Pokemon Sword

 Switch
User Score
4.7

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 5909 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,997 out of 5909
  2. Mixed: 852 out of 5909
  3. Negative: 3,060 out of 5909
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  1. Agentep99
    Sep 9, 2023
    3
    While a game's graphics being hyper realistic may not make it necessarily a better game, looking like sh*t DOES make it a worse game, with the smooth models contrasting with the terrible looking geometry, which constantly takes you out of what should be an exciting world of adventure; the game is way too easy, and lets you level up way too easily, which discourages intelligent play, sinceWhile a game's graphics being hyper realistic may not make it necessarily a better game, looking like sh*t DOES make it a worse game, with the smooth models contrasting with the terrible looking geometry, which constantly takes you out of what should be an exciting world of adventure; the game is way too easy, and lets you level up way too easily, which discourages intelligent play, since the result will always be the same (victory), something that could have saved this would have been giving the player huge amounts of liberty so that every playthrough has the potential to be different, however, progression is EXTREMELY railroaded, and only lets the story play out in one specific way, not only that, but certain mons can only be obtained later on, which makes it so most players will have a similar selection of monsters throughout the game, even though the appeal of pokemon is all about making your own unique team. As it is, there really isn't much of a reason to do replays (aside of player imposed challenges, but that is besides the actual game), so in my perspective I don't really see a way to call this game anything other than "bad" or "dull" much less "good"
    Dull and uninspired 3.5/10    … Expand
  2. TreasureOrTrash
    Sep 8, 2023
    0
    Trash!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  3. Kirbo1777
    Aug 23, 2023
    3
    The game is pretty easy, not requiring any skill to beat it. The skip cutscenes option doesn't even skip the entirety of the cutscenes.
  4. Ihtayt
    Aug 16, 2023
    4
    Summing up some bulletpoints on my thoughts of the game below, for reference this is after beating both ScVi 3 times and going back to SwSh after. I did not get / play the DLC as the base game offered so little there was no incentive to prolong this.

    Game is always on local wireless, this massively hinders connecting to wifi as it will frequently bug out and fail to connect to network    Summing up some bulletpoints on my thoughts of the game below, for reference this is after beating both ScVi 3 times and going back to SwSh after. I did not get / play the DLC as the base game offered so little there was no incentive to prolong this.

    Game is always on local wireless, this massively hinders connecting to wifi as it will frequently bug out and fail to connect to network after the game is open. This feels like a massive oversight for something that the developers forced on the game.

    Gameplay is very linear, moreso than Gen 2 and possibly even more linear than Gen 1 which is a very sad downgrade. The main story only took me roughly 20-24 hours to beat and the postgame did not offer much more; at what I feel was a moderate play pace.

    Postgame- After beating the game, gameplay massively falls off and feels very unmotivating. Farming the battle tower may appeal to some, but its gatekept behind needing to clear the BT for the currency (BP) to get the items that you need to clear the BT; which feels very outdated and counter-intuitive. You can clear all / most of the tower with provided rental teams which further detracts from the experience as by time you can make your own team with your own mons, you already beat everything. You can aim to complete the pokedex, breed, and shiny hunt; but this is nothing new or exciting from previous games really; and aside from team building for the BT it feels pretty pointless to build up mons. The game introduced raid dens, but they didn't feel at all appealing personally.

    Performance - I've encountered more performance issues with SwSh (~40hrs) than I ever did with ScVi (>1000hrs).    … Expand
  5. Eyean
    Aug 5, 2023
    4
    This is what you get when you prioritize game sales over making an actual good game. Cutting the National Dex in exchange for "Improved graphics and animations" was the most egregious lie this company's ever told.
  6. Napior
    May 19, 2023
    0
    The pokemon designs of the new generation are anything but cute, and the villains in this story can only be described as idiots, if not retarded.

    Also, people are saying the open world makes this game great, but where is the fun when you are lv 20 and enter an area full of lv 50 pokemons? In earlier pokemon games, some areas are not open when you first pass by, which just makes you keep    The pokemon designs of the new generation are anything but cute, and the villains in this story can only be described as idiots, if not retarded.

    Also, people are saying the open world makes this game great, but where is the fun when you are lv 20 and enter an area full of lv 50 pokemons? In earlier pokemon games, some areas are not open when you first pass by, which just makes you keep playing the game while wondering what could possibly be inside that cave (or forest).    … Expand
  7. NylonYT
    May 12, 2023
    4
    yikes, graphics usually dont matter to me but that's if it looks at the very least acceptable. The wild area looks like an n64 game, but at least the towns and indoor areas look very nice. there's not that many new additions which makes this feel like every other pokemon game there is, a stagnating series that cannot innovate and move on.
  8. WohaoGaster
    May 11, 2023
    2
    I got this game at launch and only finished it recently, which shows the amount of boredom that this game causes. It's not broken like Pokemon Scarlet/Violet, it just genuinely isn't fun. There's a mild amount of fun to be had in online battles once you beat the game, but considering how boring the story was and the fact that most of my Pokemon were level 97-ish after beating the 8th gym,I got this game at launch and only finished it recently, which shows the amount of boredom that this game causes. It's not broken like Pokemon Scarlet/Violet, it just genuinely isn't fun. There's a mild amount of fun to be had in online battles once you beat the game, but considering how boring the story was and the fact that most of my Pokemon were level 97-ish after beating the 8th gym, I had very little motivation to actually beat the game. The online battles are the only reason I didn't give it a 0 or a 1. There's also the #BringBackTheNationalDex movement, but it isn't that major, as most people would only like to use a couple of Pokemon that weren't in the game and primarily just their favorites(mine are Snivy and Serperior, who aren't in the game) so it isn't that major for most people to see every Pokemon. They also did a good job preventing pedophilia which is something I shouldn't have to praise Game Freak for but considering the fact that Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl had a pretty easy up-skirt of Dawn in the Overworld who has fully modeled panties even though this was apparently an "Error", I have to praise them for the fact that Gloria has SHORTS(Probably because they're visible in the walk cycle but still). These are the only good points in the game. The game also looks very pixelated, which is a thing that also seemed to happen in the 3DS games but it's more excusable considering the 3DS has a 400px and 800px mode, and it's very hard to use the 800px mode without the 3DS crashing, and the only games that I have seen using 800px mode were 2D games and the Zelda remakes which were 30fps. On the switch it's inexcusable. If DOOM Eternal can run on the switch perfectly with no pixelated rendering and at a consistent 60fps, then why can't this Pokemon game do the same. It looks like a 400px 3ds game. Considering Scarlet/Violet it's entirely possible that Game Freak doesn't know how to handle the Switch, is what I WOULD say if they didn't port Pokken Tournament 2 years earlier, I don't care that it was developed by Bandai Namco Entertainment, if you need a different company to handle your game's graphics, that's totally acceptable and happens all the time. My point might seem invalid to some because I can't even make a simple 3d model of a potted plant, but these are big companies that I'm talking about, and I feel like Creatures should handle Pokemon a lot more closely than just modelling and animation, I feel like they should be the primary graphical team at TPCI.… Expand
  9. LikeFahrenheit
    Apr 30, 2023
    4
    The idea of developing a home console game when you usually developed games for handhelds, is to make the most of the hardware given to you. to push boundaries and explore new avenues for gameplay and content. If there's one glaring fault with this game, it's that it does not look or play like a game for the Switch. It really feels like Sword was meant to be played on the 3DS, and evenThe idea of developing a home console game when you usually developed games for handhelds, is to make the most of the hardware given to you. to push boundaries and explore new avenues for gameplay and content. If there's one glaring fault with this game, it's that it does not look or play like a game for the Switch. It really feels like Sword was meant to be played on the 3DS, and even then, it would be the worst Pokemon game on that system. That's how disappointing and pedestrian this game is. It screams "safe", which is not what a game from Pokemon should be when starting a new generation on the most powerful hardware the developer has ever worked with.

    The Galar region is the worst designed region in Pokemon. no hidden pathways, no height in routes to give new perspectives, no dungeons, no puzzles, no reason to go back to an area other than filling the pokedex. all routes are linear to the point of boredom. The region is bereft of any sense of adventure or mystery. What adds to this novice level of design is that the angle of the camera isn't in top-down like in previous games. they lowered the angle, which means we see more of the region and routes, which means they look smaller than they are. Which begs the question, why did they lower the camera? if the routes are designed in a very similar style to past regions on the game boy and ds games, why not keep the angle as high as possible? because it's now 3D? it's just poor design.

    The Wild Area (the game's selling point) is grossly stale. Going through it once or twice, you'll get bored there too. The only reason to go there is to catch Pokemon, which can be done in every other area in the game. The only incentive to go there is for the raid battles and interact with other players. There is nothing there that is evident of creativity or uniqueness. There's no hidden areas either, no caves, no grottoes, no secret events or surprises. it's basic, it's nothing. it's a waste of potential. which is a lot of this game.    … Expand
  10. Amcek
    Mar 23, 2023
    3
    Aburridísimo, lo pase todo sin una sola emoción, 0 dificultad. Si tenés entre 2-6 años y nunca jugaste un Pokémon te lo recomiendo
  11. AbsoPoy
    Feb 21, 2023
    2
    An absolute embarrassment. Mediocre storyline, characters, gameplay etc. The only redeeming qualities are the soundtrack and the Pokémon themselves (coalossal and corviknight, mainly). A bore from start to finish.
  12. warcraftrefund2
    Jan 26, 2023
    0
    It's 2020, so it is sad how little Pokemon has advanced. The animations are terrible for a game of this budget, and it is even worse that they cut Pokemon for these terrible animations. And it is even worse that the developers would lie about it. They got caught lying saying they were not using old models, when they in fact were. It is a shame what has happened to this series.
  13. Black_Mullet
    Dec 27, 2022
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Game is ok in general. Max raids are cool, many quality of life things are there, shiny hunting and breeding is cool, some encounters are pretty cool too (milotic for example) BUT the main story and the post game is atrocious. No attachment to anyone, some parts of the game are just missing or cheaped out (leon and rose talk, last gym being literally empty, idiotic tasks like going after the macrocosmos npc and fighting them one on one on a freaking elevator. Generally the story is bad, not even decent but the overall gameplay kinda makes up for it.....luckily there are DLCs so yeah..… Expand
  14. Crimson9
    Dec 21, 2022
    1
    1990s game design by the laziest developer ever + 2020 Nintendo mandating that all content must be easy enough for a 3 year old to play = this complete monstrosity of a game.

    Dont really have much more to say. This is a braindead game with nothing positive about it.
  15. Alebernard
    Dec 8, 2022
    0
    Movement stuck for a game on a console that is the Nintendo Switch. I expected more quality as it is the same console generation as PS4, PS5, xboxone, xbox x and s. I expected movement of attacks within battles. A silly mechanic. Shameful, I regret the purchase too much, too bad it is digital media.
  16. Epicmonster5600
    Dec 6, 2022
    2
    Pokemon fans to this day confuse me, they will pay full price for the most lazily made game ever. It makes no sense to me, like wouldn't you rather boycott the game so they realise they need to put more effort in. Yes these games are fun but their quality is awful and gamefreaks should be ashamed.
  17. ZangBang
    Dec 3, 2022
    3
    38/100
    Pokémon Sword tries to breathe new life into the series' level design, with huge open areas populated by Pokémon roaming around in the overworld for the very first time, even preying the player at times. These areas are conceptually greatly immersive and visually captivating, but they lack meaningful content to experience as they are overwhelmingly barren and lifeless, with Pokémon    38/100
    Pokémon Sword tries to breathe new life into the series' level design, with huge open areas populated by Pokémon roaming around in the overworld for the very first time, even preying the player at times. These areas are conceptually greatly immersive and visually captivating, but they lack meaningful content to experience as they are overwhelmingly barren and lifeless, with Pokémon mindlessly wandering with no environmental interaction. Most of the maps actually present the traditional linear structure, but devoid of any creative map layout or interesting progression, as the player is constantly confined to what are essentially corridors from point A to B. The Level Design drastically improves in the Crown Thundra DLC with great emphasis on freedom of exploration and fairly engaging multiplayer challenges, but that certainly can't salvage the whole package. The Galar region isn't even particularly interesting thematically, with many concepts being overly derivative from previous generations, but thankfully the musical score remains excellent with glorious, aventurous tunes efficiently capturing the wild, triumphant glory of the region's landscapes. The game's challenge is ridiculous, mainly due to the extremely broken Dynamax gimmick which easily allows the player to trivialize almost all battles. The story might be the worst of the franchise yet, with plotpoints being either painfully unoriginal or introduced without the proper buildup extremely late in the story, all of this aggravated by a cast of painfully bland or disappointingly underdeveloped characters.    … Expand
  18. HungryRamona
    Dec 2, 2022
    4
    This game was a complete disappointment across the board. I really didn't had fun playing this game. The graphics were really a joke even for the switch, especially in the wild areas. After Lets Go Pikachu/Evoli I really had expectations for the next generation because the games looked so nice. Unfortunately you don't see any of that anymore in Sword/Shield. There were only a few placesThis game was a complete disappointment across the board. I really didn't had fun playing this game. The graphics were really a joke even for the switch, especially in the wild areas. After Lets Go Pikachu/Evoli I really had expectations for the next generation because the games looked so nice. Unfortunately you don't see any of that anymore in Sword/Shield. There were only a few places where the game looked "nice". The frame rate also left a lot to be desired. The story was relatively boring and from start to finish you were treated like it was your very first Pokémon game. And it's an absolute no-go that the rival in the FINAL BATTLE is still surprised that I'm familiar with different Pokémon types. Leveling up isn't really difficult thanks to the activated Exp. Share and the Max Raid Battles (but I'm personally grateful for that because leveling up in past Pokémon games was just too slow for me).… Expand
  19. Cloud_cipher
    Nov 29, 2022
    3
    "I've played 110 hours of sword. I wish I could get back atleast 90 of those hours back"

    Complaints 1v1 battles are the most boring way to engage in this series and the fights were just soulless and boring I had to fight sleep with this game Animations are lazy Dlc is stupidly high priced but fun Story was unoriginal and boring and alot of handholding making it just a rush to the finish    "I've played 110 hours of sword. I wish I could get back atleast 90 of those hours back"

    Complaints 1v1 battles are the most boring way to engage in this series and the fights were just soulless and boring I had to fight sleep with this game
    Animations are lazy Dlc is stupidly high priced but fun Story was unoriginal and boring and alot of handholding making it just a rush to the finish so I could just do whatever I wanted
    Dynamax was cool at first but quickly wore off
    Raids were fun at first until you realize that you need online support aka random people online to help you beat a raid and we all know how reliable random online players are. You could get nocs to help you fight a raid but I rather have a random noob who doesn't know what there doing than a npc    … Expand
  20. Lucifer45
    Nov 25, 2022
    3
    I played through this game like every other in the series. As a hardcore and longtime fan I am disappointed by the lack of charm in this game. Game Freak, factually, lied. There were some aspects I enjoyed about this game however, which stops me from giving it a 0
  21. EvanatorB
    Nov 23, 2022
    3
    Pokémon is the number one highest grossing media franchise on earth. This does NOT feel like a game from the number one best selling franchise ever. Let me start with the good. One. I love the music. It definitely lives up to the quality of previous Pokémon soundtracks. Two. The Pokémon designs of Gen 8 are wonderful, especially the starter trio. That’s where my praise ends. Now for thePokémon is the number one highest grossing media franchise on earth. This does NOT feel like a game from the number one best selling franchise ever. Let me start with the good. One. I love the music. It definitely lives up to the quality of previous Pokémon soundtracks. Two. The Pokémon designs of Gen 8 are wonderful, especially the starter trio. That’s where my praise ends. Now for the flaws. This game looks like a Nintendo 64 game. The textures are in 2D, the environment looks very low poly, I noticed some frame rate issues, and characters appear lifeless and stiff with really bad animations. Which is a shame as certain NPCs look really good design wise. The story is almost non existent and what is there is so boring it doesn’t even meet the expectations of a Pokémon game. Worst of all the game is WAY too easy. I breezed through it in a single day. I know the game is targeted towards young children but jeez, even as a six year old I wouldn’t have had much trouble. On top of that Game Freak did little to enhance the Pokémon gameplay loop and the main gimmicks of the game, the Wild Area and “Dynamaxing”, Yeah. One is a single small lifeless semi-open world area and the other is a glorified win button. Going beyond that the online multiplayer is a joke. Even battling other players takes forever as you can read a novel with the amount of time the game takes to process moves in between turns. Maybe this is more of a Nintendo Switch Online problem, but it still impacts the game. Overall, this was probably the most disappointing Nintendo Switch release considering it was the first mainline console game in the series. Game Freak screwed up. And you shouldn’t screw up either by saving your $60.… Expand
  22. SlowbroLin
    Nov 22, 2022
    1
    It is meaningless when I can not get my old Pokemons back! And I think that Mega Evolution is the most beautiful thing since Pokemon XY! And it is gone in this generation!
  23. Shamp058
    Nov 21, 2022
    2
    This game has a semi-interesting mechanic, but is just super boring and repetitive. The visuals also suck, even for the switch. This game is boring and just bad, don't buy
  24. NeffVEVO
    Nov 20, 2022
    4
    It was the second pokemon game I have ever played, after Let's go Eevee, and honestly, this is a bad game. Graphics are horrible, story is boring, no voice acting, overall just a really bad expirience. The only reason I'm giving it a 4 is because a concept idea itself is good, well, because pokemon games always have a good core gameplay, but everything else build around it in this game isIt was the second pokemon game I have ever played, after Let's go Eevee, and honestly, this is a bad game. Graphics are horrible, story is boring, no voice acting, overall just a really bad expirience. The only reason I'm giving it a 4 is because a concept idea itself is good, well, because pokemon games always have a good core gameplay, but everything else build around it in this game is horrible.… Expand
  25. camoz
    Nov 19, 2022
    4
    A bare bones experience that strips out all of the story beats from the experience. A shocking lack of animations, and overall an experience stuck in the 1980s
  26. Darkyurem
    Nov 19, 2022
    0
    The wort history of all games from pokemon, pathetyc villain, bad line of game, no much pokemon, in overall, a disaster
  27. Kristyjnh
    Nov 10, 2022
    3
    Second pokemon game I haven't finished, after AlphaSapphire. Despite the wild area, there's nothing revolutionary here. No difficulty, and the plot didn't grab me. Luckily I borrowed a friend's copy but playing this after Arceus only made the flaws more acute. Mega evolutions should be brought back, they were the best thing to happen to pokemon in a long time
  28. Gethin
    Nov 21, 2019
    2
    So far all i’ve done is press A for 11hours. Easiest game i’ve ever played. Disappointing
  29. katiekat1389
    Oct 2, 2022
    0
    They cut out my favorite pokemon and slapped him behind a pay wall months later.

    The backgrounds in the battles never matched where you were in the overworld, Pokemon phasing in and out of existence depending on if you're close enough for them to render in, the "wild area" was just disappointing, and some of the routes/cities just look bad (textures, rendering, animation, etc)    They cut out my favorite pokemon and slapped him behind a pay wall months later.

    The backgrounds in the battles never matched where you were in the overworld, Pokemon phasing in and out of existence depending on if you're close enough for them to render in, the "wild area" was just disappointing, and some of the routes/cities just look bad (textures, rendering, animation, etc)

    GameFreak really dropped the ball with this one    … Expand
  30. Alfonso933
    Sep 5, 2022
    2
    terribles gráficos, limitado número de pokedex, mundo abierto poco interesante, innecesario dlc y una vez más, título que separó a varios fans de la franquicia.
  31. Pokenight
    Sep 3, 2022
    3
    The most lazy endeavour the pokemon series has taken yet, at least in mainline. I can forgive the graphics because ultimately they don't matter but Jesus christ the game is so **** bland.
    This game is a beans on toast of pokemon.
  32. DUELMARIO
    Aug 27, 2022
    0
    sin duda alguna aunque no lo he jugado he visto videos walkthrought y me aburrio, las animaciones como tambien los rivales dejan mucho que desear, tiene una historia terribles, misiones repetitivas? no he visto pero si es que tiene seran super aburridas, la iluminación deja mucho que desear, muchos dedos en su día se fueron hacia a the pokemon company y nintendo pero no fue del todo susin duda alguna aunque no lo he jugado he visto videos walkthrought y me aburrio, las animaciones como tambien los rivales dejan mucho que desear, tiene una historia terribles, misiones repetitivas? no he visto pero si es que tiene seran super aburridas, la iluminación deja mucho que desear, muchos dedos en su día se fueron hacia a the pokemon company y nintendo pero no fue del todo su culpa ya este juego salio y fue atacado brutalmente culpando a the pokemon company y nintendo creyendo que el juego estaba falto de pokemones y que no estaban porque querian que se mejorara la calidad, pero eso no lo dijo the pokemon company y nintendo, pues resulta que este desastroso juego fue culpa de game freak, utilizar un motor grafico que sinceramente parece de nintendo 3ds, mentir con las animaciones porque ya sabemos como se ven los juegos, la culpa de the pokemon company y nintendo es en venderlo a precio completo pero la culpa la tiene mas game freak y el juego aun a día de hoy 3 años despues de su lanzamiento sigue siendo horrible, el dlc parece que vieron el juego de bungie destiny como ejemplo a seguir y si fue una estafa de game freak les salio bien la jugada ahora muchos han perdido la confianza en game freak y el futuro de pokemon no se ve nada prometedor ahora con pokemon escarlata y purpura no parece buena señal juego que para colmo va a ser desarrollado con el mismo motor grafico como legends arceus, rivales mediocres etc, quiza esta sea la ultima oportunidad de la franquicia con escarltata y purpura y si falla los fans no van a querer comprarlo asique el odio actual a game freak esta justificado pero las amenzas de muerte no lo estan para nada asique toxicos bajenle un poco porfavor.… Expand
  33. TKSwiz
    Aug 21, 2022
    3
    Pokémon Sword is not a completely horrible game, it is just a very underwhelming and lifeless. By far the biggest problem in Sword and Shield is that the main part of the gameplay, Pokémon battles, are utterly boring and mindless 99% of the time in this game. For a while, Pokémon games have struggled with ridiculously bad trainer battle design leading to games full of monotonous battles,Pokémon Sword is not a completely horrible game, it is just a very underwhelming and lifeless. By far the biggest problem in Sword and Shield is that the main part of the gameplay, Pokémon battles, are utterly boring and mindless 99% of the time in this game. For a while, Pokémon games have struggled with ridiculously bad trainer battle design leading to games full of monotonous battles, but Sword and Shield might be the worst offender yet. Even without abusing items, over-leveling, or trying to get the best Pokémon possible, the game was so hilariously easy that it was a chore to play most of the time. The only thing that feels somewhat worthwhile gameplay-wise is catching Pokémon and maybe the final few battles which were at least kind of challenging. The wild area was a nice addition that is especially exciting early in the game when you can run into over-leveled and daunting Pokémon, but even it gets stale after a while as you progress in the game. As for presentation and story, Sword and Shield is quite lacking. The story is awful and I never cared about anything happening in it for a single second. All the story dialogue felt like a waste of time and something I wished I could skip entirely. The “twist villain” is incredibly obvious and the postgame villains are terrible and border on being so bad it’s good. The graphics are straight up bad for a modern game. It’s not the ugliest game I’ve ever seen,
    especially compared to older games, but by modern standards it is pitiful that basically the biggest video game franchise ever is so far behind the curve. The music is some of the most underwhelming and forgettable of the series, there are some decent tracks but nothing that even comes close to the level of consistent highs found in earlier generations. Overall, Sword and Shield was a massive dud in the evermore disappointing Pokemon series, and proved this series desperately needed some radical changes.    … Expand
  34. ElVosso
    Jul 31, 2022
    0
    huge fan of the first 6 gens, but these games are so boring, monotone and suuuuuuuuper easy. I played through the entire game with one pokemon and I didnt need to use even one healing item. I know this is a game for children, but I can hardly imagine that even children can have fun with this. just play the older games, they are better.

    sorry for the bad english :)
  35. DolphinReviews
    Jul 20, 2022
    4
    This game is no worse than any other Pokémon game. The problem is consumers are done with constant mediocre mush. I did enjoy my time with the game but it was a very bland experience.
  36. sunnyholt93
    Jul 7, 2022
    3
    I DO NOT RECOMMEND

    THE GOOD Thoroughly enjoyable gameplay loop, as always. Not much else, sadly. THE BAD Absolutely no refining or adapting anything whatsoever. Gamefreak have become the EA of Nintendo and it shows. They should be ashamed of themselves. THE UGLY Again, shoddy technical performance. Sub-par frame rate for a game of this visual design/constraints. Surprising    I DO NOT RECOMMEND

    THE GOOD
    Thoroughly enjoyable gameplay loop, as always.
    Not much else, sadly.

    THE BAD
    Absolutely no refining or adapting anything whatsoever.
    Gamefreak have become the EA of Nintendo and it shows.
    They should be ashamed of themselves.

    THE UGLY
    Again, shoddy technical performance.
    Sub-par frame rate for a game of this visual design/constraints.
    Surprising lack of content for a recent game.
    Makes the GBA Pokemon games look appealing by comparison.    … Expand
  37. Kenoct
    Jun 8, 2022
    0
    It's a shame for the first entry on switch to be this lazy. The game looks like a wii game in 2019.
  38. RocketSimp
    Jun 1, 2022
    1
    Dynamax and group raids were a gem that I wish would stay in the series and the designs were nice in this game but it just feels so empty and lackluster. The 'legendaries' they added are boring and the fact you need to buy DLC for the extra Pokémon because 'there were too many to make' despite Pokémon sun and moon managing just fine is a joke and shows where the company is at with their games
  39. KittyB
    May 18, 2022
    0
    I got this game thinkin “oh this should last me a while for the pandemic” 4 1/2 days later finished the game… wow… just wow.. to easy… frustrated the Den pokemons only works if ur Online (I don’t play to go online)

    This game was to water down to play & I didn’t like the feel of it…
  40. BigBoiBranby
    May 11, 2022
    3
    "Mum! I want a new Pokemon game!"
    "We have Pokemon at home."
    This is the Pokemon "at home", and nobody wants it. Its lacklustre, bland story can't save it from the dreadfully dull linear gameplay. Points are scored for the one and only saving grace, being the wild area, a semi open world where Pokemon magically pop out of the ground when you reach their draw distance and the scenery    "Mum! I want a new Pokemon game!"
    "We have Pokemon at home."

    This is the Pokemon "at home", and nobody wants it.
    Its lacklustre, bland story can't save it from the dreadfully dull linear gameplay.
    Points are scored for the one and only saving grace, being the wild area, a semi open world where Pokemon magically pop out of the ground when you reach their draw distance and the scenery is ripped straight out of a Nintendo 64 Zelda game.
    The animations and Pokemon models are simply upscaled version of the models from the 3DS, showing a distinct lack of effort on Gamefreaks part. This is just one of the many corners that have been cut in this game.
    I won't talk about the new Pokemon designs, because although there are a couple of good additions, the majority are instantly forgettable or so horrifically mashed together that they leave you questing existence itself.

    What you're left with is a hollow shell of a Pokemon game, dumbed down yet again in order to appeal to "a wider audience". No challenge, no originality and no heart put into creating it.

    A real shame.    … Expand
  41. Nestrooo
    May 5, 2022
    4
    the graphics are bad, the story is bad, dynamax is bad. this game is bad and i STILL spent 1000 hours on it
  42. Jofe
    Apr 30, 2022
    1
    The worst entry in the Pokemon series. The scenario does not exist, the characters are all mediocre. The roads are just straight lines without any level-design. The game is immeasurably ugly, though being pretty wouldn't change much at this point. Galar is the most insipid region in the series.
  43. Colyn97X
    Apr 18, 2022
    0
    This is by far, the most underwhelming Pokemon game ever made. From lack of content, bugs, laziness, performance, immersion, lies from the devs reused content, I did not have any fun or any intrest in the game, in over 60 hours of gameplay. The worst part has to be the fact that all Pokemons are not even here, even tho the one in the game are… direct rips from the USUM game ??? To sell DLCThis is by far, the most underwhelming Pokemon game ever made. From lack of content, bugs, laziness, performance, immersion, lies from the devs reused content, I did not have any fun or any intrest in the game, in over 60 hours of gameplay. The worst part has to be the fact that all Pokemons are not even here, even tho the one in the game are… direct rips from the USUM game ??? To sell DLC where all Pokemons are not there ???… Expand
  44. Darkred401
    Mar 31, 2022
    4
    Gamefreak cant decide if they want pokemon to be a high end or casual experience and this is the ultimate result, it isnt bad as a casual budget experience however they expect you to pay a full $60 and pressure you to double dip with shield for a complete experience. Reusing the old Pokémon models isn't necessarily bad however gamefreak lied about them not reusing models and didn't includeGamefreak cant decide if they want pokemon to be a high end or casual experience and this is the ultimate result, it isnt bad as a casual budget experience however they expect you to pay a full $60 and pressure you to double dip with shield for a complete experience. Reusing the old Pokémon models isn't necessarily bad however gamefreak lied about them not reusing models and didn't include all of them to pressure you to buy other games, the dlc, and the premium plan for home. If they used new models the lack of a national dex would be completely acceptable… Expand
  45. Black_S
    Feb 28, 2022
    3
    Not acceptable. Many bugs, lies, DLCs etc.
    It is 3DS like game at switch for full price.
    Gamefreak is burned.
  46. Whoopin
    Feb 27, 2022
    1
    Shameless cash grab from a billion-dollar franchise.
    Game is a one and done within 3-4 hours. Nothing really feels fleshed out, neither fights nor the amount of Pokemon added to the game, nor does the story which to be fair nobody cares for in Pokemon games. The character optimization this game delivers is poor at best with very limited choices to optimization, again we are talking about    Shameless cash grab from a billion-dollar franchise.
    Game is a one and done within 3-4 hours. Nothing really feels fleshed out, neither fights nor the amount of Pokemon added to the game, nor does the story which to be fair nobody cares for in Pokemon games. The character optimization this game delivers is poor at best with very limited choices to optimization, again we are talking about a billion-dollar franchise. The "open world" is a straight line the new feature gigantamax was a boring oversize with very limited special pokemon models. Low effort and even the shiny remain a simple switch of color pallets that you are supposed to grind for hours. Not my kinda game and really disappointed that game freak is shamelessly reselling the same boring concept for over 20 years now.
    To top it all off, they added paid dlc to this, though I can't report about the dl's contentc because I refuse to spend a single cent until they stop producing these shameless cash grabs.    … Expand
  47. reneatseyes
    Feb 13, 2022
    3
    The game is alright. Fundamentally it’s a pokémon game, however the new pokémon feep like re-textured old ones, and the wild area makes it horrendously easy to find and catch previously rare and over-powered pokemon very early. Good enough i suppose, but easy battles, uninteresting characters and pokemon make a somewhat boring game. Battle animation is also horrendous. It’s a shame.
  48. Youtin
    Feb 6, 2022
    4
    Too easy. There is no challenging difficulty.

    Artistically you can tell it was made without motivation. The soundtrack is fine. But it doesn't compare to other pokemon games. The models of many NPCs or characters are repeated. Everything is very repetitive and constant, there is nothing that stands out with originality. The world feels very poor, it feels made without any    Too easy. There is no challenging difficulty.

    Artistically you can tell it was made without motivation.

    The soundtrack is fine. But it doesn't compare to other pokemon games.

    The models of many NPCs or characters are repeated. Everything is very repetitive and constant, there is nothing that stands out with originality.

    The world feels very poor, it feels made without any essence.

    I tried to enjoy it, but there is really almost nothing that can entertain you, because you can complete the whole game without losing a fight. That's just too easy.

    And despite that, this game sold 20 million copies. Even if they develop you a piece of **** nintendo is still going to sell a lot because people still buy them.    … Expand
  49. fanmadeendings
    Feb 4, 2022
    4
    It's about as entertaining as any cookie cutter pokemon game, but never more than that. By far the most disappointing entry in the series, made by technically incompetent developers, and devoid of any meaningful content.
  50. llamaboy
    Feb 3, 2022
    4
    The game is not good. Poor story, poor graphics, poor gameplay. The only reason I don’t rate it lower is because there is still fun to be had in competitive.
  51. Federx
    Jan 30, 2022
    2
    the only good thing that can be said about this game is that it's not set in unova.
  52. 32fromdiscord
    Jan 29, 2022
    0
    Pokémon Sword and Shield are by far the worst entries in the series. There's not even a debate to be had about it. Anyone defending these games should reconsider their life decisions.
  53. SnorlaxGeek
    Jan 29, 2022
    4
    Um jogo feio e pouco original. Um absurdo o que a Gamefreak está fazendo com a franquia Pokémon.
  54. Equiixxx
    Jan 26, 2022
    2
    where can i start? this is a total disapointment. Pokemon games being mediocre at best, and the game is easier than Peppa pigs games. Can i even call this a game? Even pokemon go offers a better experience and its really bad, but at least you can walk and exercise.

    " we worked on better animations" Jesus christ. Gamefreaks laughs at you people.
  55. Joeymeca
    Jun 12, 2020
    2
    juego por debajo de mediocre, llevo 20 años jugando a la saga y apoyando el juego en sus altas y bajas pero este es el colmo del minimo esfuerzo. graficos pesimos para una switch, historia inexistente, contenido imperdonable retirado (60% de la pokedex) va a 10 fps en el area salvaje, falta de contenido propio como una gts interna y todo con el fin de vender DLC para completar un juego quejuego por debajo de mediocre, llevo 20 años jugando a la saga y apoyando el juego en sus altas y bajas pero este es el colmo del minimo esfuerzo. graficos pesimos para una switch, historia inexistente, contenido imperdonable retirado (60% de la pokedex) va a 10 fps en el area salvaje, falta de contenido propio como una gts interna y todo con el fin de vender DLC para completar un juego que vino fraccionado de manera intencional. como fan de esta saga fue mi mayor decepcion en cuanto a videojuego se refiere en toda mi vida, lamento que una empresa como gamefreak y nintendo hayan caido tan bajo teniendo las herramientas para hacerlo infinitamente mejor.… Expand
  56. Seyta
    Jan 25, 2022
    0
    Really bad game, way too easy, the wild areas are completely empty, it's just bad overall.
  57. danishdhanshe2
    Jan 8, 2022
    1
    It's been a year since the release. I just remembered how I rushed through the game to know what happens canonicaly in the game and never replayed it again like previous versions. Because the base game of sword and shield was so bad I was not motivated towards purchasing the dlc's of it as well. A game I wouldn't recommend to a friend.
  58. 0zaiko
    Dec 29, 2021
    3
    Disappointing "next-gen" episode for a great series. While it contains most of the ingredients for the Pokemon formula, it lacks in depth and passion. It really seems like the project was rushed and unfinished, the whole thing is a straight line with empty areas in between. The visuals are poor, if not outdated. The only interesting point about this game are some of the new Pokemon design.
  59. Mayanknaithani
    Dec 20, 2021
    0
    WTF are you doing to this franchise? Stop with the mindset that people are gonna buy whatever **** we sell them. You did the same with the let's go series, no new content and even less content that original games. Stop being so greedy and stop putting so few efforts in-game. If you don't have enough time then take time and launch a good-finished game. This game would have been ok if it wasWTF are you doing to this franchise? Stop with the mindset that people are gonna buy whatever **** we sell them. You did the same with the let's go series, no new content and even less content that original games. Stop being so greedy and stop putting so few efforts in-game. If you don't have enough time then take time and launch a good-finished game. This game would have been ok if it was launched for Wii.
    *Where are the dungeons?
    *Why is wild area so empty?
    *Why are later gyms so rushed?
    *Why is the length of the game so short?
    *Why remove the trading system where we could search for specific pokemon?
    *Why the hell is EXP share always On?
    It looks to me that game freak is trying to destroy their own most profitable franchise by pulling such stunts. Believe me, I am a huge pokemon fan, have played every game 6-7 times. I have never been so disappointed by a Pokemon game this much. I did not mind the dex cut as I thought " Well they are reducing the Pokemon numbers as they are working on adding new content and feature to the game." But when I played the game it really disappointed me.
    Look at the quality of titles Switch can handle and then take a deep look at your game. I did not want to compare this with another game but now I have to. Look at Yo-kai watch 4, that game looks like a lot of effort was put into it.
    We don't need games every year, for the love of god take your time ( as many years as you need) but do not be in a hurry to release such bad game just for the sake of earning money. In the long run, you will keep losing your player base and this will destroy your franchise. I have so many friends who were big Pokemon game fans, but gradually they all got fed of same game every year. I always thought I will never think like that, after looking at this game I don't think I can buy another Pokemon game. I am done with Pokemon if this is the type of game you are going to release.
    What is your thought process? Do you guys think "if we make a good game with lots of content, then next time we will have to work harder? So let's not release a game with all features fans want?"
    How the hell did you think it was a good idea to make games shorter? We wait 2-3 years for a new game and then it ends in 15-20hours.....
    What made you think let's remove the dungeons and make routes shorter? Did you even play your own game?
    The best part of a Pokemon game is to go on longer routes, explore dungeons, get your party wiped out due to lack of healing and much more. You have forgotten what a Pokemon game is supposed to be, instead, you are focusing too much on child-friendly content. This is the best looking Pokemon game and at the same time worst Pokemon game.
    Why make EXP share always active? I had two teams for playthrough, 12 pokemon. I kept on swapping between both teams so my pokemon do not get over-leveled. Do you know what happened? I was still 1 or 2 shotting the gym leaders pokemon. At least take some feedback from people who are gonna buy your game, add a difficulty setting for people who want these games to be a bit of challenge. Heck, the fan game makers are doing a lot better than you guys.
    I am seriously done with Pokemon games for now. This is the most disappointed I have ever been with a Pokemon game. Heck, I made an account here just to post this review.
    You better step up your game or you are gonna lose all your long time and mature fans.
    Then make games for kids as much as you want.
    I love Pokemon games and always thought they were the best games, but this was just disappointing.
    Is money that important to you guys? Do you guys never think about your fan base and how they feel when you show us that you don't give a f@@@ about us? You can have all the money in the world but nothing beats the feeling when someone appreciates your work.
    *PLEASE STOP BUYING THESE GAMES SO GAMEFREAK KNOWS THAT WE WONT TAKE THIS **** ANYMORE. SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE RIGHT NOW OR WE WILL LOOSE POKEMON. SAD DAY FOR POKEMON FANS.
    Peace out    … Expand
  60. Kerke
    Dec 12, 2021
    0
    Die Story ist unglaublich langweilig und die Charaktere austauschbar. Aber es it halt einfach ein pokemon Spiel.
  61. PokemonTrainer2
    Nov 22, 2021
    0
    Too bad. Gen 7 has great because it has about 900 species. But Sword & Shield has only 400 species. My favorite Pokemon is Greninja, But I can't use it. I'm so sad.
  62. SupItsMarcus
    Nov 21, 2021
    2
    Look, it wasnt trash, however it was not at all great, and THE STORY IS NON EXISTING
  63. Latios___
    Nov 18, 2021
    2
    So unfortunate to see a dexcut, hand holding, lack of interesting plot and introduction of Dynamax, a worse gimmick than Mega evolution. Overall subpar compared to all other Poke-titles.
  64. andrew9
    Nov 16, 2021
    2
    dont get this .
  65. mastergonzo710
    Nov 14, 2021
    0
    Malisimo, la distancia de dibujado es horrenda. No se lo recomiendo ni a mi peor enemigo
  66. ryudoshi
    Nov 6, 2021
    0
    I swear I used to have a review here a week after release, guess some bad reviews got deleted.

    Anyway, screw this absolute trash game. Screw the handholding, the dumbing down of mechanics, the forced exp share, the annoying ass rival, bland writing, horrible graphics.

    Please someone take the pokemon franchise from game freak, masuda and ohmori are not good leads.
  67. RaphSRZ
    Nov 4, 2021
    2
    So basically, I came back to this game every 3 months starting from it's release to counter the nostalgia it could have on me. And my opinion was only getting lower and lower : this game is basically garbage.

    I wanted to wait and see if this game had something to propose me more than just basically following a linear story that's among the worst written I've ever lived. No. Pure    So basically, I came back to this game every 3 months starting from it's release to counter the nostalgia it could have on me. And my opinion was only getting lower and lower : this game is basically garbage.

    I wanted to wait and see if this game had something to propose me more than just basically following a linear story that's among the worst written I've ever lived. No. Pure disappointment was what was waiting for me at the end.

    GAMEPLAY : In this game, you basically litterally ANNIHILATE every single opponent because it keeps giving you levels just live an Alzheimer striken grandma would give you candies EVERY.SINGLE.MINUTE. This became ridiculous to the point where I had a lv100 Charizard at the FOURTH badge.

    LOOKS : The graphics lose in front of pretty much every 3D game on Switch. It hurts when you tell yourself BOTW was already around 2 years old at this time. I think even games on new 3DS were looking better (and Wii U of course).

    STORY : This is at the level of a fanfic...written by a 8 year old who wouldn't even be the first of his class, more like low-average. All characters seems stupid or have only one trait of personnality.

    MUSIC : Only the Gym Leader theme is memorable, the rest is no more than forgettable.

    I think 2 or 3 is appropriate (on 10). I was hoping they would learn the lesson to better Legends Arceus but from what I've seen, it doesn't go this way. Of course they wouldn't change, everyone keeps buying. This license is pretty much dead in my heart.    … Expand
  68. DANIELLANGLEY
    Oct 28, 2021
    0
    With an impeccable story, Pokemon Sword and Shield is a fantastic experience, with lots of replay value too. Also, there is a good number of Pokemon, a very good thing.
  69. omglioromg
    Oct 26, 2021
    4
    Ok so to conclude my feelings abou this game, I started to play since pokemon yellow and I bought one game each gen that came untill today, each game I tried to complete the pokedex and in a few of my games, I did.
    The game has 2 diffrent scores in my eyes, one with the DLC and one without the DLC, the DLC pretty much fix the game, it does it by adding follower pokemon, full episode that    Ok so to conclude my feelings abou this game, I started to play since pokemon yellow and I bought one game each gen that came untill today, each game I tried to complete the pokedex and in a few of my games, I did.
    The game has 2 diffrent scores in my eyes, one with the DLC and one without the DLC, the DLC pretty much fix the game, it does it by adding follower pokemon, full episode that is with rottating camera and added goal which is to win each pokemon type and reach as far as possible using mono type which added 5 hours of gameplay to my game. With the DLC the game is a 9 or a 10. The game is very solid with DLC, having a story, puzzle to solve, a new rival character. The game still has not enough to do and the new learnable moves are very very weak and specific that I rather never ever use them ever. Example a move that always fail if you don't have grassy terrain, and the grass removed after use, very specific and useless moves, maybe one out of 50 pokemons can use one move at most since the moves are very specific "if pokemon got stat lost during the turn, the move deals double the damage" which is good if you are in 2v2 and use tail whipe on your ally... very weak moves, useless and pointless for the most part. So since the moves are so useless and the total added playtime is like 8 hours which is not enough to justify a DLC price in my opinion, the game with DLC is 9.
    But this is a Base pokemon game, without the dlc the game is feeling empty, there is no area to explore after the league, there is a terrible online gaming that requires friend code (this is fixed in the dlc because you get to go on a 1 hour advanture with meaningful choises - hence the high score)
    The game including DLC is almost a 10. But without it, there is a shell of a game, growing big pokemons aren't that fun, mega evolutions did this better, even if they only gave a select few new megas, it would be a lot more appealing and better from a strategy point of view. pokemons are capable of reaching high level instantly which sounds good on paper but it's not since it breaks the game. Pokemons in the DLC should all be level 90+ or otherwize your fully leveled up pokemons will never have a situation which requires strategy.
    I am struggling to give base pokemon a score, Just know that if you buy pokemon without DLC you get a shell of a game, if a full game gets 10, then I think a shell of a game should get 4. The recycled animations and the missing pokedex and the teachable moves blocked behind a paywall, 2 versions of the same game in 2019, low effort if you don't take into account the DLC which is clearly a cut content that was sold later because of greed.
    Pokemon without DLC = 4
    Pokemon with DLC = 10    … Expand
  70. Oreun
    Oct 11, 2021
    3
    El juego se siente vacío e inacabado. Las animaciones se ver pobres y no sirven como excusa para quitar unos 500 Pokémon. Una vez te pasas el juego principal, no tienes nada que hacer después. Desde luego los peores 60€ que he gastado en mi vida. Por favor Game Freak, recapacita.
  71. cyansilvia
    Oct 7, 2021
    0
    I can't use my favorite Pokémons in this game.
    I think center of this game's series is Pokémons, but my impression is that those who make this game, don't think that. In my opinion they make much of people character then Pokémons. So I don't like this game.
  72. AlexTheWise
    Sep 22, 2021
    3
    Took a while to get around to this after seeing a friend play it and be completely unimpressed. Now that I've tried it... I understand his feelings and glad I borrowed it only. What an ugly looking game with weird limitations, pop ins and a world that does not feel lived in. Cannot believe this is a 2021 game from the biggest IP around, looks like it came from a big gamecube project.

    I    Took a while to get around to this after seeing a friend play it and be completely unimpressed. Now that I've tried it... I understand his feelings and glad I borrowed it only. What an ugly looking game with weird limitations, pop ins and a world that does not feel lived in. Cannot believe this is a 2021 game from the biggest IP around, looks like it came from a big gamecube project.

    I hope this smashes the pokemon illusion, it always gets a pass because people love pokemon but a bad game is a bad game. No matter how long term a fan I am of it, there is a point where you have to call it out. The DLC is just gross as well, pokemon behind a pay wall, can easily see this being done on purpose if allowed. It is not even worth full £50, much less another £30...

    P.S This isn't really a criticism but the fire starter pokemon final stage looks like a Digimon, more than pokemon!    … Expand
  73. Winter320
    Sep 19, 2021
    4
    Let’s just get this straight, these are a low point in the franchise in almost every way and don’t live up to the standards that the first mainline home console pokemon should have. As a series about catching and evolving monsters, game frEAk refuses to evolve and sticks to the same tried and tested formula from 25 years ago. These games are empty and linear at every turn with “routes”Let’s just get this straight, these are a low point in the franchise in almost every way and don’t live up to the standards that the first mainline home console pokemon should have. As a series about catching and evolving monsters, game frEAk refuses to evolve and sticks to the same tried and tested formula from 25 years ago. These games are empty and linear at every turn with “routes” that are more just straight lines and a one-way progression system that kills replayability. You can’t leave a town with some kind of road block forcing you to do everything the game wants you to do before moving on. This story is cheap, filled with plot holes and one sided characters. The wild area is just an open plain with bad textures and aimless wild Pokémon with a short draw distance. The area is reminiscent of hyrule
    field from ocarina of time with its emptiness but at least that had secrets to uncover as you explored. This game is still unpolished with noticeable frame drops appearing was you even try to move around. The cut Pokédex just adds to the disappointment as there are basically no new animations (unlike what was promised) and they stick to the 8 year old ones from X&Y. The online is pitiful and now costs a subscription fee to use which baffles me and I could keep talking. There are more detailed and critical reviews on the web that can give more info but overall, these games are a boring at best.    … Expand
  74. MANXMAN76
    Aug 31, 2021
    4
    This game was and is still soooo unfinished everything about this speaks rushed most of the game is just the sun and moon scripted reused as well as every asset from that gen just copied over this is by far one of the worst pokemon games to release to date with so many removals from mechanics to even pokemon hell we had pokemon follow you in let's go but we have to buy DLC to be able toThis game was and is still soooo unfinished everything about this speaks rushed most of the game is just the sun and moon scripted reused as well as every asset from that gen just copied over this is by far one of the worst pokemon games to release to date with so many removals from mechanics to even pokemon hell we had pokemon follow you in let's go but we have to buy DLC to be able to have pokemon follow you in specific areas this was a blatant cash grab what we need is more time on mainstream pokemon games and have bigger teams pokemon is the biggest grossing franchise in the world and it all started from videogames and least amount of effort is being put into the franchise is the games the new BDSP remakes and legends games look so bland and boring that I don't have faith in this game franchise anymore but look at Pokkén Tournament and snap they are what a mainstream Pokemon game should look like and not a cash grab… Expand
  75. Ulthos
    Aug 24, 2021
    3
    Cyberpunk of the pokemon games.

    I decided not to buy a Switch because how disappointing this game is. Recently had a chance to play and finish the game and glad I didn't buy a Switch just to play this mediocre game(because it is a pokemon game). All the zones felt like a straight line with no incentive to explore, story was bad and the pokemon were missing. Music was good though.
  76. TidyWire
    Aug 20, 2021
    3
    Now this game isn't the absolute worst game of all time. It's mostly serviceable and functional at a bare basic level. But as somebody that has been with the franchise since it's conception, this is absolutely not worth your money and we should expect better from developers with this much experience.

    The game's main issue is the lack of player agency and freedom. Pokemon is a franchise    Now this game isn't the absolute worst game of all time. It's mostly serviceable and functional at a bare basic level. But as somebody that has been with the franchise since it's conception, this is absolutely not worth your money and we should expect better from developers with this much experience.

    The game's main issue is the lack of player agency and freedom. Pokemon is a franchise that has resonated from it's customizability, but time and time again this game restricts your movement and progression and locks you behind things. Your decisions are rarely your own, and it makes for a very shallow run of the mill Pokemon experience with a lot of half baked ideas.
    The game is riddled with rushjob scars like terrible dated graphics and outright missing story sequences. In addition Game Freak continue to time and time again remove beloved features from games so they can receive artificial praise when they're reintroduced later on. No better example than following pokemon returning in the DLC. (Which they also messed up somehow. Pokemon constantly teleporting because they're too slow to keep up pace with you.)

    The story is massively uninspired and lazy; although some of the characters are pretty decent. But the game does absolutely nothing to give you a closer bond with your Pokemon. They feel more like 1s and 0s now than they ever have before and it's all down to the broken progression system. It doesn't feel like an adventure anymore but moreso a checklist.

    I'm afraid if Pokemon keeps down this path the franchise will writhe in it's mediocrity forever.    … Expand
  77. zhekon03
    Aug 17, 2021
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. 2021 год а русского языка нет, зато реклама с русской озвучкой, неплохо, а так тяжело выделить переводчика для этого хотя игра и нет так велика как кажется.… Expand
  78. martinho_99
    Feb 7, 2021
    1
    This is just a pure impudence! A game with grafics from the early 2010s, 20h story, no voice actors and only this few pokemons for the same price as AAA Games like God of war or RDR2?? Don't even talking about the poorly designed new Pokemon, the unnecessary Gigamax or raids. Additionally it is far too easy, difficulty settings would be soooo necessary. I know you can't compare Nintendo toThis is just a pure impudence! A game with grafics from the early 2010s, 20h story, no voice actors and only this few pokemons for the same price as AAA Games like God of war or RDR2?? Don't even talking about the poorly designed new Pokemon, the unnecessary Gigamax or raids. Additionally it is far too easy, difficulty settings would be soooo necessary. I know you can't compare Nintendo to the high quality game studios of nowadays but with Breath of the wild, SM Galaxy or SM Odyssey they showed that they can make good games too. As a hardcore Pokemon fan from almost the very beginning I grew up having every game and tons of merchandise, but Pokemon lost me already years ago - the shows and the games. Zelda and Mario grew up as a frenchise but Pokemon is more childish and easier to play than ever. Make a good game, throw out all the annoying stuff that forces you to play the game longer without real content, bring back Mega Evolutions and move the whole thing into 2020s gameplay!… Expand
  79. Matthew257
    May 27, 2021
    1
    This game has no exploration or treasure hunting or adventure. They have destroyed what makes pokemon fun. I used to love when I would get lost or sometimes lose pokemon battles in the originals. This game is painfully easy. Not just easy, its painfully easy. Its awkward to play. If you didn't like pokemon sun then you will also not like this one, they are very similar
  80. goodpoint
    Jul 19, 2021
    0
    Pokemon Sword is hands-down the worst use I have ever made of 60$.
    Half the game feels like an overbearing walkthrough and like the developers had no faith that the player could figure anything out for themselves. I understand they catered to kids this time around especially but... really? Even as a ten year old I would've felt insulted.
    The animations are lazy and terrible. I mean, they    Pokemon Sword is hands-down the worst use I have ever made of 60$.
    Half the game feels like an overbearing walkthrough and like the developers had no faith that the player could figure anything out for themselves. I understand they catered to kids this time around especially but... really? Even as a ten year old I would've felt insulted.
    The animations are lazy and terrible. I mean, they couldn't even animate a woman pacing back and forth a couple times properly.
    The incredibly short render distance does a fantastic job at destroying immersion.
    The story is in your face and devoid of all subtlety.
    The starter pokemon are more human than pocket monster. Really, is the design team being run by furries? I have no problem with furries, but... come on.
    The wild area is the most boring thing I have ever experienced in a video game, and I've played a lot of games.
    The only good word I have for this game is that a few new pokemon are cute and they came up with some nice gym leader designs. But that's the bare minimum for a pokemon game.
    Overall, this is very disappointing. Even for those satisfied with the game, I urge everyone to steer clear of similarly flawed pokemon games until the higher-ups step up to the table if you want more out of this company. If you want them to return to making truly great games. Because, you know why this game is so flawed? Because they didn't have to try. People ate it up anyway. I put my blind faith into this game, hoping for something that I wouldn't have to force myself through. Something that I would actually enjoy. And I was mistaken, and so were many others.
    I'm going to go play Soul Silver, now. Just play that one if you want a good pokemon game.    … Expand
  81. Northon720
    Jul 15, 2021
    3
    Antes de nada decir que tengo TODOS los Pokemon anteriores, a partir del azul quedé completamente enganchado, como la mayoría de los que siguen comprando juegos a esta compañía seguramente, tengo hasta un mueble decorativo para exhibir todos los juegos comprados hasta la fecha incluyendo ediciones especiales dobles de Sol / Luna y Espada / Escudo, dicho esto para que se tome la opinión deAntes de nada decir que tengo TODOS los Pokemon anteriores, a partir del azul quedé completamente enganchado, como la mayoría de los que siguen comprando juegos a esta compañía seguramente, tengo hasta un mueble decorativo para exhibir todos los juegos comprados hasta la fecha incluyendo ediciones especiales dobles de Sol / Luna y Espada / Escudo, dicho esto para que se tome la opinión de un fan molesto, no de alguién que se inicia en la saga, comencemos.

    - Dificultad:
    Si bien es cierto que no pido un Dark Souls ni mucho menos, echo en falta que el juego te facilite tanto todo, es innecesario que te den tanto dinero al comienzo del juego, en ningun momento tienes ni que mirar cuanto tienes, cualquier cosa la vas a poder comprar, no vas a tener que detenerte NUNCA para subir esos niveles extra porque el siguiente gimnasio pueda costar, olvídalo, de carrerilla puedes ir gimnasio tras gimnasio y no tendrías que pararte, más aún con la excusa de intercambios misteriosos nada mas empezar, es un paseo.

    - La historia:
    Se siente todo lo que haces forzado, vas sin un objetivo claro, me explico, en los de antes te ponen de una forma muy sencilla y rápida en la dirección a la que vas, el profesor que te pide ayuda para investigar, capturar Pokemons y ya si eso las medallas. Rápido y conciso.
    En cambio en este llega el típico amigo de la infancia el cual SI notas que tiene un objetivo, pero tu personaje lo mueve la inercia del momento, te arrastran a ir de un Punto A a B, a cada momento te paran el ritmo solo para recordarte lo bueno que eres por ganar cada combate y lo fantástico que sería ganar la siguiente medalla, LITERAL, TODO EL RATO.
    Hago un pequeño inciso también para el resto de personajes, por algún motivo van detrás tuya todo el tiempo, da la sensación de que todos os conocéis desde que naciste, pero no, te siguen porque tienen que ir parándote a cada paso que des, mención aparte cuando llegas a una ciudad, los caminos están cerrados por unos motivos que son de chiste, ya no es que llegués y resuelvas un marrón que haya en un edificio, el líder de gimnasio esté en problemas por algún sitio etc . . . No, llegas y te dicen que no puedes pasar, ya está, para que se aparten hay que ganar la medalla, al menos algo tipo Snorlax y la mítica Poke Flauta, te dan un "motivo" y además la opción de capturar un pokemon, que en eso se basa, no te ponen barreras temporales todas las veces para que vayas al gimnasio y listo.

    - Contenido:
    Ojalá me esté equivocando, pero no he visto ni safari, ni concursos de belleza, ni de captura de bichos, el poke parque etc . . Yo imagino que algo de eso habrá, pero ni lo he visto en las 30 horas que llevo, casas iguales en el interior salvo las de los protagonistas, un ejercicio de cutrez grandísimo, las ciudades se notan sin vida ninguna, no hay nada que ver / hacer, es todo un conjunto de edificios, en la mayoria ni puedes entrar, y en los que puedes no es necesario ya que jamás te paran para registrar una cueva, sotano de una mansión / edificio a lo SILPH, nada, solo de gimnasio a gimnasio. El mundo se hace pequeñísimo, igual soy yo, pero a mi me parece de los más pequeños que he explorado.

    - Gráficos / animaciones:

    Es bonito? Si.
    Está todo lo detallado que le pediríamos a una compañía de las buenas? Ni de lejos, si mañana dicen que lo han hecho una compañía aparte me lo creería también, lo de las animaciones ya es un caso aparte, no puede ser que los personajes en las "cinemáticas" se deslicen por el suelo como si esto fuera girarte en el Resident Evil de la PS1, clavado, personaje enganchado al suelo y empieza a deslizarse, me parece vergonzoso, y aquí es donde quiero hacer inciso para Fire Emblem, ese juego ha salido hace unos meses para la misma consola, ha tenido predecesor en la 3DS al igual que Pokemon, la diferencia es que en Fire Emblem se nota una generación de por medio, en Pokemon si simplemente pones el Sol / Luna con mejor resolución ya podrías confundirlo con el Espada / Escudo, así de sencillo.

    - Pokemons:
    A mi la excusa de que es mucho trabajo poner todos los pokemons no me vale, me encantaría entenderlo, pero no puedo, llevo pagando el banco pokemon desde que hubo acceso al mismo, no habría maneras y maneras de al menos seguir pudiendo guardarlos y usarlos en los nuevos juegos de Switch?
    Pagas para guardarlos para que luego en la Switch te digan, "sabes el famoso lema de hazte con todos? Ya no es nuestro lema" Ellos mismos están contradiciendo los inicios de la saga, para que hacer más Pokemons si la magia de todo era quedar con tus amigos para comprar versiones diferentes de nuevas generaciones y seguir con el trabajo que te encomendó el profesor Oak en su día, un trabajo que muchísimos querrían seguir y la propia creadora del juego te dice que no, que el objetivo es quedarte en cada nueva región y luego pasar a la siguiente sin más ...    … Expand
  82. capchaba
    Jul 14, 2021
    4
    This is by far one of the worst pokemon games ever. It still is a lot of the same thing but worse. The first game where it's impossible to fulfill the pokedex, the animation looks old, there are many indie companies that can do a better job than what game freak did to this game. Play it only if you are a pokefan. If you are new to the franchise, just skip it.
  83. Burnhard
    Jul 4, 2021
    3
    This is, without a doubt, the weakest game in the whole series. It's even more linear than Ultra Sun, and it's about as easy as the Let's Go games.

    I know Pokemon games aren't meant to be very challenging, but there isn't one even slightly challenging moment in this game. The exp. share can no longer be turned off, which is a fine change for people who hate grinding (like me), but for    This is, without a doubt, the weakest game in the whole series. It's even more linear than Ultra Sun, and it's about as easy as the Let's Go games.

    I know Pokemon games aren't meant to be very challenging, but there isn't one even slightly challenging moment in this game. The exp. share can no longer be turned off, which is a fine change for people who hate grinding (like me), but for people who didn't like the modern exp. share, it must really suck for them.

    I never cared too much about the lack of a national dex (there are much bigger problems with the game), but it's still really lame how they didn't include all of the Pokemon in this new SWITCH game. Game Freak would rather have people pay for their favorite Pokemon alongside the game. It's consumer hostile. Aside from that, the game looks like they just up-scaled 3ds textures and models for the switch (and some of the textures still look like they're on 3ds). The character and Pokemon animations are either reused or just really basic. Speaking of reused character animations, the new rival, Hop, reuses a few animations that were used for Hau in the gen 7 games.

    Speaking of Hop, he is pretty much just a copy and paste of Hau, as he goes through a very similar and generic character arc of having initial high hopes about being a trainer, then being shot down toward the end, but somehow regaining his confidence because another person told him something off-screen. The rest of the characters in the game are just as one-dimensional, which is a shame because most of the character designs look really good.

    At least the game's music is pretty good... There we go, like that's hard for a Pokemon game to do.

    The reused Pokemon models (as well as the new ones) are good as well, as their colors were given much more saturation in this game, making them look miles better than the washed out, pixelated models from the 3ds games. That being said, it's just the same old 3d models from Gen 6, which was over 6 years old by the time this game came out.

    Moving on to the story, however, it sucks. It's pretty much just a copy of Sun and Moon's story, but way lazier. To tell it short: seemingly evil team isn't actually that evil, and the corporation chairman Rose runs is the bad team all along. Thing is, there is no build-up or anticipation for that twist like there was for Sun and Moon. The game would genuinely be better if there wasn't an evil team at all. If Game Freak wanted to keep Team Yell (the seemingly bad team that ends up actually helping the player), they shouldn't have made Chairman Rose the villain. It's a pointless and stupid twist that didn't need to be added.

    Notice how I've been saying "this game" instead of "these games"? It's because there are next to no differences between them, just like every other Pokemon game (yes, even the good Pokemon games suffer from this).

    I can't rate this game highly in good conscious. It's still a Pokemon game, and because of that, the game play is still kinda fun. However, the lack of any slight amount of challenge, content (if you don't bother with the DLC), and with almost everything else around the game play being poor make Sword/Shield the worst in the mainline series. I'd rather play the buggy original Red and Green versions from Japan.    … Expand
  84. Donaldlk
    Jun 12, 2021
    2
    The online game is trash balanced play with cheats or play if you feel lucky game freak in 100 years will not balance the game sto buying this game until they change something.
  85. Niwai
    Jun 11, 2021
    2
    Нет русского языка. Игра и так не шедевр, а без русского вообще шлак. Русский язык третий в мире, но разработчику пофиг.
  86. muffin_kirby
    Jun 7, 2021
    3
    Now I'm sure most of you have read other reviews and already know it's bad. But here's something to add to truly make you angry. It's about the animations. I want you to go play any other videogame. Now anytime the main character does an action, such as picking up an item, petting an animal, or anything else, imagine the screen fading to black, having a text box saying your character didNow I'm sure most of you have read other reviews and already know it's bad. But here's something to add to truly make you angry. It's about the animations. I want you to go play any other videogame. Now anytime the main character does an action, such as picking up an item, petting an animal, or anything else, imagine the screen fading to black, having a text box saying your character did that, then returning to your character in the exact same idle pose he/she is always in.
    That's the pokemon experience    … Expand
  87. Ibuki_7731
    Jun 1, 2021
    0
    Laziest game ever made. No passion or love given to this game. This is the perfect example of a rushed product all for the sake of making money as fast as possible. Game Freak has no excuse since they're a multi billion dollar company.
  88. TruthfulGamer67
    Jun 1, 2021
    0
    Pokemon Fans have no standards and they will eat up this ****

    this game is garbage and if you like it you support bad games
  89. manuel812
    May 29, 2021
    1
    Es un juego pésimo primero de todo es juego es SUPER fácil ya al comenzar te dan una cantidad de dinero absurda segundo el repartir XP es un desastre ya que entre el repartidor, los absurdos caramelos de XP y los pokemons a niveles absurdos en el área salvaje tu equipo siempre va a ir tipo 10 niveles por encima de los enemigos aparte de eso casi todos los npc te regalan items por la caraEs un juego pésimo primero de todo es juego es SUPER fácil ya al comenzar te dan una cantidad de dinero absurda segundo el repartir XP es un desastre ya que entre el repartidor, los absurdos caramelos de XP y los pokemons a niveles absurdos en el área salvaje tu equipo siempre va a ir tipo 10 niveles por encima de los enemigos aparte de eso casi todos los npc te regalan items por la cara después la historia es una mierda primero de todo no hay ningún equipo villano porque me rehusó a llamar equipo villano a la mierda de team gel o como se diga y el villano final no tiene sentido porque como la crisis pasara dentro de 1000 años en ese tiempo la tecnología podría mejorar y solucionar todo aparte cuando lo vences el te APLAUDE wtf le acabas de arruinar el plan y el se alegra wtf aparte de eso es el juego con las rutas mas simples y lineales el 99% de ellas son puro pasillo aparte de eso tira a la mierda a los movimientos z a la megaevolucion y al ultravuelo para agregar a putos pokemons grandes por cierto los gráficos son asquerosos parecen de 3ds sin mencio lo unico bueno del juego es el competitivo… Expand
  90. Berd
    May 25, 2021
    0
    Short, bland, no content, and little innovation. Feels very barebones and not worth full price. Maybe $15
  91. Tiziown
    May 22, 2021
    0
    The worst game in the series, short, boring, plain story, plain characters, too many cuts and horrible addings like the Gigamax.
  92. Petrokolos
    May 22, 2021
    0
    Nintendo's most boring, sterile, unimaginative IP. Only buy this if you want to punish your children for failing a class in school.
  93. JonTRL
    May 21, 2021
    2
    Too easy, linear, short and boring only serves to remind me how good Gen 2,3,4 were in comparison to this ****
  94. DrPebba
    May 13, 2021
    4
    this has to be the worst high budget game ive ever played, to quit the good stuff out of the way i have to say the game looks good, it has ok graphic in some parts but its inconsistent in other like the nintendo 64 trees, the new pokemon are ok i guess some of them have cool design like toxicitry and grimmnsnarl but most of them are forgettable and ok thats enough the lame parts, theythis has to be the worst high budget game ive ever played, to quit the good stuff out of the way i have to say the game looks good, it has ok graphic in some parts but its inconsistent in other like the nintendo 64 trees, the new pokemon are ok i guess some of them have cool design like toxicitry and grimmnsnarl but most of them are forgettable and ok thats enough the lame parts, they removed more than the half of species to improve graphics, funny how the graphics are just ok, the story is bad, short, and easy, the wild area is terrible, the pokemon are just unnatural they dissapear and the behavior is repetitve, there is nothing to explore and its just to small, the villages are tiny, even some 3ds towns are bigger, and overral the game could just be made for the 3ds if you downgrade the graphics and remove the wild area, there isnt anyything interesting to do when you beat it, the online you have to pay, yeah how fun and it isnt even good. then shortly after release they announce a dlc that could have been in the main game, no thanks. this isnt the worst game of all time, but from a rename company like nintendo its actually the worst rename game i have ever played. dont throw your 60 dollars away and use it on a better game… Expand
  95. nickaer101
    May 11, 2021
    0
    love win a Pokémon that I'm fighting gets to to use 3 different moves before I get to use one is and the win you do get said Pokémon you can only use one so i see a **** game that just don't what you to have fun they only give you 2 master ball through out the whole ass game and then expect you to catch more legendary with out it win and then have to throw 200 ultra ball to get onelove win a Pokémon that I'm fighting gets to to use 3 different moves before I get to use one is and the win you do get said Pokémon you can only use one so i see a **** game that just don't what you to have fun they only give you 2 master ball through out the whole ass game and then expect you to catch more legendary with out it win and then have to throw 200 ultra ball to get one legendary for the mission for my short answer just don't buy waste of a $100 just play the old ones or newer games… Expand
  96. gonchi55
    May 10, 2021
    4
    El juego es directamente aburrido, desde la perspectiva de alguien que disfruta la inclusive poco desafiante dificultad de los juegos anteriores. Parte de la magia de los juegos de pokemon es esforzarse para que nuestros pokemones favoritos lleguen a un nivel digno para enfrentar al proximo gimnasio, y seguir jugando para tener un equipo fuerte y balanceado. En los demás juegos el tener unEl juego es directamente aburrido, desde la perspectiva de alguien que disfruta la inclusive poco desafiante dificultad de los juegos anteriores. Parte de la magia de los juegos de pokemon es esforzarse para que nuestros pokemones favoritos lleguen a un nivel digno para enfrentar al proximo gimnasio, y seguir jugando para tener un equipo fuerte y balanceado. En los demás juegos el tener un equipo que sobrepase las barreras de nivel de los adversarios es algo que toma bastante tiempo, inclusive en más recientes entregas donde se siente que dicha barrera de nivel se supera aún fácilmente. Este juego tiene un sistema de experiencia compartida que le da experiencia a los pokemones de tu equipo aunque no hayan entrado a batalla en ningún momento, lo que hace más fácil subir de nivel a tu equipo, solo que lo hace demasiado fácil. Jugando llegas hasta el punto en que tratas que los enfrentamientos si quiera sean desafiantes, pues el juego te da demasiadas herramientas para subir el nivel de los pokemones haceindo muy fácil el superar a lo enemigos. Inclusive sin recurrir a estas herramientas como los campamentos pokemon, los caramelos, o si quiera enfrentando pokemones salvajes, el desarrollo de tu equipo es muy rápido solo con los enfrentamientos obligatorios, lo cual hace muy aburrido el juego en sí. Además, la historia es demasiado simple y aburrida, sobre todo también porque ninguno de los enemigos que te enfrentaras verdaderamente será complicado, casi ni te lo puedes tomar en serio. Además, es un buen agregado que muchos de los pokemones dificiles de conseguir en otras generaciones sean más sencillos de obtener por los tradeos, sin embargo, el sistema de trading no tiene ningún filtro ni si quiera un sistema de valor y equivalencia. Puedes conseguir un Mewtwo por un pidgey desde el primer segundo del juego, y lo más probable es que la mayoría de intercambios sean de dichas características, lo que el sentido de tener un pokemon raro. Además, de la misma forma puedes intercambiar un pokemon valioso y obtener un rattata, lo cual hace a los intercambios prácticamente un sin sentido. Además queda aclarar que no se encuentran todos los pokemones, hablando de una gran cantidad de ellos faltantes. El mundo abierto casi no tiene nada, parece que se enfocaron mucho en ello pero parece todo lo mismo. No se siente un verdadera apego con el juego, es directamente aburrido, no da ganas de jugarlo después de sus primeras impresiones, tratarás de convencerte de jugar pero con el tiempo solo aburre.… Expand
  97. DjNinjaRj
    May 4, 2021
    0
    Bad Game I Do Not Like Tghis Game, It Poopy HEAD This Is Not A Real Pokemon Game
  98. srx
    May 2, 2021
    4
    Poor story, decent/good designs, mediocre everything else. Like seriously, the story was literally a straight line from start to finish with no interesting characters. Graphics were underwhelming. 4/10 and would be lower if not for some of the pokemon designs being cool.
  99. MaddoxWhite
    Apr 24, 2021
    1
    There are so many things wrong with this game.
    The graphics. The national dex. The gameplay itself.
    I don't have much to say that hasn't been said already.

    The fact that this even exists makes me want to not even buy New Pokemon Snap.
    But I'm a sucker, so I already preordered it.
  100. Omegazx
    Apr 17, 2021
    0
    Gamefreak just released a barely finished game with lots of underwhelming features and cut content from previous installments. The removal of National Pokédex, along with more than half of all Pokemon really put a dent on the gameplay. I guess they cannot live up to their own slogan of "Gotta catch 'em all!".

    If you are a true Pokémon fan, let your voice be heard and do not buy this    Gamefreak just released a barely finished game with lots of underwhelming features and cut content from previous installments. The removal of National Pokédex, along with more than half of all Pokemon really put a dent on the gameplay. I guess they cannot live up to their own slogan of "Gotta catch 'em all!".

    If you are a true Pokémon fan, let your voice be heard and do not buy this game as an act of peaceful protest. Vote with your wallet. Let them know that we want something better from the biggest franchise on earth. Never settle for mediocrity.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

79
#79 Best Switch Game of 2019
1
#1 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 87 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 66 out of 87
  2. Mixed: 21 out of 87
  3. Negative: 0 out of 87
  1. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Apr 30, 2020
    80
    Sword & Shield stumble in a few areas and history may not be kind to them, but they're setting up a future that I'm excited to see. [Issue #44 – January/February 2020, p. 73]
  2. GameCritics
    Feb 6, 2020
    75
    I enjoyed my time with Pokemon Sword and Shield, but I ended feeling conflicted. I appreciate many of the changes and felt that it generally respected my time, but I almost felt like a passive participant. The more complex gym challenges had a meatier role, but the narrative shouldn’t have been shoved to the side. Overall, I would recommend it to players who want to have a Pokemon experience, but this one won’t stick with me the way the older ones have.
    Read full review
  3. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Jan 14, 2020
    78
    Pokemon Sword/Shield is uncharacteristically user-friendly: now there’s no need to backtrack half across the world to heal your entire team of pokemon or to get to a particular city, for example. [Issue#242, p.66]
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