User Score
4.7

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 3465 Ratings

User score distribution:
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  1. Sep 5, 2021
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Its alright?
    the game has some elements of greatness - dynamaxing being a much better system than the past two power-up gimmicks (Mega's being restricted to only 48 pokemon, z moves just being one-hit ko buttons). Dynamaxing has great side effects that come with its moves, which change how you look at battling - do you use max overgrowth for its healing side effects? Or do you use max knuckle to raise your attack? A game where all pokemon can power up is great, and the pokemon's stats do not change - no absurd base 180 dragon ascents or insane "Light that burns the sky" here.

    The rival's are mixed - Bede is your typical rival like Silver, or Blue, who is out to be better than you, who has this snobbish attitude. He often tests you, blaming his defeat on stupid excuses, obviously acting like a spoilt child. Which is not a bad thing - whenever you see bede, you want to beat his team. However, he is not the games main rival, and dissapears between gyms 4 and the game's end.

    Your main rival Hop, starts off as your typical friendly rival, similar to Hau or Bianca, until his confidence is effected, and he begins to doubt himself. This doubt could have gone somewhere, but ends up with Hop cheering up after 1 or 2 more gym badges, going back to normal. His sudden announcement that he wants to help at the pokemon centre comes out of nowhere, and should have been developed more. Your final rival is Marnie, who is just a throwaway character. They're just there to be "cute", and don't show much emotion at all.

    The evil team is probably the worst. They're just a group of fans. There's no evil organisation which is a mafia that steals pokemon like team rocket. They don't match the morally grey team plasma, or just the deviant team skull. They're just ugly-looking fans, who never cause that much trouble. The other evil team in this game, Macro Cosmos, are drived by the dumbest plot. "Energy will run out in 1000 years so lets resummon a pokemon warned about in ancient times!". Stupid.

    Animations are reused from the 3ds games. Not many old moves look better. Blastoise still shoots water out of his head.

    The game's story is feeble, it's routes are not expansive, but some of the environments are rather nice looking - like the slumbering weald, or glimwood tangle. The best thing about the game compared to its predeccessors is the gym challenge, and how it feels like a sport, not fighting in a room with 2 or 3 other trainers watching.

    The national dex cut was pretty annoying also. But the game introduced a lot of items competitive players welcomed - nature mints and heavy duty boots for example.

    The game is ok if you like it for battling or whatever
    Expand
  2. Sep 26, 2021
    5
    The game has no reason for being this ugly, it looks like an upscaled 3ds game. The innovation is minimal, mostly just some generational gimmicks as usual. It's still a pokemon game and there are some cool new ones so I wouldn't give it below 5, but if you want better pokemon games, don't buy this one.
  3. Jan 26, 2022
    5
    Amazing game, overall a fantastic addition to the franchise, even though graphic wise it's average at best.
  4. Mar 8, 2022
    5
    Pokemon Sword and Shield are very lazy, uninteresting games. Whereas previous pokemon games specifically the DS era had significant charm and plenty of content, these games lack miserably in both regards. With very limited post-game content and the most flaccid graphics ever produced, they are just unpleasant to look at and have no semblance of an interesting story to give you a reason toPokemon Sword and Shield are very lazy, uninteresting games. Whereas previous pokemon games specifically the DS era had significant charm and plenty of content, these games lack miserably in both regards. With very limited post-game content and the most flaccid graphics ever produced, they are just unpleasant to look at and have no semblance of an interesting story to give you a reason to look. Battle timers for online battling are still a major issue, and the lack of many pokemon from previous games is disappointing. DLC feels like it made up for what should have been in the games, to begin with. They are still pokemon games, however, and there is some fun to be had, it's nice to have a legitimate online ladder and competitions from time to time. New pokemon designs are a very mixed bag, generally on the worse side. Dynamax is a generally unpleasant gimmick. The game is laughably easy. The two strong points in the game are the wild area, which definitely could be improved, and the fantastic soundtrack, as is the case in most pokemon games. Expand
  5. Apr 2, 2022
    5
    Bruh, The Pokedex was the problem, i dunno why, but i like the characters than Pokemon
  6. Jul 9, 2022
    5
    This game is lazy af and we know Game Freak can do better than this. Also the absence of the National Dex is sad to see and the game looks flipping hideous
  7. Aug 15, 2022
    5
    ‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎
  8. Dec 6, 2022
    5
    I haven't played many Pokemon games. Before this, only Diamond. But this game was the reason I bought a Switch. I thought it would be great! But, as you can see, I didn't love it so much. Why? Isn't a Pokemon game a Pokemon game, at heart?

    The story-where to begin? They highlighted gyms, even though they were gone for, like, 4 years. Whatever. This chairman guy sees potential in you,
    I haven't played many Pokemon games. Before this, only Diamond. But this game was the reason I bought a Switch. I thought it would be great! But, as you can see, I didn't love it so much. Why? Isn't a Pokemon game a Pokemon game, at heart?

    The story-where to begin? They highlighted gyms, even though they were gone for, like, 4 years. Whatever. This chairman guy sees potential in you, and same as the champion. So you join the Pokemon league. Oh boy! Pokemon games always have at least satisfactory stories, but this one makes no sense.

    Pokemon games play very similarly. Don't fix something that isn't broken, right? Well, it gets stale. These games have become more and more linear, and you don't get to do decide your fate... at all. It becomes very, very, VERY boring. There is an open-world area called the wild area. I think that it is the predecessor to Legends: Arceus or Scarlet & Violet. But it's just so worn in and small. 6/10 gameplay. Way too boring.

    The presentation isn't great. It doesn't load that well. If you're expecting a game that looks good and runs well, like Super Mario Odyssey, don't be surprised if it's not what you want. It doesn't load that well, look good, and runs at 30 fps. The music is pretty good, though. Toby Fox composed a song. 7/10 presentation. Nothing to say.

    It's content is a bit light. The main adventure is too easy, and takes 10 hours. The post-game takes about 5 hours. Then you can "Catch Em All!" and shiny hunt. Yeah, this should be a 40 dollar game. Captain Toad Treasure Tracker cost that much. I didn't play it, but I hear it has a lot of content. 6/10 content.

    It is way too linear, and what was good in it is way too worn in. I don't get why Scarlet & Violet has a lower user score. It is ambitious, big, and creative. Gen 8 was pretty good, but this game wasn't. I'm sorry, everyone in the U.K.
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  9. Nov 8, 2022
    5
    Pros:
    - A myriad of well-designed pokemon
    - Really cool gym leaders - Added a lot of cool features (accessing the PC from the menu, G-max) - Easy-to-access online features Cons: - Game has horrible pacing, and shoves in the entire plot at the very end of the story - Can't transfer pokemon without a pay wall (pokemon home) - Is way too short for a $60 game - No difficulty and no
    Pros:
    - A myriad of well-designed pokemon
    - Really cool gym leaders
    - Added a lot of cool features (accessing the PC from the menu, G-max)
    - Easy-to-access online features

    Cons:
    - Game has horrible pacing, and shoves in the entire plot at the very end of the story
    - Can't transfer pokemon without a pay wall (pokemon home)
    - Is way too short for a $60 game
    - No difficulty and no postgame
    - The game feels unfinished at some parts, with the Wild Area specifically being very buggy
    - Extra content is locked behind payed DLC, which is an extra $60
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  10. Nov 21, 2022
    5
    The game has very good ideas that it did not know how to take advantage of, the high points are overshadowed by the lowest points, so the game remains a weak product, which hardly supports itself, it is a strong step back then the small advance that had been achieved in the seventh generation.
  11. Nov 29, 2022
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Es ist ok. Ich hatte mein Spaß mit dem Games. Es hat sich aber am Ende nach nichts angefühlt, einfach nur hingeklatscht, als wären die Ideen ausgegangen wie man das Endgame machen soll. Expand
  12. Nov 30, 2022
    5
    This game was the definition of okay. Nothing insane but nothing great. Just the same old pokemon.
  13. Feb 2, 2023
    5
    ‎this one is definetly a 5 out of 10‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎
  14. Jun 19, 2023
    5
    Un juego que deja mucho que desear. El juego carece de varios aspectos, empezando con el apartado gráfico y en las animaciones, además de que la historia de este juego es bastante lineal y sin profundidad. Aparte de que es la primera vez, que se agrega un DLC a un juego de Pokémon, que sinceramente no agrega nada llamativo y carece de contenido. Honestamente es un tropiezo de Gamefreak, elUn juego que deja mucho que desear. El juego carece de varios aspectos, empezando con el apartado gráfico y en las animaciones, además de que la historia de este juego es bastante lineal y sin profundidad. Aparte de que es la primera vez, que se agrega un DLC a un juego de Pokémon, que sinceramente no agrega nada llamativo y carece de contenido. Honestamente es un tropiezo de Gamefreak, el juego debió de ser algo revolucionario, ya que es uno de la saga principal y además se está lanzado para nintendo switch Expand
  15. Aug 19, 2023
    5
    Although I had my fun it is really repetitive. After some time you just want to finish it and move on.
  16. Nov 26, 2019
    4
    This is a below average game. it's fun and has nice art, but everything else is lackluster. The pop in is hilarious, most of the towns are tiny. There is a lack of meaningful exploration, and it has one of the worst stories in the history of the franchise. Online is almost unplayable, especially when trying to max raid with others. I do enjoy most of the new pokemon designs and think itThis is a below average game. it's fun and has nice art, but everything else is lackluster. The pop in is hilarious, most of the towns are tiny. There is a lack of meaningful exploration, and it has one of the worst stories in the history of the franchise. Online is almost unplayable, especially when trying to max raid with others. I do enjoy most of the new pokemon designs and think it might be the strongest group of new pokemon since gen 5 or maybe even 3. This isn't even getting into dexit and the things the game is lacking, because I need only talk about what's there to note why the game is so behind the times. It's immature in a way that I haven't seen in years from such a major studio, especially when put next to their Nintendo peers. Game Freak needs to do better than capitalize on "fun," because this series' ceiling can reach so much higher.

    By the way, 5 is an average game on my scale. Most people will find it playable and entertaining, but very few will think it innovates or is a must play game experience. Pokemon is fun and entertaining for sure, but its technical faults are as laughable as flat-earthers in 2019, and the storytelling and overall presentation shouldn't even be permissable on a handheld system. The game is certainly below average technically, has a below average story, and below average turn based gameplay, when compared to its peers. 4 out of 10 might be generous.
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  17. Nov 25, 2019
    4
    Despite all the drama, I pre-ordered Shield and have sunk about 50 hours into it (I dawdled in the game, explored everything and caught almost all Pokémon). I'm a life-long Pokémon fan, with my first game being Pokémon Yellow, a game I played with my mum when I was 6 years old. I've played all the main series games and Pokémon has been quite an important part of my life. I am disappointedDespite all the drama, I pre-ordered Shield and have sunk about 50 hours into it (I dawdled in the game, explored everything and caught almost all Pokémon). I'm a life-long Pokémon fan, with my first game being Pokémon Yellow, a game I played with my mum when I was 6 years old. I've played all the main series games and Pokémon has been quite an important part of my life. I am disappointed with this latest game, even more so than Sun and Moon. Quite a few aspects of the game are slow and boring (such as forced dialogue, walk a bit, more dialogue, walk some more, etc.). The story was simply lacking depth and I was not particularly interested in it. Essentially, the main story is that the playable character collects gym badges while the true hero of the game, the Champion, did all the exciting stuff 'behind the scenes'. My character didn’t feel like the hero, she was ‘just there’.
    The whole Pokédex thing didn’t bother me, it’s not a major part of my reasoning for playing Pokémon. The designs of the new Pokémon are the best I’ve ever seen since gen III. I just wish that something like Pokémon amie, being able to pet my Pokémon had been included, rather than the slightly clumsy camping, with Pokémon sometimes struggling to interact with their toys. Camping quickly became something of a time-consuming chore rather than something to be enjoyed. Not a massive fan of the designs of the three starter Pokémon’s evolutions (with exception to Intelleon). They seemed a little lacklustre compared to previous generations. The animations of the Pokémon were about the same as the previous generations from the 3DS, just fewer Pokémon to play with.
    The designs of the settings are lovely, and as a Brit myself I could see how lovingly British culture was incorporated into the dialogue, the Pokémon and the towns and countryside. However, this is spoiled by low-res textures and lumpy rocks and hills which could have had a bit more added to them. Some of the animations of the Pokémon aren’t great (and certain scenes were nothing short of shockingly poor for a game released in 2019). The towns and cities were all small and although aesthetically beautiful, there wasn’t much to explore. The Wild Area was exciting for the first ten hours of gameplay, but after that the charm wore off. My favourite thing about the wild area is that Hop, the rather annoying character (much like Hau from Sun and Moon) wasn’t around to hound me every step of my Pokémon journey. Pokémon battles were few and far between, and there was an over-reliance on the Wild Area to compensate for that.
    I think if this game had spent a little longer in development, it would have been a truly amazing game. But this wasn’t the case, and I feel sad for those who clearly made an effort to lovingly design a game in a very small amount of time, perhaps being aware that they couldn’t put everything into it. And it really, really shows. Designs are fantastic, but the finished product feels rushed and haphazard, there’s virtually no end-game content, and the asking price of £50 is highly excessive considering that there are other games out there for the same price with much better content.
    Nintendo, GameFreak, by bringing Pokémon to the big consoles, you’re swimming with the big fish. You need to up your game if you want to get better reviews in the future. A disappointing blip on the Pokémon franchise. I hope it improves; Pokémon has gotten me through some challenges in life and it’s sad to see the franchise take a tumble. I’ve humbly learned my lesson and will not pre-order another Pokémon game again.
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  18. Nov 16, 2019
    4
    The game feels rushed. The story is mediocre and short. There are almost no sidequests. The map feels empty. There are no voice acting even on cut scenes. The music is annoying most of the time. Graphics are outdated and it looks worse in the wild area, Almost half of pokemon and dozens of moves are missing from previous games yet they charge $60 for this.
  19. Oct 22, 2020
    4
    A step in the wrong direction for the franchise. A game with huge potential and freedom of an open world map turned out to be completely empty and uninspiring. The flaws revealed during the introduction of the games in its early stages were forgivable at first, but now show how completely incompetent and lazy the development of this game is when absolutely none of those issues andA step in the wrong direction for the franchise. A game with huge potential and freedom of an open world map turned out to be completely empty and uninspiring. The flaws revealed during the introduction of the games in its early stages were forgivable at first, but now show how completely incompetent and lazy the development of this game is when absolutely none of those issues and graphical errors were fixed by release day.

    The cuts to certain aspects of the game, such as the pokedex, movesets, etc, were foreseeable at some point with the amount being added every generation, but are completely inexcusable when its predecessors from the 3DS era seem to have much more content in it with much less room to work with. Mega evolutions and Z-moves from earlier games were also cut to make room for the lazier concept of Dynamax and Raid battles, which is just a recycled ideas from Pokemon GO.

    While the new Pokemon designs from Generation 8 are, for the most part, some of the best we've seen in awhile, it doesn't save the fact that this game is the biggest disappointment seen from the franchise to date.
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  20. Jan 6, 2021
    4
    $80 price tag, $20/year pokemon home subscription, two $30 DLCs. Yet the quality and functionality from the 3DS pokemon games are equal, and these games costed $40... Both Sword and Shield have its pros such as cool new pokemon, incredible music and DLCs were more memorable and enjoyable than the base game. But poor graphics, boring dynamax mechanics and dynamax raids, the mobile camp etc.$80 price tag, $20/year pokemon home subscription, two $30 DLCs. Yet the quality and functionality from the 3DS pokemon games are equal, and these games costed $40... Both Sword and Shield have its pros such as cool new pokemon, incredible music and DLCs were more memorable and enjoyable than the base game. But poor graphics, boring dynamax mechanics and dynamax raids, the mobile camp etc. were all lacklustre. For the largest franchise in the world, expectations were much higher. For someone who grew up playing Pokemon Battle Revolution in 2006, I was expecting this type of quality at the very least. Expand
  21. Nov 23, 2019
    4
    Hot trash! Cause it's a Pokemon game it's gonna sell regardless of it being bad or great. There are many things wrong with this. 1 being Gamefreak being lazy and it shows. Copy paste trees lack luster Pokedex more than half of the Dex has been cut to bring in hot garbage Pokemon feels like a lot of the older games meant nothing. This is the best franchise in the WORLD and it doesn't showHot trash! Cause it's a Pokemon game it's gonna sell regardless of it being bad or great. There are many things wrong with this. 1 being Gamefreak being lazy and it shows. Copy paste trees lack luster Pokedex more than half of the Dex has been cut to bring in hot garbage Pokemon feels like a lot of the older games meant nothing. This is the best franchise in the WORLD and it doesn't show period. No real end game beyond online battling and Battle Tower and a tournament mode which is very dull. I'd give this a 0 but I feel they deserve a 4 cause at least the wild area and such was pretty legit beyond the copy paste tree's and water that looks like tar. Another thing to add is the fact that the Online capabilities of this game is trash and no GTS? like give me a break. Expand
  22. Jun 21, 2020
    4
    I don't like writing this review, because Pokemon has been my favourite series my whole life, but this game is such a let-down. It has performance issues, the graphics aren't nice at all in most areas, the story is practically non-existent, the characters are mostly forgettable, the whole region is just a linear straight path, there's no post-game content, the game is too easy, over halfI don't like writing this review, because Pokemon has been my favourite series my whole life, but this game is such a let-down. It has performance issues, the graphics aren't nice at all in most areas, the story is practically non-existent, the characters are mostly forgettable, the whole region is just a linear straight path, there's no post-game content, the game is too easy, over half of the features were cut from previous games, and the DLC is a rip-off. I really think we'll never get games like the ones we had from Gen 3 - Gen 5 ever again. The only reason it gets 4/10 is because most of the Pokemon designs are great, and I can imagine it might be fun for children or people playing Pokemon for the first time ever. The game was clearly very rushed - I just hope they don't mess up the Sinnoh remakes if they ever happen. Expand
  23. May 24, 2020
    4
    Another Pokémon game that is the same as the rest.
    Your a child running around fighting adults most of the time. Boring new Pokémon. Dumb status effect and battle system that is just slow overall, annoying NPC,s Not worth the high price tag for a game that never shows depth. .
  24. Nov 15, 2019
    4
    Please don't support Game Freak, we fans deserve better games with better quality.
  25. Nov 15, 2019
    4
    Its the higher note i can give for an incomplete game. Feels like a joke, what happened with the catch em all. The rest isnt enough to balance the negative feeling.But maybe mediocre is the new normal.
  26. Dec 11, 2019
    4
    This is my first pokemon game since the original red/blue, and when I first started it, it really did get its claws in me. But over time, the luster faded as I started to sense how rushed and lazy the game felt.

    If you don't know what I mean by rushed and lazy, please take a long look at Team Yell. Other Beef: - Identical characters everywhere - Bad translations all over the
    This is my first pokemon game since the original red/blue, and when I first started it, it really did get its claws in me. But over time, the luster faded as I started to sense how rushed and lazy the game felt.

    If you don't know what I mean by rushed and lazy, please take a long look at Team Yell.

    Other Beef:

    - Identical characters everywhere
    - Bad translations all over the place. This is the first pokemon game on a major console. This thing should have been polished to a gleam.
    - Dynamax system just seemed dragged fights out, and the moves were just replicas? I never understood that
    - Sometimes there was absolutely nothing in between gyms
    - Music was completely unspecial
    - I don't know about you, but the actual pokemon have seemed to drop in originality/creativity over the years. There's an apple, a teapot, a cart filled with coal. Who thought these things up?
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  27. Jun 27, 2020
    4
    Es sin duda una de las mayores decepciones que me he llevado con un videojuego:

    -Novedades: El área salvaje, idea muy buena, pero muy desaprovechada, está todo super vacío, popping excesivo, gráficos muy cutres, etc. Y la otra novedad importante es el dinamax/gigamax, que en mi punto de vista es muy inferior a las mega evoluciones/Ataques Z -Gráficos: Respecto a las rutas y a las
    Es sin duda una de las mayores decepciones que me he llevado con un videojuego:

    -Novedades: El área salvaje, idea muy buena, pero muy desaprovechada, está todo super vacío, popping excesivo, gráficos muy cutres, etc. Y la otra novedad importante es el dinamax/gigamax, que en mi punto de vista es muy inferior a las mega evoluciones/Ataques Z

    -Gráficos: Respecto a las rutas y a las ciudades, está bien, sobre todo por el apartado artístico, pero los gráficos de la zona salvaje son HORRIBLES. Es embarazoso compararlo con otros juegos como Xenoblade Chronicles 2, juego más antiguo, con una empresa con menos presupuesto, e incluso con menos resolución se ve MIL veces mejor.

    -Historia y villanos: Inexistentes hasta el campeonato de Galar, el Team Yell es una porquería que solo sirve de relleno, por eso ni los cuento. El villano real del juego, el presidente Rose, es sin duda el peor villano de la saga, no hace nada interesante hasta el final del juego, su plan es estúpido, su combate es el más fácil entre todos los villanos(Usa un monotype acero, usas un Pokémon de fuego con lanzallamas y se acabó)

    -Dificultad: Excesivamente fácil, el único combate interesante es el campeón(Único combate donde hay un reto interesante, pero no llega al nivel de otros campeones como Cynthia o Iris) el resto del juego es ridículamente fácil.

    -Postgame: Basura, el Postgame real lo venden en un Dlc.

    -Puntos positivos: La música y los líderes de gimnasio(No por su dificultad, solo por su personalidad)

    -Otros datos: Las rutas son pasillos sin ningún tipo de interés. Siempre hay dos caminos, uno te lleva para una MT o un objeto, el otro sirve para continuar. El rival Paul es un Tilo 2.0, aunque se note un poco más de interés(Mejor desarrollo de personaje) resulta ser excesivamente fácil de vencer y solo molesta, los otros dos rivales están de relleno y combates pocas veces contra ellos(Igual muy baja dificultad), respecto al recorte de la Pokedex, a mi sinceramente no me importa, pero eso no quita que sea inferior a otros juegos, lo peor de todo es que dijeron que no iban a meter a los que quedaran, pero fijaos, ahora los venden en un DLC. Respecto al competitivo, está bien, pero no gastaría 60 euros para jugar con una pokedex inferior cuando lo puedes hacer en Pokemon Showdown

    -En fin, la saga de Pokémon va por el mal camino, ojalá mejore en la novena generación, pero lo dudo muchísimo con lo bien que ha vendido el juego, si no mejora de forma drástica, no volveré a comprar otro juego de la saga.
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  28. Nov 15, 2019
    4
    REBUS FOR THE PLAYERS!!! SWORD SHIELD ... (LD) =T ; (S) = ( ) ; R_L_D

    Вот знаете, закидайте меня покеболами... Если с POKEMON LETSGO я был более-менее мягок, благодаря чумовому девайсу, что и придало игре шарма, то ситуацию с "мечом и щитом", кроме как мировым дерьмом не назовёшь!
    REBUS FOR THE PLAYERS!!! SWORD SHIELD ... (LD) =T ; (S) = ( ) ; R_L_D

    Вот знаете, закидайте меня покеболами... Если с POKEMON LETSGO я был более-менее мягок, благодаря чумовому девайсу, что и придало игре шарма, то ситуацию с "мечом и щитом", кроме как мировым дерьмом не назовёшь!
  29. Nov 17, 2019
    4
    This game looks like it was a 3ds game but released for Switch. 60% of all Pokemon removed. This game feels rushed.
  30. Nov 15, 2019
    4
    Spent $60 for Shield and my 9yo has played it once and says he doesn't really like it. Disappointing because I assume this is the target audience.

    Personally I was amazed by the complete lack of voice acting in a 2019 AAA title.
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 89 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 69 out of 89
  2. 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. 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.
  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]