Pokemon Sword / Shield Dual Pack

 Switch
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
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  1. Marioipod13
    Jul 31, 2023
    1
    So, I like (most of) the new Pokemon and features but the rest of the game is very subpar. The story is too linear but is impossible to speedrun because of all the cutscenes, and it doesn't have a full dex. The boss trainers are too easy but on the counterside, competitive games are flat out unbalanced. They removed Mega Evolution but introduced Zacian, Calyrex, Regieleki, and Urshifu,So, I like (most of) the new Pokemon and features but the rest of the game is very subpar. The story is too linear but is impossible to speedrun because of all the cutscenes, and it doesn't have a full dex. The boss trainers are too easy but on the counterside, competitive games are flat out unbalanced. They removed Mega Evolution but introduced Zacian, Calyrex, Regieleki, and Urshifu, which are crazy-broken. Besides, three out of four of those are completely locked behind an overpriced DLC so you will be at a disadvantage unless you buy the DLC.… Expand
  2. JSwizzle86
    Nov 29, 2021
    1
    These games marked the downfall of Pokémon, don't buy them. It isn't worth your time.
  3. Hope_133
    Jun 11, 2021
    0
    Tutorial de como NÃO fazer um jogo. Um desrespeito aos fãs verdadeiros da franquia, opinião de quem falou bem ou foi comparada ou é criador de conteudo q é quase que obrigado a falar bem. Quem realmente curtiu esse jogo, não liga pra isso. Jogo feito na preguiça, dando tapa na cara do consumidor com muita promessa e nada de cumprir. Só fanboy gostou dessa porcaria q só sabe nadar em gadosTutorial de como NÃO fazer um jogo. Um desrespeito aos fãs verdadeiros da franquia, opinião de quem falou bem ou foi comparada ou é criador de conteudo q é quase que obrigado a falar bem. Quem realmente curtiu esse jogo, não liga pra isso. Jogo feito na preguiça, dando tapa na cara do consumidor com muita promessa e nada de cumprir. Só fanboy gostou dessa porcaria q só sabe nadar em gados de uma fanbase gigante. Triste pois sou fã desde criança.… Expand
  4. SwShDie
    Dec 28, 2020
    0
    When will this game be succeeded?? GameFreak cut corners in order to make the 2019 release date as it seems they release a mainline Pokemon game every year. But lo and behold, this steaming, half ***-ed pile of a game is still the current main game as 2020 is ending. We want a new main Pokemon game in order to leave this one to rot away (and to get the bad taste out of our mouths if GameWhen will this game be succeeded?? GameFreak cut corners in order to make the 2019 release date as it seems they release a mainline Pokemon game every year. But lo and behold, this steaming, half ***-ed pile of a game is still the current main game as 2020 is ending. We want a new main Pokemon game in order to leave this one to rot away (and to get the bad taste out of our mouths if Game Freak doesn't mess up that one too). Even a month with Sword/Shield is far too long.… Expand
  5. cozkimiyu
    Jul 8, 2020
    1
    A game that ignores old fans. The developers have no intention of developing a new work.
    Worst Pokemon Games
  6. Lindagamer
    Jun 24, 2020
    0
    ES una basura, tienes que pagar el doble por los DLC, saca dinero este juego asqueroso recortado, este pack es una basura
  7. WillfulFirefly
    Jun 19, 2020
    4
    After having finished "Pokemon: Shield" in around 25 hours, I felt immediately compelled to type a review because this is the most disappointing entry into the Pokemon video game line-up that I had ever experienced. This is tragic for me - to say the least - because I went in with decent expectations and with hopes that this would succeed prior Pokemon video games well. Sadly, it feelsAfter having finished "Pokemon: Shield" in around 25 hours, I felt immediately compelled to type a review because this is the most disappointing entry into the Pokemon video game line-up that I had ever experienced. This is tragic for me - to say the least - because I went in with decent expectations and with hopes that this would succeed prior Pokemon video games well. Sadly, it feels more like a huge step back with some promising features that I hope future entries consider keeping and improving.

    Positives:
    (+) The new Galarian Pokemons and the Galarian Variants of past-generation Pokemons
    (+) Pokemon Camp and Curry-making: Both more charming than I thought!
    (+) In-depth Trainer Customisation
    (+) A lot of quality of life improvements in comparison to past Pokemon video games: This is going to make it more accessible for a lot of players while making it more focused for long-time players. Things like mints to change Pokemon nature type to exp share being always on making the entire game less grindy and monotonous. All very much appreciated!

    Negatives:
    (-) Inconsistent Graphic Quality: Some good textures, some REALLY out-dated textures. Some battle backgrounds look pretty cool; others, not so much and repeatedly used. Towns like Circhester look breathtaking, but then there are the open world sections that look flat and ugly. Textures may pop in-and-out at times. Stiff models!
    (-) Inconsistent Animation Quality (and Missing Animations?): Some elaborate and well-done, but - for the most part - low effort. Also, Pokemons don't have a turning animation, and NPCs seem to be are missing a couple as well? NPCs look soulless at times with barely any expressions. Pokemons headbutting with their legs look weird. Some Pokemons even use the same bad animations to attack (when using different moves).
    (-) Empty-feeling Open World sections: For today's standard of video games, even some open world indie games look more livelier than this game's open world sections. The AI for roaming Pokemons is pretty dumb and non-interactive as well and is easy to maneuver and play around. Moreover, the open world sections are relatively small in comparison to a lot of other games: even those of low-budget.
    (-) Incompetent Story: Most of the important things in the story are described by NPCs rather than shown (or - you know - involving you like a game). Also, most of it is the typical Pokemon video game story (i.e. be the very best, have a rival, meet someone with an emotional complexity, etc.). Also, Hop is more annoying than easy-to-hate.
    (-) Unpolished and Unoptimised Game: This game has glitches and oddities and even some weird exploitables. Pokemon AI in camp can be a little buggy, and the game got stuck at one point when I was playing with my Pokemons. Sometimes, my frame rate would drop below in certain areas much more in comparison to other Switch games.
    (-) My Switch crashed twice: This is the first (and second) time that my Switch had ever crashed, so - to me - this is a huge deal.
    (-) No Post-game: Other than completing your Pokemon collection and , there's nothing else. Honestly, this comes as such a shock as I never not had a post-game in a Pokemon video game.
    (-) Too much hand-holding: Every NPC treats you like an idiot even past the tutorial and reminds you constantly that you can do this and that. They make it a big deal for doing minor things like walking from point A to B. It is very annoying to be blasted by so many text boxes when you just want to play the game.

    Mediocres:
    (?) Relatively Short Game: In comparison to the other Pokemon video games, this is the shortest and I really took my time exploring everywhere. I was honestly shocked that I finished this game so fast.
    (?) Easiest Pokemon video game: With all the quality of life features, I barely needed to think while playing or battling. Personally, it's a negative for me, but - for others - this might be a saving grace.
    (?) Dynamax is a gym/raid gimmick.
    (?) Raids: I was expecting much more but it's just a longer Pokemon battle - not much strategy needed. This may vary from player to player though.

    Conclusion: My recommendation is to wait for a sale - around $40; it's not worth the full price of $60 if you're a long-time Pokemon gamer. By Pokemon video game standards, "Pokemon: Shield" is the weakest entry to the franchise. However, that's not to say that it's a bad game: it's passable and this is the problem because past Pokemon video games are not "passable". I think that - for a casual gamer - this is good to waste time in and have some fun. It was fun for me sometimes and even charming. For this case, I would give "Pokemon: Shield" a 5/10, but my current rating is to reflect actual Pokemon gamers (the ones who love battling and forming teams and staying engaged and whatnot) and - personally - this was a below average experience for me. Overall, I think that this game needed more time in the oven.    … Expand
  8. shimstar
    May 15, 2020
    2
    I’m gonna keep the review short. Biggest problem of the game is that there isn’t much of an endgame. Nothing to really do if you finish the storyline and what not. I shiny hunt but that alone doesn’t hold up really. Also the first halfish of the game feels like a hand hold not letting you to really play the game. Some of the new Pokémon looks good but as well many look pretty ugly. I’mI’m gonna keep the review short. Biggest problem of the game is that there isn’t much of an endgame. Nothing to really do if you finish the storyline and what not. I shiny hunt but that alone doesn’t hold up really. Also the first halfish of the game feels like a hand hold not letting you to really play the game. Some of the new Pokémon looks good but as well many look pretty ugly. I’m also not a fan of how they removed half of the moves from previous games. Also the giga cr*p feels very uninspired imo. my BIGGEST complaint is about how bad some of the animations are and that they can’t even scale some Pokémon right ruining the image of how we thought of that Pokémon

    I like some music and characters. And some areas. Also like the raiding aspect of the game.    … Expand
  9. Tpleasure
    May 15, 2020
    0
    Bad game play. Doesn't have all Pokémon. Really boring. Bad FPS. I really think this game is trash. I would never reccomend this game to anyone. Please don't buy it
  10. Stoys
    Jan 20, 2020
    1
    game is too short. story is lacking! endgame is terrible! you feel like you have to rush too complete the game and dex too have any endgame. and when you are there. you get bored FAST!
    there are simply not enough pokemon here, and where is the new mythical pokemon? the game in total is terrible! and this is not good enough total! online play is also insane bad! also shiny hunting is the    game is too short. story is lacking! endgame is terrible! you feel like you have to rush too complete the game and dex too have any endgame. and when you are there. you get bored FAST!
    there are simply not enough pokemon here, and where is the new mythical pokemon? the game in total is terrible! and this is not good enough total! online play is also insane bad! also shiny hunting is the worst ever. cause its not any fun. its basicly only mesuda cause the rest is just not fun. for eks. shiny hunting for a feebas that has a 2% spawn rate. i fished for 1 hour without encountering 1. soo you do the math. hatching eggs are basicly the only way. and its boring! so there is simply no fun endgame!    … Expand
  11. AKALucio
    Dec 24, 2019
    2
    It is now extremely clear that GameFreak puts much more effort and focus on creating characters suitable for merchandise than on delivering a quality product. Low-res textures, cheap animations and the boring and too easy-to-master fighting system are just the tip of the iceberg. The settings are uninspired and lazily structured, built to serve neither gameplay, aesthetics or storytelling.It is now extremely clear that GameFreak puts much more effort and focus on creating characters suitable for merchandise than on delivering a quality product. Low-res textures, cheap animations and the boring and too easy-to-master fighting system are just the tip of the iceberg. The settings are uninspired and lazily structured, built to serve neither gameplay, aesthetics or storytelling. The soundtrack is ok, not spectacular or memorable, but the old-school sound effects feel much more gamey and artificial than vintage and iconic. The absence of voice-acting in a fully animated game is very deceptive and contributed to the cheapness of the experience. The gameplay, that often managed to be easy to learn but hard to master, leading lots of young and less-young players to enjoy the experience, has now become plain easy and lacks the features that define an interesting fighting system.

    I'm very sorry to witness how critics can't be brave (or experienced) enough to manifest their view on this atrocity of a game. The art that was put here is completely wasted in order to feed the selling machine that the Pokémon franchise has become. Shout-out to the artists and designers that really put their effort and managed to stand out despite the abysmal product that this company has led to create.    … Expand
  12. KANATA
    Dec 15, 2019
    0
    I think GameFreakneed to see these ratings and review why. If it wasn't called pokemon, the game wouldn't have sold well
  13. fiTy
    Nov 29, 2019
    2
    An RPG game with competitive online system with more exploits than its 20+ years ago predecessors.
  14. Underrated
    Nov 26, 2019
    2
    "The lowest improving pokemon generation", thank you Gamefreak for trying to break the old thing but it turns into worst with your lazy nature. The first worst of this generation is cutting the pokemon without reasonable but with many excuse to make sure you could go comfort zone. The second worst, you committed that you will never update other patches to add cut pokemons, this so attacks"The lowest improving pokemon generation", thank you Gamefreak for trying to break the old thing but it turns into worst with your lazy nature. The first worst of this generation is cutting the pokemon without reasonable but with many excuse to make sure you could go comfort zone. The second worst, you committed that you will never update other patches to add cut pokemons, this so attacks fan hearts who believe the core of the pokemon in the concept "Catch 'em all". The worst of this generation, you complained about animation of 3DS how it poor but your ruined your mouth with lazy by using all recycled animations and while you couldn't make the scene of battle to be good. Plus the open world is the worst but I expected it to be good with patch if you read this little comment. 2 points for you made open world but it so poor. bye see you next gen.… Expand
  15. Eleiyas
    Nov 26, 2019
    1
    I'm giving this "dual pack" a 1/10.
    Each game on its own merits a 5/10.
    So, why am I giving the dual-pack a 1/10 when that doesn't seem right? It's simple. Back in the past, in the "early days" of Pokémon, there were massive differences in the different games. The best example is Sapphire/Ruby. You had different Pokémon, a different evil team, different story elements, different    I'm giving this "dual pack" a 1/10.
    Each game on its own merits a 5/10.

    So, why am I giving the dual-pack a 1/10 when that doesn't seem right? It's simple. Back in the past, in the "early days" of Pokémon, there were massive differences in the different games.
    The best example is Sapphire/Ruby. You had different Pokémon, a different evil team, different story elements, different legendary, etc.

    In these particular games, you are basically buying the same game twice. It's a scam to be honest. The only differences between Sword and Shield are 2 or 3 different Pokémon, a different Gym leader and a different box-art legendary. So, 4 different Pokémon total and a different Gym leader. Everything else is the same. There are no story differences, no evil team differences, no area differences, nothing.

    The only time it is warranted to buy both versions is if you have 2 kids and you buy one version for one kid and the other version for the other kid (or in a couple). Otherwise, don't buy into this scam GameFreak have been running since the 3DS days, you only need 1 copy of either game. You can trade with other people for the 4 different Pokémon.    … Expand
  16. 360barrier
    Nov 24, 2019
    0
    Awful graphics, awful controls, awful camera and bad theme. This is a pretty mediocre release in every way. Graphics are like welcome to five years ago. Were they blindfolded when making the camera? Main character is boring. Hopefully this is the last game in the series.
  17. Samk-sunh-sam
    Nov 24, 2019
    0
    Positive :
    + Pretty awesome new pokemon designs, with the return of the regional forms.
    + Pretty solid OST, with tracks like the wild area, or the gym battle theme. + Amazing art style, with this football (or "soccer") theme which gives the game a pretty original feeling that was never seen before on the main game, and of course the brittish inspiration for the region. + Pokemons who    Positive :
    + Pretty awesome new pokemon designs, with the return of the regional forms.
    + Pretty solid OST, with tracks like the wild area, or the gym battle theme. + Amazing art style, with this football (or "soccer") theme which gives the game a pretty original feeling that was never seen before on the main game, and of course the brittish inspiration for the region. + Pokemons who appears out of the grass, which gives the world a little bit more life.
    + Return of a more evil rival.
    + Some animations are pretty good.
    + Less annoying tutorials who are much more shorter. + A little bit of quality of life improvement here and there.
    Negative :
    - Game way to easy, with people who heal your pokemons evey five meters. Game freak lied to us saying that it was a game for the veterans.
    - No multiple save sloths, which is pretty scandalous for a game from 2019.
    - No difficulty setting, which should now be normally a standard, resolving the problem with the fact that the game is way to easy. - Around 60% of the Pokemons from the series where cut whith the disappearing of long time fan favorites, reducing the diversity in the multiplayer mode.
    - Disappearance of fan favorite features like mega evolution and Z-moves.
    - Pretty uninspired and boring new battle gimmick whith the dynamax and gigantamax, who don't change much the gameplay. - Horrendous UI.
    - To much cinematics wich ruins the pacing and the rythme. - Pretty ugly, empty, lifeless, and tiny wild area, whith not much to do in it except to catch some random wild pokemons and compete in m dynamax raid. The wild area is'nt the pokemon open world experience promised by the marketing, in reality, it looks more like the Hyrule Plains from Zelda Ocarina of Times in N64, in terms of graphics and size, except that in the Hyrule Fields are less empty and that the Wild Area, who suffer from terrible frame rate problem and pop in, appears in a game from 2019 in a pretty powerful console who can run Zelda Breath of the Wild, and not from a game that released in 1998! In the end, the wild area where one of the worst part.
    - Models wich didn't change from X and Y to Sword and Shield, which is pretty embarrassing when one of the excuses for the cutting of 60% of the pokemons where that they wanted to remake all the old models, which would'nt be possible without cutting some creatures.
    - Pokemons out of the grass are very lifeless and don't interact whith the environment surrounding them.
    - Worst starter trio of all time in the history of the franchise.
    - Alot of bad animations that are often reused from former games, which is insulting  when one of the excuses for the cutting of 60% of the pokemons where that they wanted to improve the animations, which would'nt be possible without cutting some creatures. - Horrible second rival wich is just an naïve little dumb child without depth.
    - Pretty terrible story which is very predictable and badly showcased. - A ridiculous short mainline quest that keeps going during 15-20 hours.
    - Terrible pop-in. - A pretty low number of new pokemons. - A game which is way to much linear. - A price way to high
    If this game showed something to the world, is how the Pokemon franchise has little to no evolve in the past, and how Game Freak doesn't care much more his fans. If this was a little indie gale for 3DS, I would have been quite impress. The problem is that pokemon is the most valuable multy platform franchise in the world, making billions of dollars, and they're saying that they can't afford us a AAA experience? In all what Pokemon sword and shield can offer, you can feel how rushed and flawed the game actually is. The annual pokemon releases are killing the franchise. If you do'nt believe me, imagine what this game could have been if Game Freak had mobilize more staff and lef one or two more years of development. Nothing is impressing and new for the franchise, except for the new pokemons and the controlable camera in the wild area. It's pretty sad to see this franchise being handled like this when you see Mario and Zelda, which are franchises which make much less money then pokemon, getting games like Zelda Breath of the Wild or Mario Odyssey. I am so sick of the peoples who still buy it even if it's bad, because it encourages the laziness of Game Freak, knowing that the game will sale well anyway. This is why I'm giving a bad review that is so sharp, for an awakening to the brain dead fanboys and for the laziness and the lies from Game Freak.
    I would personally only recommend the game to hard core pokemon fans with low standards and to very young child and maybe for the strategy pokemon players. For the others, do'nt buy it if you are awaiting for a quality product, stay away from it at all cost to this cheap money grabbing game.    … Expand
  18. Kamarr
    Nov 24, 2019
    0
    Hot trash! Cause it's a Pokemon game it's gonna sell regardless of it being bad or great. There are many things wrong with this. 1 being Gamefreak being lazy and it shows. Copy paste trees lack luster Pokedex more than half of the Dex has been cut to bring in hot garbage Pokemon feels like a lot of the older games meant nothing. This is the best franchise in the WORLD and it doesn't showHot trash! Cause it's a Pokemon game it's gonna sell regardless of it being bad or great. There are many things wrong with this. 1 being Gamefreak being lazy and it shows. Copy paste trees lack luster Pokedex more than half of the Dex has been cut to bring in hot garbage Pokemon feels like a lot of the older games meant nothing. This is the best franchise in the WORLD and it doesn't show period. No real end game beyond online battling and Battle Tower and a tournament mode which is very dull. I'd give this a 0 but I feel they deserve a 4 cause at least the wild area and such was pretty legit beyond the copy paste tree's and water that looks like tar. Another thing to add is the fact that the Online capabilities of this game is trash and no GTS? like give me a break.… Expand
  19. DoctorZack
    Nov 22, 2019
    3
    Absolute disaster.

    It maintains a basic level of competency with a new idea or two, but that's literally the only thing going for it. Everything else isn't just "bad" its genuinely a painful experience.
  20. BrokenPond
    Nov 21, 2019
    3
    The game looks great and the new pokemon are designed awesome, but the biggest concern is the online system. There are no menus for interacting with your friends so they introduce link codes which has never been a good system. To trade both players have to put up a post with the same link code connecting them both. The odds of more then 2 players using the same code turn out to be prettyThe game looks great and the new pokemon are designed awesome, but the biggest concern is the online system. There are no menus for interacting with your friends so they introduce link codes which has never been a good system. To trade both players have to put up a post with the same link code connecting them both. The odds of more then 2 players using the same code turn out to be pretty high. picking random codes like 8267 or 1906 and so on almost always connect to randoms at some point, causing trades to take longer. Not to mention that friends trade request, even with link codes, have a horrible time connecting together. At one point i spent 45 minutes trying to connect to a friend to trade, never connecting. On top of that, the retraction of many basic online features such as no gts make the late game and replayability so much less compared to all its predecessors. After all the outrage over the, "dexit," i have had a very positive mind going in trying to find the good, but either the switches online capabilities fail it, or the game itself is flawed.… Expand
  21. nafechinde
    Nov 21, 2019
    0
    i think this is time that we start making nintendo as a publisher of **** games also accountable, they are all involved in making **** games and making fools of consumers
  22. Mack_thge_Sack
    Nov 21, 2019
    0
    I'm going to state my points and not my emotions, (although, i'm quite unhappy with gamefreak)

    1. People say not having every Pokemon in the game is "reasonable", why? i ask that because previous games on the DS, a solely handheld/portable system. (that I'm willing to bet has far less processing power than the switch) X and Y, OR/AS and Sun and Moon, Contained every pokemon and they are    I'm going to state my points and not my emotions, (although, i'm quite unhappy with gamefreak)

    1. People say not having every Pokemon in the game is "reasonable", why? i ask that because previous games on the DS, a solely handheld/portable system. (that I'm willing to bet has far less processing power than the switch) X and Y, OR/AS and Sun and Moon, Contained every pokemon and they are 3DS games, you're telling me that it was possible to put them all in those games but it was too much work to put them all into a CONSOLE game. i'm gonna call **** especially when there are those of us spending 120$ on both versions.

    2. Gigantamax and Dynamax is stupid(just an opinion(but the right one)), a) mega evolution had Twice as many forms making it much more versatile and meaning more people could have their favorite pokemon become even more powerful. 48 mega evolution, 20 some odd gigantamax.
    b) Sure every pokemon can gigantamax, but, you cant gigantamax whenever wherever like with mega evolution, also having your pokemon simply become giant and lose all of its unique moves (in my opinion) is far less appealing than keeping the moveset that i designed to work a specific way, if i wanted z-moves id play more sun and moon i don't care for your knockoff "dynamax" moves
    c) the ONLY way to get gigantamax is thru luck, in max raid battles, or through possible future events, so if i want to make sure my pokemon has the proper IVs, ability, Nature and characteristic i should probably just forget gigantamax unless i wanna spend every waking moment scouring the wild area, it makes the new staple for battling extremely inaccessible and undesirable

    3) finally the lack of content is absurd, i was waiting for maybe a second wild area(maybe in that snowy region) or something maybe a new post game area like previous games but its nothing its a tiny region(maybe the smallest so far) with short poorly thought out routes, uninteresting caves, Absolutely no Victory Road. and back to the lack of mons in the game, if they didn't put time into the out world, they obviously didn't put any more time and effort into animations than they did with X/Y-US/UM, no work on the plot of the game, then where did the resources go? gamefreak has either a lot of work in updates to do or pokemon is gonna be a thing of the past and ill just keep playing my DS versions where i can keep my longtime companions.    … Expand
  23. Kurisuda2992
    Nov 21, 2019
    1
    Compared to other Pokemon games that I have played this isn't one of the greats. The game itself isn't all too breathtaking, the battles only got a few animation improvements but that's about it. The wild area is the best part of this game and it slowly becomes dull, the curry cooking and relaxing with your pokemon is great. The one thing that irritated me was the lack of postgame content.Compared to other Pokemon games that I have played this isn't one of the greats. The game itself isn't all too breathtaking, the battles only got a few animation improvements but that's about it. The wild area is the best part of this game and it slowly becomes dull, the curry cooking and relaxing with your pokemon is great. The one thing that irritated me was the lack of postgame content. Dynamax is cool for a little while (4-5 times for me) then it got boring as well. If the game gets some updates in regards to more content or adding pokemon from previous games then I'll raise up my score.… Expand
  24. AvalonBunny
    Nov 20, 2019
    1
    The writing is abysmal, you literary get to watch NPCs deal with the whole story. This is literary the biggest franchise in all of entertainment, bigger than Marvel, Star Wars, or any other competitor, and this is the best they can come up with?
  25. ririechan
    Nov 20, 2019
    1
    the games gives nothing more than the previous games.
    Features, like mega evolution and half of the national pokedex, had been removed in exchange of a broken mechanic.
    Quality is extremely poor for a switch game, it's more comparable to an enhanced 3ds graphic main plot bad and short even for a pokemon game and the wild areas, strong point of this game, are just empty space where    the games gives nothing more than the previous games.
    Features, like mega evolution and half of the national pokedex, had been removed in exchange of a broken mechanic.
    Quality is extremely poor for a switch game, it's more comparable to an enhanced 3ds graphic
    main plot bad and short even for a pokemon game and the wild areas, strong point of this game, are just empty space where pokemon suddenly pop out
    it's better to play a 3ds game, which gives you more content and a decent post-game, since this game offers nothing in that regard as well    … Expand
  26. Insejnar
    Nov 19, 2019
    2
    Where do i begin... I was really hopeful for these games thinking how cool it would be to play a mainline pokémon game on a console and how it will look way better, It didn’t look better. Framerate dropping during cutscenes and battles felt reasonable on the 3ds sun and moon era but now it baffles me how the games can look so cheap with such terrible animations when walking or when usingWhere do i begin... I was really hopeful for these games thinking how cool it would be to play a mainline pokémon game on a console and how it will look way better, It didn’t look better. Framerate dropping during cutscenes and battles felt reasonable on the 3ds sun and moon era but now it baffles me how the games can look so cheap with such terrible animations when walking or when using some attacks. This could’ve been amazing but gamefreak messed it up. Still no character customisation apart from choosing skin colour and clothes/hair. I was really hyped to get a mantle like leon but that seems impossible.

    And then we get to the pokemon and the ones they chose to bring over. When they announced the end of national dex i said fine, they will be able to pick the right pokemon from each generation. But now that I’ve played through both games it feels like a huge troll. I saw maractus, throh and sawk, diggersby, pelliper, vanillite line, delibird, baltoy, seismitoad, BASCULIN!?, barbaracle, elgyem and beheeyem, shiinotic and just dumb **** Sure there’s some good choices like machamp, lucario, gyarados and excadrill but overall it’s a huge disappointment. Also charizard gets sucked off again and i hear people are not happy about that. It has some good ideas like the wild area and dynamaxing but it feels tedious that the Gigantamax form raids are Impossible to find if you aren’t the luckiest person alive. The online raidsystem does not work it’s impossible to get into a good raid and if you are connected online while in the wild area the game starts lagging and people and pokemon can appear out of the blue because the game’s rushed.

    It feels bad to say that the franchise I’ve always loved and respected has let me down so much.
    2/10    … Expand
  27. himbaba78406
    Nov 19, 2019
    0
    劍跟盾一樣爛
    而這個版本只是雙倍的爛而已
    建模的問題大家都知道
    這款遊戲絕對不會讓我喊〝真香〞來去買
    抵制GF讓牠製作好下一代寶可夢
  28. Jomo2306
    Nov 19, 2019
    0
    From the gameplay to the tress, to the background battle scenes, joke of a “wild area” poor animations essentially no post game. After playing this “game” it feels rather unfinished, unpolished and sloppy. Second worse game behind Pokémon let’s go. I would not recommend buying this game. The dex takes a back seat compared to how the game actually plays.
  29. noxer94
    Nov 18, 2019
    0
    Game left a lot to be desired. As a long time pokemon fan I was expecting so much more.
    Wild area which was supposed to be the selling point of the game looks bland with not much else to do other than catch some pokemons - there really is not much to explore, if anything at all.
    The story left a lot to be desired; it was okeish up until the 3rd gym, then it felt rushed and not very well    Game left a lot to be desired. As a long time pokemon fan I was expecting so much more.
    Wild area which was supposed to be the selling point of the game looks bland with not much else to do other than catch some pokemons - there really is not much to explore, if anything at all.
    The story left a lot to be desired; it was okeish up until the 3rd gym, then it felt rushed and not very well worked on. I know it is supposed to be a story for kids, but even then, the story felt very much unispired, boring and lackluster when compared to other pokemon titles. We are introduced to game elements out of nowhere and the explanation for those - giantmaxing - is as bland as it could be.
    Speaking of game elements - a lot of game definiting elements are missing. No national dex (more than 60% of the pokemon were cut! last time we had such few pokemons it was 2006 and pokemon pearl was being released!), no mega evolutions, no z moves, more than 150 moves were cut...you get the point.
    Game looks bad for a switch release. Let's be honest here, pokemon was never about graphics, but this is the freaking switch and there were to be expected MUCH better graphics than the ones we got. Pokemon Battle Revolution from 2006 looks BETTER than this! Models are LITERALLY the same as the 3DS ones for XY released in 2013, animations are poor, and textures are horrible albeit masked by some good lighting effects.
    The sound is also not the best. There are some crucial parts where we dont even got music going on due to pure laziness. Music used to be great, but honestly it's quite bad in sword and shield.

    I beat the game in 15h, its shorter than the other titles and the postgame is pretty much non existent.    … Expand
  30. Tmato
    Nov 18, 2019
    1
    Not worth buying 2 copy of same game. Only have 3 or 4 different pokemons and two dif gym leader
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
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
  1. Nintendo Insider
    Mar 1, 2021
    80
    Pokémon Shield is a warm and familiar experience with some interesting twists and ideas thrown into the mix. The presentation left me disappointed – the game still showing its handheld roots – but, the hook of capturing and training Pokémon is as addictive as it has ever been, while the Wild Area teases an exciting new direction for the series.
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  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Feb 28, 2020
    100
    Another great game in the Pokémon series. It holds back when it comes to technical design and it doesn´t offer the opportunity to catch the old familiar faces, but fortunately most of the new additions are more than satisfactory for many hours of gameplay. [Issue#300]
  3. 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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