Pokemon Sword / Shield Dual Pack

 Switch
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 86 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 66 out of 86
  2. Mixed: 20 out of 86
  3. Negative: 0 out of 86
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  1. Ars Technica
    Nov 13, 2019
    I do think Sword and Shield are good entries for anyone who got into Pokémon through Go and Let’s Go and is looking for something a bit more difficult and larger in scale. Seasoned players can still enjoy the new monsters and appreciate the game’s story mode while it lasts (I cleared the main story in around 35 hours). It’s just too bad that, for longtime players, what’s missing is probably going to overshadow everything that’s here.
  2. Eurogamer
    Nov 13, 2019
    Pokémon Sword and Shield add some brilliant new creatures, but like their gargantuan Dynamax forms, the games feel like a hollow projection.
  3. Hobby Consolas
    Nov 13, 2019
    The jump to a platform of greater power such as Nintendo Switch seems to have played against Game Freak, but there is no denying that there are very good ideas and much needed changes. And, although it needs work, the Wild Area firmly establishes the foundation of the future of Pokémon.
  5. Kotaku
    Nov 13, 2019
    The magic of Pokémon is that it lets you tap into a sense of wonder that becomes more and more difficult to access as an adult. Sword and Shield do that more successfully than any Pokémon release has in years. It won’t be everything to everyone, and it will not make everyone happy. I’m not sure it needs to. It’s a portal to a new world. And it definitely has something for Pokémon’s core audience: everyone in the entire world.
  6. Polygon
    Nov 13, 2019
    The surprise in Sword and Shield is that I’m still finding things that surprise me, even after putting in so many hours. It’s in how Game Freak has made a linear game feel so much less linear. Make no mistake, Sword and Shield is not an open-world game. There are limitations. But the game’s designed for me not to notice them, and mostly, I don’t.
  7. The Jimquisition
    Nov 20, 2019
    It's okay. It's pretty much more Pokémon, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. However, it's quite clear the game needs a proper overhaul, something to drag into the modern day. Or at least the modern century.
  8. The Verge
    Nov 13, 2019
    But the changes that are here — a larger, more detailed world and a streamlined structure that cuts out the annoying bits — are enough to make this the ideal iteration of the concept to date. The moments when I felt frustrated or bored in past games simply don’t exist in Sword and Shield. It’s one big adventure.

Awards & Rankings

73
#73 Best Switch Game of 2019
15
#15 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2019

User Reviews

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User Score
4.4

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 404 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 151 out of 404
  2. Mixed: 24 out of 404
  3. Negative: 229 out of 404
  1. Fizalpha
    Nov 15, 2019
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view. So much unjust hate for the best Pokemon game in the entire series, there is no other Pokemon game that even comes 10% close to this one, it's everything you'd want for both competitive and casual, no need to breed or do monotonous things anymore, you can change personalities with discs, find a Pokemon you like with great IVs but horrible personality? Hold onto it and change it with a disc, and you never have to give up your hard earned Pokemon.

    The Wild Area is the best thing to ever be done in a Pokemon game, with online co-op play and changing biomes rotating what you can catch, along with a bunch of special things to do and see, there's literally nothing I can find wrong with this game when compared to my last favorite game which was White. The Gym leader battles are fun and exciting, with minigames before each one, or during them in some cases...

    You actually feel like a Pokemon trainer in this game, from the anime, and there's so much detail in every little part of this game... Yes half the Pokemon are missing, but there's more than enough to make up for it in the actual GAMEPLAY and what is there is great and all competitively viable.    … Full Review »
  2. LuckyAbsol
    Nov 15, 2019
    4
    Your average pokemon game that'll probably be fun for the casual fan. The story is below par compared to past pokemon games, suffering fromYour average pokemon game that'll probably be fun for the casual fan. The story is below par compared to past pokemon games, suffering from clear pacing issues towards the end. The graphics were only slightly better while some of the animations are also lacking. Clear pop ins and low resolutions textures litter the game while severals bugs are also present. For example, the battle backgrounds not always matching up with battle. The quality of life changes were very welcomed but the EXP Share was still too strong and could not be turned off. It's not worth getting both games, get one and trade what you need from someone with Sword. I'm giving it a 4/10 instead of a 5/10 simply because there's no reason to get both as not much changes between them bar a few pokemon.

    I must also add that the soundtrack was very forgettable this time around which is strange for a pokemon game, the postgame is also extremely short with it only being about 1-2 hours long. The battle tower makes a return but it's been stripped down to it's bare bones.    … Full Review »
  3. Daitya
    Dec 8, 2019
    10
    Como todo juego de la saga Pokémon es un buen juego. Nuevas criaturas, batallas, la magia de empezar de nuevo en una nueva región, una nuevaComo todo juego de la saga Pokémon es un buen juego. Nuevas criaturas, batallas, la magia de empezar de nuevo en una nueva región, una nueva cultura regional y personajes, una banda sonora impresionante... Pero también nos encontraremos con numerosos fallos como... Ciudades un poco monótonas, el recorte de Pokémon(que espero que metan un DLC para compensar), la falta de libertad del principio o la escasez de postgame.

    Lionel, el campeón de Galar se ve más humano y actúa como tal, además de ser querido y conocido por todos los habitantes. Me gusta su expresión al perder(aunque me da un poco de pena combatir contra él XD). Eso sí, este personaje fue el único que me derrotó y me superaba en nivel.

    Para terminar me gustaría destacar la toxicidad de la comunidad de Pokémon. Una comunidad tan tóxica que no puede disfrutar de un juego de su saga favorita y prefieren insultar y amenazar de muerte a Game Freak porque no se sienten satisfechos con el juego(o al menos es lo que dicen). También deberíamos apreciar la otra posición donde se ponen como locos cuando hacen una crítica a su juego favorito.

    Conclusión para ambas opiniones de ardidos y amargados: Disfrutad del juego y pasad de vuestro "Orgullo Pokémon" parecéis una secta. Es un juego y ya está, no han matado a vuestros padres. Como cada juego tiene sus puntos fuertes y sus puntos débiles y ya está. Eso sí, estáis en vuestro derecho a decir que el juego está "incompleto" o que podrían haber hecho algo mejor... Pero hacedlo sin insultar y con un punto de vista neutral, que hay cada crítica destructiva que no tiene sentido.    … Full Review »
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