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. IgnaKun
    Nov 21, 2019
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Me parece una de las mejores entregas de la saga, sinceramente: su historia quizá no está a la altura de B&W por ejemplo, o del lore de ciertas generaciones o momentos de pasadas entregas, pero sin duda entra entre las mejores.

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

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

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

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

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

    En sí, he vuelto a ser un niño y a disfrutar de Pokémon como cuando era pequeño. Un saludo.    … Expand
  2. EliteLucario
    Nov 21, 2019
    5
    It's not a bad game, but it's not a great game it's just meh... Everyone has been wanting a game that feels like your a kid again playing on the GameCube and being amazed at the lemon in 3D. Unfortunately this isn't that this is borderline a HD 3ds game with the same animations.
  3. Reaper2187
    Nov 21, 2019
    5
    Great pokemon game, could have done a few things differently but all in all I find the game really enjoyable. I have played every pokemon game since red and blue, and this did not disappoint
  4. Knoxxin
    Nov 21, 2019
    8
    It's an incredibly fun game that is very engaging. I enjoyed traveling the wild area (though I do wish it was bigger) and the new Pokemon are incredibly fun. This is the best gym challenge in the series and all the gym leaders are fun and charming, each with a notable personality.
  5. jojobbb
    Nov 21, 2019
    8
    This game has its pros and cons, most likely, this game is rushed I agree. But it's a decent game and I don't mind forms or z moves are removed for dynamax maybe the devs just like the game to be less complicated for the new fans. The other negative reviews rating below 5 has probably not played the game with weak excuses and not properly giving details on why the game was bad. The gameThis game has its pros and cons, most likely, this game is rushed I agree. But it's a decent game and I don't mind forms or z moves are removed for dynamax maybe the devs just like the game to be less complicated for the new fans. The other negative reviews rating below 5 has probably not played the game with weak excuses and not properly giving details on why the game was bad. The game has a terrible resolution, needs work on the animation system because that has issues into the game, the colors are great because it's very bright showing us a brand new region of pokemon and finally, I'd say the post game was a bit eh. The villains don't impress me and repeats their "well, well, well" it gets old fast and not a neat catch phrase. Other than that, the game has a neat storyline with good characters. 7.5.… Expand
  6. FoxxForever
    Nov 21, 2019
    2
    The game design feels very lazy. From the graphics to the animations and all the small little details in between, I have very disappointed. Yes it is a pokemon game and yes they overall gameplay of pokemon is fun but I would rather play something else than what feels like a lazy knock off on a console that can handle much better.

    There were fps drops in grassy areas, the pop in is    The game design feels very lazy. From the graphics to the animations and all the small little details in between, I have very disappointed. Yes it is a pokemon game and yes they overall gameplay of pokemon is fun but I would rather play something else than what feels like a lazy knock off on a console that can handle much better.

    There were fps drops in grassy areas, the pop in is horrendous, even the berry trees pop in, the landscape is dull and feels lifeless. Overall the sense of exploration is stunted from these factors.

    Small details such as not being able to choose your trainers outfit when going into a gym EVEN WHEN you can buy them right outside the gym entrance is insane to me, there are only a hand full of good animations but honestly I have seen better from free to play MMO rpgs.

    This literally feels like it should be free to play, that is the quality I am experiencing.

    You’d think being on the switch they’d add touch screen support, friend lists and other quality of life additions to make at least playing with your friends enjoyable but it is annoying at best and frustrating if not the majority of the time.

    Pokemon deserves better.    … Expand
  7. USRobotics
    Nov 22, 2019
    2
    In the new console generation for Nintendo, Gamefreak are not able to create a Pokemon experience based on a open world with a next-gen graphic and jrpg quests/storytelling. i'll try to list ten bad/old things and anachronistic elements in pokèmon:
    1. Locked camera, my god in 2019 a game 'fake-openwolrd' is inconceivable;
    2. Graphic has been ported from 3ds with pop-up problems,    In the new console generation for Nintendo, Gamefreak are not able to create a Pokemon experience based on a open world with a next-gen graphic and jrpg quests/storytelling. i'll try to list ten bad/old things and anachronistic elements in pokèmon:
    1. Locked camera, my god in 2019 a game 'fake-openwolrd' is inconceivable;
    2. Graphic has been ported from 3ds with pop-up problems, framerate drop, low texture and models with low polygons. Gamefreak didn't do a new graphic engine;
    3. No quests, no endgame, no jrpg activities or stoytelling.
    4. Unbalanced opponents' pokemon levels. You can get a lot of pokemon with a great gain of experience that will overlevel or your team in short time. In that condition the challange with other opponents doesn't exist.
    5. No difficulty selector. the game has been development to be easy to play for people that are 5 years old or less. If the game is too easy you can end it in a short time
    6. Bad animation for a lot of skills. GF sayd that they would have improve the skills' animations for the new game. I have seen little improves in a small part of theese.
    7. Mute dialogues.
    8. Plot concept locked since first game in 1995.
    9. Hop
    10. The online is full of problems. infinite time to find a trader for your pokemon, expecially if u know that player and u want to connect with him.    … Expand
  8. Cabi0l
    Nov 22, 2019
    1
    Bugs ohne Ende.
    Auch die Dreistigkeit nicht alle pokemon zu übernehmen. Einfach Geld macherei.
  9. macboybr
    Nov 22, 2019
    5
    So, I've been playing the game for 30 hours so far, and with both main and post-game finished, here's my sincere opinion, as a long term Pokémon fan.

    This game has some great ideas, but almost all of then are poorly executed by GameFreak. I know GF has a background history of being most of a creative company, and not the most technical among all of Nintendo's elite studios. Back    So, I've been playing the game for 30 hours so far, and with both main and post-game finished, here's my sincere opinion, as a long term Pokémon fan.

    This game has some great ideas, but almost all of then are poorly executed by GameFreak.

    I know GF has a background history of being most of a creative company, and not the most technical among all of Nintendo's elite studios.

    Back at the 2000's Gold and Silver development, they had to outsource Satoru Iwata simply because they just could not make the games fit the Gameboy Cartridge. The game's code was so amateur and poorly made, that even they couldn't understand.

    Taking note of those historical problems with the development of Pokémon games, we know that things like having the best graphics and the best animations in comparison with some other games like Breath of the Wild should not be a thing to consider.

    But there are so bad things happening technically, that those games are really disappointing.

    Problems like framerate dropping constantly, really poor draw distance, some really bad textures that look like coming directly from a Nintendo 64 game. I've even had problems with input lag. And for an input lag problem to be noticeable on an RPG game, it's because it is really bad.

    With that problem in mind, we need to talk about "Dexit".
    GF told us that the main reason for removing a lot of pokémons from the game, was because they where remodeling everything from scratch, with brand new animations, for a propper HD game.

    While playing the games, we instantly notice that the pokémon models are clearly the same from the previous 3DS games, and a lot of the animations were reused as well, with almost no modification to them. Telling us that GF was lying and just being lazy at best.

    Changing the topic and ignoring the technical problems with the game, let's talk about the history line of the game. Aaaand... there's no story.

    It is by far, the worst plot of a Pokémon game, with almost no events to explain what is happening to this world.

    We are constantly reminded by the NPC's to just focus on the Gym challenges, and everything else is just ignored.

    During a lot of moments, something happens, and instead of our character (supposedly the protagonist of the game) go there and, you know, be the protagonist, some "adult" shows up and tells us to leave it to the grown people.

    We just go to the next gym, without even being explained about what happened back there.

    I remember having 7 badges and thinking about how they where giving me the main legendary of the game, without even involving me with the events that tell something about them (7 badges is usually when that happens on the previous games), and I was surprised that they simply didn't, and I had to basically finish the gym challenges, to even heard about a legendary pokemon in the game. (Which wasn't even the main one of the game)

    The routes are extremely linear, with no alternative paths (beyond the obvious ones), and really few trainers to encounter and battle.

    The cities, even though they look massive, they're just big corridors, with almost no exploration, and the few constructions that we can go in, are always the same model, with the same decoration, changing only the npc's inside

    And during the entire game, I had a feeling of not being really free to explore the world (A feeling that I've had previously while playing Sun and Moon). It feels like we are constantly with our hands being held by some NPC, telling us where to go, and what we should do.

    They even put some icons and texts on the terribly bad map of the game, showing where to go next.

    Exp Share, which was previously used to make training our team easily (but not too easy), evolved to the point that we can't turn off, and we have it from the beginning of the game. During all the campaign, my whole team was almost 10 levels above every npc, and despite the noticeable efforts GF made to make battles more balanced, it was too easy.

    It's not a bad game. If it was, I wouldn't have played for 30 hours straight, but it's really a bad pokémon game.

    It's the first time that I'm really disappointed to a Pokémon game to a level that I felt the need for writing a review about it, and I'm really worried about the future, and what will be the next big feature cut poorly justified by the bad innovations promised by them.    … Expand
  10. DarkGio
    Nov 22, 2019
    6
    Look,this game isn't as bad as some people say.
    However,it could be much better.
    The music,the character design and the trainer customization are great,but I just can't look past the cuts and the absurd excuses they used to justify them. The wild area is a step in the fight direction,but on the other hand many of its textures look unpolished and It also lags at times,especially    Look,this game isn't as bad as some people say.
    However,it could be much better.
    The music,the character design and the trainer customization are great,but I just can't look past the cuts and the absurd excuses they used to justify them.
    The wild area is a step in the fight direction,but on the other hand many of its textures look unpolished and It also lags at times,especially online,where frame drops are very noticeable.
    The animations are mostly reused and Pokémon and people pop in and out of existence depending on how far you are from them.
    The story is...lackluster,It had some potential,but ultimately It wasn't enjoyable.
    The game can be challenging at times (provided you don't overlevel your Pokémon with XP candies) but it's still a pretty easy game overall.
    To conclude,it's a fun experience,but once you stop and look at its flaws you can't help but wonder why Game Freak didn't use all the resources they had in order to make this a better game.    … Expand
  11. Lovio
    Nov 24, 2019
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I wish to start out by saying that I have 100% the game and clocked 111 hours. I have completed the Pokedex, I have the shiny charm, catch charm, and oval charms. I did the post-game and I have done a bit of online play as well.
    I'm going to split this review into a few parts, these are just my thoughts and might be a bit unorganized.

    Part 1: Story
    The story for the games is very par for the course for Pokemon- its enough to keep you playing. A few arcs are very interesting- like hop feeling subpar to his brother. I often found myself wishing I could interact (optionally) to get more of that from him. I also adored Marnie and Bede's arcs- while they could have used more development as well, they wrapped up nicely. Overall Team Yell opted to take a more "team skull" approach while the actual evil team was Marco Cosmos. This really confused me as the only part of the game I'd even be able to see mentions of them was in Pokejobs. I wish there was a more active role by these people and perhaps even an optional side quest about learning more. Catching Eternatus at the end was a very epic moment- but it was badly placed. I don't see why it messed up the champion match. Instead of building tension, it ruined it for me. I found myself wanting to go and beat Leon the entire time I was fighting Eternatus. The post game was also very light, running around past gyms defeating dynamax Pokemon but not being able to catch them? I get it, but it was a bit boring for me. The rare league cards were a very nice touch though, I loved the system with them where you could learn more about characters from them.

    Part 2: Pokemon/Variety
    Every review has probably touched on this, but there isn't a lot of variety in terms of Pokemon. I can count the amount of fire lines on two hands! But somehow I was able to fill a box and a half of water Pokemon. It was a very frustrating moment for me to realize how little variety there is in terms of Pokemon. Many of the 400 included are just Pokemon lines or ones of similar typing. I was disappointed by it.
    However, the new Pokemon where phenomenal! Their new animations were beautiful and they were super fun to collect! I also loved the weird, niche ways to evolve some of them (like Yamask for instance!) it was very refreshing and super fun! It reminded me of why I love Pokemon so much.

    Part 3: Graphics
    Many, many people love to gripe on the graphics. For the majority of the game (not in the wild area) they're actually completely fine. There is a lot of detail and the new shading system is beautiful! I love just how colorful everything is, the ambient light, etc.
    However the wild area has very low graphic fidelity, the trees have bad textures, the grass has apparent tiling, etc. Though these are easy to ignore due to the wild area being beautiful. Eventually it fades into the background after a while. This is NOT a deal breaker for me.

    Part 4: Mechanics
    Wild Area.
    Its a beautiful area with free roaming Pokemon and fun challenges. The balance of the wild area is perfect- you level as you move forward. Its terrifying and fun and game freak needs to add more of this! However, staying in the wild area too long makes you overpowered, as the rest of the game is not balanced for it.
    Camping.
    Extremely fun! I loved playing with my Pokemon and feeling bonded with them. I loved cooking and unlocking the balls via the curry dex. The cooking system is also very fun when you get the hang of it. I can safely say this is much more fun and interactive than amiee. I do wish I could actively play games with my Pokemon, clean them, and pet them though.
    EXP share
    I usually play with this setting on, but I dislike that the option for it to not be turned on/off was sad. I wish it was maybe hidden with an NPC in Wedgehurst, like how the earbuds are hidden.
    Earbuds
    I ADORE this feature. Turning off the background music and strolling through the wild area makes the game a nature documentary. It is beautiful and relaxing. It was a very refreshing change to the game.

    Part 5: Balance
    The game has a few balance issues- mainly late game. There are several people who grind levels and they will always be over powered- but the extent in this game was awful. Trainers on routes had Pokemon that were lower level than the wild Pokemon! There is no reason to grind- and the wild area on top of that makes for a nasty combo. I constantly found myself pushing the level cap until I hit 60.
    However, the start of the game (Milo, Nessa, and Kabu's gyms) were perfectly balanced. Their Pokemon were at the current level cap and it felt like a challenge! But near the endgame I found myself 10-20 levels above everything. It became very boring.
    This should all be scaled to the wild area, with more of that and less traditional routes.

    Part 6: Final thoughts
    I love the game, but there are some things that aren't justifiable. These games deserve so much better than what we got. Its also not fun without online.    … Expand
  12. JoshuaEric
    Oct 13, 2020
    6
    As someone who has only kind of played one other Pokemon game before this (Ruby), I went into this game basically as a new Pokemon player. After 16 hours of game play, I can confidently say that this is a GREAT game. I am having so much fun battling and catching as many Pokemon as I can.

    The game follows the same formula as previous games, at least from my little knowledge of them.    As someone who has only kind of played one other Pokemon game before this (Ruby), I went into this game basically as a new Pokemon player. After 16 hours of game play, I can confidently say that this is a GREAT game. I am having so much fun battling and catching as many Pokemon as I can.

    The game follows the same formula as previous games, at least from my little knowledge of them. Start off in a small town, follow routes, get to the next town, get badge, route, town, etc. Battling seems to be the same, aside from dyanmaxing in gyms which is super fun and makes me laugh seeing these tiny cute creatures turn into giants.

    The characters are great. I love Hop and his ambition to take his brothers spotlight, but he never seems jealous of his brother, only driven by his greatness and how to be better than him. Sonia keeps the story interesting by continuously researching the events of the past and the truth behind it.

    The game is definitely not what it could have been, however, it is exactly what it needs to be. I have not encountered anything in the game that would make me consider it to be "bad". The game is very well polished, no glitches or other hiccups that might cause frustration to the player.

    Overall, the game is FUN. I am having a blast. The backlash and enormous negativity surrounding it almost kept me from buying it, but I got it anyway and I have no regrets. If you like Pokemon and can see a game for more than just graphics, this game will be perfect for you! Looking forward to the next entry in the series.    … Expand
  13. GarrMoose
    Nov 25, 2019
    5
    The move onto the Switch brought forth much for this series and while it has delivered a totally new Pokemon experience the many lackluster aspects of the game hold it back from being the truly excellent game it easily could have been. I guess I will go and break down the good and then the bad points of the game. *=Key Points

    Pros: -The game looks better than it ever has graphically. -The    The move onto the Switch brought forth much for this series and while it has delivered a totally new Pokemon experience the many lackluster aspects of the game hold it back from being the truly excellent game it easily could have been. I guess I will go and break down the good and then the bad points of the game. *=Key Points

    Pros:
    -The game looks better than it ever has graphically. -The gym system overhaul brought a breath of fresh air to the series and played well into the main story.*

    -The new Pokemon designs for the most part felt very inspired and I overall enjoyed them.

    -Seeing Pokemon in the overworld really changed up the Pokemon experience and having them also appear in random encounters kept part of the classic feel. The large, open explorable Wild area is the best example of this.

    -Handholding was slightly reduced in the sense of forced tutorials.

    -A great deal of things were made more convenient like the introduction of nature changing mints, easier ev training, egg move transferring and using your pc almost anywhere. This makes things like preparing Pokemon for competitive play far less time consuming.*

    -Dynamax raids offer a fun new way to catch special Pokemon.

    -3D character designs themselves look better than ever.

    Cons:
    -More than 50% of Pokemon models were excluded from this game. You are limited to a regional dex of 400 and around 30 more models are within the code.**

    -Mega evolutions and z moves were cut and replaced with the lackluster dynamax feature, essentially a 3 turn long combo of both concepts but far less enjoyable and meta shifting in a way I and many others find unideal.*

    -While graphically the best of the series the game still lacks polish in many areas. Models still bear a good amount of pixelation which I expected a departure from moving onto the Switch and many even lack detailed textures to a great extent. You would expect after having had to cut back on so much Pokemon content that the studio would have been able to at least deliver the level of smooth clean looking textures one would expect from a 2019 AAA Switch title.*

    -Story playthrough difficulty was immensely lowered, partially due to an exp share system that you are no longer able to turn off and then due to opponents having weak team builds and/or movesets or just a lower number of Pokemon on their team to take on your full team. Veteran players or even those who want some more difficulty out of their playthrough will not find it in this game.*

    -Lacking postgame content compared to most Pokemon titles.

    -Routes were very linear and uninspired, wild area while fairly vast was also somewhat bland and lacking graphical polish most of all.

    -Unideal online interface. Better than Sun and Moons but still lacking in how easy it makes it to connect with others.

    -Lacking game functionality with online. The wild area is supposed to turn into a big open world experience with others when online but with online functions enabled it turns into an absolute mess of different players frozen and appearing all over different parts of the wild area everywhere you go. I also struggle to be able to connect with others for raids/etc oftentimes and have had similar troubles with local play. You often have to try several times to get it to work even in local play.

    -Forced 20 min time limit on 6v6 rule formats. The one thing I love to do most is 6v6 singles battles online and now I will have to have most of my battles cut short due to a short time limit. (most singles battles I have done take around 24 or more minutes) This almost makes the ease of preparing competitive Pokemon all for naught for players like me and 6v6 online battling is what gives many players reason to keep playing months and months after release.**

    There are probably other more minor issues and pros I have with the game but these basically sum up why I give it the rating I do. This game had everything set up for it to be a 9-10 and possibly even the best in a long running series of good games jumping off of the very limited and antiquated 3DS system but yet squandered so much of its potential with the controversial and even bizarre decisions made by its studio, Gamefreak and overall lack of polish.Despite introducing some truly great aspects to the series this game continues the trend of Pokemon’s last two generations of taking one step forward for the series and one larger step back, this time in possibly the most detrimental ways the series has ever seen.    … Expand
  14. Truconium
    Dec 2, 2019
    5
    Firstly, let me talk about what this game does right. The rivals in this game are pretty good. Bede is a jerk like a rival should be, so it feels good when you beat him. Hop becomes a little depressed in the middle of the game and isn't just a "happy go lucky" rival throughout the entire game like other rivals have been in recent games. The evolution methods are also extremely unique!Firstly, let me talk about what this game does right. The rivals in this game are pretty good. Bede is a jerk like a rival should be, so it feels good when you beat him. Hop becomes a little depressed in the middle of the game and isn't just a "happy go lucky" rival throughout the entire game like other rivals have been in recent games. The evolution methods are also extremely unique! Gigantamaxing is a nice combination of mega evolutions, Z-moves, and dynamaxing; however, I still prefer both mega evolutions and Z-moves over G-Maxing. I like the return of character customization, I like the rotom bike because it lets you travel very quickly, the fact that evolutions were given to Galarian-form Pokémon, Pokécamp because it is cute and fun, and the fact that I can move around while in a queue for a surprise trade. And as always, the music is amazing. However, just because I like these features does not mean I had fun while playing the game. The only time I had fun was when I encountered the new Pokémon, but since I know them all now, the game is boring. One time my brother walked into my room and pointed out how bored I looked while playing the game, and that is when I realized how bad this game actually was.

    Now to start with the bad. There is no plot in the game until the very end of the game. The entire plot is "go collect your gym badges" and then it suddenly switches right before you fight Leon to "defeat Eternatus and Rose." The villain in this game is also non-existent. Team Yell isn’t evil, Piers, the leader of Team Yell, isn't evil, and Rose abruptly becomes evil at the very end of the game. Sordward and Shielbert are the most villainous people in the game, but they are both found in the post-game.

    Speaking of the post-game, it is almost non-existent. The only thing you can do after the game is to complete the Pokédex, go to the battle tower, and complete the legendary Pokémon story. There are no master trainers, no Looker missions (even though they were mediocre, but they would have been something to do), or really anything from previous games.

    The game frame drops way too frequently. It is most noticeable in the Wild Area but can also be seen outside the Wild Area. NPCs and Pokémon pop in way too close to the player to the point where it ruins the emersion and experience. The sudden climate changes in the Wild Area also ruins the emersion and experience. A nice gradual change from snowy, to rainy, to cloudy, to sunny, would have been nice instead of an abrupt change from snowy, to sunny, to a sandstorm.

    There are way too few routes in these games. There have been about 20-30 routes each entry, but this game only has 10 short and linear routes. Also, why was the GTS removed? It was essential to completing the Pokédex if you didn’t have Pokébank. Now I have to hope that I randomly gett a Sawk from a surprise trade.

    The exp share is horrendous in this game. It gives every Pokémon way too much exp to the point where you can choose to not grind at all, only use one Pokémon, and still have everyone in your party 3 levels above every trainer in the game and OHKO every Pokémon they have. Game Freak should also make the exp share optional, and have the exp share be received upon completing the first gym.

    There is too little Pokémon in the game, yet most animations and models are identical to the S/M animations and models which proves that Game Freak lied about their excuses to not include half of the Pokémon in the game. One of the more known animations is where Zacian or Zamazenta have their model turn 180° for a turning around animation. Another example is where a kid asks for a handshake from an adult and the adult pulls a handshake out of their pocket. Hello what?? That doesn't even make sense. Even if every Pokémon isn’t in the game, more of the well-designed and popular Pokémon should've been included such as the Gible line and not Pokémon that are just animals from the real world like the Purrlion and Pidove lines. In addition, the models could have been used from the Let's Go games so there could have been more Pokémon in the game.

    This is a 2019, basically 2020 game, so there also should have been voice acting in the game. Not for every line like in Fire Emblem Three Houses, but for important characters like Hop, Rose, Leon, and the gym leaders. It would've really brought the characters to life. The voice actors could've even had British accents to emphasize the fact that Sw/Sh take place in Great Britain.

    For the gym leaders, I like that there are version exclusive gym leaders and the fact that we have our first dark-type gym leader. However, the dark-type gym leader is Piers, the leader of Team Yell, which is great, but Team Yell aren't even villains like how Giovanna and Team Rocket were. Furthermore, you can't even Dynamax against Piers. I love that Raihan is a doubles fo    … Expand
  15. Irondruid8991
    Nov 26, 2019
    1
    It has Pokémon in it. That's about the only good thing. Lack luster and boring game with some quality of life upgrades.
  16. Tam3000
    Nov 26, 2019
    1
    Pokemon were cut without any official post I had to learn this information the hard way. It's not even worth the cut, the online service is lagging, everything freezes by a simple transaction(going up and down the ladder). The gimmick is uninteresting and doesn't change much of the battle
  17. Joblinski69420
    Nov 27, 2019
    6
    Pokemon Shield is by far, not the the greatest title released by Nintendo and Game Freak, there are other better, older titles out there, and I would honestly wait until the price drops or a big sale goes on. Pokemon Shield I've noticed, can be broken sometimes, and despite cutting the national dex. The game had its moments, with a few of the gym leaders and the champion. Nintendo andPokemon Shield is by far, not the the greatest title released by Nintendo and Game Freak, there are other better, older titles out there, and I would honestly wait until the price drops or a big sale goes on. Pokemon Shield I've noticed, can be broken sometimes, and despite cutting the national dex. The game had its moments, with a few of the gym leaders and the champion. Nintendo and G.F. did something new and different with the gyms and league, which I was impressed with, and I think they did an amazing job with Hop with how they fleshed him out as a character, and having him be your rival. Now the animation quality takes a very noticeable dip in certain part of the story, and the walking cycles of always ended awkwardly, both with people, and Pokemon in the camps. They reuse the same character models for Team Yell, passerby, and npcs, which in other games it wasn't so bad as it is in Shield. Plus i wasn't sold on the whole dynamax thing to begin with. Had they removed that feature all together, this game would've been like 5 times better in my opinion.

    In conclusion, it's not a bad game over all, I really had fun playing it, but it's certainly far from being a good, re playable game, and I wouldn't recommend you go and buy it. Wait until it becomes cheaper.    … Expand
  18. Keeb79
    Nov 27, 2019
    7
    OK, this game is really difficult to talk about, as it gets a lot of things right, but also a lot of things wrong. Let's start positively, though.

    Most of the things that this game does will satisfy fans, at least I think so. There's about 90 new Pokémon and most of them are great, you'll definitely get a lot of fun battles out of them, even if the game isn't all that challenging. The    OK, this game is really difficult to talk about, as it gets a lot of things right, but also a lot of things wrong. Let's start positively, though.

    Most of the things that this game does will satisfy fans, at least I think so. There's about 90 new Pokémon and most of them are great, you'll definitely get a lot of fun battles out of them, even if the game isn't all that challenging. The Gym Challenge is a fun idea, and with a little bit more exploration, would have really improved this game. There isn't a lot of outstanding points to make, but this game does most things pretty well.

    But I know why you're here. The Pokédex has been Thanos Snapped, the story is well... non-existant and most of the characters are boring and have no personality. Look, these are major flaws that do prove how rushed the game is, but if you're just a casual player looking for some Poké-fun, you will probably look past these annoyances and be able to enjoy the game for what it is. No, it's not as good as let's say, Sun & Moon, but it still holds up... decently. At least I think it does.

    You don't have to agree with me, but I think it's ok. 7/10/B-    … Expand
  19. Amytitt
    Nov 27, 2019
    7
    I can see why a lot of people dislike this game (lack of national dex, bad animations and graphics) but overall the game is fine. It’s not the greatest Pokémon game like some people say, nor is it the worst thing to ever exist like others say too. I had fun with this game which is the only thing that I want in a video game, to have fun. But I can see why some people won’t have fun in thisI can see why a lot of people dislike this game (lack of national dex, bad animations and graphics) but overall the game is fine. It’s not the greatest Pokémon game like some people say, nor is it the worst thing to ever exist like others say too. I had fun with this game which is the only thing that I want in a video game, to have fun. But I can see why some people won’t have fun in this game, like if their favorite Pokémon isn’t in the game or something like that. A lot of people say that the game was short, but to me it was ok length. It took me 28 hours in main game which isn’t much but it’s not as measly as what others say. Many others say how one of the rivals, Hop is a rip off of Hau if you spam A while their talking. Unlike Hau, Hop actually has character development and changes as a person. Hop is a bit annoying in the beginning but he gets better throughout the game. Most of the characters are good and perfectly fine. For Pokémon and their designs are fully opinionated. But to me their most good and fine with a few slip ups. Overall, the game is great for casual fans, but if you’re a hardcore fan, don’t get your hopes up.… Expand
  20. ZephyrSunDragon
    Nov 27, 2019
    3
    What a disappointment.

    The good: 1. There's new pokemon. 2. The graphics look really good in some areas. 3. The gym presentation feels more immersive and exciting, treating it like a real sports competition with other competitors that fits really well into the setting. 4. The wild area in theory. The bad: Literally everything else. Everything else about this game is literally a    What a disappointment.

    The good:
    1. There's new pokemon.
    2. The graphics look really good in some areas.
    3. The gym presentation feels more immersive and exciting, treating it like a real sports competition with other competitors that fits really well into the setting.
    4. The wild area in theory.

    The bad:
    Literally everything else. Everything else about this game is literally a HUGE step backwards for what is supposed to be a "new era" of pokemon on a mainline console.

    1. This might be the smallest region yet... the SMALLEST. I guess the wild area compensates but a large open field with a movable camera is hardly innovative. But the camera is fixed everywhere else. And there's these awful hallway like routes and caverns that leave no room for exploration at all. Sun and Moon was bad enough as it was, but this is just so much worse.

    2. Way too easy. This as been a problem for the last few generations but it just makes the game boring and forgettable. Pokemon has so much potential to be engaging with the amount of strategies available. It seems like such a waste. Also the force exp. share is absolutely horrid.

    3. Story is the worst it's ever been. Everything happens on the side and you don't get to see any of it. Now would've been the perfect time for high quality cut scenes but we don't get to see any of it. There's not even a cut scenes for flying to town to town like every other game. The only cutscenes we get this time is boring NPC dialogue. When the DS and 3DS had more exciting cutscenes, you know you messed up.

    4. Arguably less side activities than any other previous game. Definitely less than X&Y, Sun and Moon, and Diamond and Pearl. They removed so many beloved features. The one that hurt the most for me was not included following overworld pokemon like in Let's Go.

    5. Gamefreak lied to us about dexit. They said they were cutting pokemon because of expressiveness and "high quality animations" when the pokemon's animations are literally IDENTICAL to the 3ds games. The only new animations I've seen are the ones for the new pokemon.
    The pokemon are like dead lifeless puppets with no emotions. The battle animations on the Wii and gamecube looked better!

    6. The graphics look bad in other areas. Obviously an improvement compared to previous pokemon titles but total garbage compared to other switch games.

    The fact that they played this up to be the "next evolution of pokemon" and the "ultimate pokemon game" is complete **** While I will give some credit to the art director for the atmosphere of the region and new creature designs, this is clearly the least ambitious and most bare bones pokemon game I've ever played. I'm sure there were devs who were passionate about this project but the higher ups clearly didn't care or just didn't have the time.

    I hope this outrage is a wake up cake because changes NEED to be made. For being the first mainline game on the home console, this is just unacceptable. I'm glad people are angry. I'm glad the japanese fans are angry. I seriously hope we can get a new development team for future pokemon games because pokemon deserves better than this.    … Expand
  21. TimFunk
    Nov 27, 2019
    8
    Best pokemon game in years, fixed my Marrige which has been failing since X and Y came out
  22. Larsofmars
    Nov 28, 2019
    8
    My first Pokemon game in a while. The game not having all of the pokemon doesn't really bother me. The game is fun, but it does have problems.
  23. FriedMelon
    Nov 28, 2019
    7
    In my personal opinion these games are mediocre. They’re not Omega Ruby levels of awfulness but Story Wise they don’t hold a candle to Gen 5 or even mid to late game Ultra Sun and Moon. It doesn’t have Mega Evolution or Z-Moves. It does have the speed though, fastest to date. It makes do with what it has. One thing before I end this I ain’t looking for perfection, I’m looking for jawIn my personal opinion these games are mediocre. They’re not Omega Ruby levels of awfulness but Story Wise they don’t hold a candle to Gen 5 or even mid to late game Ultra Sun and Moon. It doesn’t have Mega Evolution or Z-Moves. It does have the speed though, fastest to date. It makes do with what it has. One thing before I end this I ain’t looking for perfection, I’m looking for jaw dropping experiences and that’s what the Switch has been doing back to back to back to back. Unfortunately Sword and Shield, don’t do it. Was it fun, yes, does the music slap, yes. But even if it’s fun it doesn’t mean this franchise is stuck in ’96. This game even with the wild area feels the same and as I’ve said before that’s a damn shame. 6.7/10.… Expand
  24. fiTy
    Nov 29, 2019
    2
    An RPG game with competitive online system with more exploits than its 20+ years ago predecessors.
  25. Rift
    Nov 29, 2019
    9
    A visually enhanced, more enjoyable entry when compared to Sun/Moon. Most of the people complaining are either just trying to jump on the hate bandwagon and haven't even played the game (hence the reviews posted as soon as the game released), or are just pissy because their favorite Pokemon didn't make it into the game.

    The game is good, and having 400+ Pokemon instead of ~900 doesn't    A visually enhanced, more enjoyable entry when compared to Sun/Moon. Most of the people complaining are either just trying to jump on the hate bandwagon and haven't even played the game (hence the reviews posted as soon as the game released), or are just pissy because their favorite Pokemon didn't make it into the game.

    The game is good, and having 400+ Pokemon instead of ~900 doesn't take away from the fun. Get off your high horse and get over it.    … Expand
  26. teroblepuns
    Dec 1, 2019
    4
    Pros:
    - good Pokémon designs
    - some beautiful shots (starter town, snow town, legendary shrine) - new Pokémon nature-changing gimmick - great simplistic user interface design - customizable league (or "trainer") card - rival Hop shortly has a character arc from an annoying optimist to a depressed loser back to an annoying optimist (similar to Hau's character from Pokémon Sun and    Pros:
    - good Pokémon designs
    - some beautiful shots (starter town, snow town, legendary shrine)
    - new Pokémon nature-changing gimmick
    - great simplistic user interface design
    - customizable league (or "trainer") card
    - rival Hop shortly has a character arc from an annoying optimist to a depressed loser back to an annoying optimist (similar to Hau's character from Pokémon Sun and Moon)
    - smug rival Bede has a kickass battle theme
    - the soundtrack is overall good
    - league theme is inspired by the UK's love for football/soccer and gym leaders dress accordingly
    - Marnie rival is somewhat interesting as a character
    - breeding has improved, you can now pass egg moves from one Pokémon to the other partner without breeding a completely new one
    - Pokémon boxes are now accessible from your inventory
    - waifu material
    - wild area touches the idea of an open-world game with a moveable camera
    - defeating a raid boss will give you EXP candies which level much better than rare candies, reducing grinding for lvl 100

    Inbetween:
    - Surf has been replaced by a water bike and Fly by a flying taxi, it makes it much easier to travel but removes the interactivity of your Pokémon with the environment
    - camping is just like Pokémon-Amie and all the spin-offs and encourages you to interact with your monsters which can be cute for those who like that kind of stuff but strengthening your bond with a Pokémon will result in extra animations during battles and make your team OP - as if the forced EXP share didn't overpower you enough, camping also gives your mons EXP
    Cons:
    - awful graphics for a 2019 Switch game, textures look ridiculously low res
    - only half of the national Dex "for better animations"
    - animations are bad and reused over and over again (characters turn on the spot, Double Kick is a simple up and down of the entire model, same character encounter poses)
    - rival encounters are inevitable and happen every 5 minutes
    - cutscenes are lackluster and rare
    - wild area is a mess: bad graphics, tiny LOD (level of detail = "viewing distance" -> subjects pop in and out very often, also on routes and cities), hefty frame drops, very limited interactivity with other players, it takes ages to find other players for raid battles which then take just as long to wait for one turn to be over - oftentimes the raid boss triggers its ability once for each of your ally's Pokémon and then resets it after some turns to repeat the madness, level cap for capturable Pokémon which depends on your badge number, entire area feels more like a big field with a lot of grass than an open world
    - flat characters with no arc
    - minor improvements and changes from previous titles, the formula of the game hasn't changed a bit
    - time occasionally freezes when climbing ladders
    - a LOT of handholding, there is not a single moment you don't run into a forced cutscene or steamroll through a gym with one pokemon
    - EXP share is mandatory
    - team yell is forgettable and has no charm
    - the story does not involve you, most of the time you are a bystander, giving opinions and then catch the legendary ultra beast-like creature with 100% succession rate for any Pokéball
    - some TMs have been reduced to one-time use TRs
    - link trade is no longer that simple to perform
    - no voice acting, dialogues only consist of speech bubbles, text and repeating simple animations
    - curry dex (is this to mock the removal of the national Dex?)

    Verdict:
    Not worth $60. Even $15 indie games provide better quality than this. I hear praise from some fans and outrage from others. I feel terrible for those at Game Freak who poured their hearts into this franchise, only to realize that someone with high power decided to rush it and drag the company through the mud. The entire drama is unnecessary. But, this game is a joke and there is no denying. Get the game to experience it yourself but be prepared to laugh at how bad it can get. Also, even though they rushed this title to hell, this game had the highest box-office of all Pokémon games and received high scores from game journalists (#notsponsored). Embrace the absurdity of our world.

    "The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense." - Tom Clancy    … Expand
  27. Solarhands
    Dec 2, 2019
    4
    This game had so much potential and expectations were high, unfortunately it failed to meet any of them. On much more powerful hardware I expected to see some brand new assets and graphics for the series but was dismayed to see a huge amount of assets reused or half finished. The cinematics excluding the introduction to the starters were lazy and unfinished, with stiff rotating modelsThis game had so much potential and expectations were high, unfortunately it failed to meet any of them. On much more powerful hardware I expected to see some brand new assets and graphics for the series but was dismayed to see a huge amount of assets reused or half finished. The cinematics excluding the introduction to the starters were lazy and unfinished, with stiff rotating models looking like a grade-schooler tried to animate them. The story was mediocre at best but the constant hand-holding from the minute you begin your adventure to the final battle was irritating, the lack of freedom in an rpg with an open-world aspect was disappointing. The cities looked fantastic however the routes between them felt tiny and lackluster, the only saving grace being the glimwood tangle.

    On a positive note, all the brand new pokemon look fantastic, they have excellent designs, interesting type combos and a lot of them have cool and unique evolution methods. The starter evolutions unfortunately failed to impress and were sent to the box as I'd rather have a rattata. The music was fantastic and the ability to customise your character with a wide variety of clothing was refreshing.

    Overall I don't think the game is worth its retail price and as a mainline pokemon series it was extremely disappointing. Lacking a true post game and having seemingly unfinished graphics and animations has left a sour taste in my mouth. I would only buy this game again if it was on sale for 1/2 price.    … Expand
  28. WillyViking
    Dec 3, 2019
    3
    De principio es un juego que logra atraparte debido a la exploración de una nueva región y los nuevos pokemon (en mi caso evite ver las filtraciones) que aparecen, pero simplemente la baja dificutad termino por cansarme, pokemon que aguantaban ataques de gigamax quedando en 1 ps porque no quería ''darte pena'', repartir experiencia obligatorio que hizo que mínimo superara a los rivales yDe principio es un juego que logra atraparte debido a la exploración de una nueva región y los nuevos pokemon (en mi caso evite ver las filtraciones) que aparecen, pero simplemente la baja dificutad termino por cansarme, pokemon que aguantaban ataques de gigamax quedando en 1 ps porque no quería ''darte pena'', repartir experiencia obligatorio que hizo que mínimo superara a los rivales y lideres de gym en 10 niveles usando 6 pokemon en la ''aventura'', amigo/rival hincha pelotas que no estuvo ni cerca de derrotarme 1 miserable pokemon, mapa super lineal que no representa ningún desafío durante el trayecto, el team yell es un chiste... y en lo técnico popping demasiado notorio y molesto de ver, animaciones muy poco pulidas en diferencia a los de 3DS... En fin, una decepción total, ya que de tan solo imaginar como sería un pokemon (antes de que anunciaran escudo y espada) en nintendo switch me hacia explotar la cabeza, más cuando estaba jugando BOTW por primera vez.… Expand
  29. AlfonseK
    Dec 4, 2019
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Ok so first off it's a ds version on a switch second the whole game was lazy
    The starters are boring types and after having all the creative dragon types.Wasnt worth an extra cost    … Expand
  30. Aprexdator
    Dec 5, 2019
    1
    Pinshe juego qlero, la camara va como el culo y snorlax gigamax, a diferencia de su ilustracion no se se mueve -1 por publicidad engañosa.
  31. Militos
    Dec 8, 2019
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A ideia de ter um jogo de Pokémon em mundo aberto (na série principal) é algo sem procedentes. Uma gameplay mais leve, que facilita o treinamento de pokémons, além de novos artifícios para aumentá-los de nível mais rapidamente são muito bem vindos. Porém, alguns detalhes não podem deixar de serem vistos, como a possibilidade real de ter inserido todos os pokémons e a queda de frames quando conectado a internet na Wild Area. E claro, uma história ingame um pouco mais fraca em relação aos títulos anteriores. Posto isso, uma nota 8 é mais do que justa.… Expand
  32. Cleiclei
    Dec 8, 2019
    5
    Reading so many reviews I feel I am not alone on this. It is not a 0 and definitely not a 10(delusional people). It is a 5 for me. I can say i am more disappointed than pleased with the game. The whole Dynamax feature that is getting praised does not add anything, the game feels rushed and this could have been adapted for the 3DS instead (same models used right?) Horrible textures and lackReading so many reviews I feel I am not alone on this. It is not a 0 and definitely not a 10(delusional people). It is a 5 for me. I can say i am more disappointed than pleased with the game. The whole Dynamax feature that is getting praised does not add anything, the game feels rushed and this could have been adapted for the 3DS instead (same models used right?) Horrible textures and lack of dimension specifically to the pokemon's face is a killer to this game. I am hoping the next main game in the series can take on visual like Mario Odyssey/ Pokemon Colosseum.… Expand
  33. NooodleLegs
    Dec 8, 2019
    5
    Was really disappointed in this game. Finished the game and was heartbroken how this is all GameFreak had to offer. The story was awful and the animations being unbearable. Really felt that they substituted magnitude and size of the pokemon more than the quality of the game itself. First game I have ever returned for something else.
  34. CasualGames
    Dec 8, 2019
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Honestly, this game is just too 50/50 to really have a definitive opinion on it. There are several things done really well, making it a step up. And then there are things that are so bad, they take the games several steps back. It’s too many strange ups and downs to call it a decidedly good or bad game. Here are just some examples.

    Graphics - There are moments when this game is visually stunning. Just take one look at the cities from afar, and they are breathtaking. The gym battles are clearly where the developers were putting all those “high fidelity animations.” You really feel like you’re watching a real sports match. But outside these areas, these games look like a student who turned in a paper without spellchecking it. Pop-in is laughable, and it looks like something a game development student would turn in. Textures are really uninspired and too old-school to be “hip.”

    Story - I think the game really tried to shake things up with the story at the beginning. I had high hopes for it, but the further you progress, the more of a let-down it becomes. There were so many missed opportunities for good story, and you could see it. These are some of the most expressive characters we’ve seen, but we don’t get a chance to see their stories because we keep getting shoehorned into moving through the gym challenge. I really wanted to be some of the other characters in this because they seemed to be having more interesting adventures than my character was.

    The Pokemon - Boy, some of these were really hit or miss here. Some designs, like Thievul, Alcremie, and Corviknight were spot on. Others, like the Frankenstein-like fossils and Duraludon were just too weird. And the starters definitely left something to be desired. They were good in their first form, but I sorely regret evolving my Grookey.

    All in all, this game felt half-baked, hence the score of 5/10. Masuda is right. Kids just aren’t staying interested in Pokemon games, but Game Freak is doing themselves no favors with half-done work like this. There are some great things this game has to offer, but then it’s topped off with so many missed marks. Combined with cut content like the transferability of pokemon for the national dex, I just don’t think it’s worth $60. It may have been better as a 3DS game. I hope they come back at it with something better.    … Expand
  35. PachirisuFanNo1
    Dec 9, 2019
    1
    The game is way to easy. I cleared the story in about 7 hours. There are also numerous bugs and glitches, like being able to teach an egg tm's, seeing the eggs stats before it hatches, and a computer mouse cursor moves across the screen in multiple cutscenes, just to name a few. To top things off, the meta is completely revolving around a single Pokemon. If the national dex was available,The game is way to easy. I cleared the story in about 7 hours. There are also numerous bugs and glitches, like being able to teach an egg tm's, seeing the eggs stats before it hatches, and a computer mouse cursor moves across the screen in multiple cutscenes, just to name a few. To top things off, the meta is completely revolving around a single Pokemon. If the national dex was available, I don't think this would have been an issue due to not having a limited number of pokemon. This game feels very rushed.… Expand
  36. Herbyy
    Dec 10, 2019
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The routes were way too short compared to previous games which destroyed any sense of exploration and made it feel rushed. The cities and towns were just there, there were no activities or mini games only the gyms and Pokémon centers which made it really boring. The story was bland and the plot twist at end came out of nowhere and tell yell is the worst team in the series by far. I was really hoping to love this game but I just ended up being super disappointed. I really hope gamefreak learned their lesson and give us a much better game that ya Pokémon deserve next time.… Expand
  37. bakuboy
    Dec 11, 2019
    6
    The most disappointing thing in SWSH isn't even the graphics or national dex, Galar itself is just the most boring and mechanicswise uninspired region of all. The cities look beautiful, but they are ridiculously small and hollow, there is almost nothing to do there besides the main quest. That's why this game is just not as good as the older ones, it cuts too much content, even with goodThe most disappointing thing in SWSH isn't even the graphics or national dex, Galar itself is just the most boring and mechanicswise uninspired region of all. The cities look beautiful, but they are ridiculously small and hollow, there is almost nothing to do there besides the main quest. That's why this game is just not as good as the older ones, it cuts too much content, even with good improvements like Overworld Pokémon and Raids, it's not enough to call this game a "really good Pokémon game". It's still fun because it's Pokémon, but it is by far the most lazy installment in the franchise.… Expand
  38. Maucritic
    Dec 11, 2019
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Esse jogo é bem divertido dependendo do seu ponto de vista , porém , ele tem problemas gráfico-visuais em alguns pontos , os vilões são ridículos ( no caso a team Yell ) , falta de pokemons e novos pokemons sendo alguns com designes horríveis pode fazer você odiar o jogo .… Expand
  39. OTMRUSH
    Dec 11, 2019
    3
    Not the best Pokémon they have released. The game it’s self is not that bad but if you’re big into shiny hunting don’t even bother... I’m 83 hours into Pokémon shield and still haven’t gotten a single shiny. I’ve breezed and hatched over a thousand Lapras eggs and battled over 1000 zigzagoon and the list goes on. It’s kind of ridiculous
  40. jimmya0
    Dec 16, 2019
    4
    This has been the worst pokemon game in the franchise by far:

    - They have cut many features which were available in previous games. - Not all pokemon are available in the game. - Difficulty is WAY too easy specially with the multi-exp you have from the start. - End game is basically non-existent - Graphics look like the ones you'd expect in a 3DS game. - Your rival is the most    This has been the worst pokemon game in the franchise by far:

    - They have cut many features which were available in previous games.
    - Not all pokemon are available in the game.
    - Difficulty is WAY too easy specially with the multi-exp you have from the start.
    - End game is basically non-existent
    - Graphics look like the ones you'd expect in a 3DS game.
    - Your rival is the most incompetent I have seen in the pokemon franchise.

    Basically it is a rushed game which shouldn't have released in this state. I hope this serves as a wake up call to Gamefreak and the next installment is much better    … Expand
  41. ASDfdffsf123314
    Dec 16, 2019
    1
    I think the game may be a great gift for a small child who has never played a pokemon game before but that's about it. And it's a 60$ gift too if you go that route. Otherwise, it's just a bad game. The series is incredibly formulaic if you've played more than one and way too easy. And for people who want to play competitive battles, you can just play pokemon showdown online without theI think the game may be a great gift for a small child who has never played a pokemon game before but that's about it. And it's a 60$ gift too if you go that route. Otherwise, it's just a bad game. The series is incredibly formulaic if you've played more than one and way too easy. And for people who want to play competitive battles, you can just play pokemon showdown online without the grind. Also, not all pokemon are available so many people's favorites are missing which seems lazy when they are just reusing sprites; it’s not that big of a deal to those new to the franchise and it does push people to newer and fresh options but at the same time it was a disappointing choice game freak made. The dialogue coming from the NPCs seems strange and inhuman when talking to characters besides the main cast. I’m sure someone who has never played one of these before or is just into the games for the quite designs and nostalgia would still find it enjoyable and I can’t honestly recommend it to anyone else.… Expand
  42. N7NormandySR2
    Dec 16, 2019
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A below average Pokemon experience. The national Dex and graphics are the majoritys complaints it seems and I can respect that. It's not something that bothers me a lot though. Biggest things that get me are the inability to play the game ranked. Sure they made it easier to grind out comp. Pokemon but what's the point if I can't even find someone to play ranked with? Last game session I spent an hour and a half searching and found 1 person. One before that spent an hour to find nobody. Ranked is completely broken so I'm forced to go play casuals and all that happens there is playing against legendaries or cheated g max Pokemon. I've played for 200 hours so far and at least 100 of it has been going for ha pokemon or grinding up comp. teams for ranked. Now I'm realizing it was a complete waste of time since can't play against anybody. By far worst game in the series. There are some innovative things I enjoy like I said about being able to grind comp. mons easier but that's really about it except some of the new mons designs. Either than that. Meh. Worst story as well imo with the worst antagonists. Almost felt forced in for no reason. End game is weak as hell compared to sun and moon. Hopefully GF steps it up next gen and actually starts putting in a lil effort instead of putting in the bare minimal. 1 more thing. WHY NO MASS RELEASE FEATURE. Releasing Pokemon 1 at a time is absolute insanity. Thought I might try my hand at shiny grinding but not a chance without that feature lol seems Niantic is a bit smarter than GF when it came to that. Take a page out of their book GF. All in all there's things that I like but only a few and out of all the Pokemon games it's definitely the weakest. Thanks to any for reading my rant!… Expand
  43. nochianand
    Jun 12, 2020
    2
    This game is so boring. It does nothing new at all and the graphics look like ****
  44. dabsdabsdabs
    Dec 18, 2019
    0
    Ok I wanted to write so many things about this game, all of them bad, but I will just summarize in that the game looks like a 3DS game and it is even worst with the on line part. It doesn't update if you don't start a wonder trade or something. The animations are boring and extremely similar to the 3DS Pokemon. I got a Nintendo Switch only to play this game, I only played Pokemon by theOk I wanted to write so many things about this game, all of them bad, but I will just summarize in that the game looks like a 3DS game and it is even worst with the on line part. It doesn't update if you don't start a wonder trade or something. The animations are boring and extremely similar to the 3DS Pokemon. I got a Nintendo Switch only to play this game, I only played Pokemon by the way, no experience or very few with other video games, and I thought the Switch was bad because of how poor this game runs but then I tried other switch games and they are beautiful! Thank you Nintendo and Gamefreak for making this a boring game, we can see how lazy you were with it. Now I will sell it and get other interesting games for the switch :). Oh by the way, battling on line is the same as in the 3DS, exactly the same. It is a 3DS game! wait until they get a good Pokemon for the Switch.… Expand
  45. Anonijm21
    Dec 18, 2019
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Same animations as the 6th and 7th Gen ,Copy and Paste everywhere. Cut half of Pokedex and, many bugs and glitches… Expand
  46. DavidLFen
    Dec 31, 2019
    0
    Objetivamente, el juego parece un port cutre de un juego de 3ds y ni siquiera de uno que explote al máximo de la 3ds, las animaciones son cutres, la exploración es nula y el balanceo está roto, el juego entero está ROTO, cada elemento mínimamente interesante de la narrativa es desaprovechando, y el postgame es casi inexistente, quita mecánicas a las que nos acostumbramos hace mucho como laObjetivamente, el juego parece un port cutre de un juego de 3ds y ni siquiera de uno que explote al máximo de la 3ds, las animaciones son cutres, la exploración es nula y el balanceo está roto, el juego entero está ROTO, cada elemento mínimamente interesante de la narrativa es desaprovechando, y el postgame es casi inexistente, quita mecánicas a las que nos acostumbramos hace mucho como la GTS y encima añaden cosas molestas como las MT de un solo uso, la ausencia de más de la mitad de los pokemon se nota mucho, es un insulto a los fans de toda la vida, si alguno de tus pokemon favoritos no estabprogramado por que a los de GAME FREAK, les apetecía rascarse las pelotas, jodete, y para colmo esta cosa cuesta 60€, lo único bueno que puedo decir es que lo conseguí por 40 en el black friday y aun así me siento estafado, os aconsejo que de comprarlo lo hagáis de segunda mano o que esperéis a la típica versión 1.5, también de segunda mano ya que no veo como puedan arreglar esta cosa… Expand
  47. 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
  48. 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.
  49. Igor_06
    Dec 23, 2019
    9
    Il Gioco tiene alta la qualità del franchis pokemon con la interessante meccanica del dinamax e il nuovo sistema di building per i pokemon competitivi. Interessante anche lo sviluppo della trama, forse un po frettoloso nel finale. Per il resto consigliatissimo.
  50. 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
  51. CupcakePrincess
    Dec 25, 2019
    6
    I enjoy this game but I have no idea why. Well made, but totally lacking in content.
  52. Sureshot125
    Dec 27, 2019
    3
    Game is completely uninspired and a complete mockery of the franchise. Asides from the state’s fiascos, you get the sense that there is very little passion in the game. The dialogue and story feels quite awkward, and many Pokémon in the new generation feel almost like a focus group as opposed to the previous generations. The mechanics feel like they’re made for someone who is barely payingGame is completely uninspired and a complete mockery of the franchise. Asides from the state’s fiascos, you get the sense that there is very little passion in the game. The dialogue and story feels quite awkward, and many Pokémon in the new generation feel almost like a focus group as opposed to the previous generations. The mechanics feel like they’re made for someone who is barely paying attention to the game, and isn’t actually interested in the world. In short, it seems like a game that they made “because they had to” with arbitrary changes and very little effort or passion. I’d rather they take new spins and stories on the previous regions than introduce more scope with so very little added to the quality of the world. This feels like a dilution of the franchise and a cash grab, not a Pokémon game. And frankly it’s heartbreaking.… Expand
  53. HonestCoolKid
    Dec 28, 2019
    5
    The game from a new comer to the series perspective is its a good game from a veterans perspective WTF like actually what was Game Freak smoking
  54. 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.
  55. mattzideaz
    Jan 1, 2020
    6
    It's not the best pokemon, and the games is a little too easy. But the wild area is good and some of the new pokemon are great. $60 is more than previous pokemon games, so 6/10 is fair. R.I.P National Dex.
  56. heypikmin
    Jan 3, 2020
    6
    Gamefreak is out of their league with this one, with games like Gold/Silver/Crystal and Black/White that pushed the consoles boundaries, they barely scrachted the surface with the Switch.

    There's alot to be desired with Sword/Shield; New animations, most of the Pokédex, More postgame content and new things that Pokémon should've expanded upon, like voice acting or multiple save states.    Gamefreak is out of their league with this one, with games like Gold/Silver/Crystal and Black/White that pushed the consoles boundaries, they barely scrachted the surface with the Switch.

    There's alot to be desired with Sword/Shield; New animations, most of the Pokédex, More postgame content and new things that Pokémon should've expanded upon, like voice acting or multiple save states.

    However, this game nails alot of things, like the new Pokémon desgins, character designs, and a few other things. I thought some areas lowkey looked really cool.

    I don't hate how this game looks in general, but for a Switch game it's very inconsistent and I've seen PS2 games that look better. Now the main game

    I had alot of fun with the main game, the new Pokémon while already amazing looking are very fun to use, they brought back gyms which are still fun to go through, the Wild Area, while barren, is still interesting to explore and is a great place to train later on, the music is still amazing. This game is what I like in a Pokémon game, fun Pokémon to use with a side of challenge (There were some points in the game I had trouble with), not alot of tedious grinding, an amazing soundtrack, and good characters.

    I'm not too deep in the postgame but from what I've seen, it's not alot, which downgrades my score.

    Pokémon needs more time in the oven, this is the repercussion of being a yearly franchise, if your games released every 2 years or so for some extra content and QoL updates, nobody would mind. Gamefreak needs to get help from other to make their games better. Let's just hope that they actually listen when the Diamond/Pearl remakes inevitavely roll around.

    In conclusion: PLEASE ADD VOICE ACTING TO POKÉMON PLEASE PLEASE I BEG OF YOU GAMEFREAK    … Expand
  57. 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
  58. 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
  59. LightMicky
    Jan 12, 2020
    6
    Speravo che potesse essere un bellissimo NUOVO gioco di Pokémon, invece sembra una remaster di vecchi titoli! Sarebbe bello vedere qualcosa di nuovo!!
  60. GabFire
    Aug 9, 2020
    2
    Tutorial de como estragar uma franquia super conhecida e aclamada por todos:
    Passo número 1: Chame a Nintendo!
    Parabéns!!! Você concluiu seu tutorial.
  61. disposable
    Jan 13, 2020
    6
    For a game following the wonderfully inventive Sun/Moon entries, Pokemon Shield is startling in its lack of ambition. The marquee feature, the wild area, feels more like a zoo than an expanse. It is absolutely arresting to recall that Pokemon and Breath of the Wild originate from the same parent company. In this day and age, it is not unreasonable to ask for freedom in our enormouslyFor a game following the wonderfully inventive Sun/Moon entries, Pokemon Shield is startling in its lack of ambition. The marquee feature, the wild area, feels more like a zoo than an expanse. It is absolutely arresting to recall that Pokemon and Breath of the Wild originate from the same parent company. In this day and age, it is not unreasonable to ask for freedom in our enormously popular well funded collectathon RPGs.

    It is frustrating to see an IP as strong as Pokemon so abused. Even through Game Freak's shallow innovation, the core gameplay loop of the most valuable IP of all time still shines. Pokemon battles are still fun, even with fewer pokemon. Still, Game Freak comes close to hamstringing battles with the Dynamax system. By Dynamaxing pokemon in certain environments, you gain exceptionally powerful pokemon for a few turns of the battle. This is a gimmick made by someone who fails to understand Pokemon's most basic complexity- the move system. Changing every move to a boilerplate (albeit strong) selection reduces the otherwise engaging battle dynamics to little more than a slap fight.

    Dynamaxed enemies in the wild area are another way in which Game Freak comes close to souring Pokemon's core loop. Five star dynamax pokemon generate shields that need to be broken down with brute force multiple times while decimating their opponents with powerful moves. This would be a compelling challenge, were it not for the incompetence of the AI trainers you're given to work with. You're frequently paired with ridiculous pokemon such as a Wobbufett that just counters or a magikarp, of all things. Making matters worse, you instantly lose the battle if four pokemon are KO'd. And of course, the Magikarp comes back after a couple turns so it may be killed again. These fights are nigh unwinnable without the aid of other players, a luxury not available to the socially inept or internet deprived. Happen to be in a car? You're not trying hard enough for the Pokemon company's standards.

    Failings aside, what Game Freak had brought to the table this entry is a graphical update. They've not done a bad job either. Gym battles held in huge soccer stadiums with screaming fans feels like the proper answer for the otherwise ludicrous notion of over the top pokemon gyms existing with mystery funding sources for ridiculous puzzle mazes. Battling in front of a huge crowd tickles the id in a way that no other Pokemon entry, save perhaps Colosseum/XD, have managed. It's an incredibly fun setting that ends up regretfully brief.

    Broadly, Pokemon shield is an entry that will hopefully be seen as the early prototype for a new kind of Pokemon game. If Game Freak accepts the feedback on their Wild Area and makes one much more expansive in the next entry, Pokemon could legitimately reach the zenith of its potential. At last, a world broad enough to truly contain and compliment the enormous Pokemon roster. For now though, this entry comes off threadbare and uninspired. A nice show piece, but not much more.    … Expand
  62. 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.
  63. Andros777
    Jan 31, 2020
    6
    So here's the thing, even a lazy and somewhat empty version of Pokémon (oh and trust me, Game Freak have been cutting content hard from this one) is still an enjoyable experience to me. Is it as good as previous generations? In terms of story progression and characters I certainly did not mind it, yet, the endgame lacks serious content aside from Max Raid Battles. The number of legendariesSo here's the thing, even a lazy and somewhat empty version of Pokémon (oh and trust me, Game Freak have been cutting content hard from this one) is still an enjoyable experience to me. Is it as good as previous generations? In terms of story progression and characters I certainly did not mind it, yet, the endgame lacks serious content aside from Max Raid Battles. The number of legendaries to catch in this game is insanely low at a measily two per version.

    The content drought will be fixed this year as two expansions are planned. If you somehow managed to wait out on this game, go and buy it together with both expansions once they are out and you will surely find a great Pokémon game. As of right now, it is just alright.    … Expand
  64. Warbringer
    Feb 21, 2021
    1
    No story. No Pokedex. Not all Pokemon available. Only handholding. Content locked behind DLC. Content locked behind third party apps like "Pokemon Home" "Pokemon Bank" "Nintendo Switch Online". Gamefreak lied to all of us and they admited it.
  65. Nitroade24
    Jul 17, 2020
    7
    It felt a bit empty but overall it was enjoyable as a game. Nothing to write home about.
  66. 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
  67. Fazalchaudhry
    Mar 2, 2020
    5
    Very mixed. Game has lots of flaws but the stuff it dose right are great. Main game is bone dry very short. Post game also bone dry. However the new Pokemon are great and the characters are memorable. It has some of the best gyms in any Pokemon game.
  68. Hashirama
    Jun 14, 2020
    8
    Pros: Wild area is where you'll spend most of your time in.

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

    DLC looks promising

    Cons:

    Pokémon number reduced
    Battling does not compare with colloseum/XD
    Hop follows you everywhere
    Game feels small once finished
  69. A99wxy
    Jun 23, 2020
    5
    This game costs like a triple A therefore, in my opinion, as such it should be evaluated, therefore, it does not deserve a higher rating than this.

    The game is really disappointing, certainly as a fan of the saga I would have expected a better debut on a console with the capabilities of Nintendo Switch, however, this game not only does not even reach the quality of triple A games like    This game costs like a triple A therefore, in my opinion, as such it should be evaluated, therefore, it does not deserve a higher rating than this.

    The game is really disappointing, certainly as a fan of the saga I would have expected a better debut on a console with the capabilities of Nintendo Switch, however, this game not only does not even reach the quality of triple A games like Zelda, Mario Odissey, Dragon Quest 11 etc. but it has some mechanics that just don't work.

    The only reasons I didn't give a minor grade are:
    the design and the values ​​of many new pokemon introduced, really interesting (but after all this is an advantage of the whole brand not of sw / sh), the new dynamax mechanics (which is actually not so original but it works), the new metagame and the new features introduced for some time by competitive players (even if I'm not one of them).

    For the rest, however, the game really has problems everywhere. Among the problems there are:

    - the really low technical and graphic level, not in step with the times and not comparable with what a triple A should offer today (poorly detailed textures, bad animations);

    - a level design that is too linear and flat and which eliminates the exploratory component of the title.

    -a setting and a loore with interesting ideas but often left to chance and treated superficially;

    - a story that is too linear, without feelings and tension and in general told badly. There is an absence of cutscene and dubbing.

    -the total absence of valid secondary and postgame activities and missions, present in every jrpg worthy of the name.

    - an excessively low level of challenge, even lower than the previous chapters of the saga. Leveling up is too easy but not only, even completing the pokedex is now very easy (even the rarest pokemon such as Lucario and Tyranitar can be found walking through the Wild Areas).

    - the bad online system prevents you from enjoying mechanics like raids etc. without problems.

    In general, the lack of attention to detail that the game denotes is evident. It has at its base interesting ideas which, however, are left to themselves and not completed.

    I do not want to express myself about the dlc because they must be evaluated apart in my opinion, however, just because they are products separate from the base games and must be bought separately, it does not make sense to say that they solve the situation of the base games. In other words the dlc will not be able never justify the purchase of sword and shield pokemon.

    From Gamefreack I expect more on Nintendo Switch.    … Expand
  70. 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
  71. Keeb999
    Jul 23, 2020
    6
    This is definitively this series' lowest point for me. It has all the things that make a Pokemon game great, but because of how rushed the game feels, a giant leap to stronger hardware just means that so many other staple positives of the series are brought down. Although it's not all doom and gloom, hardcore fans of the series and families will likely still have fun playing it,This is definitively this series' lowest point for me. It has all the things that make a Pokemon game great, but because of how rushed the game feels, a giant leap to stronger hardware just means that so many other staple positives of the series are brought down. Although it's not all doom and gloom, hardcore fans of the series and families will likely still have fun playing it, experiencing the (obviously now limited) array of wonderful out-of-this-world creatures this series is known for, a decent battle system (while I find the X&Y battle system to be definitive) and *some* fun characters like Marnie and Bede.… Expand
  72. Italloko
    Apr 18, 2020
    6
    Without national dex, easily gyms, poor game, short map, i guess the game was making at the rush, the only good thing is pokémon 3d appearing in grass
  73. yagitoshi
    Jun 18, 2020
    5
    Good music, good character design, I enjoyed the new Pokemon.
    I spent 60$ for the base Game and 30$ for the Dlc's. After trying the first Dlc I'm finally going to say my opninion.
    The game it's a techical disaster. Glitches everywhere, empy spaces, no difficulty at all, level design is weak, the characters introduced in the first DLC are pretentious but void. Pokemon following you in    Good music, good character design, I enjoyed the new Pokemon.
    I spent 60$ for the base Game and 30$ for the Dlc's. After trying the first Dlc I'm finally going to say my opninion.

    The game it's a techical disaster. Glitches everywhere, empy spaces, no difficulty at all, level design is weak, the characters introduced in the first DLC are pretentious but void. Pokemon following you in the Isle Of Armor? More like you run while they desperately try to follow you. I feel nothing playing Shield, and while the first DLC introduced new - kinda - intricate areas, the experience didn't improve. 90$ wasted.    … Expand
  74. 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
  75. TRAHANATOR
    May 1, 2020
    4
    In all of the entries in the main series of Pokemon games, Pokemon Sword and Shield are by far the most polarizing. There are so many positive things to say yet some major negative things to say about the game. Some of the new Pokemon designs are great and offer interesting match ups in battle. Obstagoon being my personal favorite in the entire game. Yet, there are some Pokemon that areIn all of the entries in the main series of Pokemon games, Pokemon Sword and Shield are by far the most polarizing. There are so many positive things to say yet some major negative things to say about the game. Some of the new Pokemon designs are great and offer interesting match ups in battle. Obstagoon being my personal favorite in the entire game. Yet, there are some Pokemon that are straight up boring. All 3 starter Pokemon are the lamest starters in the entire series, I had never felt more compelled to box my starter when I saw what it evolved into. The story is also bland. There are some great characters like Leon, Marnie, Piers, Opal, and the legendary Ball Guy. But, other characters are straight up lame. Hop is by far the poorest rival in all of the games, Chairman Rose being evil was the easiest read since the invention of the "ABC's" book, and Swordward and Shieldbert are the worst designed and dumbest characters Pokemon has ever seen. Team Yell is in the same boat as Team Skull; they do not have some evil plan, they are there to just distract the player. At least Team Skull was funny and didn't take themselves too seriously. The real evil team, Macro Cosmos, has the lamest motivation in Pokemon since Team Flare. The narrative of "energy crisis can only be solved by drastic means" is too played out in media. Some of the cities are cool to go to, but this game is so restrictive on exploration that it kills the feel of discovery. Character customization is better than ever, but the fact that you cannot wear different uniforms in the gym battles is still lame. But out of all of the negatives this game has, exp candies are the biggest sin. One of the rewards of winning a max raid battle is at least 2-4 exp candies. These candies completely break the game's balance. If you use candies during your gym challenge, it becomes the easiest Pokemon game in the entire franchise. I am not even joking, one of the games newest mechanics and source of identity rewards with items that remove all challenge. When I got to the champion, I was almost 20 levels ahead of his strongest Pokemon. I would say to a new player to just don't use exp candies, but why should a player just ignore what essentially becomes the game winning strategy. Post game it is find to get candies for competitive. The second worst sin of this game is the laughable lack of post-game content. You beat the game, and not a single new or significant area is opened up. Obviously this is mostly because of future dlc, but you have to put content in your launch if you want your game to be great. In short, if I was given the entire main series of games and I could only choose one to play, Sword and Shield would be the last possible games I would pick.… Expand
  76. 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
  77. pdrcode
    May 4, 2020
    0
    I would like Shigeru Omori to leave the project. Please do not destroy the Pokémon.
  78. routerlite
    May 4, 2020
    4
    NPCs are extreamly stupid and annoying in wild Dynamax Pokemon. They are the opposite of normal battle.
  79. TrasteroDPablo
    May 8, 2020
    5
    5,4 Sin duda alguna el peor videojuego de la saga principal. Sacaron un juego incompleto por 60 euros y ahora quieren que paguemos 30 euros más. Casi que no hay historia, única edición que no puedes tener todos los pokemon. Me encantaron los diseños de los pokemon, buen campeón, buen malo final.
  80. Theuzetz
    May 6, 2020
    6
    I think this is a pretty decent game,however,considering how much the franchise has been stuck,and they are yet to innovate,and wasted an incredible opportunity to do so in this game,because it's a new gen,in a home console,they had a big shot,and missed,however,pokémon is still great either way.
  81. CrisSonic_Drago
    May 11, 2020
    0
    Llevo jugando a Pokémon desde pequeño, empecé en Pokémon Oro y Plata y he jugado prácticamente a casi todos los juegos de la saga. Me compre Pokémon el día de su lanzamiento y después de escuchar varias opiniones y haberlo jugado mucho estos meses, sin duda estamos ante el peor de la saga.

    En este juego hemos perdido un monton de cosas; la explotación, las pokemonturas y interacciones con    Llevo jugando a Pokémon desde pequeño, empecé en Pokémon Oro y Plata y he jugado prácticamente a casi todos los juegos de la saga. Me compre Pokémon el día de su lanzamiento y después de escuchar varias opiniones y haberlo jugado mucho estos meses, sin duda estamos ante el peor de la saga.

    En este juego hemos perdido un monton de cosas; la explotación, las pokemonturas y interacciones con edificios y mas cosas. Es juego totalmente limitado y pasillero.


    La historia sin duda es lo peor y la historia que hay después del juego también. Nos prometieron una historia emocionante después de pasarte el juego nos encontramos con semejante basura nada interesante para el jugador.

    Enserio recortan la pokedex para esto? Vaya basura de juego has creado GF. Esto no se salva ni con los dlc y ni los remakes de 4 generación.

    Espero que lean esto y se apliquen para la generación 9.    … Expand
  82. yangfanhong
    Mar 29, 2023
    8
    Yeah i know this game is not good enough for a series with such sale numbers, but at least i had fun.
  83. Murilokelevra
    May 19, 2020
    1
    I play pokemon since pokemon crystal. This game is the worst pokemon ever. The gameplay is so boring, i want to battle and everytime someone stop me to talk something that sometimes i already know. The weather its a joke. The wild area is a joke. We are in 2020 and the game is still on click and click and click to talk, we need a good evolution. Keep the good stuff and develop things thatsI play pokemon since pokemon crystal. This game is the worst pokemon ever. The gameplay is so boring, i want to battle and everytime someone stop me to talk something that sometimes i already know. The weather its a joke. The wild area is a joke. We are in 2020 and the game is still on click and click and click to talk, we need a good evolution. Keep the good stuff and develop things thats is already old.… Expand
  84. notakid
    May 20, 2020
    2
    How anybody who's been a fan of the pokémon games for a long time can excuse big flaws of these games is truly beyond me. All of the criticism directed towards the developer is fully justified seeing as the complaints have to do with things that could have been implemented in such a way to increase everyone's satisfaction with the games.

    Higher quality and more advanced animations? An    How anybody who's been a fan of the pokémon games for a long time can excuse big flaws of these games is truly beyond me. All of the criticism directed towards the developer is fully justified seeing as the complaints have to do with things that could have been implemented in such a way to increase everyone's satisfaction with the games.

    Higher quality and more advanced animations? An option to turn off the EXP. Share that is making the game too easy even for a small child? Having all the previous pokémon included in the game, seeing as we know they have the models for them? All of these suggestions, do they hurt you? Is this sort of criticism "unfair" or "exaggerated"? Who do you think you are to decide what is "reasonable" criticism? The fact is, these things clearly matter to the majority of user reviews - looking at the user score clearly reveals that. If you can't handle people disliking a game you yourself like then, man, life has to be very difficult for you. Implementing these suggestions would hurt nobody. The games would be of a higher quality.

    There are many more reasons as to why users dislike these games, just have look at the reviews, but one thing is for certain: Game Freak is a lazy developer who is not to be trusted, considering all the lies that have been spouted.    … Expand
  85. Ceyarove
    Sep 17, 2020
    0
    como fui a perder mi dinero con este juego. pésima historia, dificultad inexistente, personajes nada interesante.
  86. HugoTreminio
    Jun 19, 2020
    8
    It was a pretty good game, I can see why people dislike it, but in my opinion it was pretty entertaining. Wasn't very fond of the story or the characters and I think the Wild Area could look better (especially during sand storms), but overall a very complete game.
  87. jikan2004
    May 27, 2020
    0
    This game is a cut in paste copy of x and y that game freak messed up and caused problems so that can sell solutions to the complete piece of trash that is this game. It is by far the worst Pokemon game out there. They took out the national Dex and the animations are so bad that Pokemon Stadium one had better grapghics. No one in their right mind should buy this game.
  88. Yammy
    May 29, 2020
    6
    Pokemon Shield is for sure a huge dissapointment as a Pokemon game. I was able to play a lot of this and have fun doing it, but it is pretty underwhelming...
  89. VeryOaty
    Jun 2, 2020
    5
    The game is okay at best, which isn’t great. There is still some time to make the game better via dlc which will most likely help the franchise. It’s better than having a whole other game for 60 dollars than two dlc packs for 30.
  90. Th3rdEye89
    Jun 14, 2020
    1
    As a long time Pokémon fan I’m sad to say that this game is by far the worst Pokémon game I’ve ever played. I bought a switch mainly for the excitement I felt about a Pokémon game finally coming to a console...my switch now collects dust. AND NOW GAMEFREAK WANTS TO CHARGE FOR EXPANSIONS WITH WHAT LITTLE THEY PUT INTO THE POST GAME?! Big slap in the face to all the life long Pokémon fans.As a long time Pokémon fan I’m sad to say that this game is by far the worst Pokémon game I’ve ever played. I bought a switch mainly for the excitement I felt about a Pokémon game finally coming to a console...my switch now collects dust. AND NOW GAMEFREAK WANTS TO CHARGE FOR EXPANSIONS WITH WHAT LITTLE THEY PUT INTO THE POST GAME?! Big slap in the face to all the life long Pokémon fans. Gamefreak pass the Pokémon franchise on to game developers and writers that actually care about video games because the way your company has been making these games the last few years has been horrible. I hope the next Pokémon game is a redemption because if not the franchise will no longer be appealing to anyone. And I’m not review bombing just to be a jerk, it’s because I care deeply about Pokémon and want to see it return to its glory. You get a 1 because some new Pokémon designs were good.… Expand
  91. Arthur26670
    Jun 24, 2020
    6
    Animações porcos e mal feitas e não tem quase nenhum desenvolvimento dos personagens além de não atribuir em nada o universo pokemon mas pelo é divertido as raids principalmente.
  92. timren1
    Jun 19, 2020
    1
    Franchise ruined by lazy GreedFreak who refuse to put any effort into their games anymore and push out games every year like it's Call of Duty. Pokemon died after Gen 4.
  93. juanignacio021
    Jun 18, 2020
    0
    Not worth. The game has barely any content and what little it has, it isn´t that good to begin with. The game took less than 8 hours to beat its main campaign and around one or two for the lackluster postgame.

    The story is bad: doesn´t make sense, has little to none character development (only Hop shows significant growth) and is not engaging at all. I dont usually care much for the    Not worth. The game has barely any content and what little it has, it isn´t that good to begin with. The game took less than 8 hours to beat its main campaign and around one or two for the lackluster postgame.

    The story is bad: doesn´t make sense, has little to none character development (only Hop shows significant growth) and is not engaging at all. I dont usually care much for the story in Pokemon games but this time it was unbeareable.

    The wild area, the main selling point of this game, is absolutely dissapointing. It is basically Hyrule field from Ocarina of Time (N64 graphics and all), just as empty and uninteresting but has some Pokemon popping out over the place.

    Gamefreak lied directly to the face of the playerbase. They stated they were cutting the Pokedex to polish the game some more and improve models and animations, which we now know it is completely BS since it has been proving these have been imported from the 3DS meaning they are the same from 2013.

    Finally, the gameplay. There is some good in SWSH, like the music and some of the new designs are actually good but these are all swept under the rug because of the horrid gameplay.

    Remember in past Pokemon games where there were dungeons like Silph co., Sky Pillar, the numerous caves, buildings and more? All gone. Galar is one straight line from beginning to end. Traversing the world was brief and boring and while some towns showed interesting features (like Stow-on-side and the Digglet statues) they had barely anything inside to interact with.

    But the biggest offender here is the battling. After all, it is Pokemon´s main attractive. Dynamax is a horrible mechanic as it is basically a nuke button and every battle revolves around who has the bigger nuke making battles really repetitive. Even if mechanically the system is flawed, aesthically isn´t good either. Again, animations from the 3DS are reused and some aren´t even good to begin with. Some attacks just have the model rotate around or hop statically a few times while the iddle animations are bland and do not express any personality. If you compare battles in SwSh with battles in previous home console iterations (Stadium 1&2, Battle Revolution, Colosseum) Swsh is really boring and unappealing to watch.

    I can´t stress this enough but he game is plain bad. I´m mad I bought this game, I´m mad Gamefreak lied to players and I´m mad Pokemon is going downhill as a franchise.    … Expand
  94. Ageman20XX
    Jun 18, 2020
    4
    Pokemon Shield

    “Okay” at best. , but for me - someone who has played and owns at least one game from each generation for the last 20+ years - this entry was hugely disappointing and may have killed my love for the franchise overall. This isn’t the first Pokémon game to cut fan-loved features and content included in previous entries, but it’s certainly the most egregious. In addition to    Pokemon Shield


    “Okay” at best. , but for me - someone who has played and owns at least one game from each generation for the last 20+ years - this entry was hugely disappointing and may have killed my love for the franchise overall. This isn’t the first Pokémon game to cut fan-loved features and content included in previous entries, but it’s certainly the most egregious. In addition to cutting the roster of compatible/playable species down by more than half, the usable moves afforded to the remaining ones have also been culled by a considerable margin. Mega evolution (Gen 6-7) as a mechanic has been dropped entirely (reducing the amount of unique designs even further), Z moves (Gen 7) are gone, following Pokémon (appeared in the Let’s Go games a year earlier) have been dropped (though re-added behind a paywall in the latest DLC for a single area), rideable Pokemon (also from the Let’s Go games) have also been dropped, and the various special skills / field moves (Let’s Go upgrade to HMs) have been removed as well leaving the uninspired stamina-based bike as the only unique traversal/exploration method in the game. Shiny Pokémon appearing in the overworld (another Let’s Go improvement) has also been removed, and the new method for finding shinies in tall grass is bugged at the code level with no acknowledgement from the devs or any fix in sight. This list of dropped features is only in comparison to the most recent games before Sword/Shield - if we were to go back further the list would expand tenfold.

    In terms of what the game does offer, there isn’t much. There’s a barebones single-player campaign where you collect badges from the gyms (like every other mainline Pokémon game), and then a mini tournament at the end. The story for the entire game could be condensed to a single paragraph and doesn’t go much further than “bad guy tries to use legendary for bad stuff at the end”. The writing is flat, all the interesting events happen offscreen where your player can’t see them, the animations in battle/cutscenes/etc. are very inconsistent with a few being nice but the rest looking like they were made for a handheld. There’s also the weird choice of characters moving their mouths but no voices coming out - especially awkward when you attend a rock concert where a character plays a guitar and “sings” but the entire scene is silent. The new Dynamax mechanic is flashy and interesting for one, possibly two battles and then becomes tiresome. The raid mechanic is more frustrating than fun with all its limitations, and the online component is infuriating to use and rarely works as intended.

    When I finally beat this game (and the 1 hour “post-game” quest it included) I was happy - not because I enjoyed it but because it was over. I put in my time like a good little consumer and now I was allowed to offer my opinion on it. It was a bad experience that I paid twice the price for compared to previous entries and barely got half the enjoyment.    … Expand
  95. Mordgesr
    Jul 21, 2020
    6
    This is my first game in the Pokémon series, so I cannot compare it with the previous installments. For a beginner, this is a good game that allows you to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of adventure that was in the old anime series.
  96. sabiogamer
    Jun 19, 2020
    0
    Un juego Recortado, eh incompleto, muy mal, le falta mucho por delante, y recortaron el juego solo para cobrar mas. las gráficas son las peores
  97. 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
  98. jotade86
    Jun 27, 2020
    4
    Por partir el juego en trozos y venderlo a precio de oro, por traer una generación tan corta, por no mejorar los gráficos que parecen de 3DS, por la pokedex nacional incompleta por no llevar megaevoluciones, este pokemon no merece la pena.
  99. Lindagamer
    Jun 20, 2020
    0
    El juego esta incompleto, y te lo venden a trozos , las versiones anteriores tienen mas contenido que este.
  100. 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
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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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