly. I have come to loathe the champion who is as believable as soap-flavored champagne. Only buy this if you are a Poké-maniac with tons of money to burn, and then only if you can get it cheap.

    Otherwise, I'd recommend Pokémon Uranium, Disc Creatures and Monster Sanctuary for an actual game over this crud. If GameFreak somehow reads this review: fire the executives who pushed for an early release and damn please do patch the worst of it out, okay? Ideally a patch to the game's slug or something. If you do, I'll gladly revise this review.    … Expand
  26. CupidStunt
    Nov 17, 2019
    5
    I am not review bombing this game like some publications are accusing people of, just giving an objective opinion.

    Firstly what I like. The new Pokemon designs look like they could fit in well with the original Pokemon. The battles are as good as ever and I like being able to switch Pokemon in and out when ever you want. Also the British themed setting. Now what I do not like. The    I am not review bombing this game like some publications are accusing people of, just giving an objective opinion.

    Firstly what I like. The new Pokemon designs look like they could fit in well with the original Pokemon. The battles are as good as ever and I like being able to switch Pokemon in and out when ever you want. Also the British themed setting.

    Now what I do not like. The game is exceptionally low budget and feels unfinished. This is inexcusable from a £90billion franchise. So much has been taken out. The Pokedex is less than half and no older Mon will ne transferrable from older games. The GTS has been removed making trading for the Pokemon you want so much more difficult. The graphics are pretty bad in places and the battle animations are poor. Game Frwak definitely lied about the games being more completely animated. The lack of voice acting is just jarring. It is criminal that the games now are not on par with the anime, with the silly Pokemon speak and full character acting. This is 2019 and the games should now feel like a fully interactive anime. Take note from games like Ni No Kuni. There are games that sell a tiny portion of what these do with full voice acting just brimming with character. Also the music is an exceptionally bad midi-soundtrack. Really it is ear melting bad, as are the Pokrmon sound effects. Worst of all is the difficulty. Why is there still mongers mode to prepare people for playing online. A lot of Pokemon fans are older now, and the complete lack of challenge is frankly insulting for us. also the story is probably the worst yet. This is a rushed mess of a game and Nintendo should be ashamed to have taken so much and given so little. Even the Woldcarea is a bland and ugly place. This looks like it was made for the 3DS and then ported badly. Easily the worst mainline entry with little new to add. Dynamaxing is nowhere near as interesting competitively as mega evolutions were    … Expand
  27. TeaCrusader
    Nov 17, 2019
    5
    It’s an amazing game with beautiful graphics and a world which has a lot of depth. I’m still playing the game, and I’m meeting up with friends soon to fight some dynamax bosses, cook some great curries, play with each other’s Pokemon at Pokemon camp and battle. Overall, I love all of the elements of the game, especially the story and how the gyms work. They really feel real. Seriously, IIt’s an amazing game with beautiful graphics and a world which has a lot of depth. I’m still playing the game, and I’m meeting up with friends soon to fight some dynamax bosses, cook some great curries, play with each other’s Pokemon at Pokemon camp and battle. Overall, I love all of the elements of the game, especially the story and how the gyms work. They really feel real. Seriously, I can’t state enough how great this game is. I’d definitely recommend getting it.… Expand
  28. paulitomm
    Nov 17, 2019
    1
    below average graphics, few pokemons little innovation pokemons do not accompany the player
  29. Falk22
    Nov 17, 2019
    1
    Withdrawing more than half of the pokemons to improve performance and make the game more polished, gamefreak lied.
  30. FallHealer
    Nov 17, 2019
    0
    This is by far the worst Pokemon game ever made. Having just 400 pokemon is not the biggest problem. Animations are ridiculous, graphics are terrible, looking like a 2000's game. The map is really short, extremely linear. Wild area, dinamax and camping are the only three new features in that make this game differen. The rest was just poorly copied from other franchise games.
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 89 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 69 out of 89
  2. Mixed: 20 out of 89
  3. Negative: 0 out of 89
  1. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Apr 30, 2020
    90
    Sword & Shield have a lot to love for old and new fans, and they're pure quality from top to bottom. [Issue #44 – January/February 2020, p. 72]
  2. GameCritics
    Feb 6, 2020
    75
    I enjoyed my time with Pokemon Sword and Shield, but I ended feeling conflicted. I appreciate many of the changes and felt that it generally respected my time, but I almost felt like a passive participant. The more complex gym challenges had a meatier role, but the narrative shouldn’t have been shoved to the side. Overall, I would recommend it to players who want to have a Pokemon experience, but this one won’t stick with me the way the older ones have.
    Read full review
  3. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Jan 14, 2020
    78
    Pokemon Sword/Shield is uncharacteristically user-friendly: now there’s no need to backtrack half across the world to heal your entire team of pokemon or to get to a particular city, for example. [Issue#242, p.66]
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