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
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. Lonchoya
    Feb 18, 2020
    3
    Ever felt so frustrated with a game that you felt compelled to go out of your way to create a Metacritic account to give it the pathetic score you feel it deserves, and even write a detailed review of it? Well, this is me feeling and doing precisely that.

    I will breeze through the issues everyone got to know from the start and focus more on the recent announcements and events. How they    Ever felt so frustrated with a game that you felt compelled to go out of your way to create a Metacritic account to give it the pathetic score you feel it deserves, and even write a detailed review of it? Well, this is me feeling and doing precisely that.

    I will breeze through the issues everyone got to know from the start and focus more on the recent announcements and events. How they go about the story's climactic events makes no sense and the story in general is as dull as it gets; we all know Gamefreak codes like 5-year-olds, most attack animations are recycled; the game is laggy in the Wild Area even when offline and a framerate nightmare when online. We all know the games are toddler-level easy if you do not handicap yourself, but this has been the case for every Pokemon game. We all know the pokedex was cut and many jokingly said they were gonna sell the missing Pokemon back to us. Personally, I was suspicious of the lack of GTS since it made no sense to have removed such a helpful feature for completing the Pokedex. Yes, many people made ridiculous requests but I never struggled to complete my Pokedex when asking for reasonable trades, e.g. a starter for a starter. Enter $30 DLC and Pokemon Home's $16 annual suscription. Now it all fell into place and gamefrEAk (see what I did there?) showed us their true intentions.

    When Ishihara promised a "game for veterans in 2019", unfortunately, he was not referring to the content/quality of the games appealing to a more mature audience. He meant a game for older fans, yes, but older in the sense that they have their own money, and can pay more for less, which seems to be the direction the gaming industry in general is following: Release an incomplete game at full price, then sell the missing components.

    You can argue they always sold to us a full-price, third game "DLC", but at least all iterations always felt like a complete game, and you could get every pokemon just by trading. You might say, "well, you can still get the DLC mythicals via GTS", and to that I respond: good luck getting a stranger to let go of his/her mythicals/legendaries, assuming you don't receive a hacked mon.

    Having spoken about the bad stuff, there are some good things in the game. This is the most I've felt involved in a pokemon league and the battles are quite the spectacle. This shouldn't be the case for any game, but there is actually a right way to play a Pokemon game's main story. I did find enjoyment and a glimpse of difficulty by mainly sticking to 2 points:
    A) Rotating as many pokemon as I could. This allows you to remain underleveled and also to familiarize yourself with the newest Pokemon.
    B) Avoid help from NPC/Rivals. You always have enough money to rely on your own Potions, anyway.

    The music is also some of the best in the franchise, my favorites being Marnie's theme and Gym Leader match theme. Character design is pleasant, too, they're really going the Waif-I mean, FIRE Emblem route in these last games, if you know what I mean. But that's basically it for the good stuff.

    As to what frustrated me so much that I had to write this review? Dyna/Gigantamax raids have an absurd, artificial and cheap difficulty to them if you're playing solo. Most NPCs are just terrible and if you lose, it's because of them. Even in this game's cut dex, Gamefreak has a repertoire of 400 strong, and what do they give to the NPCs to use? Magikarp. Pikachu. Clefairy. Or single-stage Pokemon, but rarely a fully-evolved one such as Salazzle. Adding to the frustration, their online, like mentioned before, is horrendous, so it can't really count as a soluton to this. It's even a meme at this point the fact that most Pokemon players play on their own, you'd think Gamefreak would have allowed for better Pokemon to be used by the NPCs, for us sad, friendless souls. Or make a good online experience, but I guess that's too much work. There's also a fixed amount of damage you can inflict on a Dynamax Pokemon before it places its shields up, what's up with that?

    In no way is this game worth $60. I have been a Pokemon fan since 1998, and this has been the first time I did not do a day-1 purchase, and rightly so. If you must have this game, do what I did and get it on sale or pre-owned. Bought it at 3DS price ($42), because that's what it barely reaches to be: a better-looking, yet content-lacking, 3DS game.    … Expand
  2. TreeckoRate
    Feb 28, 2020
    3
    Good gameplay and pokemons, but textures like a **** and... WHERE THE NATIONAL POKEDEX, why over 450 pokemons are DiE where treecko, other really good pokemons MANY moves are disable too :/
  3. DoomGuy64
    Mar 24, 2020
    3
    The game is fine. It’s pokemon. It’s exactly the game we all love to play. But to hear the cut Pokemon from the roster just to put them in a season pass... that sucks. And for those reasons I’m out. Extremely disappointing Nintendo.
  4. SenpaiJake
    May 16, 2020
    3
    Pokemon Sword/Shield are relatively disappointing entries to the much beloved series. Skipping the Sun/Moon generation, I was eager to get into a new Pokemon adventure, especially since my last one with Let's Go: Pikachu was extremely short lived. However, to no one's surprise, Shield just did not live up to any expectations.

    The amount of the hype and people forcing them selves to    Pokemon Sword/Shield are relatively disappointing entries to the much beloved series. Skipping the Sun/Moon generation, I was eager to get into a new Pokemon adventure, especially since my last one with Let's Go: Pikachu was extremely short lived. However, to no one's surprise, Shield just did not live up to any expectations.

    The amount of the hype and people forcing them selves to support the game contributed to the distaste for the titles for sure, but I'm letting the game(s) do the talking. With my experience in this game, I can sum it up in a list format.

    1) There was no challenge. Every step of the game was very, very, *very* easy. I couldn't recall a single challenge in the story mode or anywhere else besides a few battles in the optional Battle Tower. The only challenge in this game was the extremely bipolar catch rates; the amount of balls I had to use to catch many level 20 or below pokemon in red health boggled my mind. I never had an experience like that in any Pokemon title prior, and it was extremely annoying to me to have such a weird and random problem like this happen.

    2) The story sucks - because it kinda isn't finished. Pokemon stories are never the pinnacle of writing, but they're usually good or at least fun. And that's because a evil team is usually involved causing you to become a hero, save the day, etc. The "evil team" doesn't necessarily exist in Sn/Sh, rather it's a weird group of fan boys and girls that follow around one of the side characters. The game doesn't really tell any story and barely shares any history of the region of Galar with the player until the endgame. And even then, they scramble all over to make it seem coherent and make sense, but ultimately it does not.

    3) The music isn't good. Pokemon music always slaps hard, and the Sn/Sh soundtrack - while not inherently bad - isn't that good. A lot of songs are in a jazz fusion mix for most towns, but they never sound like cohesive ensembles of music, but rather loose and fragmented instruments just blaring together. The music direction is so outlandish and extreme in most cases that it stands out from the game majorly.

    4) This game is very mediocre in gameplay. Same battle format, catching format, with the only extension to keep playing being shiny farming or building competitive teams for multiplayer. They add Dynamaxing, but it doesn't really function as well as Megas, as it acts as just a free one-shot or "take the tide of battle guaranteed" card. I'm not a fan of it.

    In it's defense, however, and the thing that actually made me get the game is the art style. I loved the previews I saw for the game's regions. The country side, the brick n mortar towns, the wild. The art*style* is very excellent, but it too is hampered by Gamefreak's lack of ambition for anything besides releasing on Holiday schedule. The overall graphics of this game are the worst. Trees are mostly 2d textures, models have extreme popup distance that is very noticeable, a lot of the lands half way in the game lose all detail and become completely plain. There is no excuse for the graphics.

    And the biggest offender this game has, by far, is the length. Routes in Pokemon usually range from medium to long between towns, with plenty of random caverns or alternate paths to explore. The Galar region must be extremely small, because walking it takes usually less than 1 minute for the player to walk between towns. The Wild Area is the only thing left harboring the spirit of the old routes, and I love it for that. The actual routes in this game are empty, plain, uninspired, and extremely short with no reason to ever traverse back to them and no optional areas to explore.

    This Pokemon entry is a very basic, mediocrely fun, bad sounding and overall "bleh" looking game. With the addition of the two expansions in June and then Fall, the overall experience will hopeful improve (because we'll finally have more Pokemon to obtain). But even then, relying on paid DLC to make your $60 game redeemable is unacceptable. This game was fun at very small spurts, but is an overall major disappointment.    … Expand
  5. Victorbalbo
    Jun 21, 2022
    3
    Basicamente um jogo de DS mas com preço de jogo AAA pra console. Mesma mecânica de sempre, gráficos muito fracos pra um jogo de console e toda a “vantagem” do mundo aberto se resumo a uma área nem tão grande assim.
  6. NathanBWrites
    May 8, 2020
    3
    Terrible low effort game. Disgusting graphics in the majority of scenarios with an abundance of rehashed and lazy animations around every corner. Over half the Pokemon removed with little to nothing gained from the removal of these Pokemon. Somehow, I enjoyed the game for the first few hours until it became clear how rushed and lacking the devs were about half-way into the game. ShouldTerrible low effort game. Disgusting graphics in the majority of scenarios with an abundance of rehashed and lazy animations around every corner. Over half the Pokemon removed with little to nothing gained from the removal of these Pokemon. Somehow, I enjoyed the game for the first few hours until it became clear how rushed and lacking the devs were about half-way into the game. Should never have been released in the state it was in.… Expand
  7. TwinJacks
    Jul 6, 2020
    3
    I've been playing Pokemon since 2004. I've played every main series game since the GBA era and this is my least favorite Pokemon game of all time. Honestly, I bought this game because our gamestop was closing down and it was on sale. I plan to buy the DLC but rn, I'm just waiting for the next generation.
  8. Black_S
    Feb 28, 2022
    3
    Not acceptable. Many bugs, lies, DLCs etc.
    It is 3DS like game at switch for full price.
    Gamefreak is burned.
  9. joshuee
    Aug 26, 2020
    3
    pessimo in tutta la sua interezza (breve interezza)
    Post game nullo, tecnica pre 2010 e difficoltà inesistente... Zero chicche e solo corridoi
  10. pikminpro20
    Sep 13, 2020
    3
    Its a pokemon game...but not really I've played almost all of the other pokemon game and this one has significantly less content than them even though its a $60 console game. Even the wild area isnt actually very big (I explored the whole place in less than an hour) and the routes are incredibly linear to the point of even caves being a straight path. For reference in the original redIts a pokemon game...but not really I've played almost all of the other pokemon game and this one has significantly less content than them even though its a $60 console game. Even the wild area isnt actually very big (I explored the whole place in less than an hour) and the routes are incredibly linear to the point of even caves being a straight path. For reference in the original red and blue the first cave was 3 floors this game doesnt even have a multi layer cave. i dont really mind the dex cut but the game literally look like an upscaled 3ds game 90 percent of the time (That ten percent of the time is the camping minigame) the graphics could have been good just look at rescue team and poken tournament dx. One of the towns is just a gym and a pokemon center and the other ones arent really much better. The game really just feels rushed and thats about all there is to say about it.… Expand
  11. prakx9
    Nov 26, 2020
    3
    Un pokemon malo,corto, con unos gráficos feos y con un rendimiento malo también. Han quitado pokémon's para meterlos en el dlc (que es contenido recortado).
  12. GingerLoves
    Oct 25, 2020
    3
    It is the same box standard pokemon game as pokemon Red and Blue. The visuals have been updated (In some regards only slightly,) The basic gameplay loop is the same. The plot is non-existant, the online is quite disappointing. There are even frame rate drops at times. It seems like Gamefreak do not have enough staff to make a competent and satisfying game in the strict timetable theyIt is the same box standard pokemon game as pokemon Red and Blue. The visuals have been updated (In some regards only slightly,) The basic gameplay loop is the same. The plot is non-existant, the online is quite disappointing. There are even frame rate drops at times. It seems like Gamefreak do not have enough staff to make a competent and satisfying game in the strict timetable they have to uphold. If you own any pokemon games, you will have played this game before.… Expand
  13. honchkrow_lover
    Dec 14, 2020
    3
    very lazy and mediocre game , for a triple A game it feels like a half assed $20 indie game
  14. rst1
    Jan 5, 2021
    3
    It is a pretty bad game, but not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. It had some genuinely good features such as the wild area, and the DLC wasn't bad either as gamefreak has clearly shown some improvement such as using render distance on the three galarian birds, and the raid battles were pretty cool despite how utterly broken dynamax is. But now that I am done talking about the goodIt is a pretty bad game, but not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. It had some genuinely good features such as the wild area, and the DLC wasn't bad either as gamefreak has clearly shown some improvement such as using render distance on the three galarian birds, and the raid battles were pretty cool despite how utterly broken dynamax is. But now that I am done talking about the good parts, let's move on to the bad. Allow me to start with the elephant in the room, and say that the dex cut was a dumb decision, and it was unforgivable. Despite the flaws in past gens, the fact that as long as I got to play as my favorite pokemon feraligatr, it wasn't really a problem for me all that much. But now that this switch title has been released, and I still don't get to battle with my favorite pokemon, and many others such as ampharos even with the DLC patch makes the experience pretty unforgivable. The game was so souless, and boring that even game critics such as IGN said that pokemon sword, and shield was one of gamefreaks more souless games. Also, lets talk about the lack of difficulty. By the time I got to the first gym I was easily 10 levels above everyone with a genuinely good team build. I wish the game would stop holding my hand, and let me roam around. I wish the game was more challenging. Believe it or not, not all kids want their hand held, and not all kids want an easy game. Challenge is what makes a game fun, and memorable. Challenge in video game teaches kids to perservere. Sure a childs attention span might be low, but there persistence is high. How do I know this you ask? It's because I was once a child myself. Also, we need to address the poor map design. It was so linear, and it was such a point A to point B experience even with the wild area. Going to one gym to the next, getting my hand held, damn near unable to explore anywhere else, and the pointless roadblocks created a janky, and restrictive experience.

    Overall, the game is piss poor, but definitely not as bad as others say it is, and I have high hopes for the next title.    … Expand
  15. thilg881
    Apr 4, 2021
    3
    1) The Good:
    - It's a pokemon game after all, if you liked the previous games, at some degree you will like this one too;
    - The soundtrack is great; - The pokemon design. 2) The Bad; - No challenge at all; - Too many exp items; - Too short; - No side quests; - No option to turn off the exp. share item; - Too linear and no exploration at all; - Unfinished graphics - The    1) The Good:
    - It's a pokemon game after all, if you liked the previous games, at some degree you will like this one too;
    - The soundtrack is great;
    - The pokemon design.

    2) The Bad;
    - No challenge at all;
    - Too many exp items;
    - Too short;
    - No side quests;
    - No option to turn off the exp. share item;
    - Too linear and no exploration at all;
    - Unfinished graphics - The Nintendo Switch could do A LOT better;
    - Poorly animated moves;
    - No National Pokedex;
    - Not dubbed;
    - The Wild Area is bland;
    - Graphics pop in;
    - An expensive game for what is delivered.    … Expand
  16. 7thru7
    Aug 4, 2021
    3
    This game has significantly less depth than essentially every other Pokémon game. There are fewer Pokémon (while being on a more advanced system), less of a story, especially the post-game, and fewer animations for some reason. There are 10 routes and the gym battles and process feel so gutted. The world feels small which is inexcusable for a well-developed franchise making use of a newerThis game has significantly less depth than essentially every other Pokémon game. There are fewer Pokémon (while being on a more advanced system), less of a story, especially the post-game, and fewer animations for some reason. There are 10 routes and the gym battles and process feel so gutted. The world feels small which is inexcusable for a well-developed franchise making use of a newer and more powerful system. For many people, hearing about the national dex's removal is not much of a talking point, but to me when they removed so many Pokémon and then had the audacity to add DLC Pokémon shows to me there was no care put into this game for the community. Perhaps one can find a modicum of entertainment for a short period of time playing this game, but ask yourself is it really worth all that is happening to the franchise? I personally feel as though this is true beginning of the end for Pokémon. "So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay." - Robert Frost… Expand
  17. Third_Era
    Aug 25, 2022
    3
    This game is great if you are into competitive play; however, as a single player game it is absolutely dreadful. There is no challenge - the cave "systems" are literally a straight line - to keep the player engaged. At no point did I lose or even come close to thinking I could lose. It's crazy to think that the GBA games were better designed than a home console release 20 years later. IfThis game is great if you are into competitive play; however, as a single player game it is absolutely dreadful. There is no challenge - the cave "systems" are literally a straight line - to keep the player engaged. At no point did I lose or even come close to thinking I could lose. It's crazy to think that the GBA games were better designed than a home console release 20 years later. If this game didn't have Pokemon on the cover it would have been a commercial flop.… Expand
  18. HammerSeven
    Jun 27, 2022
    3
    Pokemon Shield isn't an awful game. There is some fun parts of the story, and the graphics aren't *that* bad. The pokemon franchise will always be fun in my opinion because the formula at heart is good, catch rare pokemon, complete your pokedex, battle other people ECT. However, in my opinion where the game really falls apart is in the difficulty, the game has no challenge and all thePokemon Shield isn't an awful game. There is some fun parts of the story, and the graphics aren't *that* bad. The pokemon franchise will always be fun in my opinion because the formula at heart is good, catch rare pokemon, complete your pokedex, battle other people ECT. However, in my opinion where the game really falls apart is in the difficulty, the game has no challenge and all the starters are way too overpowered. It makes it no fun to play, and it has no challenge.

    It also is the exact same as other pokemon games. I wish they would change the gameplay a little bit, make it open world or make fun puzzles or dungeons. Their really isn't anything different in this game then from the last... Also the animations are lazy, and they removed some pokemon from the national dex... So your favorite pokemon might not be there. Honestly, the only reason I would buy it is if I didn't already have a traditional pokemon game. 3/10.    … Expand
  19. Fireyoshi779
    Jan 25, 2022
    3
    Sword and shield is in my opinion a big downgrade to gen 7 like for example,the graphics are just a slightly better than gen 7's graphics but are almost the same despite one is being on the switch with almost ps4 level hardware,it only has 400 pokemon while gen 7 has 700 and getting somethings are harder a berry you want is so complicated if your trying to get a berry you want with theseSword and shield is in my opinion a big downgrade to gen 7 like for example,the graphics are just a slightly better than gen 7's graphics but are almost the same despite one is being on the switch with almost ps4 level hardware,it only has 400 pokemon while gen 7 has 700 and getting somethings are harder a berry you want is so complicated if your trying to get a berry you want with these berry trees while in gen 7,you could just grow a bunch of what berry you want.And because pokemon games come out every year and get the least care out of the other nintendo mascots,you'll end up with a rushed mess,… Expand
  20. HildaSimp5
    Jan 4, 2022
    3
    I was very excited for these games. I never cared one tiny bit about the National Dex or really any of its controversies. Playing these games, i did enjoy them, but thats the end of it. Ive tried to replay them, but each time i lost interest. Galar is immensly boring. I adore exploring the amazing routes of this franchise, but here, they are like linear corridors. The Wild Area is big, butI was very excited for these games. I never cared one tiny bit about the National Dex or really any of its controversies. Playing these games, i did enjoy them, but thats the end of it. Ive tried to replay them, but each time i lost interest. Galar is immensly boring. I adore exploring the amazing routes of this franchise, but here, they are like linear corridors. The Wild Area is big, but empty, lacking anything at all too do. Dynamax and Gigantamax got old fast and the weak story barely exists. I don`t need a complex story, but this was poor. Ill say that the design for the characters and Pokèmon where fantastic, the best since Gen V imo. Lost of new Pokèmon became my favorite and Nessa and Sonia are high quality waifus. None of this saves this game though. Its not close to being worth the money. They felt rushed, underdeveloped, lacking pretty everything i love about the series. From what ive heard, the best content in these games are in the DLC, but there is no way i am paying for what i belive should have been in the base games.
    The series has been on a steady decline for me since XY, but with these games, they have hit rock bottom for me and i feel like i am done with this franchise.
    Pokèmon SwSh manages to stand out as the most dissapointing games i have played in this franchise.    … Expand
  21. julietfes
    Apr 14, 2022
    3
    A rushed, lazy, boring mess. There is almost no reason to buy this game, there is nothing fun about it. I love Pokemon but this game just makes me sad.
  22. BritainButNot
    Oct 6, 2022
    3
    Having bought nearly every pokemon game (including spin offs, ) since coliseum, I was extremely excited to try out sword and shield. However, the game was probably my biggest disappointment on the Switch yet.

    One of my gripes was that the graphics look like the belong on 3DS or GC. While this isn't the most important thing in a game, it seems shameless considering its 1st party peers at    Having bought nearly every pokemon game (including spin offs, ) since coliseum, I was extremely excited to try out sword and shield. However, the game was probably my biggest disappointment on the Switch yet.

    One of my gripes was that the graphics look like the belong on 3DS or GC. While this isn't the most important thing in a game, it seems shameless considering its 1st party peers at Nintendo include visually stunning titles like Mario Odyssey and TLoZ: Breath of the Wild.

    Besides that, the presentation and story are at best bland and lazy. While there is the skeleton of a good game, it mostly felt cheap to me.    … Expand
  23. Cloud_cipher
    Nov 29, 2022
    3
    I have only played sheild for 20 hours but I wish I only played 0 for the waste of time this was.
  24. Bluelion32
    Feb 8, 2023
    3
    Doesn't have sword dog.
    The problems of these games have been stated many times, so I won't go over them again.
  25. Cotroneo
    Nov 20, 2019
    2
    If you consider this game a successor to the spin-off, cashgrab, waste-of-resources 'Let's Go' games, you'll still be disappointed.

    Just remember that X/Y introduced a new Pokemon type, Megas, Online (easy to use), and 721 3D modeled Pokemon, while Sword and Shield focused on Little Town Hero and Pokemon Let's Go, and then lied about their laziness and ported models that Junichi Masuda    If you consider this game a successor to the spin-off, cashgrab, waste-of-resources 'Let's Go' games, you'll still be disappointed.

    Just remember that X/Y introduced a new Pokemon type, Megas, Online (easy to use), and 721 3D modeled Pokemon, while Sword and Shield focused on Little Town Hero and Pokemon Let's Go, and then lied about their laziness and ported models that Junichi Masuda worked his ass off for. Literally every excuse GameFreak gave for Sword and Shield can be debunked by comparing it to the technological achievement that X/Y was.

    By the way, Dynamax is basically the same as Z-Moves, where only a few Pokemon have 'unique' models, while every other one uses the same generic animation (in this case, it's just a filter with clouds above them) and you can't Dynamax anywhere other than the Gym that took LITERALLY under 10 minutes to beat entirely.

    I named Sobble Blastoise, btw.    … Expand
  26. p1menta
    May 5, 2020
    2
    do you wanna pay full price to play the same f ucking game from 30 years ago but with a (kinda) new look?
    will we ever play a trully new and modern and fun pokemon game? how cant they make a botw-kind game with pokemon?
    is it that difficult to make something fun for a change? free world, a different plot that you don't f ucking have to rock-paper-scissor your way trhough stupid gym    do you wanna pay full price to play the same f ucking game from 30 years ago but with a (kinda) new look?
    will we ever play a trully new and modern and fun pokemon game? how cant they make a botw-kind game with pokemon?
    is it that difficult to make something fun for a change? free world, a different plot that you don't f ucking have to rock-paper-scissor your way trhough stupid gym fights?? damn, this game is absolutely boring.
    here's one point for the vibes on the first gigantamax experience (wich also becomes boring sooner than you'd expect) and one other point for the kind of cute models of some pokemons, but it's not worth at all.
    go play pokemon go, its free and way more fun    … Expand
  27. gabrielpina4
    Nov 16, 2019
    2
    Just played 5 hrs of pokemon shield and i can honestly say this the worst pokemon in the entire series i alittle pissed i spent my money on the double pack :( will be returning the game today. Hopefully bestbuy will take it back and refund me the full price graphically it looks like n64 definitely no generational leap the story is not great there's no voice acting houses inside doesn'tJust played 5 hrs of pokemon shield and i can honestly say this the worst pokemon in the entire series i alittle pissed i spent my money on the double pack :( will be returning the game today. Hopefully bestbuy will take it back and refund me the full price graphically it looks like n64 definitely no generational leap the story is not great there's no voice acting houses inside doesn't match the outside in one house it looks like 4 people living there yet only one bedroom???? Everyone has a mom but no dad?? Where the dad?? There's just so many thing wrong that it would take me forever to list everything but will be making a YouTube video on this soon!!… Expand
  28. greentauros
    Nov 15, 2019
    2
    So my co-worker got this for me as a birthday present, otherwise I would not be playing it right now, nor would I have bought it in the future.

    The graphics are sub-par for a Switch, how come animations from Pokemon Stadium that had a smaller dev team look better than this games? How come Colosseum and Gale of Darkness look better than this game graphically when it came out on a system    So my co-worker got this for me as a birthday present, otherwise I would not be playing it right now, nor would I have bought it in the future.

    The graphics are sub-par for a Switch, how come animations from Pokemon Stadium that had a smaller dev team look better than this games? How come Colosseum and Gale of Darkness look better than this game graphically when it came out on a system that isn't as powerful? Just got to the 2nd badge and while some of the new pokemon are pretty adorable everything else about this game has left a bad taste in my mouth. It feels to me like they just slap a new paint of coat on it and should either hire more people to help make the game better, or instead take a break from the yearly release cycle.

    They also removed many things like TMs, one of which is "return". The attack power is based on how much your Pokemon likes you, and it feels like a slap in your face when a move like this is removed. Wasn't part of the point in pokemon to grow alongside your pokemon and treat them like a pet?

    Don't get me wrong, the game still shows a lot of promise of what could have been, but when you have other titles like BoTW which was originally a Wii U game, and Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and even more impressive ports like The Witcher 3. It's just depressing that this is the best they could come up with. Gamefreak if you're reading this please hire more staff or take a year off. Maybe even get rid of Masuda. Older pokemon titles use to have more adventure, even if they were graphically lacking, maybe some of that was childhood and maybe some of that is the lack of care that they seem to put into these new pokemon titles. It's been downhill since Pokemon X and Y came out, which part of that was them needing new models made in 3D for the 3DS and was understandable.. But after that, it's all felt lacking, especially when Black and White 2 were the pinnacle of pokemon games before then (Talking about mainline games and not remakes like HGSS which were spectacular.)    … Expand
  29. FoolPhilosopher
    Nov 15, 2019
    2
    Lets talk beyond the obvious dexit controversy. This pokemon game highlights that Gamefreak does not think that the gaming demographic that wants challenge, variety, and quality is worth pursuing. The graphics are bland, the game refuses to let you be alone to breathe/explore for a moment, the difficulty is nonexistent even for a pokemon game, which are already traditionally pretty easy.Lets talk beyond the obvious dexit controversy. This pokemon game highlights that Gamefreak does not think that the gaming demographic that wants challenge, variety, and quality is worth pursuing. The graphics are bland, the game refuses to let you be alone to breathe/explore for a moment, the difficulty is nonexistent even for a pokemon game, which are already traditionally pretty easy. Make no mistake, this is Gamefreak phoning it in. There are so many game devs out there pouring their heart into their projects, and they are much more worthy of your time than this hacked out half-hearted garbage.… Expand
  30. Federx
    Nov 15, 2019
    2
    the wild area is actually pretty cute, but everything else is a huge downgrade (camp vs pokemon amie, pokejobs vs pokepelago etc), and the latter half of the game feels rushed and unfinished.
Page:

Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 89 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 69 out of 89
  2. Mixed: 20 out of 89
  3. Negative: 0 out of 89
  1. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Apr 30, 2020
    90
    Sword & Shield have a lot to love for old and new fans, and they're pure quality from top to bottom. [Issue #44 – January/February 2020, p. 72]
  2. GameCritics
    Feb 6, 2020
    75
    I enjoyed my time with Pokemon Sword and Shield, but I ended feeling conflicted. I appreciate many of the changes and felt that it generally respected my time, but I almost felt like a passive participant. The more complex gym challenges had a meatier role, but the narrative shouldn’t have been shoved to the side. Overall, I would recommend it to players who want to have a Pokemon experience, but this one won’t stick with me the way the older ones have.
    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]
See all critic reviews »