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. TaraBaby
    Nov 20, 2019
    2
    It's a Pokemon game. Yep, I said it. It follows the same formula that stopped being fun after Pokemon Black & White. But, that's not all, you get 50% less Pokemon, no Mega Evolutions, etc etc. The graphics look like crap. No seriously, this should be called Pokemon RPG Maker that's how bad the textures look. If you have never played a Pokemon game you might like it but I suggest a REALIt's a Pokemon game. Yep, I said it. It follows the same formula that stopped being fun after Pokemon Black & White. But, that's not all, you get 50% less Pokemon, no Mega Evolutions, etc etc. The graphics look like crap. No seriously, this should be called Pokemon RPG Maker that's how bad the textures look. If you have never played a Pokemon game you might like it but I suggest a REAL Pokemon game Fire Red and Leaf Green or Heart Gold & Soul Silver.

    If they wanted to just make the same game only lazier then coming to the Switch was a mistake. Pokémon Colosseum still remains the best console Pokemon game by a 1000 miles.    … Expand
  2. QuarterLife
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    Imagine making ~40% of a game, and then charging ~120% for it. That's Pokemon right now. This game is rushed, buggy, and overall an insult to anyone that has enjoyed the series before. You might consider it if it's your first Pokemon game, but if you have others in your library just keep playing them -- they're better.
  3. mother2fan1
    Nov 18, 2019
    1
    Sure, it's cute and all, but with removing everything that seemed essential to the series, not having anything to do after beating the game, and reusing everything from the old games, you'd have to ask where 3 years of development time went into. I'd pass.
  4. timesteiner
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Dejando de lado la dex nacional y los movimientos eliminados, el juego esta lleno de errores y bugs que hacen que s cierre a cada rato, esperemos que llegue pronto un parte para arreglar esto.
  5. Amida
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Caro, ridículamente fácil, y ademas de todo con una campaña publicitaria fraudulenta
  6. Leopanic1997
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    If you want a game that isn't a pokemon game this is for you-- one of the last great developers of our life times finally decided to give up our best interests for a cash grab. 55 percent of our favorite pokemon are now out of the game, and before you say anything-- yes they are in the game files still. Ironically they also took some moves out, and instead of just getting back to megaIf you want a game that isn't a pokemon game this is for you-- one of the last great developers of our life times finally decided to give up our best interests for a cash grab. 55 percent of our favorite pokemon are now out of the game, and before you say anything-- yes they are in the game files still. Ironically they also took some moves out, and instead of just getting back to mega evolutions or z moves they instead went with a whole new feature. Game freak has stopped caring what the fans want and started caring about keeping the company's wallet fat.… Expand
  7. MaestroPokeFer
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Asco de juegos estúpido gamefreak.
    gamefreak le esta apostando mucho a las nuevas generaciones y bota de lado a los que crecimos con la franquicia,
    Pero han olvidado una cosa, las nuevas generaciones ya no son fieles a nada solo siguen lo que esta de moda y cuando pokemon deje de ser moda adios
  8. poojabehavior
    Nov 16, 2019
    3
    The game itself is fairly mediocre with some good and bad. It fixed many of the series long problems but also doubled down on many of the worst parts. The game also isn't the most pleasing to look at, and I don't mean it has to have the highest poly count or the most advance effects, but the combination of poor textures, texture filtering, world assets and the bunch, it hurts to look atThe game itself is fairly mediocre with some good and bad. It fixed many of the series long problems but also doubled down on many of the worst parts. The game also isn't the most pleasing to look at, and I don't mean it has to have the highest poly count or the most advance effects, but the combination of poor textures, texture filtering, world assets and the bunch, it hurts to look at sometimes and doesn't look like a triple a switch game. The story is bare bones while still having obtrusive and annoying character interactions, but the base gameplay is still fun even if it's abit easy and seeing the new Pokemon did put a smile on my face. Also the challenges and the whole stadium setting was pretty cool to. This game probably would of gotten a 5 or 6 based on the game itself but I have to lower it a few points dou to the lies game freak and the pokemon company had stated about new character modules or improving character animations as reasons for cutting the national dex and other little things they have done as a company.… Expand
  9. poxotaf266
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    The people giving it a 10 can't even give 1 reason why they like the game. It is the worst installment of the franchise:
    - removed 450 pokemon
    - removed 130 moves - removed key features - fewer than 100 new pokemon - linear region - only 10 routes - no dungeons - reused models - reused textures - reused animations - reused music - short playtime - short postgame - boring    The people giving it a 10 can't even give 1 reason why they like the game. It is the worst installment of the franchise:
    - removed 450 pokemon
    - removed 130 moves
    - removed key features
    - fewer than 100 new pokemon
    - linear region
    - only 10 routes
    - no dungeons
    - reused models
    - reused textures
    - reused animations
    - reused music
    - short playtime
    - short postgame
    - boring story
    - handholding
    - low difficulty
    - buggy
    - unpolished
    - lazy
    - rushed
    - no cohesion
    - potentially console-breaking (NAND issues are legit according to experts)    … Expand
  10. ThePuli
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    es un juego de pokemon muy malo, no esperaba nada de ti y aun asi logras decepcionarme, no es la gran cosa deja mucho que desear unos gráficos de generación pasada, en fin un asco.
  11. Shiakuzo
    Nov 16, 2019
    1
    Fails in so many levels, that I cannot believe this is the product of a 20 year franchise..
    As a gamer and Pokémon fan from the beginning I am disapointed and it will take a lot for Gamefreak and The Pokémon Company to have my respect and suport again..
    I am truly sad..
  12. Beans2520
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    #GameFreakLied Why should we buy a 60$ game that has less content the previous entries?
  13. Jeryr
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    Not for True Pokemon fans,

    The Dex cut was an insult to most as their favorite Pokemon were excluded, the animation and model has not change since the previous games, Gamefreak made an attempt to lie to us by saying the Pokemon cut was to improve quality but there models and animations are EXACTLY the same as the previous games. It was a amateur attempt on lying and a amateur attempt    Not for True Pokemon fans,

    The Dex cut was an insult to most as their favorite Pokemon were excluded, the animation and model has not change since the previous games, Gamefreak made an attempt to lie to us by saying the Pokemon cut was to improve quality but there models and animations are EXACTLY the same as the previous games.

    It was a amateur attempt on lying and a amateur attempt of making a new game with no innovation, hope they improve the next game even better.

    Refunding/reselling the game after completing it is a good choice as $60 is unjust price for this beta version.    … Expand
  14. Ampha
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    A disappointment of Wailord proportions.

    Although, Wailord has been reduced to being no larger than your trainer, as Sword and Shield fail to correctly scale each Pokemon. This is just one of the many shortcomings in this new generation of mainline Pokemon games that have left long time fans like myself unsure of the future of Pokemon. The removal of over 50% of much loved Pokemon is a    A disappointment of Wailord proportions.

    Although, Wailord has been reduced to being no larger than your trainer, as Sword and Shield fail to correctly scale each Pokemon.

    This is just one of the many shortcomings in this new generation of mainline Pokemon games that have left long time fans like myself unsure of the future of Pokemon.

    The removal of over 50% of much loved Pokemon is a difficult decision to understand, when it seems that no additional content has been added to compensate for this, with the exact same models being used from the 3DS games. Battles feel as dated as ever, the over world is still confined to corridors and linear routes pathways and fly/surf/riding Pokemon has disappeared completely. Add this to the dismissal of previous game mechanics, a lack of post-game content and graphical issues, sadly all adds to the underwhelming experience.

    The only positive new feature is the addition of the wild area, which finally touches upon the open-world environment that so many fans have dreamed off. It is of course impossible to not compare this to other games with open worlds and unfortunately the novelty quickly wears off. Perhaps the next generation will build upon this and create a truly impressive and fully developed open world Pokemon game.

    Despite my love of Pokemon for over 18 years, I cannot bring myself to rate this as a stand alone game highly and I can only hope that the next generation of Pokemon games will be their very best.    … Expand
  15. Duelz96
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    Words cannot describe how disappointed I was while playing this game. On my 6th gym I decided I couldn’t force myself to finish it. From poor animations to terrible graphics, this completely ruins the atmosphere of the game. Many successful features have been removed. The new content is not the best either.
    This is the worst entry in the Pokémon series by far. Save your money and by a game    Words cannot describe how disappointed I was while playing this game. On my 6th gym I decided I couldn’t force myself to finish it. From poor animations to terrible graphics, this completely ruins the atmosphere of the game. Many successful features have been removed. The new content is not the best either.
    This is the worst entry in the Pokémon series by far. Save your money and by a game that’s been polished and has actually been made with care.
    Pokémon sword was the worst thing that could happen to Pokémon.    … Expand
  16. DavoNZ
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    Can't believe this quality of game was released, despite being for one of the highest grossing franchises ever. Feels like it was made by indie developers. I havnt seen pop-in this bad in over a decade.
  17. Zumabuma
    Nov 16, 2019
    4
    In today’s day and age there are a number of game companies who have proven that they are interested in one thing and one thing only. Money. This is obvious when games are constantly being rushed through their development cycle and are released with cut content, bugs, poor graphics relative to the current hardware, and endless micro transactions. Recently developers who have spent yearsIn today’s day and age there are a number of game companies who have proven that they are interested in one thing and one thing only. Money. This is obvious when games are constantly being rushed through their development cycle and are released with cut content, bugs, poor graphics relative to the current hardware, and endless micro transactions. Recently developers who have spent years cultivating a loyal fan base through thoughtful game design and innovation have turned their backs on the consumers who helped to build them in to powerhouses of the industry. Bethesda, Bioware, and now GameFreak just to name a few. It’s unfortunate that GameFreak has chosen to release an unfinished and unpolished game in order to take advantage of the holiday season.

    With the release of Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee, GameFreak took their first steps towards creating the first open world Pokémon game that many of us have dreamed about. While the game itself was not the mainline Pokémon game everyone was hoping for it did capture a lot of the nostalgia of previous entries. Between the original Pokémon returning, and the ability to have your Pokémon follow behind you while you traveled through a fully rendered Kanto region. The game did a lot of things right even with it’s flaws. Then, with the announcement of Sword and Shield, GameFreak teased the game that we had all been waiting for. The first mainline Pokémon game for the Nintendo Switch. With the experience of 23 years of Pokémon games under their belt and the framework set by Lets go Eevee and Pikachu GameFreak was on their way to creating the game that fans had been asking for. Yet somehow they managed to take a step back in almost every conceivable way. Starting with cutting a majority of Pokémon from the game completely.

    Coined “Dexit” this was a red flag the second the information leaked online. Actually seeing it implemented in game is nothing but heartbreaking. This is a Pokémon game that is missing a huge number of its most popular Pokémon, including a day one favorite in Squirtle (SQUIRTLE!). While including some of the more forgettable ‘mons of previous generations (looking at you ice cream cone and bag of trash). The lack of the National Dex hurts this game in so many ways and severely limits the longevity and creativity of the game. This is a feature that has been included in almost every other mainline Pokémon game. Games with far less storage capabilities than the current generation. On top of this, GameFreak has gone on record as saying that the reason for the lack of a national dex is due to time constraints and their inability to animate the entire library of Pokémon in time. The first problem with this is that GameFreak set the release date. There is no reason why the game could not have been delayed in the same way that Animal Crossing recently was. It has been proven time and time again that consumers and fans would prefer that a studio take their time and ship a complete game rather than rush the game out before it's finished.

    The other issue with GameFreaks explanation is that a ton of the animations in the game are ripped directly from Sun, Moon, X, and Y. This is blatantly obvious in game as many Pokemon’s animations are choppy and not up to the standards one would expect from a current gen game. Especially a title as popular as Pokémon. Not to mention that people who have gone through the games files have confirmed the animations were carried over and in some cases slightly altered. Now, if the studio is going to cut such a large number of Pokémon and copy and paste animations you would at least expect the game to excel in other aspects. But you would be wrong.

    The list of cut content is so long it’s actually difficult to remember. We’re talking minimal post game content, a large number of moves removed, including quite a few used in competitive teams. A main story that last somewhere between 16 and 20 hours which, for a $60 game is unnaceptable. No PSS, contests, riding Pokémon, safari mode, battle frontier, horde battles, rotation battles, triple battles, not a single roaming legendary, no second region, mega evolutions, Z moves, AND no GTS! Although, a version of the GTS may be tied to “Home” which is another paid service on top of Nintendo Online that you’ll need to pay for.

    That’s a TON of cut content with almost no replacements except gigantamaxing which is a ridiculous concept that is not nearly as interesting as mega evolutions. This game lacks content, creativity, and soul. Playing through this game it’s obvious that GameFreak has taken advantage of some of the most loyal fans on the planet. It’s just another example of greed in the industry. GameFreak and Nintendo should be ashamed. If you feel compelled to buy this game and experience these issues first hand buy the game used. Don’t support this cash grab or nothing will ever change. We as consumers have the power.    … Expand
  18. sogeking10
    Nov 16, 2019
    1
    Jogo de 3ds no switch,sem os pokes completos e com animações horríveis. Uma absurdo a maior franquia de jogos do mundo ter um jogo tão mal feito como esse. As animações são dignas de pena.
  19. playedeverypk
    Nov 18, 2019
    0
    Game freak can you see our dissatisfaction? How do you want to celebrate the 30th anniversary? Did you focused on liitle town hero instead of pokemon? Your game is an unfinished project and have terrible graphic, and you are lazy so much!!! This is the worst game of the year!!! You're kidding me?! Did you the fans, who created better textures in one day than you did in a few years?? ThisGame freak can you see our dissatisfaction? How do you want to celebrate the 30th anniversary? Did you focused on liitle town hero instead of pokemon? Your game is an unfinished project and have terrible graphic, and you are lazy so much!!! This is the worst game of the year!!! You're kidding me?! Did you the fans, who created better textures in one day than you did in a few years?? This game is a joke!!!… Expand
  20. Otts
    May 13, 2020
    0
    Unfinished product sold with cut content at a full price. Glitchy and disrespectful with its consumers and fanbase. A loveless cashgrab rushed to the market from the highest grossing media franchise in the planet. Underperforming software for the current generation standards. Shameless and sad.
  21. Ophenix
    Jan 3, 2020
    4
    I’m not a hater, nor a person who truly cares about the PokeDex, I just like RPGs and Pokémon is at heart an RPG I usually enjoy. The games are never a 10/10 but I usually rate them much higher that 4.

    My main issue with SWSH is that I just feels dated and like it wants to waste my time. I just don’t understand why everything around the combat and the UI is so clunky. The combat text    I’m not a hater, nor a person who truly cares about the PokeDex, I just like RPGs and Pokémon is at heart an RPG I usually enjoy. The games are never a 10/10 but I usually rate them much higher that 4.

    My main issue with SWSH is that I just feels dated and like it wants to waste my time. I just don’t understand why everything around the combat and the UI is so clunky. The combat text takes forever to move and is sometimes just downright idiotic. Do I really need to know “the battle field got weird” after killing the enemy’s last Pokémon?
    I know this might seem petty to people but those texts, and the serialized animations (one animation for drain moves, another for the healing after the first ends) add up and while I have clocked over 20 hours on this game at least two of those were spent on animations and texts that are completely redundant.

    Has no one at game freak played a modern RPG? This isn’t the GBA era, games like SMT solved this issue with fluid animations ages ago.

    The rest of the issues I have with the game are pretty much written elsewhere and better by others. While some animations (trainers, gym leaders, etc.) are amazing, most are trash. Most Pokémon have one or two animations, making them look funny as hell when the kick for the magic move but jump up for “Double Kick”. Wild area is a really fun concept but is rather small and empty in practice, and with the exception of a few battles (love the new gym leaders) most of the combat is piss easy, even by Pokémon standards.

    I don’t hate the game or GameFreak, I just want them to sit down, play some Persona 5 and take notes on how to not waste my time on textual padding.    … Expand
  22. kranky
    Dec 22, 2019
    0
    Worst main series pokemon game ever.

    It is like previous games but with some nice mechanics removed (Mega-evolutions and minigames)
    And without national dex.
  23. SpinX22
    Nov 18, 2019
    3
    Would have been an 8 but because of they chose to not include all the Pokemon and remove moves I can't give more than a 3.
  24. eKorn
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    Super short game, extremely easy, filled with bugs, no National Pokedex, No HM/TM, reused textured, poor render distances, reused models, no shines, permanent exp share and lots and lots of features removed from the previous games.
  25. Amfibios
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    This could have been the best game ever made but it's a shameless cash grab instead. The graphics are from the PS2 era, the models are copy/pasted from X/Y and the gameplay is the same as the original games that came out in the 90s only without the exploration. For this and all the other reasons you know already, this game is a kick in the nuts to every pokemon fan.

    I was already    This could have been the best game ever made but it's a shameless cash grab instead. The graphics are from the PS2 era, the models are copy/pasted from X/Y and the gameplay is the same as the original games that came out in the 90s only without the exploration. For this and all the other reasons you know already, this game is a kick in the nuts to every pokemon fan.

    I was already disappointed with sun/moon but this is a new low. Pokemon games aren't Gamefreak's first priority anymore, look at "Little town hero".

    I'm not gonna support any of this anymore. The series has gotten as stale as it gets but they think "Oh it's pokemon so no matter how little effort we put into it, it'll sell like hot cakes", i'm gonna let them know this is not the case as i'm not buying any more of their games unless they do something that's worth paying for.

    Just for the record, my first pkmn game was the original RED and i've bought pretty much all games that came out since then. I never thought i'd "outgrow" them but gamefreak found a way to force it. Oh well, now i have more money in my pocket to buy GOOD games, this isn't even worth pirating.    … Expand
  26. OriginalOne
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    Never thought possible, Game Freak has done it yet again. Creating an even MORE disappointing entry after XY! I unfortunately wasted $90 AUSD on this game for a game where you can essentially just 'press A' to win every single encounter.
  27. lemony
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    Lying Devs
    Reused animations
    Reused Models
    No Global Trading
    No National Dex

    0/10
  28. 5kyLegend
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    Less than half the Pokémon than the previous title.
    Glitches and graphical bugs everywhere, with absurd pop-in for models. The Wild Area is incredibly small in size despite having been advertised as a huge step forward, and its graphical quality is easily on par with Wii games.
    Non-existant difficulty, with the forced Exp Share making you always overleveled, even if you skip trainers and    Less than half the Pokémon than the previous title.
    Glitches and graphical bugs everywhere, with absurd pop-in for models. The Wild Area is incredibly small in size despite having been advertised as a huge step forward, and its graphical quality is easily on par with Wii games.
    Non-existant difficulty, with the forced Exp Share making you always overleveled, even if you skip trainers and wild Pokémon.
    And the list could go on. These are unfinished, soulless games that EA, Ubisoft or Bethesda would be condemned for releasing. Game Freak doesn't deserve a free pass, as they even lied to customers about their reasons for the lower quality.
    These games are not recommended. If you played a Pokémon game during the last 10 years, you've played these already.    … Expand
  29. The_Wildchild
    Nov 16, 2019
    1
    This game is horrible. Starting at the visuals, bugs and glitches everywhere. There is a savebug that possibly can ruin your entire save stat. Then, the lack of Pokemon. It's bad, it's really bad. Also the lack of difficulty, I mean, okay, Pokemon was never "difficult" but you were at least able to make it difficult yourself with things like turning off the EXP share do so called "Lockes".This game is horrible. Starting at the visuals, bugs and glitches everywhere. There is a savebug that possibly can ruin your entire save stat. Then, the lack of Pokemon. It's bad, it's really bad. Also the lack of difficulty, I mean, okay, Pokemon was never "difficult" but you were at least able to make it difficult yourself with things like turning off the EXP share do so called "Lockes". But since the EXP share is forceably always on, you can't even do that any longer. This game is a **** show and the Devs lied and lied and lied over and over again.… Expand
  30. PannacottaFugo
    Dec 31, 2019
    0
    I will be completely and utterly honest. I don't think these are bad games. They're unarguably better than garbage that were both Pokemon X and Y and Pokemon Sun and Moon. However this game is undeniably lacking in so much pass content such as minigames, moves, Pokemon that follow you, MORE THAN HALF OF THE NATIONAL DEX, and so much more! Not to mention that there are tons of unpolishedI will be completely and utterly honest. I don't think these are bad games. They're unarguably better than garbage that were both Pokemon X and Y and Pokemon Sun and Moon. However this game is undeniably lacking in so much pass content such as minigames, moves, Pokemon that follow you, MORE THAN HALF OF THE NATIONAL DEX, and so much more! Not to mention that there are tons of unpolished areas and bad graphics AND bad animations. The game itself other than the removed content is very run of the mill and is what we're kinda used to and have gotten used to for over two decades. The gameplay is slightly better than usually I guess, the story is also slightly better, and the characters this time around are way better than usual. I found most of them to be very well written and lovable characters. On a side note I really love the Wild Area and hope they bring it back for future entries but we all know they won't

    This game isn't that bad and more just an okay game. An easy 6/10...however like I said before this game has bad animations, bad graphics, more than half the National Dex removed, and it has nothing to show for all of these problems and missing content we love. I really have no choice but to give this game a 0/10. Hopefully the enhanced versions of these games that will come in a year or so will fix the problems of Pokemon Sword and Shield.    … Expand
  31. DJKrimson
    Feb 19, 2020
    4
    I wouldn't recommend this game to anyone. Instead of repeating everyone elses reviews, I'll just summarize my 2 biggest complaints.

    1. It's way to easy. Exp share is always enabled so if you just spend a little bit of your time catching pokemon in the wild area and do some raids, you'll be OP for the rest of the game. Also the new gen bird pokemon (which I'm sure most people use) have    I wouldn't recommend this game to anyone. Instead of repeating everyone elses reviews, I'll just summarize my 2 biggest complaints.

    1. It's way to easy. Exp share is always enabled so if you just spend a little bit of your time catching pokemon in the wild area and do some raids, you'll be OP for the rest of the game. Also the new gen bird pokemon (which I'm sure most people use) have type advantage in like 5-6 of the gyms.

    2. It's blanc,uninteresting and uninspired. To be completely honest, I didn't even understand the games plot even after I had finished the game. The characters suck, specially your rival, who runs away from you 50 meters and waits for you so he can stop you and explain something obvious and run away 50 meters again (yes, throughout the game and no, not exaggerating). There's so much filler dialogue just because the game would be an 8 hour game without it. Also, this gens "team rocket" is pretty much the same as in sun/moon, they have no cause apart from interrupting you with some very easy fights.

    I had 10 times the fun playing Let's go Eevee, which was supposed to be the "here, have this while we finish the real one"-game.    … Expand
  32. dmolken
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    These games are extremely bare bones and rushed. These games almost look like a direct port of a 3DS game. They cut over 50% of the Pokemon, deleted over 100 old moves, and charge 50% more money ($60 vs $40) than the 3DS Pokemon games. On top of that, Game Freak said that they needed to cut 50% of the Pokemon in order to make high quality models and animations for the Pokemon. I'd be okayThese games are extremely bare bones and rushed. These games almost look like a direct port of a 3DS game. They cut over 50% of the Pokemon, deleted over 100 old moves, and charge 50% more money ($60 vs $40) than the 3DS Pokemon games. On top of that, Game Freak said that they needed to cut 50% of the Pokemon in order to make high quality models and animations for the Pokemon. I'd be okay with that if it wasn't for the fact that they lied, and they actually are using 3DS models and animations. Because they are using the 3DS models, there is no reason why they should be cutting over 50% of the Pokemon. Do not support a developer that lies to you. Boycott this game.… Expand
  33. WeihanZhang
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    My friend I am advise please avoid bad game. Not allow purchase support Game Freak Masuda insect bottom coomer.
  34. Yonkometabiosis
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    You can take out more than half the dex if you take care of the graphics
    You can take out the good graphics if you take care of the animations
    You can take out the good animations if you take care of the game's content and story You can take out more than half of the content of a normal pokémon game if you give me a balanced game You can take out any amount of difficulty if you give    You can take out more than half the dex if you take care of the graphics
    You can take out the good graphics if you take care of the animations
    You can take out the good animations if you take care of the game's content and story
    You can take out more than half of the content of a normal pokémon game if you give me a balanced game
    You can take out any amount of difficulty if you give me... anything, Gamefreak, seriously.
    But this game is 60$ plus tip for nothing.

    This comes from a desperate fan, I would forgive gamefreak and nintendo for everything they do wrong, as long as they try. But this game screams "let's see how low our effort and quality can go, generating the same amount of money". I love pokémon but I hate being robbed and laughed at.

    Please consider pirating or stealing this game if you wanna play it. If you have hope for a decent future for the franchise, if you love pokémon as much as I do, don't buy this game.    … Expand
  35. BTLOTM
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    Sword and Shield are graphically disappointing, a step back for the franchise, the further simplification of the game mechanics, and the developers lies about why Pokemon were cut are insulting to their fan base. If you buy this game, you are supporting that, and you are being a good German
  36. zeromaru
    Nov 16, 2019
    4
    el juego es demasiado mediocre es en el apartado gráfico y jugable el modelado 3d es horrible muy reciclado la animación es muy limitada los npc son muy repetitivo ,el modo historia es demasiado sencillo puede llegar a ser entretenido pero se ve muy simple pero lo compensa con los personajes carismático lo poco imaginativo es la propuesta del gigantamax no se siente lo explote muy bienel juego es demasiado mediocre es en el apartado gráfico y jugable el modelado 3d es horrible muy reciclado la animación es muy limitada los npc son muy repetitivo ,el modo historia es demasiado sencillo puede llegar a ser entretenido pero se ve muy simple pero lo compensa con los personajes carismático lo poco imaginativo es la propuesta del gigantamax no se siente lo explote muy bien para ser juego 60 dolares dejar mucho que desear para ser de una franquicia multimillonaria gamefreak o pokemon company se tiene que poner las pilas o estará perdida… Expand
  37. oinutrewas
    Nov 16, 2019
    1
    This is NOT accettable in 2019
    It's the biggest franchise in the world but still we can't get a proper game.

    GF and Nintendo are clearly pointing to the wrong audience with these games, they need to realize that in 2019 most of the people who buys Pokemon are over 18 years old.

    STOP MAKING KIDS GAME
  38. george066
    Nov 16, 2019
    1
    The game is very short and the post game is a joke. Why can't they do a good post game like in Emerald? We haven't had good post game content since then.
  39. LemonCandle
    Nov 16, 2019
    2
    The only thing this game has to offer is teaching your three-year-old how to play. It's borderline insulting how it holds your hand throughout the journey. The animations are abysmal at times, full of glitches, no heart or interesting story, incredible features removed, post game doesn't even exist, no challenge available and no way to choose a difficulty level. That is the tip of theThe only thing this game has to offer is teaching your three-year-old how to play. It's borderline insulting how it holds your hand throughout the journey. The animations are abysmal at times, full of glitches, no heart or interesting story, incredible features removed, post game doesn't even exist, no challenge available and no way to choose a difficulty level. That is the tip of the iceberg. One of the most boring games I've ever played, the charm and excitement of Pokemon is completely gone. Would I recommend you buy it? To your young kid just learning to play video games, yes. This is a game for toddlers...… Expand
  40. CaptainCrack1
    Nov 16, 2019
    1
    It's a downgrade from every other mainline pokemon game. Terrible mechanics, very laggy and rushed. Lazy design and not worth 60$. Some pokemon design are cool, thats the only positive.
  41. Divariomario
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    Very poor game, all the issues seen in the trailers are real and even worse of possibile. 60 bucks thrown in the bin
  42. Davshunter
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    Why accept a game like this? Pokemon isn't a indie company that should have a pass, this game is everything that is wrong with the game market and it's sad to see such a great franchise fall from grace like this.
  43. The_Janitor
    Nov 16, 2019
    1
    A truly sad excuse for a modern Pokemon title and also the utterly butched first outing of the dearly beloved series on an actual console.
    As usual the games beginning and first few hours feel great and inviting but with each and every hour the game shows it's unfinished and half baked side. The overall experience with the art department of this game can be broken down to "Pathetic    A truly sad excuse for a modern Pokemon title and also the utterly butched first outing of the dearly beloved series on an actual console.
    As usual the games beginning and first few hours feel great and inviting but with each and every hour the game shows it's unfinished and half baked side. The overall experience with the art department of this game can be broken down to "Pathetic excuses for "high quality animations" and reused assets galore".
    The soundtrack is great and among the new Pokemon are quite a few that are absolutely adorable and easily can be counted as some of the best gamefreak created so far, but all of this is not really helping if Gamefreak is not willing to put in the work to put in some actual work in the other aspects of the game.
    Gamefreak culled over 50% of the pokemon cast and thereby halved the main attraction of the series claiming this to be a decision they will keep for future entries since it would be too much work to prepare unique and high quality animations for more than 1000 critters.
    It is unfortunately very obvious that sword and shield make use of the old "future proofed" models and no new or refined animations were added.
    As if this wasn't bad enough, the work put into the new pokemon is lacking too (especially outside of battles...)
    The game also suffers a lot on the technical site.
    The "open world" stutters quite a lot and even during battles many framedrops and other performance issues can be witnessed. This comes to no surprise since gamefreak has well known problems with updating their programming methods and sticks to already faulty development techniques. While there may be people defending the open world's hiccups with the fact that it is an open world, here is a little reminder that "The legend of zelda - breath of the wild" is a game on the very same console as this trashfire but it is running smoothly.
    I simply can't recommend to buy this game at all, let's just hope that Gen. 9 will be the return to former glory.
    Please gamefreak there is no need to lie, if you need more time to ship a good game join nintendo's recently shown mentality and simply delay the release until it's done.

    TLDR;
    On many levels, pokemon sword and shield feels like the "Mighty no. 9" of pokemon, it feels unfinished and obvious lies new break into the overall rating of the game. Gamefreak seems to have lost it's touch.    … Expand
  44. RODREZA
    Nov 16, 2019
    1
    It lacks all the things that makes the Pokemon saga a good game. So disgusted.
  45. minecrad
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    I ordered this bedside lamp and it did not come in good shape it was broken and too short and bad pls refund me micosoft
  46. maxfif
    Nov 16, 2019
    1
    If all you are looking for is a basic Pokemon experience, this game will scratch that itch.

    With that said, i am not enjoying it. i have been playing Pokemon for 20 years. i have played literally all of the games. i have seen the highs and the lows. this game is not a high, for me at least. Pros: Some improvements to the user experience. things have been added that make doing the    If all you are looking for is a basic Pokemon experience, this game will scratch that itch.

    With that said, i am not enjoying it. i have been playing Pokemon for 20 years. i have played literally all of the games. i have seen the highs and the lows. this game is not a high, for me at least.

    Pros:
    Some improvements to the user experience. things have been added that make doing the grind-heavy things more simple. There's a "quick button" to throw a Pokeball that makes catching Pokemon more efficient. Also, you can easily check the current status of your opponents during battle, including buffs and other new information not included in previous games.

    Nice visuals. There amazing to be honest. On the whole, you won't notice the visual bugs that are being heavily reported.

    Exploring the new world is fun for the first time around, anytime afterwards becomes bland and dull.

    New Pokemon designs are pretty creative and often times comical. I won't spoil any details, there was many instance where I laughed out loud when I first saw a new Pokemon.

    Cons: MANY.

    Stop with the handholding. Previous games are guilty of this as well, it's hard to believe but it has become worse. You are getting stopped every few minutes to watch a cut scene or slog through another tutorial. And what's worse is that you can't skip them! Most of the time the tutorials appear after you have been doing what they teach for much longer.

    This game is EASY. I understand it was made for children in mind but holy mother even children could use a challenge. Most of the game's battle are able to be beaten by just pressing A on an attack. No matter what you do, you will be overleveled, most, if not the entire game.

    Dynamax is just plain BORING. It's a cool visual the first couple times around, but does nothing to alter character stats. You will get 3 boosted attacks, but you can still beat enemy opponents just by pressing A.

    Open world is bland. The hype was too much. Imagine those really wide open areas of BotW with no monsters. This is the same with Sw/SH except with a few Pokemon here and there.

    The rival. Simply put, if I could go back in time, I would not spend my $60 on this game just because he is the most annoying thing I could spend my free-time with.    … Expand
  47. Aurasphere
    Nov 16, 2019
    1
    Bland, shallow and overall lazy attempt to bring one of the most loved game franchise around the world on the home console. Huge disappointment as it could have been so much better than the previous DS games.
  48. Alanmaster
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    Corte de pokedex jogo porco sem mega mega sem pokemons suficientes e qualidade porca tudo nesse jogo é ruin
  49. Victorcm
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Inside the city the game is very pretty, but when we are out of town the Pokemon just jump off the screen ... trees come out of nowhere especially when we are cycling and the graphics very average compared to Zelda breath of the wild or The Witcher.… Expand
  50. XIPaulDarcy
    Nov 18, 2019
    3
    The Pokémon series means something different to everyone.

    To many, it's all about the battling. For others, their entertainment is in the story. And for some, it's about the bonds that have been forged through years of play. Pokémon Sword and Shield, while promising to be a game for the "long time fans", falls short in all of these elements. Long gone are the old days of Pokémon's    The Pokémon series means something different to everyone.

    To many, it's all about the battling.
    For others, their entertainment is in the story.
    And for some, it's about the bonds that have been forged through years of play.

    Pokémon Sword and Shield, while promising to be a game for the "long time fans", falls short in all of these elements.

    Long gone are the old days of Pokémon's difficulty. Where poison could faint your allies in seconds OUTSIDE of battle, and the toughest of trainers, the gym leaders and Elite Four of the region, actually took some strategy or training to beat.

    As for the plot. It was about as much as I expected from a Pokémon game. Protagonist leaves home with rival to finish the "gym challenge" meeting some sort of villainous team along the way, all before saving the world and finally beating the champion of the region. Which isn't a bad thing, but Pokémon games have been sorely lacking on post game content since Heart Gold and Soul Silver. Where's our Battle Frontier? Where's our second region?

    Lastly, we have the removal of the National Pokédex. Why does this matter? I don't believe it's because the ability to "catch 'em all" has been removed, I myself have a living Pokédex in past games, and not being able to transfer each of them to Galar hasn't phased me in the slightest. It matters to those who have had Pokémon with them for years. You're buddy that you've had with you since childhood, has now been declined access to Galar, and that's a heavy blow for some people, which is why my review loses two extra points, because if they've removed some now, who's to say they won't remove others like Gengar, Tyranitar, Mimikyu, Gardevoir ( My personal favorite ) or Umbreon in the future?

    TLDR? Sword and Shield was all it needed to be to appeal to casual and competitive Pokémon players ( a game branded "Pokémon" ) but for long-term fans, falls short when compared to other AAA games out there. With so many elements showing a lack of polish and effort, GameFreak really needs to step it up for the future of the series.

    Thanks for reading!    … Expand
  51. Myouken
    Nov 18, 2019
    1
    Complete laziness from the developer, technically not sufficient for a games of late 2019 on the most powerful nintendo console, the game is worth playing with friends, but it's a masterpiece of laziness by gamefream, which is not able to beat even games came out in 2006 on the wii
  52. Sasa789
    Dec 17, 2019
    0
    Pokemon, make REAL videogames! This is not what we wan't. Evolve like all that other video games have, you of all companies have the funds to make the greatest game EVER.
  53. Ejawesome
    Dec 23, 2019
    0
    Absolute waste of money. Cash grab that was rushed and is extremely flawed in so many ways. Regret all my time spent with it.
  54. Neri
    Dec 25, 2019
    0
    Really bad animations, future titles need too improve really hard if they want to keep the franchise alive
  55. svsidath
    Dec 28, 2019
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Disappoinment can't even begin to describe how it feels to see the state of this franchise. You see other major titles like Zelda, Mario, Fire Emblem, Dragon Quest, Smash Bros, and Animal Crossing make their way to the Switch and they look gorgeous and wonderfully made. Animal crossing isn't even out yet, but they delayed the game to make sure it's the best it could be and meet everyone's expectations. Meanwhile, the pokemon company decided it was a good idea to make a new game every year, so now every new product is extremely rushed and has less content than the previous title.i wasn't a fan of Let's Go in the slightest but after playing these titles, I'm actually surprised to admit it wasn't that bad. With this pattern continuing, soon Sword and shield will look like masterpieces due to future games having even less content and playability. Pros: + Nice music tracks
    + Character customization has many options thankfully

    Cons:
    - Bland story
    - Cut Dex. Even worse reasoning for cutting the dex. "Balancing the competitive meta" is the worst one yet cause it's objectively wrong previous titles made it so early online tournament battles limit the participants to only using "region native" pokemon, which would give a stamp to the pokemon's summary to signify it was caught in-game and not transferred. There is no reason this couldn't have been done again. - "High quality" animations and models. So that was a lie. It was even disproved before the game came out. #GameFreakLied trended worldwide on Twitter since people who got the game early or pirated it found out the models were transferred over from the previous games, disproving the interview claims of "oh uhh porting to the Switch was difficult so we had to make everything from scratch". Furthermore, character animations like Hop are reused from previous games, see the infamous Hau-Hop gif. What's even worse is NPCs running around, coming to a halt, and doing a full 90 degree turn as if they still live on a DS game grid. - Rushed ending. There's not even an evil team in this game, which made the whole game feel like an extremely short gym challenge and then a stop by Rose Tower to fight what should've been a post game legendary. You even catch the middle legend before you can catch the box legend, which was added as a post-game catch instead so you actually have one thing to do later. - No antagonist until the VERY end, and even that was rushed into "leon, cancel the championship match everyone was waiting for right now so we can start an end to climate change today. or else."
    - Bland post game. You do a bunch of battles and then catch the box legend. Then Hop decides to give up on his original dreams cause he realizes he isn't good enough to reach those goals and never will be. Keep in mind he does this after catching a Legendary. He decides to be a lab assistant. With a legendary.
    - Characters built off a single trope/defining feature (ex: Leon, the undefeatable champion who has a bad sense of direction)
    - Extremely small routes. GameFreak now believes kids are essentially braindead and would rather play on their phones than on their switch (they actually stated this claim in interviews), so routes are much smaller and simpler so we can spend less time playing their game. Small routes make it even faster to jump from one gym to the next. I found myself casually adventuring the wild area and then when I finally decided to fight some gyms, I finished 3 within the span of approximately half an hour.
    - Gen 1 pandering. This has always been a problem and it still remains. First we had Kanto, then we had Kanto in Johto's games (which is one of the biggest selling points of it), then we had Kanto remakes in Hoenn, then we got a nice brief break from Kanto in Sinnoh but they popped back up with the Johto remakes, then we got Unova— new gen Kanto (see the tropes repeat in the dex: 3 stage rock monsters that evolve from trade: Geodude/roggenrolla, 2 stage cave bat that you'll always run into: Zubat [crobat didn't exist at the time]/woobat, humanoid fighter duo: hitmonlee-chan/throh-sawk, 2 stage mushroom monster: Paras/foongus, pink healer: Chansey/audino, etc.), Then we got many Kanto megas in Kalos (with Charizard having 2), then we got Kanto only regional forms in Alola, and now we get not only more Kanto regional forms but Gigantamax Charizard as the champion's ace. And depending on your starter choice, a majority of his team isn't even Galar pokemon.
    - Horrible designs. I used to not like certain pokemon cause I wasn't a fan of their designs, but this gen made me believe they are godsends. After seeing garbage like Eiscue, I actually found Aromatisse and Stantler to be creative designs that were probably coined by Socrates or Aristotle. I have James Turner to thank for this revelation. Even the starter evolutions were pure disappointment. When they were first leaked, forums and Twitter couldn't stop talking about how ugly they were.    … Expand
  56. MasterUlysses
    Jan 2, 2020
    4
    You can tell they gave up halfway through development. After the 5th gym, the game hurries you along to the end of the game leaving a trail of trite challenges, underdeveloped and short areas, baffling character motivations and aborted plot arcs in your wake. The Dynamax gimmick is uninspired at best and broken at worst, particularly in regards to Max Raids, which is exacerbated by almostYou can tell they gave up halfway through development. After the 5th gym, the game hurries you along to the end of the game leaving a trail of trite challenges, underdeveloped and short areas, baffling character motivations and aborted plot arcs in your wake. The Dynamax gimmick is uninspired at best and broken at worst, particularly in regards to Max Raids, which is exacerbated by almost nonexistent player matching online. In ever sense of the word, this game is a downgrade; Dynamax is an extremely downgrade from Mega Evolution and Z Moves, Y-Comm is a downgrade from PGL, Galar's mythology is a downgrade from that of every other region, and of course, most infamously, even the amount of available Pokemon is downgraded. This game is of the same franchise-killing caliber as Sonic '06, but unlike Sega, Game Freak refuses to apologize for giving us a subpar product. And that is not an acceptable way to treat the millions of fans who have been loyal for more than 2 decades.… Expand
  57. PeaTearGryfin
    Jan 4, 2020
    1
    Good
    -The music is ok, I guess
    -Some of the new Pokemon are ok -Sonia is best waifu Bad -National Dex gone -Terrible story -Your rival is literally the worst character ever -The graphics are ugly with N64 era textures on trees, buildings, ground, sky, etc. -Bad battle animations -Pokemon are incorrectly scaled -Overpriced for the lack of polish -Frequent frame rate drops    Good
    -The music is ok, I guess
    -Some of the new Pokemon are ok
    -Sonia is best waifu

    Bad
    -National Dex gone
    -Terrible story
    -Your rival is literally the worst character ever
    -The graphics are ugly with N64 era textures on trees, buildings, ground, sky, etc.
    -Bad battle animations
    -Pokemon are incorrectly scaled
    -Overpriced for the lack of polish
    -Frequent frame rate drops
    -Online play causes the frame rate to drop down into the single digits
    -Max Raid Battles don't work as designed
    -Wild Area is a tiny, lifeless field where wild Pokemon just pop up out of the ground in front of you
    -Catching more powerful Pokemon is tied behind story progression
    -Terrible pacing
    -Gym challenges are boring and Gym Leaders are terrible
    -Dynamaxing is the lamest mechanic ever introduced into a video game
    -Way too many hand holding tutorials    … Expand
  58. Neca96
    Jan 11, 2020
    4
    It's just really mediocre. Has a lack of endgame content, there is nothing to explore and overall feels really unpolished.
  59. Makashinga
    Apr 7, 2020
    0
    This is by far the worst game Ive ever played in my entire life. I like nintendo but this is the most blatant cash grab I've ever seen, which is sad considering EA exists. The story is trash, the characters are horrifically terrible, the battle system is like dragon quest but less **** the graphics are HORRIBLE especially from a triple a studio. This was the biggest waste of money i haveThis is by far the worst game Ive ever played in my entire life. I like nintendo but this is the most blatant cash grab I've ever seen, which is sad considering EA exists. The story is trash, the characters are horrifically terrible, the battle system is like dragon quest but less **** the graphics are HORRIBLE especially from a triple a studio. This was the biggest waste of money i have ever spent and the worst part is that I lost my receipt so now I have to keep this **** on my switch. I'm a complete idiot for buying this trash.… Expand
  60. Peacepiperf20
    Oct 7, 2020
    2
    Probably one of the worst pokemon games extremely easy and rushed but pokemon apologists wont agree and will tell you its great just look at the ratings.
  61. SammyDelicious
    Oct 20, 2020
    1
    Pokemon blue, red, yellow, gold, silver and crystal are easily some of my favorite games of all time. I have replayed them countless times. I have waited for 25 years for a 3D pokemon game and this game was an insult to any lifelong, diehard pokemon fans. I don't have enough space to list everything that is wrong with this game so I'll keep it short.

    This Game Is Not Fun. Plain And Simple.
  62. NakedWizard
    Oct 7, 2020
    4
    Pokemon Sword has great new pokemon designs, a few beautiful places and some nice new mechanics. But, overall, this game has so many problems that I simply cannot recomend it to anyone.

    Graphics and animations: It looks and feels exactly like a HD version of a 3DS game. That's not a metaphor, that's not a joke. Pokemon sword and shield are upscaled 3ds games. It is really disapointing    Pokemon Sword has great new pokemon designs, a few beautiful places and some nice new mechanics. But, overall, this game has so many problems that I simply cannot recomend it to anyone.

    Graphics and animations: It looks and feels exactly like a HD version of a 3DS game. That's not a metaphor, that's not a joke. Pokemon sword and shield are upscaled 3ds games. It is really disapointing to see those battles with almost no movement on the TV screen, and the characters animations are robotic and unatural in a way I've never seen in a console game.

    Difficulty is inexistent in this game. This is the easiest entry in the franchise and that says a lot. It is also one of the most handholding entries (comparable with sun & moon) and sometimes it seems like you are only pressing A.

    The wild area was the biggest promise of this game (and for god sake, it's only an open 3D area), but turns out it's only another big disappointment. This part of the game has big performance issues, including heavy pop-in, frame rate drops and terrible textures. Besides that, the area seems empty and there's not really much to do after you try the dinamax raid battles a few times (spoiler: these battles are boring too).

    Overall, the game feels empty, childish and unfinished. Unacceptably bad for a console game, even more if you consider it's one of the biggest and more profitable game franchises.    … Expand
  63. Lady_Scribe
    Nov 26, 2019
    4
    I think if this game had spent a little longer in development, it would have been a truly amazing game. But this wasn’t the case, and I feel sad for those who clearly made an effort to lovingly design a game in a very small amount of time, perhaps being aware that they couldn’t put everything into it. And it really, really shows. Designs are fantastic, but the finished product feels rushedI think if this game had spent a little longer in development, it would have been a truly amazing game. But this wasn’t the case, and I feel sad for those who clearly made an effort to lovingly design a game in a very small amount of time, perhaps being aware that they couldn’t put everything into it. And it really, really shows. Designs are fantastic, but the finished product feels rushed and haphazard, there’s virtually no end-game content, and the asking price of £50 is highly excessive considering that there are other games out there for the same price with much better content.

    Nintendo, GameFreak, by bringing Pokémon to the big consoles, you’re swimming with the big fish. You need to up your game if you want to get better reviews in the future. A disappointing blip on the Pokémon franchise. I hope it improves; Pokémon has gotten me through some challenges in life and it’s sad to see the franchise take a tumble. I’ve humbly learned my lesson and will not pre-order another Pokémon game again.    … Expand
  64. heronz
    Apr 11, 2020
    0
    Game is boring for what it is. that would actually make it a 4/10...BUT you can smell the DLC coming to fluff the cost of this game by splitting up all of the catchable pokemon. Not a fan of the quality or the this business model
  65. califfo93
    Nov 28, 2019
    4
    Tagliare il pokedex del 50% mantenendo una grafica datata e animazioni da ps2: mission complete!
  66. Nightfang1994
    Nov 25, 2019
    3
    Jesus this game was rushed. Shame due to the amazing concepts but here is a brief summary of why its trash

    They finally introduce a proper league championship instead of the elite 4 right? Fantastic! Oh wait it's all the same gym and rivals with the same pathetic teams posing no challenge at all so if anything it's less variety in who you fight against Less pokemon and trash internet for    Jesus this game was rushed. Shame due to the amazing concepts but here is a brief summary of why its trash

    They finally introduce a proper league championship instead of the elite 4 right? Fantastic! Oh wait it's all the same gym and rivals with the same pathetic teams posing no challenge at all so if anything it's less variety in who you fight against

    Less pokemon and trash internet for a more expensive game that charges online

    The rival is the worst one yet. The animations for anything outside the gym leaders is bad. Like at least fix the cutscenes Customization is a bunch of Redskins that sometimes dont even show up during gym fights. Raid battles suck

    Gigantimax sucks. The most is really bad outside of the gym and Marnie's theme No post game whatsoever ...nothing....

    Pros: godlike concepts and they finally made gyms seem like proper immersive challenges in stsdiums.

    The wild area is a must have for all future pokemon games    … Expand
  67. werd10101
    Apr 13, 2020
    4
    Lazy game that needed another year of dev time. For every quality of life improvement came several downgrades
  68. Shaedowhunter
    Jun 6, 2020
    2
    A lot of bugs, immersion breaking due to unreasonable/unnecessary pop-ins, decisions on some parts of the game are baffling and nonsensical, the story-line is terrible, even for a young audience it's too childish. The decisions on dialogue in the middle of battles and "multiple choice" on the dialogues in the story are useless, and serve no meaning to the story or have any consequence. TheA lot of bugs, immersion breaking due to unreasonable/unnecessary pop-ins, decisions on some parts of the game are baffling and nonsensical, the story-line is terrible, even for a young audience it's too childish. The decisions on dialogue in the middle of battles and "multiple choice" on the dialogues in the story are useless, and serve no meaning to the story or have any consequence. The game would've been better without the story-line and dialogues. The only reason I bought this was in hopes the Crown Tundra DLC would be worth it.… Expand
  69. LadySephiroth
    Nov 25, 2019
    4
    I have been a fan of pokemon for over 25 years. And I must say with each game that comes out, they lose more and more of their soul. Although the environments and move animations look great, the Pokemon themselves were reused models. The storyline is lackluster, and you feel nothing for any of the characters. Didn't feel like anything exciting was happening. Even in Pokemon OmegaI have been a fan of pokemon for over 25 years. And I must say with each game that comes out, they lose more and more of their soul. Although the environments and move animations look great, the Pokemon themselves were reused models. The storyline is lackluster, and you feel nothing for any of the characters. Didn't feel like anything exciting was happening. Even in Pokemon Omega Ruby, it felt adventurous cause the need to stop team Magma from unleashing Groudon seemed like an eminent threat, and thus gave the game purpose. I didn't feel any eminent threat in this game, there was ONE battle with the game's antagonist. And that was it. The rest of the game felt like grinding. What's with the World Cup themed gym battles? I like the audience part but changing into a uniform every single time was SO ANNOYING. I'm here to battle Pokemon, not to play soccer... Not to mention , Dynamax is the lamest and dumbest thing I have EVER seen. Dynamax Pokemon look like Pokemon someone designed while under massive drug use which lead to hallucinations. Since when do Pokemon grow to giant sizes? SO WEIRD!!! I couldn't get over it. What ever happened to Mega Evolution?? They introduced something great only to take it away. You cannot Mega Evolve in this game. They dropped that feature like a hot potato. It feels like they just want to create new gimmicks with little effort. No National DEX? Are you kidding me?? I love Lugia and Groudon and Metagross but guess what, can't play with them cause they aren't in Galar dex. What's the point of pokemon when you can't battle others online with the Pokemon you actually care about?? This feels like a dumbed down game meant to try to attract new followers into the world of Pokemon. It's NOT a game for veterans. And to top it off, Ninentdo charges a MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION in order to have ANY online features. That's right, NO pokemon trading or Pokemon battling with others around the world unless you wanna PAY for it. Since when was online features a purchase??? Stop being greedy you guys.

    The Wild Area is boring to me. I'm not here to recapture old Pokemon I've been capturing for the past 20 years already. I am here for new Pokemon. I felt like most of the game, I was encountering Pokemon I've already seen millions of times. Which made me feel like I wasn't REALLY exploring a new area. Instead of creating this huge wild area with Pokemon we've already seen, why not just invest your time and energy into a better story and more environments to explore? The map felt sooo small to me. What happened to the goggles you need to pass the sandstorm in the deserts (pokemon ruby) or the magical song that has to be sung deep in the cavern maze for Lugia to appear (soul silver)? This game was way to simple , POkemon is supposed to be more challenging. Also there is not much to do post- game. Except re capture old pokemon that are now HUGE... so stupid. I feel bad for developers cause I know they put work into here and were trying new things but this time around it didn't work out. I have a better idea. They should just remake soul silver for the switch and use NEW pokemon models this time. They can start there. lol.

    P.S. What's with the ugly final starter evolution? I can thing of a million starters that are better than a monkey (done before) or a rabbit. Honestly, so much of the FAN ART I see of people inventing their own pokemon look SO MUCH cooler than these new official ones. It's not hard to design a cool Pokemon, it really isn't .    … Expand
  70. niccolomusillo
    Dec 19, 2019
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Boring history, inconsistency online multiplayer. Less helps for competitive players. Obtain a competitive gigamax pokémon with the correct method is impossible. No online tournament allowed. Post story inexistent. Only few ideas were good but not enough… Expand
  71. pm_goulart
    Jan 2, 2020
    0
    The game was first presented in the begging of 2019 and was very well praised by the fan based community. If good improvements and a new 3D game model, the game raised a lot expectations by public. Also, the developers stated in some interviews that they have learned from previous experiences and they were working hard to give fans the game they wanted. However, things turned out to beThe game was first presented in the begging of 2019 and was very well praised by the fan based community. If good improvements and a new 3D game model, the game raised a lot expectations by public. Also, the developers stated in some interviews that they have learned from previous experiences and they were working hard to give fans the game they wanted. However, things turned out to be completely different from what had being said.
    01 – First, the game lacks graphics improvement. It is the first time that Pokémon hits the tv consoles. For sure it had more power than the previous handheld consoles, but yet, the graphics did not reflect the true power of the Nintendo Switch. We can see that by playing the Legend of Zelda, Mario Odyssey, or Xenoblade Chronicles. The truth is: the graphics improvements were poor and lacks refinement as you can see a lot of pixelate textures throughout the game.
    02 – The cut of National DEX were a very wrong move. The fact that not having all the pokémons in a game is a huge step back in the franchise. They could have worked that part and hired more professionals to do this job. It is not a case of balancing and lack of time. This is a case of misleading in the production and lack of a strong leadership.
    03 – The game does not have any post game adventure. It is the worst ever.
    04 – Along with the Pokémon, the removal of the GTS is another step back as we now have to count on lucky to complete the dex with pokémons we don’t have.
    05 – The game does not stand good frame rates while connect on the internet. There moments of lagging and short freezing if the internet is on.
    06 – Despite all the improvements, the game main story is poorly developed. It grows in the background, which makes the main character be apart of it. This is a shift if you just look back in the other games where the main characters take part of the story and help to build the storyline.
    07 – Mega evolutions, z moves, abilities, deleted items and moves does make a difference. Mega evolutions were a great move. It makes no sense removing it.
    08 – The soundtrack is one greatest things in the game. At least I was not disappointed in this aspect. However, is somehow repetitive as some routes share the same song and some cities have copies of previous ones.
    09 – Differently from Sun and Moon, Pokémon Sword and Shield makes a really [almost absent] referent of other games from the same franchise. They barely mentioned other regions. In consequence, there is not multi plot. The stories do not connect to each other.
    10 – The producers delivered a final product with so much work to be done. And this could be fixed if they either contracted more people or asked for help. They delivered a poorly made game relying on its name to sell millions of copies.    … Expand
  72. fallout7050
    Dec 27, 2019
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. the graphics that both said that they were going to improve did not make the animations of most of the pokemon are poor compared to for example pokemon sun and moon or pokemon ultra sun and ultra moon which percent are of a cosola of the last generation 3ds and this game that came out on a supposedly better console has worse animations even the game that preceded pokemon les go eeve has better animation than this game In addition to having all the pokemon without any limitation that they are only 400 a company like gamefreak that has millions as a company for having the most important franchise as a pokemon, it cannot make a game that is decent and that has all the pokemons as it was pokemon les go eeve and the worst thing will surely be that they will issue an ultra sword and ultra shield edition with the false promise that it will solve all the errors and bring all the pokemones when the latter should have done it at the beginning and as if it was not enough With all the above mentioned, the rendering distance is rubbish, you literally go a bit far and the pokemon are already disappearing and then we have the fact that our rival is simply bad for saying little, he spends half of the blessed game telling you that you know the weakness of elementary types and does nothing to counter his clear disadvantage literally he doesn't feel like he is a rival although they want to paint it as such and as for the story this is bland and predictable from the minute one we already know that the bad guy in the game is chairman rose and although the game tries to hide it he fails prematurely are for all these reasons that I think this game is so bad… Expand
  73. Genji1
    Nov 27, 2019
    1
    Half of all Pokemon missing, the touted "Wild Area" is just a massive open empty world, some Pokemon cant even be caught at first cause they are level gated behind badges, the 'Dynamax gameplay feature is pretty simple and boring. raid battles are just an annoying slog. The story is so basic and forgettable there might as not even be one. Your rival Hop is literally just a Hau clone. TheHalf of all Pokemon missing, the touted "Wild Area" is just a massive open empty world, some Pokemon cant even be caught at first cause they are level gated behind badges, the 'Dynamax gameplay feature is pretty simple and boring. raid battles are just an annoying slog. The story is so basic and forgettable there might as not even be one. Your rival Hop is literally just a Hau clone. The "evil" Team Yell isn't evil at all, they are just a bunch of idiots, like seriously, they are less threatening than Team Skull was. Worse problem for me is there no more GTS. Only good thing i can say about this game is it sees the return of Gym battles and Gym puzzles. Overall this game lacks any kind ambition and is clearly just a copy, paste lazy game from Game Freak , cuz its Pokemon and they know it will print money regardless of how god awful this game is.… Expand
  74. asapas
    May 19, 2020
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. They just DON'T CARE ANYMORE!! It's their first Switch try and they completely messed it up.
    As of now, playing even the Pokemon Yellow version on GameBoy, is a more exciting experience

    There in Gamefreak, they should FIX IT OR LEAVE IT!!!
    Awful!!!!    … Expand
  75. Krossbone
    Jan 30, 2020
    1
    What can I say that hasn't already been said? Could have been so much more, but due to Game Freak's horrible marketing and rushing, the game was churned out with lackluster presentation and exclusion of numerous Pokemon from the Pokedex that are already coded into the game.
  76. DarkVivid
    May 9, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game just wants to **** with me I am at the fairy arena and The questions she is giving me are just a bunch of jokes, it's like the game hates you or something, it's sad that the Pokémon games aren't the same anymore.… Expand
  77. Carny
    Apr 3, 2020
    4
    This is what I'm gonna call a Death Stranding situation. The trailers were more interesting than the game. This game is just flat out not fun. Repetitive lies from the devs and an "open-world" aren't what makes Pokemon fun.
  78. gab_shk
    Nov 23, 2019
    0
    This game feels like an indie game for $ 5. I can’t imagine how part of the most expensive gaming franchise can be such rubbish.
  79. Reviewk
    Nov 25, 2019
    3
    The game lacks the content that a home console release should have and details Game Freak's incompetence in excessive detail. Whether it be the barren wild area and its robotic pokemon that don't interact with their environment, or the short main game that insults your intelligence by holding your hand the whole way through. This game just goes to show that Game Freak doesn't understandThe game lacks the content that a home console release should have and details Game Freak's incompetence in excessive detail. Whether it be the barren wild area and its robotic pokemon that don't interact with their environment, or the short main game that insults your intelligence by holding your hand the whole way through. This game just goes to show that Game Freak doesn't understand what the fanbase wants in a pokemon game, because this certainly isn't it.… Expand
  80. ShinyOtter
    Nov 18, 2019
    1
    For being the first games on the Switch, they're complete and utter disappointments. I bought this game thinking like the previous gen it would be a wonderful and incredible experience, but the game feels so hollow and lifeless compared to Generation 7. Your rival interrupts you every time something meaningful happens in the game, the animations are buggy and just clip onto your screenFor being the first games on the Switch, they're complete and utter disappointments. I bought this game thinking like the previous gen it would be a wonderful and incredible experience, but the game feels so hollow and lifeless compared to Generation 7. Your rival interrupts you every time something meaningful happens in the game, the animations are buggy and just clip onto your screen like they were teleported into existence (such as when interacting with a Gyarados in a lake and how it goes right through your trainer model), and worst of all, the lack of Pokemon makes for a boring and uninteresting journey. I missed a lot of my favorites and the new designs just didn't appeal to me.

    GF said this would appeal to longtime fans but as someone who's played it since Ruby and Sapphire I have to say this felt like more of a spinoff or a fangame than an actual new generation of Pokemon, and they cut out a lot of the things that made it enjoyable, the Pokemon themselves. The online is now a paid subscription and the GTS has been removed, so you can't trade with strangers for starters or other Pokemon to complete your National Dex unless you have friends and can trade locally.

    I hope GF can improve these games because I really wanted to see them succeed, but as they are right now I don't want to spend $60 just for one or two designs I enjoy in exchange for sacrificing the beloved Pokemon I've come to know and train over the years.    … Expand
  81. GSC_Dusk
    Nov 18, 2019
    4
    Pokemon Sword and Shield feel more like a 3DS game than a Switch game. There's a few decent improvements, from being able to access the PC anywhere, to having a huge "Wild Area" that feels like what a route in Pokemon should have always been. But comparing Sword and Shield to other Switch games, the graphics and music are clearly below average. The removal of the EXP Share's toggle rendersPokemon Sword and Shield feel more like a 3DS game than a Switch game. There's a few decent improvements, from being able to access the PC anywhere, to having a huge "Wild Area" that feels like what a route in Pokemon should have always been. But comparing Sword and Shield to other Switch games, the graphics and music are clearly below average. The removal of the EXP Share's toggle renders the game hilariously impossible to fail, while arbitrary catching level limits in certain areas make the game frustrating in a bad way. Most of the NPCs are unnecessarily shallow (not you Marnie, you're awesome… Expand
  82. LoneBro
    Nov 18, 2019
    2
    Even by Pokemon standards this game is extremely mediocre. After I started playing I was pleasantly surprised... for about the first two hours. There are some interesting environments and I do like how it has been made easier to get into the competitive scene, but the game's flaws catch up to it really quickly. By the time I got to the first gym I was already bored. Almost no thought isEven by Pokemon standards this game is extremely mediocre. After I started playing I was pleasantly surprised... for about the first two hours. There are some interesting environments and I do like how it has been made easier to get into the competitive scene, but the game's flaws catch up to it really quickly. By the time I got to the first gym I was already bored. Almost no thought is required in building a ream. Regardless of what Pokemon you are using the forced experience share keeps you so overlevelled you will almost never run into a real challenge. The two main gimmicks this time around are extremely underwhelming. The wild area is cool at first, but after about 20 minutes you realize you have seen it all and really have no reason to go back except to fill out the pokedex and farm items. For such a large selling point of the game I expected much more to do. Dyna/gigantamaxing are just a lackluster gimmick. I am a little more than halfway through the game and have almost never found a need to dynamax. I did it once just to try it out, but after that I just predicted the dynamax and wiped the floor with them thanks to type advantages. There are a few new additions/improvements, but the things we lost in return far outweigh anything we gained from this entry to the series. Pokemon Sword and Shield are a tragic waste of potential in the jump from 3DS to Nintendo Switch. Other Switch games have proved time and time again what the Switch is truly capable of, and these games don't even come close to the bar. Coming from the highest-grossing intellectual property on the planet we should have received a lot more than we did. A clear attempt to bank off the Pokemon namesake and definitely NOT worth the $60 price point.… Expand
  83. Visaith31
    Nov 18, 2019
    2
    While the core game is average they cut too many corners and lied about it. They know they have a monopoly and it shows.
  84. Knuckdafaq
    Nov 18, 2019
    0
    Animations are bad. The dynamax and gigantimax is stupid since they can only be using on raids and gym battles. They missed to opportunity to add the z moves and mega evolutions. Hop is basically a Hau clone with the same animations. The trees’ texture look as if they belong to a Nintendo 64 game. Especially cutting certain Pokémon out for “better” animations. I really love the series butAnimations are bad. The dynamax and gigantimax is stupid since they can only be using on raids and gym battles. They missed to opportunity to add the z moves and mega evolutions. Hop is basically a Hau clone with the same animations. The trees’ texture look as if they belong to a Nintendo 64 game. Especially cutting certain Pokémon out for “better” animations. I really love the series but GameFreak messed up real hard.… Expand
  85. sonikah
    Nov 18, 2019
    0
    For a $20 price increase from previous games, you would expect more features to be added. Instead, far more content was removed from previous games than actually added in this one. The supposed reason for the cut content and price increase was the increase in graphics quality, but the game runs poorly and the animations are limited. Online services are locked behind Nintendo Online'sFor a $20 price increase from previous games, you would expect more features to be added. Instead, far more content was removed from previous games than actually added in this one. The supposed reason for the cut content and price increase was the increase in graphics quality, but the game runs poorly and the animations are limited. Online services are locked behind Nintendo Online's paywall. You can't bring over all of your Pokemon from previous games, and you have to pay for another service to import the few that were included.… Expand
  86. Sweetpair
    Nov 19, 2019
    0
    This is a disaster! All content is cuted away! No Pokemon from previous gens! No National pokedex! It' terrible!
  87. 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
  88. sojasonk
    Nov 20, 2019
    1
    Lazy writing, bad graphics, an absolute mediocre and underwhelming introduction to Mainline Games for the Nintendo Switch. GameFreak has done the community a disservice by removing integral parts to long time loyal fans such as the National Dex. They do this because they feel they can get away with coasting simply on the name of Pokemon alone
  89. YungProto
    Nov 20, 2019
    0
    Feels like EA made this title. Unfinished game. They cut over half the roster to focus on other stuff to improve but There is nothing but lags and framedrops everywhere from wildarea to dynamaxing . Upscaled 3DS title in my opinion. First big pokemon titles on the powerful hardware and they failed miserably. Almost non existant post game battle tower has less features than the one fromFeels like EA made this title. Unfinished game. They cut over half the roster to focus on other stuff to improve but There is nothing but lags and framedrops everywhere from wildarea to dynamaxing . Upscaled 3DS title in my opinion. First big pokemon titles on the powerful hardware and they failed miserably. Almost non existant post game battle tower has less features than the one from ruby and sapphire wtf GF. 10/10 cashgrab.… Expand
  90. snooter
    Nov 22, 2019
    1
    reused models trash animation trash story trash dex and even same trash balance in rating battle. they said they remove lots of pokemons for balance and now that was completely lie at this point. nerf mimikyu again thanks game freak
  91. shimaoaishimiao
    Nov 25, 2019
    0
    Dear Masuda,well done,what the job you did was fascinating!
    Especially the Dexit job,however,that's an absolutely great job! Let me see, which Pokemon were culled by your great job? Okay I found Mew-two was out, why is him(maybe her)? maybe this model was too hard to handle, Am I right? So, go hell, damn it!
    Love from China.
  92. pokepals
    Nov 25, 2019
    0
    Honestly, this game feels incomplete. GF took half of the pokemon out of the game and there is no way they could be obtained. Not only that but, they recycled animations, which they claimed that they'd be recreating from scratch. The quality of the game is meant for a 3ds, not a Nintendo switch, Save your money people, because this game was purposefully rushed for Christmas time. Very VERYHonestly, this game feels incomplete. GF took half of the pokemon out of the game and there is no way they could be obtained. Not only that but, they recycled animations, which they claimed that they'd be recreating from scratch. The quality of the game is meant for a 3ds, not a Nintendo switch, Save your money people, because this game was purposefully rushed for Christmas time. Very VERY disappointed.… Expand
  93. Rcav
    Nov 25, 2019
    3
    While the game isn't that bad and in general quite enjoyable, it also carries over a lot of problems from last games and doesn't live up to the expectations set for a home console Pokemon game. The ganeplay is too easy, story is uninteresting, graphics aren't as great as other switch games and the wild area is overall underwhelming. Not to mention the vast amount of Pokemon that got cutWhile the game isn't that bad and in general quite enjoyable, it also carries over a lot of problems from last games and doesn't live up to the expectations set for a home console Pokemon game. The ganeplay is too easy, story is uninteresting, graphics aren't as great as other switch games and the wild area is overall underwhelming. Not to mention the vast amount of Pokemon that got cut due to the game being rushed. The Pokemon games have a lot of potential but sadly most of it is wasted since GF likes to stick to their formula. Therefore, I can't and don't want to give this game a high rating.… Expand
  94. newet
    Nov 25, 2019
    0
    The story was horrible and you don't really feel like a hero in it - just some random.
  95. Zerobillion
    Nov 25, 2019
    3
    Horrendous graphical issues, extreme lack of content with no post game and base game beatable in under 20 hours. Story is nonexistent, basically comes down to "oh no stuff is happening, don't worry kids the adults will take care of it" and then that's it, nothing else happens. Wild area is a joke, it isn't the amazing over world experience they tried to make it sound like it is.
  96. Fish2405
    Dec 20, 2019
    0
    Too short a process. Boring plot. There was only time to burun. Let me down to the end of the pokemon series
  97. BIGDATALOVE
    Nov 28, 2019
    0
    unfinished. After the main story which is done very quickly the only thing left is the boring postgame. Not worth the buy. Let Game-freak burn so they finally stop releasing uncompleted trash and stop scamming their community.
  98. Mateorock
    Nov 28, 2019
    3
    Just more of the same. Entretaining but not exciting. Sadly it feels rush, they should add some things to the pokemon saga in adition to keep old stuff like mega evolutions.
  99. henriwb
    Nov 28, 2019
    0
    For the first time in my life will be skipping a pokemon game gen.
    Sun/Moon left a bitter taste and that proves how Game Freak/Pokemon Company only cares about money.
    Even if I had no money when X/Y was released I bought a 3DS to play it. Now, I'm not helping this mess of a game anymore. This is a 3DS game that was ported and rushed to sell. No excuses can be made.
  100. OldOpossum59251
    Dec 2, 2019
    0
    Let me play the game. I bought it to play and not sit through hours worth of forced text and scenes. Plus the render distance for Pokemon and npc's doesn't make sense -.- They screwed up such a good franchise with this one
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

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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.
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  3. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Jan 14, 2020
    78
    Pokemon Sword/Shield is uncharacteristically user-friendly: now there’s no need to backtrack half across the world to heal your entire team of pokemon or to get to a particular city, for example. [Issue#242, p.66]
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