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. Coconutnut
    Nov 23, 2019
    6
    I think it's a decent game, the story wasn't as annoying as previous Pokemon games, but it also felt lazier. There are no big oceans to explore, no big caves to get lost in, it's pretty much a straight line to the finish.

    The second thing that is very annoying - frame rate. The moment you turn on online mode on the Wild Area, prepare for the framerate to drop to 5-15 FPS. It's bad,    I think it's a decent game, the story wasn't as annoying as previous Pokemon games, but it also felt lazier. There are no big oceans to explore, no big caves to get lost in, it's pretty much a straight line to the finish.

    The second thing that is very annoying - frame rate. The moment you turn on online mode on the Wild Area, prepare for the framerate to drop to 5-15 FPS. It's bad, pretty bad. I can't believe they allowed this to happen. Even if you try disconnecting from the internet, the other player models stay there so the framerate stays low regardless.

    Overall, not a bad Pokemon game, but it does feel lazy. The framerate especially feels like the game wasn't play-tested online at all.

    There are very good things in this game, but the shortcomings drive the overall experience down. If you don't care about the story, this might seem good as you can finish the story pretty quickly with no problems, but if you're looking for a game with a good story, this is not it. Pokemon has never been about the story, but this is one of the weaker ones.    … Expand
  2. Daeny
    Nov 25, 2019
    7
    È una bella gioco mi piace la possibilità di muovere la telecamera, bella grafica
  3. WilliamGame
    Nov 16, 2019
    6
    Let's start with some good! The game has been pretty enjoyable for me as it is a Pokémon game, which is a franchise I've grown up with. In addition, the devs have made competitive Pokémon way more accessible than in previous generations through new features like mints. Some areas have really nice graphics. The wild area is a great idea! How you encounter Pokémon in this game is also quiteLet's start with some good! The game has been pretty enjoyable for me as it is a Pokémon game, which is a franchise I've grown up with. In addition, the devs have made competitive Pokémon way more accessible than in previous generations through new features like mints. Some areas have really nice graphics. The wild area is a great idea! How you encounter Pokémon in this game is also quite fun as they appear in the overworld. In my opinion, I think the new Pokémon designs are quite great... Besides Sobbles final evolution. All jokes aside, the new Pokémon are all pretty solid. This game Pokémon Camp feature is a very fun way to interact with your Pokémon. I also really enjoyed the character designs. The character customization was really extensive. The music was nice all around! The gyms were also really fun and had a lot of charm in my opinion. There have also been tons of quality of life additions.

    Now on to the not so good. The game is incredibly easy, the decision to remove turning off EXP share was completely unnecessary. I would be fine with it if they balanced the game around it. However, I don't think they did and I finished the game in only around 18 hours. I even tried to purposefully avoid trainers at a certain point as my Pokémon were so strong. I also had to box my most powerful Pokémon for a bit until I progressed far enough to feel comfortable playing with them without feeling like I cheesed the game. Although some areas of the game are really pretty, others are not. The wild area for example, that place feels incredibly barren and lifeless compared to some of the towns. A lot of the textures could've used more polish. The weather is also quite jarring in the wild area as it switches from sunny to snowy in what seems like two minutes when you're biking around. There is also a feature where you can't catch Pokémon that are too high of a level if you don't have the badge requirement to catch them. This decision makes no sense to me. This is all a shame as the wild area was the selling point of the game for me. Across the board, almost all areas had really bad pop-in and draw distance. Framerate did also noticeably drop occasionally. Although I had loved Mega Evolutions, I don't care at all for dynamaxing as it's most likely going to be scrapped anyways in future generations, it wasn't nearly as creative as Mega Evolutions, and felt the most gimmicky out of Megas and Z-Moves from past generations. Megas also gave love to Pokémon that needed more love. Dynamax doesn't really give love to "unpopular" Pokémon as every Pokémon can dynamax and a lot of generation one Pokémon got gigantamax forms. The rival is insufferable and seems to appear every three steps I take and won't leave me alone. The story was meh, and there was little postgame. The story was also very linear. And I haven't even touched "dexit" yet. All I would like to say about dexit is that I don't like being lied to, especially if I'm your consumer. Overall, the game wasn't "awful" but it definitely isn't "amazing" either. However, it was disapointing. And yes, a review is the perfect time and place to criticise and praise a game when necessary.    … Expand
  4. SOUNDWAVEMAN
    Nov 17, 2019
    7
    I have played Pokémon Sword for about 6 hours now and I would describe my self as a causal fan of the franchise including the games, TCG, Figures etc I particularly enjoy the games though. Now unfortunately this game has some major issues and I very much understand the frustrations of the Pokémon Fan Community who dislike this game(s). I personally feel this game was rushed, it isn’tI have played Pokémon Sword for about 6 hours now and I would describe my self as a causal fan of the franchise including the games, TCG, Figures etc I particularly enjoy the games though. Now unfortunately this game has some major issues and I very much understand the frustrations of the Pokémon Fan Community who dislike this game(s). I personally feel this game was rushed, it isn’t pushing the switch and ultimately feel that it’s like a game for the a 3DS successor console if such a thing were to exist which it doesn’t and I doubt it ever will. The graphics are a bit better than 3DS games. But should be much better than they are considering they are on the Switch. I’ve given a score of 7 because I feel that is a fair score. The game plays and you can catch Pokémon, Battle and have some fun with it. It’s not a bad game it’s just a bit of a disappointing one. To be honest personally I prefer Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee as they are supposed to be different and be their own thing and have a unique experience. But yes ultimately Sword and Shield are a bit of a let down. My advice is to find as much information about these games as possible and if you don’t like what you see then don’t buy it. Hope this review helps and thank you for reading.… Expand
  5. GatHalo117
    Nov 16, 2019
    7
    Look, I first entered the franchise when platinum came out, and I was excited because I wanted to see what Pokemon had in store as a game. It felt magical especially when I didn’t know all the Pokémon and that there were other Pokemon that I didn’t know that existed. Watching this game on YouTube with that mindset, it’s one of the most stunning of the series but not perfect. I played thisLook, I first entered the franchise when platinum came out, and I was excited because I wanted to see what Pokemon had in store as a game. It felt magical especially when I didn’t know all the Pokémon and that there were other Pokemon that I didn’t know that existed. Watching this game on YouTube with that mindset, it’s one of the most stunning of the series but not perfect. I played this game as a shiny hunter I was bit bummed when I couldn’t bring my Pokémon to the game, but I realized something. Yeah Pokemon games now might not be the same as I remembered as a kid but it’s because they are making a game for new kids to feel the same magic I did as a kid but from a new era. I know I can still love Pokemon at my age but as a passionate fan, I felt that my time ended in the sun and moon era not because of the games themselves but it’s just the natural change that is part of life. I’m happy with my memories and I think (very very) newcomers will feel the same with this game that I once had.… Expand
  6. Derrisa
    Nov 16, 2019
    5
    As always (I’ve always been a devoted fan of the pkmn games since I was a little girl) I’ve purchased the game. Maybe not so eager this time due to the dexit and all (it was really sad for me but I suppose it was so for a lot of people. But I guess this I can forgive... I guess). There’s one thing I cannot forgive and it’s the duration, the length (pardon my English, since it’s not myAs always (I’ve always been a devoted fan of the pkmn games since I was a little girl) I’ve purchased the game. Maybe not so eager this time due to the dexit and all (it was really sad for me but I suppose it was so for a lot of people. But I guess this I can forgive... I guess). There’s one thing I cannot forgive and it’s the duration, the length (pardon my English, since it’s not my first language...) of the game. They should be ashamed. Never has been a Pokémon game this short. I’m serious you can check in sites such as howlongtobeat and compare these to the other. To ALL the other. To say the difference is huge is not to say enough. Graphics and spirit remains cute but as I said, the problem with the duration of the game (along with the lack of more content) is almost unforgivable.… Expand
  7. chaispaquichui
    Nov 16, 2019
    5
    Épée et bouclier n'est que l'ombre de ce qu'aurait du être pokémon sur switch... Le scénario est médiocre (même pour du pokémon), plus de la moitié des pokémon sont absents, les méga-evolutions ont disparu et les graphismes sont passables. Un jeu sans ambition qui annonce un futur bien sombre pour les prochaines versions...
  8. Jess16
    Nov 16, 2019
    5
    Love this Game play all the game I actually think when they started introducing stuff like mega stone z crystal and now dynamax they were making the game to easy to Beat Also games fo feel short but it depending on how you playare you playing to catch all the Pokémon or are you playing more for the story the other thing that make a difference is also how much have you played and howLove this Game play all the game I actually think when they started introducing stuff like mega stone z crystal and now dynamax they were making the game to easy to Beat Also games fo feel short but it depending on how you playare you playing to catch all the Pokémon or are you playing more for the story the other thing that make a difference is also how much have you played and how long have you had it Also I been playing mostly blind like I don’t know most of the new Pokémon type or evolution or even knowing the gym leader pokemon level. The other thing is when defeating gym I only use one Pokémon that has the type advantage of the gym leader and that made the gym leader harder to defeat. I do think they made this game easy but I think game freak did it for those that are new to to Pokémon that might of started with Pokémon go or let go As for the Pokédex don’t treat this game like a gen 8 game think of it like a gen 1 game… Expand
  9. Properbadman
    Nov 16, 2019
    6
    THIS GAME ISNT AS BAD AS THE REVIEWS ARE SAYING.
    the game looks almost great..
    The new pokemon designs look great The galarian forms are great new additions. And at a push their is 20 hours worth of gameplay in terms of story However the story just felt like their was nothing to show. And it felt like it never went anywhere.. Just felt like all I did was battle gym after gym And how many    THIS GAME ISNT AS BAD AS THE REVIEWS ARE SAYING.
    the game looks almost great..
    The new pokemon designs look great
    The galarian forms are great new additions. And at a push their is 20 hours worth of gameplay in terms of story
    However the story just felt like their was nothing to show. And it felt like it never went anywhere..
    Just felt like all I did was battle gym after gym
    And how many times do you have to battle your rival? Jheeez.
    I accepted the pokedex cut however its pokemon man.. gotta catch them all
    The game isnt that bad but if your going to pay 45 pound for it.. it just will never compete with zelda games Was hyped for the game for years especially when I fount out It was coming on switch.. but I'm just a little disappoint .
    It had so so much potential    … Expand
  10. WottSquad
    Nov 16, 2019
    5
    What more do I have to say that hasn't been said by countless others? The graphics are average. The slowdowns in the Wild Area are irritating. Not all Pokémon that I've grown to love will be transferrable. It's really easy. There are positives though. The soundtrack is great as expected of Pokémon games with catchy tunes and really cool tracks (Bede's battle theme especially). I like quiteWhat more do I have to say that hasn't been said by countless others? The graphics are average. The slowdowns in the Wild Area are irritating. Not all Pokémon that I've grown to love will be transferrable. It's really easy. There are positives though. The soundtrack is great as expected of Pokémon games with catchy tunes and really cool tracks (Bede's battle theme especially). I like quite a few new pokémon designs. I liked the story and characters but I feel some characters should've had more backstory. I'm going right down the middle with this one. Definitely not the worst Pokémon game but far from the best.… Expand
  11. kungfuhuntch
    Nov 16, 2019
    7
    The game to be bit buggy but reminder this first time done online thing on mass plain with other player bit buggy but game still good without national Dex the game still good to play with friend. Mostly this waste their money, without Dex, or multiplayer be buggy, The Dynamax is cool idea but better mega or z-move, At Game Freak should be happy what they made for people to happy. And guessThe game to be bit buggy but reminder this first time done online thing on mass plain with other player bit buggy but game still good without national Dex the game still good to play with friend. Mostly this waste their money, without Dex, or multiplayer be buggy, The Dynamax is cool idea but better mega or z-move, At Game Freak should be happy what they made for people to happy. And guess people can't pinch of salt i guess. Serious people to have fun with the game it better be handhold gameplay.… Expand
  12. TwinFami
    Nov 17, 2019
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I have long waited for Pokémon to become a true console experience (sorry, Colosseum and XD don’t count). So I was stoked for this even WITH all the controversies out there and believe me, I think it was blown up too much.

    Here’s what you REALLY need to know about Pokémon Sword from someone who actually is a fan and who actually beat the game:

    -It will throw you off as a lot of the Pokémon who you remember has new types to go along with their redesigns. For example, Meowth is a Steel Type, Ponyta is a Psychic-Fairy, Mr. Mime is an Ice type, etc. So, you will be confused for a bit when facing old favorites, but you’ll get used to it. A type checker is a must.

    -You can get a good team early on. If choosing the fire type Scorbunny as I did, you can get early on water, electric, fighting, ground, and flying types all before the first gym. Train them well and grind and you can easily breeze through the game. -The experience is more restrictive. I get that they want to make things easier for new players or returning players. But how they’ve done it is downright aggravating. In other games, they’ve restricted the level of traded Pokémon, but now they’ve gone one step further and restricted the level of Pokémon you can CATCH as well. For a long time player, especially when I can get well past the required level easily, this is really frustrating, especially when say my limit is level 25 and I run into a level 26 Onix while my team is at level 30 (which actually happened BTW). This should’ve been an option that could’ve been turned on and off. If I want to attempt to catch a higher level Pokémon, at least give me the chance to do so. Don’t restrict my gameplay for other people.

    -Gym “Missions” are a nuisance. What have we learned about Pokémon gyms? We level up our Pokémon, especially ones with type advantages, battle trainers, and defeat the leader. But if I were to tell you that to even GET to the gym leader, you had to herd a bunch of cattle or answer a narcissistic quiz, would you believe me? Of course not because it doesn’t belong! It is what I would expect from a Zelda game, NOT POKÉMON! Why these were added, I have no idea.....

    -The League is....actually a league.....It’s presented as a sport. You beat the gyms, enter a single elimination tournament with the other gym leaders, and then after a long quest, battle the champion. This is one change I actually like and should’ve been done a long time ago. The Elite Four seemed out dated especially for something that is treated as a sport for years in the anime AND they heal you after every match. A welcome addition.

    -About those graphics.....yeah, it’s a mixed bag. While it’s nice to finally see a proper 3D Pokémon game and the cel shaded graphics does help make the transition from portable to console, there’s issues. Jaggy lines, lots of pop in especially for Pokémon and environments. It looks and feels rushed and it’s a real shame.

    -YES VIRGINIA, THERE ARE MISSING POKÉMON....LOTS OF THEM....but let’s be honest here folks. In this real world, do all the world’s creatures live in one region? No and neither does Pokémon. The regional variants and the regional exclusives add more realism to the games and while yes, my little Rowlet is nowhere to be found, I completely understand the concept. It makes having a complete Pokédex a realistic goal. There are over a thousand Pokémon now.....a....thousand.....do you really think it is truly possible to “Catch ‘em All” at this point? No way at all. So while you complain about “Dexit”, think of it in realistic terms rather than in our own wishes. I’d LOVE to see a game with all regions and Pokémon but at this point, it would take a lot more than what the Switch is currently capable of. It would take a PS4 or Xbox One type of RPG that takes up about a hundred gigs to do that. All in all, while my experience was a positive one, it was not without its frustrations and its challenges. I liked the fresh perspective of making it a true regional experience while also making it a legitimate sports title in a sense, but I hated the restrictions put in place as a longtime player as it insults me to be put up against a proverbial wall so to speak a lot of times. It felt like driving a souped up Ford Mustang but being limited to only driving 30mph by the manufacturer and only allowed to increase the limit the more you drive it. The graphics while a step up were also a let down. I don’t play for graphics as I still dust off my SNES and my Atari from time to time with my OSSC, but for a true first console version, it falls way short. Another year for polish and removal of these unnecessary restrictions and handholding would have gone far to help this title succeed. But hey, there’s always the eventual “definitive third game” which at this point is probably going to be named Pokémon Helmet or Pokémon Armor.....    … Expand
  13. Tabh88
    Nov 17, 2019
    7
    Just beat 2nd gym leader in the game and overall I’m enjoying it. But the game is far too easy for my liking and has been simplified and dumbed down to the point where it takes away from my enjoyment! Some of the pros are 1) less hand holding, the game gives you more independence compared to previous gens 2) great new selection of new Pokemon available from the start of the game and reallyJust beat 2nd gym leader in the game and overall I’m enjoying it. But the game is far too easy for my liking and has been simplified and dumbed down to the point where it takes away from my enjoyment! Some of the pros are 1) less hand holding, the game gives you more independence compared to previous gens 2) great new selection of new Pokemon available from the start of the game and really enjoying training them 3) the design and themes of the game are great - sleek at times but also familiar and with improvements 4) tried the wild area once and liked the variety of pokemon available. The cons are 1) this game is waaay to easy with too much handholding and not enough room for a challenge 2) I hate having the experience share set as permanently on - what an odd decision! I get you can switch out via link box to train other pokemon but the exp share levels up your team way too fast and you end being overleveled with no trainer battle challenges! 3) the trainers AI seems to have been reduced and there is no fight here 4) the gym battles are a breeze and lack gumption 5) the game lacks a good cohesive story line compared to previous gems e.g thought Alolan theme created a culture and fairly in depth plot line but this game is shallow in comparison with less character and depth. Very disappointed with experience share being permanently on. It seems the games are being geared towards younger new comers at the sacrifice of other elements. GM could have easily balanced these challenges out with some tweaks and seems they have missed a trick in places. But still several pros to the game as above. 7/10.… Expand
  14. Marrathanss
    Nov 17, 2019
    7
    Pokémon Sword e Shield vieram com grandes expectativas por parte dos fãs. Com sua receita/fórmula padrão usados desde os primórdios com o gameboy, fica realmente difícil um jogo de Pokémon ser ruim. Mas dada circunstância que estamos em 2019 a tecnologia e os conceitos de RPG evoluíram muito. Não há mal algum em atualizar e implementar elementos de RPG mais modernos isso só expandiria aPokémon Sword e Shield vieram com grandes expectativas por parte dos fãs. Com sua receita/fórmula padrão usados desde os primórdios com o gameboy, fica realmente difícil um jogo de Pokémon ser ruim. Mas dada circunstância que estamos em 2019 a tecnologia e os conceitos de RPG evoluíram muito. Não há mal algum em atualizar e implementar elementos de RPG mais modernos isso só expandiria a franquia. Falando do jogo, "S&$" conta com texturas de cenários preguiçosas em várias partes do jogo. As cidades são bem construídas mas as texturas de chão e rochas/montanhas deixam a desejar. O corte da dex não "faz falta" na campanha principal mas sem dúvidas seria um desafio pegar os 800+ Pokémon e com certeza se mostrará fazer falta no competitivo daqui a alguns meses. A Team Yell foi a pior equipe e eu achava que ninguém superaria a Transferência Skull. Os Pokémon nativos de falar junto as galarian forms fazem de falar uma região com a dex mais promissoras dos últimos anos, sem dúvidas. Os NPC falando sem sair som incomoda, passou daora de rever isso sem falar na repetição de alguns NPC que nem ao menos se esforçaram pra mudar algum detalhe. O universo de Pokémon chegou a um ponto de necessitar de um mundo aberto com cenários mais detalhados (não necessariamente realista), com NPC e Pokémon com uma inteligência artificial natural e não simplesmente programados para ficar no mesmo lugar faça chuva faça sol.… Expand
  15. AngelBarrio
    Nov 18, 2019
    7
    It is really fun and an exciting story, while hip can be annoying sometimes it is not bad. The apparently “short story” is a lie. It takes around 20 hours for a normal play through. Not as good as past games, but very enjoyable
  16. awesomecreatx
    Nov 18, 2019
    7
    The game is quite enjoyable in my opinion, I can see y people are mad, and i respect their wants. But personally, I am loving the game. It does have many issues such as the muddy textures and max frame rate at 30 FPS, and the drops in the wild area to 10 FPS are common, but the core combat is very fun and enjoyable like normal. The main Problem is that it did not innovate enough, but theThe game is quite enjoyable in my opinion, I can see y people are mad, and i respect their wants. But personally, I am loving the game. It does have many issues such as the muddy textures and max frame rate at 30 FPS, and the drops in the wild area to 10 FPS are common, but the core combat is very fun and enjoyable like normal. The main Problem is that it did not innovate enough, but the game is still very fun.… Expand
  17. ArtFR
    Nov 18, 2019
    7
    I finished the game in about 20 hours and had fun, the game is obviously rushed but i still think it isn't that bad
  18. 1_M_
    Nov 19, 2019
    6
    Just finished it. Unfortunately game is pretty mediocre. I don't have a problem with lack of National Dex (maybe because I'm a lucky bastatd, and all my favs are in), but I can objectively understand all the havoc it made. Plot in this generation is extremely dissapointing, hollow and probably the worst ever, especially with it's stupid twist, faceless and unimportant team Yell, andJust finished it. Unfortunately game is pretty mediocre. I don't have a problem with lack of National Dex (maybe because I'm a lucky bastatd, and all my favs are in), but I can objectively understand all the havoc it made. Plot in this generation is extremely dissapointing, hollow and probably the worst ever, especially with it's stupid twist, faceless and unimportant team Yell, and non-sense main antagonist's motivations. Wild area is a nice idea, but it needs alot of polishing, right now it feels borring and kinda empty, I spent there about 20 minutes during my 14 hour long walkthrough, because I didn't feel the need to spend more time in a location like this. When it comes to graphics, well... I'm a kind of person, that usually don't care about such things but damn it, some textures in Sword&Shield look very bad, company with such history and experience shouldn't let this happen, I'm pretty sure game could look so much better. New Mons are obviously a matter of taste, there are some I like very much with one of them instantly becoming one of my all time favourites, and two or three that I absolutely hate, but that's always the case, this series always was all about finding your favourites to me, no matter what they are and how they look.

    Oh, and there's a Battle Tower. Cool...

    It hurts me down to the bone to say that in my opinion Sword and Shield with their story, characters, lots of bugs, and graphic issues are dissapointing titles. Creating underdeveloped games that look like they were released too soon and needed more time for polishing isn't a way I would like Game Freak to go. I hope Gamę Freak and Pokemon Company will draw conclusions and consequences from this situation, although this is very unlikely because despite all the issues these two games are selling like hotcakes.

    In general I would score SwoShi 5/10, but that one effing cute Pokemon forced me to ad one bonus point.

    One more thing. I can understand that some players, especially new to the series may subjectively like those titles, but for the love of God. How can anyone say they're the best Pokemon games ever?!

    Also sorry for my bad English.    … Expand
  19. Akayomi
    Nov 19, 2019
    7
    I got Pokemon Shield but since they're pretty much the same game, I'll paste my review here as well.

    Short version: The Good: - Refreshing feeling overall - Good character designs - Good looking graphics and animations (Half of the time, more on this down on the 'bad') - Wild Area is amaizing The bad: - Lazy animations on a lot of attacks (Which makes it even worse, considering    I got Pokemon Shield but since they're pretty much the same game, I'll paste my review here as well.

    Short version:
    The Good:
    - Refreshing feeling overall
    - Good character designs
    - Good looking graphics and animations (Half of the time, more on this down on the 'bad')
    - Wild Area is amaizing

    The bad:
    - Lazy animations on a lot of attacks (Which makes it even worse, considering some attacks have beautiful animations)
    - FPS drops on the Wild Area, even in Docked mode
    - Cutting the National Dex to "include better animations". Animations that are not in the game.
    - General unpolished feel to the game. This game needed at least 3-6 more months of development, and it could've easily been the BEST pokemon game of all time. Instead, we get a half-baked, mediocre pokemon game.

    Overall: If you enjoyed pokemon games, you will have fun. The game lacks in a lot of aspects, but it's still an enjoyable experience. I wish GameFreak would've taken more time to polish it a bit more, or at the very least that they adress the issues on patches down the line.

    Long version:
    I'm glad I bought this.

    Yes, the game has issues (FPS drops, some animations are cheap as **** it's generally unpolished, unnecesary dexit) but the game really ISN'T as bad as leakers and naysayers would have you believe. It pisses me off because if they had a few more months (say, 3 months, like Animal Crossing) this game could have been the BEST pokemon game ever. Instead, we get a half-assed mediocre game, but with enough fun stuff that it guarantees a huge profit for GameFreak, therefore they will not learn, and will continue to half-ass games, most likely. That's pretty sad.
    Also, anyone saying "the game is short!!! you can beat it in 8 hours!!" is full of **** I haven't even finished the main story and check it: 26hs and ticking. And I haven't even started doing max raids or anything endgame like that.
    The XP share turned on all the time is a pain in the ass, and we SHOULD have an option to turn it off.
    The difficulty is... very low. You can just mash A and you will probably win most fights. That being said, difficulty does spike in a few battles here and there. But most of the time it's very easy.

    Is this game perfect? No, not at all. Is it bad? Not really. It's average, or mediocre, whatever word you prefer to use. But it's fun. If you walk into the game wanting to hate it, you'll nitpick and hate every part of it. If you walk into the game wishing to have fun... well, you'll have tons of fun.

    Whether or not this game is worth 60$ is up to you to decide. For me, it should be 40$ and not a cent more. But I still bent over and paid full price. Even tho I reckon it shouldn't be full price, I personally am having lots of fun, and that makes it worth my time and money.    … Expand
  20. Thatchurr
    Nov 19, 2019
    7
    Not the best Pokemon game in the series for sure but definitely loads of fun. Great new Pokemon and designs. My main issue with game is the TMs are trash. TRs are good but dont like that they are one use and you have to raids to have a chance at getting one. Also i dont care about there not being a Nat Dex. Kind of annoying with the level cap on captures but still good game
  21. Megatorpon
    Nov 20, 2019
    7
    The content of the game is really weak, short and the company lied about what they were announcing.

    The graphics are endlessly better in BOTW so it's known that the console has enough power to move it well. It's a really enjoyable game, I loved it but I can't say it's not true everything fans are complaining for. For a Pokemon game, the quality of content of this one is quite quite    The content of the game is really weak, short and the company lied about what they were announcing.

    The graphics are endlessly better in BOTW so it's known that the console has enough power to move it well.

    It's a really enjoyable game, I loved it but I can't say it's not true everything fans are complaining for. For a Pokemon game, the quality of content of this one is quite quite lower.

    Even with that it has amazing things, such as the music, the design of the new Pokemon, the gym battles (I mean, the mechanic of the stadium and the epicness of the battle itself) and the wild area.    … Expand
  22. gdgalex
    Nov 19, 2019
    7
    To get the elephant in the room out of the way, yes, this game plays and feels like a slightly upgraded 3DS game. The pacing and movement of everything in the game, from controlling your character on the map to how battles flow, are slow and occasionally less responsive than in Sun and Moon. The content in the game's story is also somewhat lackluster, especially when considering theTo get the elephant in the room out of the way, yes, this game plays and feels like a slightly upgraded 3DS game. The pacing and movement of everything in the game, from controlling your character on the map to how battles flow, are slow and occasionally less responsive than in Sun and Moon. The content in the game's story is also somewhat lackluster, especially when considering the endgame in comparison to previous entries in the series. But at its core, this game still accomplishes everything you would expect put of a Pokemon game while introducing an interesting take on the traditional structure the series has followed. If you are looking to play a Pokemon game because you enjoy the standard adventure through a new region with Pokemon to catch and try out in battles, you won't be disappointed by what the game has to offer. To avoid spoilers, I'll give a general list of what I liked and what I disliked.

    Liked:
    The Wild Area. It's a sizable open area that, despite not looking the best at times and dealing with the game's problematic tip-in graphic issues, provides the most open and exploratory feel in the game. This one place seems where Pokemon has always wanted to go, and I hope they continually improve this kind of thing in future games. Wild Pokemon being visible in the overworld really makes the game look and feel more alive.

    The gym battles are genuinely more of a spectacle than they were before. This likely has to die oth Dynamax being limited primarily to these battles and raids, so it actually feels special.

    The massiv ramping of QoL improvements the game has, such as being able to skip tutorials and adding a number of late game items that make competitive battling much more accessible.


    Disliked:
    Your primary rival is far too talkative. They definitely tried to emulate Sun and Moon here.

    The evil team is a a failure of emulating Sun and Moon's Tram Skull. They really want to have the same effect, but they ultimately come off as less comical and more imbecilic than anything else.

    The difficulty limit seemingly set for most Trainer battles. Many areas of the game boast wild Pokemon that are genuinely more of a challenge than these Trainers. While it was appreciated that wild Pokemon were at generally usable levels when caught while progressing through the main story, having the Trainers not bumped up to at least that strength turned them into little more than treasure chests that talked. This makes the game incredibly easy in comparison to practically every other title in the series and ultimately turns it into somewhat of a bore once you get a few good Pokemon on your team. The game definitely should have had difficulty levels, with the current build being either normal or easy.

    The facial expressions in the game outside of pre-rendered movies are lacking. So are the unique trainer animations. Watching your primary rival DBZ charge every time he talks excitedly gets very old very fast.    … Expand
  23. jalannin
    Nov 19, 2019
    7
    Unlike most of the review bombers who haven't actually played this game, I have. The game isn't perfect, but it's far from a 0. It's not my favorite Pokemon game by any stretch, and I do wish there were more features/Pokemon, however it is a fun game. The storyline is pretty basic and linear, the NPC animations are pretty stiff, and the characters are mostly not relatable. I wish GameUnlike most of the review bombers who haven't actually played this game, I have. The game isn't perfect, but it's far from a 0. It's not my favorite Pokemon game by any stretch, and I do wish there were more features/Pokemon, however it is a fun game. The storyline is pretty basic and linear, the NPC animations are pretty stiff, and the characters are mostly not relatable. I wish Game Freak would have tried to push the Switch more than they did, but at the end of the day, this is still a fun Pokemon game. From the start of this game, you will see more Pokemon than any previous entry, simply because random encounters are gone. Being able to see Pokemon before battling is far superior to random encounters (I know Let's Go did this first, but I love that it found it's way into the mainline). It makes the world feel more 'lived in'. The problem is you can see these Pokemon pop up on screen which takes you out of the game a little, but it's still better than random encounters. Don't get me started on Team Yell, it's just a poor excuse for a 'Team Rocket'. All of this being said, when you enter a battle it still feels like Pokemon which is perhaps the most important aspect for any Pokemon player. I still link up with friends and battle them prior to each gym, and now that we are done with the main story we'll continue to battle our beefed-up teams and that's the most important thing about Pokemon to any fan.… Expand
  24. Reaper2187
    Nov 21, 2019
    5
    Awesome game it could have done a few things differently but overall definitely worth playing! I have played every pokemon since red and blue and this did not disappoint. Ignore the low score it's just butthurt fans complaining they didn't get exactly what they wanted.
  25. Kjoagamer
    Nov 21, 2019
    7
    É um bom jogo mas tem seus problemas, como a mecânica de gigantamax confusa e mau explicada, pouca variedade de pokemons, sistema on-line confuso e pago, wild áreas com clima sem nexo de geografia e pouca capacidade de modificação de personagem tanto em altura e forma física mas de resto é um jogo bem regular
  26. Sagerronan
    Nov 21, 2019
    7
    In spite of the removal of many pokemon and the fact that Gamefreak simply reused many assets, Pokemon Sword is still a good, if somewhat easy experience. I had been kind of burnt out on Pokemon for a while since Sun and Moon, but Sword and Shield rekindled my interest of pokemon. It does have some glaring flaws, but I still found it an enjoyable game.
    First, the game is very easy. You    In spite of the removal of many pokemon and the fact that Gamefreak simply reused many assets, Pokemon Sword is still a good, if somewhat easy experience. I had been kind of burnt out on Pokemon for a while since Sun and Moon, but Sword and Shield rekindled my interest of pokemon. It does have some glaring flaws, but I still found it an enjoyable game.
    First, the game is very easy. You get an experience share that gives all of your pokemon in your party experience. You can end up overleveled very easily because you can't turn off the experience share. It's pretty rare I actually get bored with battles because of being over-leveled, but Sword managed that.
    Second, the journey to the pokemon league is far too short, it took me 4 days of play to reach it.
    Third, the wild area can be very confusing and frustrating alongside max raids. Ai is often brainless in higher rank max raids, making it difficult to defeat some of them even with proper strategy. You could just get unlucky and get bad ai teammates that do nothing if you can't find real people to join. I find that anti fun.
    I'm sure there's some more that I missed, but I'm trying to get this review positive, so on to the good.
    I enjoyed the character creation and customization. Characters are a lot more customizable then in previous games.
    Max raids can be fulfilling for working on your pokedex or getting new TR moves for your mons.
    Breeding competitive pokemon is much easier.
    Being able to fly/bike to places freely without having a pokemon that knows Fly is very nice.
    Will old Pokemon players have fun with this game? Probably not. Will newcomers? Maybe. At least give it a chance.    … Expand
  27. FrankyF4Fingers
    Nov 22, 2019
    7
    Very good Pokemon. Some Problems like 2 or 3 rly bad looking pokemon, Multiplayer is not that stable and its a little hard to get a full party for a dyna raid. But the rest of the game is rly fun and well polished. The new arena Theme is awsome and i am exited to finish of the league champs today. The reduced Pokemon Pool is no real Problem because it kind of pushes you to try new once. IfVery good Pokemon. Some Problems like 2 or 3 rly bad looking pokemon, Multiplayer is not that stable and its a little hard to get a full party for a dyna raid. But the rest of the game is rly fun and well polished. The new arena Theme is awsome and i am exited to finish of the league champs today. The reduced Pokemon Pool is no real Problem because it kind of pushes you to try new once. If all would be there i may have not found Riffex and i love that Dude ;-). Oh yea sometimes you get Framdrops while there is a Picture in Picture but that was my only technical Problem.… Expand
  28. PokemonCrossing
    Nov 22, 2019
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game has a great UI and some welcome quality of life improvements, but the length of both main story and postgame content, including the dex cut which was not balanced out with the amount of new pokemon as well as being too short and easy (took me around 15-16 hours to beat the main story, plus 1-2 hours for the postgame episode), make it feel like a step back in the main series Pokemon games, where it should be bigger and better on the switch. The story is also mediocre, with no real evil team. Usually, I would get both games but this time I only got sword because of the step back for a more expensive game, 6/10

    Pros: -great UI
    -quality of life improvements

    Cons: -step back on the switch where it's more expensive than 3DS games
    -no National dex, few new Pokemon
    -short and easy content, lack of optional areas
    -surface level story    … Expand
  29. Fetch
    Nov 22, 2019
    5
    I'm going to start by saying, yes. The national dex removal was dumb, unnecessary, and disheartening.
    But I have to put that aside for this review, because if it factored into my review I'd rate this game a 3. However, I don't think this game is worse than average.
    Lets start with the Gyms. Gym battles feel AMAZING this time around. Not really everything surrounding the fight with the    I'm going to start by saying, yes. The national dex removal was dumb, unnecessary, and disheartening.
    But I have to put that aside for this review, because if it factored into my review I'd rate this game a 3. However, I don't think this game is worse than average.

    Lets start with the Gyms.
    Gym battles feel AMAZING this time around. Not really everything surrounding the fight with the leader, but the actual Gym battle feels unique.
    The routes between towns leading up to the gyms are minimal. The puzzles leading up to the gym battles are either boring, or even non-existent. There is a part in the game where suddenly there are no more puzzles during the gyms, instead it is replaced with a lazy "Battle 3 or more trainers before you get to the gym leader!"
    The battles themselves feel great... Aside from being pretty easy, but the music, and theme, are wonderful. Fighting in an arena, with the crowd cheering you on, is something I have always wanted.

    Story. What story? It's non-existent. In fact, 2 other characters in the game get to experience the story, while occasionally bumping into you along THEIR adventure. Whenever something pops up, they just say "You keep taking on the gyms, we'll handle this!" Which was really boring. There were points in the "Story" where I was expecting something to happen, but was just told to keep battling the gyms. Which made the end feel strange.
    On top of this, the total run time for the story is about 20 hours, and I'm being generous. And the post game is... non-existent. You have the battle tower, again, and competitive as always. But that is it. There is a bit more story you can get, but it lasts maybe an hour.

    Graphics. Alright, personally this is a high point for me. Yes, the tree textures or horrible. And the water is meh. But the character designs, lighting, and in-general other aesthetic graphics look great.

    Dynamaxing isn't as bad as I expected. The GIgantmaxing is... Eh. It's stupid. You can only get it by catching the specific pokemon in a raid battle, the trait doesn't pass down through breeding, and it is not allowed in competitive. So it is really just for show. I guess. There is no real reason to use the feature, other than in raid battles and during the story (which doesn't even last long enough to experience the feature, since you can only use the feature during gym battles).

    So many of the new pokemon look bad, or uninspired. There are a few designs I like, but most of them just feel weirdly proportioned.

    This game just feels average to me. It's the best looking Pokemon game by far, it's great to play on my TV with a controller, and the dynamax/raid battle feature is pretty neat.
    But it has little to no content to it. AND THEY ARE CHARGING YOU $20 MORE. For a product that isn't even close to a 3DS game.    … Expand
  30. Chana85
    Nov 22, 2019
    7
    เป็นภาคหลักที่ได้กลับมาเล่นหลังจากห่างหายไปจากเกมตระกูลไปนาน เพราะส่วนตัวเล่นม่อนโกมากกว่า ข้อดีคือกราฟฟิคและการอนิเมทตัวโปเกม่อนทำได้ค่อนข้างดี ถ้าไม่นับรวมถึงการเอาอนิเมชั่นเก่าๆมาใช้ ความสนุกยังเหมือนเดิม ที่ขัดใจที่สุดคือฉากของ Wild Area ที่ทำออกมาดูชุ่ยๆ และคุณภาพต่ำกว่ามาตรฐานของเกมสมัยนี้, ตัวละครออกแบบได้ดี Interface ในเกมทั้งหน้าจอเมนู ฯลฯ ทำออกมาได้ดูทันสมัย เรียบง่าย ใช้งานง่าย,เป็นภาคหลักที่ได้กลับมาเล่นหลังจากห่างหายไปจากเกมตระกูลไปนาน เพราะส่วนตัวเล่นม่อนโกมากกว่า ข้อดีคือกราฟฟิคและการอนิเมทตัวโปเกม่อนทำได้ค่อนข้างดี ถ้าไม่นับรวมถึงการเอาอนิเมชั่นเก่าๆมาใช้ ความสนุกยังเหมือนเดิม ที่ขัดใจที่สุดคือฉากของ Wild Area ที่ทำออกมาดูชุ่ยๆ และคุณภาพต่ำกว่ามาตรฐานของเกมสมัยนี้, ตัวละครออกแบบได้ดี Interface ในเกมทั้งหน้าจอเมนู ฯลฯ ทำออกมาได้ดูทันสมัย เรียบง่าย ใช้งานง่าย, ผมไม่ค่อยคิดใจเรื่องการตัดม่อนเกือบครึ่งออกจากเกม เพราะไม่ได้เล่นมานานล แต่ในอนาคตยังอยากให้มีการอัพเดทม่อนเข้ามาเพิ่ม, หรืออัพเดทให้กราฟฟิคของ Wild Area ดูดีกว่านี้ รวมๆสนุกดีครับ… Expand
  31. GuessWhat
    Nov 24, 2019
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Yea, the game isnt over 8.0 in my opinion. The graphics look like somebody was likeL "hEy WouLDnt It Be CooL If wE WouLD mAkE UlTra MoOn Hd ANd CaLl iT a NeW GaME?" (and yes i know the story is diffrent af plz dont kill me) the animations are hot garbage and the animations for the *LEGENDERY POKEMON* who are supposed to be the second most important pokemons on the story (right behind you're starters) have one animation. walking. im not kidding instead of having a turn around animation they litterly walk forward and turn around. gamefreak freaked up. yea they have the wild area. but all of the routes are so boring and have nothing special and rememberable. the wild area makes my game run at 2 fps and raids suck alone beacuse you get such bad NPC's one time i was vs a dinamax Mudsdale and i got evee and pikachu as my NPC's and all they did was the evee spammed helping hand and the pikachu did barley anything. The story is really bland and suprise suprise rose the obvious bad guy is a bad guy... who couldve know? the starters (besides scorbunny his ok) evolve into hot garbage and look like the person who designed them was on **** weed or something and it doesnt help that they removed so many pokemons like i know it makes sense but since when does pokemon makes sense? it never made any sense and now when they need an excuse to be lazy they say "it doesnt make sense" or "we need more quality". the game costs 60$ for a game that looks like 20$ game and has a story that a 3 year old probobly wrote before going to nap. with all that its still a ok game, i love the way they made it less grindy by making the exp share always work and buff ur pokebro's. i think that if the game got nintendos quality tag then i dont trust the quality tag anymore. ik i just said so many bad things and only one but for some reason i guess i still like the game...… Expand
  32. Truconium
    Nov 26, 2019
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. (This first paragraph is everything about the game that I wanted to list but didn't know where to put.) The game frame drops very frequently, the routes are very short, Eternatus barely makes an appearance, and Eternatus is a guaranteed catch. I believe that the exp share should not be given until after the 1st gym because it makes the game way too easy. I would've also really liked to see Mega Evolutions return because they have been my favorite addition to Pokémon.

    Firstly, The villain in this game is not existent. Piers, the leader of Team Yell, isn't evil, and Rose is only evil at the very end of the game. Sordward and Shielbert are the most villainous people in the game, but they are both found in the post game.

    There are too little Pokémon in the game, yet the animations aren't as good as most people expected. The Corviknight line is well made because it isn't just a generational normal-flying type bird evolution line. However, Yamper is just another electric dog like Electrike, who is also in the game. Game Freak should've included more of the well designed Pokemon such as Garchomp and not Pokémon that are just normal animals from the real world like Purrlion and Pidove. In addition, Zacian is literally just a wolf with a sword in its mouth. The legendary wolfs look too similar, too.

    There should have been voice acting in the game. Maybe not for every line, but for characters like Hop, Rose, Leon, and the gym leaders. It would've really brought the characters to life. The voice actors could've even mostly been British to emphasize the fact that Sword and Shield take place in Great Britain.

    For the gym leaders, I like that there are version exclusive gym leaders and the fact that we have our first every dark-type gym leader. The dark-type gym leader is against Piers, the leader of Team Yell, which is cool, but Team Yell aren't even villains. Furthermore, you can't even dynamax during the gym battle against Piers. I love that Raihan is a doubles format Gym leader like there was in gen 3; it makes the gyms more interesting. However, Raihan uses Torkoal who isn't a dragon type.

    Finally, the rivals in this game are amazing. Bede is a dick like a rival should be, and Hop shows a lot of character and isn't just a "happy go lucky" rival like other rivals have been recently.

    In conclusion, if Game Freak spent a year more on the next Pokémon games, they would be the best games in the series to date.

    TL;DR - Game Freak spend more time on the game.    … Expand
  33. Beardyweirdy
    Nov 27, 2019
    6
    I loved this game, it's beautiful and engaging and had some great, compelling ideas for changing up online play. Unfortunately the execution was reasonably poor, the online match making is broken, the online performance is terrible, the routes are tiny, lacking in details and trainer battles, there is little to go back and explore once you have the game's only unlockable skill (Surf) andI loved this game, it's beautiful and engaging and had some great, compelling ideas for changing up online play. Unfortunately the execution was reasonably poor, the online match making is broken, the online performance is terrible, the routes are tiny, lacking in details and trainer battles, there is little to go back and explore once you have the game's only unlockable skill (Surf) and no large explorable dungeons. This is a lazy first entry into the Switch catalogue for Pokemon. Making mattress worse is that GAMEFREAK and the Pokemon Company's response has been extremely poor, and professional reviewers have overlooked glaring issues because they are being paid for ad clicks and ad revenue from being provided with review copies. This is a bad time to be a long term Pokemon fan.… Expand
  34. Blue89Lion
    Nov 28, 2019
    7
    Un gran juego de Pokémon pero con dos puntos que flaquean:
    1) El aspecto gráfico. No está a la altura de una Nintendo Switch en determinados puntos
    2) La escasa dificultad. Como viene siendo habitual en los últimos juegos de PoKéMoN, es excesivamente fácil. Puedes acabar el juego sin necesidad de pararte a farmear como si que era necesarios en los PoKéMoN previos a Nintendo 3DS. Una pena,    Un gran juego de Pokémon pero con dos puntos que flaquean:
    1) El aspecto gráfico. No está a la altura de una Nintendo Switch en determinados puntos
    2) La escasa dificultad. Como viene siendo habitual en los últimos juegos de PoKéMoN, es excesivamente fácil. Puedes acabar el juego sin necesidad de pararte a farmear como si que era necesarios en los PoKéMoN previos a Nintendo 3DS. Una pena, la verdad. Por lo demás. Un buen juego que cumple las expectativas mínimas. Bonitos escenarios, aunque bastante vacios. Bonitos diseños de nuevos Pokémon. Música espectacular como suele ser habitual. Es el tipico juego de Pokémon que "Cuando haces Pop, ya no hay Stop" y no puedes parar hasta que te lo acabas. 25 horas de diversión aseguradas, pese a los dos puntos mencionados anteriores. Recomendado a cualquier aficionado de Pokémon. Se mea bastante en Sol y Luna ;-)    … Expand
  35. Jman2182
    Dec 1, 2019
    7
    I finished playing the game and the post game like a couple of days ago and now im here to give my thought out review.
    Pros
    I genuinely liked the characters in the game. Hop was no carbon copy of hay and actually got development, Bede is the rival I have wanted for a long time, you can't hate on Marnie, the gym leaders actually matter in the grand scheme of things, and the champion was    I finished playing the game and the post game like a couple of days ago and now im here to give my thought out review.
    Pros
    I genuinely liked the characters in the game. Hop was no carbon copy of hay and actually got development, Bede is the rival I have wanted for a long time, you can't hate on Marnie, the gym leaders actually matter in the grand scheme of things, and the champion was very likable as well.
    The Wild area is a great addition and you can get lost for hours.
    Some of the cutscenes are just godlike.
    Also I liked the idea of version exclusive gym leaders, it helps give the player a different experience other than just the legendary you get.

    Cons
    The game is pretty easy. Personally the best way to play this game is to do a nuzlocke, which is what I did. EXP candies should have never been added into the game because they over level your Pokemon way to much. Not to mention you can't turn exp share off, you have it at the beginning of the game.

    Post game is a little lacking. After you beat the game, all you really have is the battle tower, wild area, and gym leader re challenges.

    Horrible online. I cannot tell you how many times I have done raid battles with friends and have been disconnected mid match and booted out of the fight.

    The fact that they cut half of the Pokemon. The reason this is a critique is because it made a whole spark in the community attacking game freak because the reason they cut half the Pokemon was because they had to make models from scratch and it was time consuming, which was false and any company should be held accountable when outright lying to their community.

    That's all I have to say about the game. It is a really fun game but I don't think it really deserved the $60 price tag when all the other games were $40.    … Expand
  36. AlexSaiyan
    Dec 21, 2019
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It's a normal Pokemon game like UltraSun and UltraMoon with the graphics in HD with another region, new pokemon and Dynamax… Expand
  37. Toast420
    Dec 25, 2019
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The story is ok but the starters are to human looking and are not good. Also when you beat the game the raid battles become almost impossible to beat because the ai will revive them selves even though they fainted it will count as being fainted again. The team only has 4 faints and the battle ends when it reaches 4.… Expand
  38. Janek1907
    Dec 25, 2019
    7
    I think That sword and shield are good Games, but with some less good details. For example the graphic. In the year 2019 I don’t want a Game which looks like a 2014 WiiU game. Many people says, that the missing of the National Pokédex is a big problem, but I think, actually it’s not. The story could be better, but is still okay. As a gamer who played every Pokemon game, it is very easy andI think That sword and shield are good Games, but with some less good details. For example the graphic. In the year 2019 I don’t want a Game which looks like a 2014 WiiU game. Many people says, that the missing of the National Pokédex is a big problem, but I think, actually it’s not. The story could be better, but is still okay. As a gamer who played every Pokemon game, it is very easy and for starters it shouldn’t be hard. For me it was too easy. I only needed 25 hours for the main game and for a RPG in the year 2019 it’s not much. But in the end I have to say, that the game really makes fun so I rate the game with a 7.… Expand
  39. Twilwind
    Oct 10, 2020
    6
    Game Freak could have made a better game. The story is too short, and the graphical quality is terrible. Still, there are advantages. The Online Battle function is more balanced and the Internet connection is stable. By the way, I love Galarian Ponyta!!!
  40. De4dlyk1tt3n
    Mar 24, 2020
    7
    I enjoyed this game a lot more than sun and moon which i hated every moment of. I am excited to see the expansion content. couple this with pokemon home and you for the first time have a central lifetime pokedex.
  41. Azzytap
    Apr 26, 2020
    6
    I’ll keep this short because most of what I’ll say has probably been said before.

    Graphics were not up to snuff, animations were wonky, and the removal of so many Pokémon is an insult to fans. This would have been fine if this was a fangame or spinoff but for a full on main title this is embarrassing. But otherwise it was a totally fine Pokémon game. Not great, but the new gym leaders are    I’ll keep this short because most of what I’ll say has probably been said before.

    Graphics were not up to snuff, animations were wonky, and the removal of so many Pokémon is an insult to fans. This would have been fine if this was a fangame or spinoff but for a full on main title this is embarrassing. But otherwise it was a totally fine Pokémon game. Not great, but the new gym leaders are some of the best in any Pokémon game, they did try to add some new mechanics, and the story was decent.    … Expand
  42. Wilted_Dust
    Jun 23, 2020
    6
    Is a good pokemon game, but the development staff are so lazy and try to sell all the content
  43. WeRateGames
    Jun 26, 2020
    7
    Despite Sword and Shield offering one of the most linear adventures we’ve ever had in the series and
    curiosity failing to provide much in the way of reward, this iteration of Pokemon is still extremely satisfying. There’s nothing groundbreaking here but it’s first steps into the console space are well placed.
  44. SobbleAJ
    Sep 21, 2020
    7
    This game is not nearly as bad as the internet makes it out to be. People act like it’s the worst game ever made, when that’s simply not the case. It has flaws such as the lack of a national pokedex, but raid battles and the new gyms are pretty amazing. I also really dig the new designs. Sobble is my new favorite Pokémon now.
  45. tomashrabek
    Apr 26, 2021
    6
    Last time I've played Pokémon was in the Gold/Silver era and I have only the best memories of it. I've been really surprised to see that the game hasn't changed a bit since those times. Yes, you can cook some curries and "dynamax" your Pokémon in some battles, but nevertheless, it's still the same game with the same principles. Which is pleasant to some extent, but becomes tiring andLast time I've played Pokémon was in the Gold/Silver era and I have only the best memories of it. I've been really surprised to see that the game hasn't changed a bit since those times. Yes, you can cook some curries and "dynamax" your Pokémon in some battles, but nevertheless, it's still the same game with the same principles. Which is pleasant to some extent, but becomes tiring and repetitive very fast. I don't care about the "controversies" surrounding this game, as I've had no stakes in it, but what I do care about is the weak potential to entertain for a longer period of time and the mediocre execution. It's a pass for me, but I don't think I'll be having fond memories of this game in the future, I'll probably just forget it.… Expand
  46. Aarush
    May 12, 2021
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Well after the DLC and since the new games are going to come out I think I can I can give my fair judgement, it was okay. I think they both have some pros and cons that I would like to discuss.

    The first big plus I can give it is that it the first original Pokemon game on a home console. Which is pretty cool.

    Another point in the favor of the game is the wild area. While the wild area has a lot of flaws which we will discuss later but I think it is a good concept, which could lead to bigger things in new pokemon games. I am saying it now if they don't make the distortion world like the wild area In the diamond and pearl remakes I will be mad.

    Some of the features they added were actually cool and were useful for some things.

    Plus I think the gyms in this game are very cool, at least the gym puzzles are cool and not like anything we have seen in a Pokemon game.

    Max raid battles are cool but they have one flaw that we will get to later. And the new max raids in the crown tundra are actually pretty cool.

    But we have to move on to the cons which there are a lot of.

    The big one is of course is the fact that you can't bring in all the Pokemon from other games to Sword and Sheild.

    Oh, and there is no post-game, at all you need to pay $30 to buy the expansion pass.

    Let's talk about the expansion pass, well the expansion pass is fun but this doesn't feel like an expansion as much as it does a post-game, which makes me think that this was supposed to be the post-game and they let you pay for it.

    Also, Pokemon themselves didn't address that there would be more Pokemon added on and what was in the game. which was even worse.

    The worst part of this is Pokemon Home. The app is so bad, It is ransomware for Pokemon. I am not joking. You need to pay for Pokemon home which is fin since Pokemon Bank had you pay, but when you take Pokemon from bank or home, they can't go back even if they can't go in Sword and Shield, so that is already trash but, remember what I said about you need to pay for Home. You don't but you can pay for the proper service. One of the perks is having almost endless storage in the paid version when you get only one box in the free one. So if you buy the paid version and leave Pokemon in there that can't go in Sword and Shield in the paid boxes and don't pay for the new plan, yes you need a monthly plan instead of a one time purchase you need to pay to keep those Pokemon alive, it is like ransomware but you need to keep paying.

    Again the visuals aren't too hot either, the battle backgrounds are weird since you are not in the place the background says most of the time. Normal elements like rocks and trees are very bad-looking. And the wild area dips in frame rate more than anything I have ever seen.

    Plus the game is too easy. The main flaw with max raid battles is that you are given XP candies which give your Pokemon soo, soo, soo much XP and the EXP share is always on you can't turn it off. I play with it on anyway, but the option to turn it off would be nice also the EXP share gives way too much XP with that and the XP candies, I was over levelled so hard that I didn't even die once.

    Also, the story is pretty forgettable and kind of boring until you make it to the Eturnitus battle which is the only part of the story that was really fun.

    Another point is that Game Freak is very small with only around 100 people working for them, yes this includes some of the best developers in the world. But that is not enough to keep this franchise going as much as it was in the '90s and 2000s. If you didn't know Game Freak started making more games the weren't Pokemon which I'm saying is fine but that is less time and fewer people working on your most successful franchise. When sword and shield were developed most of the team again was working on other games. Making only half the team to make the game 50 around 50 to 70 people to make a AAA game. Which is very hard to make especially a good one.

    While it sounded like I was trashing on this game I had a lot of fun with it. If you try not to look at the cons. The game isn't all that bad, but when you look into it more flaws start popping up. If they just made a few of these cons better then Pokemon Sword and Shield could have been the best Pokemon games.

    The games are good the music is good the concept is good the franchise is good the only thing they needed was a little bit more time. Again the games are good and pick them up if you haven't it is just that after coming from games like Platinum, Heart gold and soul silver and my favourite games of all time Ultra sun and moon it is sad to see that they aren't putting in as much effort. I want them to do good I want Pokémon to do good so that's why I am quick to point out the game's flaws. (still, pick it up it's a good game I'm just salty).    … Expand
  47. LordJazbin
    Apr 19, 2021
    5
    I think there's too much hate around them, Sword and Shield are definitely not bad games... But after Sun and Moon that was great... This is just: disappointing. In every way. And even worse than XY.

    Good part is: Pokémon designs and music. But in terms of the story is one of the worse, difficulty is really bad, game is dull...
  48. MMChilly
    Aug 8, 2021
    5
    Pokémon Sword/Shield are okay games. However, the story is very slow moving throughout the whole game, and when compared to the older games, it seems to lose the appeal. The first time through it isn't the best gaming experience, but it isn't horrible. But if you replay the game, it seems to have lost it's charm and fun in all. It is also very linear, with nearly no room for anyPokémon Sword/Shield are okay games. However, the story is very slow moving throughout the whole game, and when compared to the older games, it seems to lose the appeal. The first time through it isn't the best gaming experience, but it isn't horrible. But if you replay the game, it seems to have lost it's charm and fun in all. It is also very linear, with nearly no room for any exploration like in the past games.… Expand
  49. 5aft
    Aug 4, 2021
    7
    is a good game when you have nothing to do. In my opinion better than sun and moon PS: too few gigadynamax
  50. Juanwastaken
    Aug 4, 2021
    7
    Overall pokemon sword is just fine. Is it worth 60 US dollars? No not really. But a fine game nonetheless the less but beware that there is alot of popping and frame drops.
  51. eyalem123
    Aug 19, 2021
    6
    pokemon sword is my first pokemon game, and it is fine. graphics are not outstnding by any means but there not terrible. the story is neat, with some towns with personality and an enjoyible villain. the gameplay is pokemon, not a lot to say about that, but the difficulty is a joke. the game is way to easy, but overall is pretty good.
  52. Vardo64
    Jul 20, 2022
    7
    The game is okay. I have 20 hours played so far. This game has some things that can be fixed, but there is replayability due to the wild letting you catch such a wide variety of pokemon. The gyms did feel they were on the easier side, but I strongly assume the demographic for this game scales young. Not the best game in the franchise, but good enough to kill some time waiting for flightsThe game is okay. I have 20 hours played so far. This game has some things that can be fixed, but there is replayability due to the wild letting you catch such a wide variety of pokemon. The gyms did feel they were on the easier side, but I strongly assume the demographic for this game scales young. Not the best game in the franchise, but good enough to kill some time waiting for flights and stuff for a pokemon fan.… Expand
  53. cchenders40
    Aug 28, 2022
    7
    This is a good Pokémon game. Not great and not bad, just good. Like a slightly above average good. If you want to play Pokémon on your switch, and you could only have one game buy Arceus. But if you want more Pokémon in your life this is a buy for sure. The dlc games are fun, the story is just fine, the combat is a little clunky, the raid dens are dumb, and the new Pokémon really aren’tThis is a good Pokémon game. Not great and not bad, just good. Like a slightly above average good. If you want to play Pokémon on your switch, and you could only have one game buy Arceus. But if you want more Pokémon in your life this is a buy for sure. The dlc games are fun, the story is just fine, the combat is a little clunky, the raid dens are dumb, and the new Pokémon really aren’t spectacular. This is just Pokémon going through the motions.… Expand
  54. Franc15
    Jan 30, 2022
    6
    While 400 (200 by the DLC release) Pokémon being absent from the games code is disappointing, there are tons of great features like Max Raid Battles, the Wild Area, and encountering Pokémon in the overworld as well as tall grass. The QoL changes like the Ability Patch (released with the second DLC) are also very good, but even the base game had Mints to effectively change your Pokémon'sWhile 400 (200 by the DLC release) Pokémon being absent from the games code is disappointing, there are tons of great features like Max Raid Battles, the Wild Area, and encountering Pokémon in the overworld as well as tall grass. The QoL changes like the Ability Patch (released with the second DLC) are also very good, but even the base game had Mints to effectively change your Pokémon's nature, and Exp Candy was a welcome addition to level up Pokémon after beating the game.… Expand
  55. Emptycake
    May 27, 2022
    6
    Not a terrible game. For what it was I enjoyed the experience enough to totally despise it like others.Although I think the game could have totally used some actually good graphics and an actual story.In the end though the game is not great but it's not the worst thing out there,but at this point just wait for Scarlet and Violet to come out and hope things are improved.
  56. Strife69420
    Jun 16, 2022
    5
    Very mediocre game. Story is mediocre, OST is pretty good though, gameplay is mediocre, boss battles are mediocre, landscape is really nice, but ruined by switch graphics, and the transformations for the most part are quite boring and not unique. Post-game play is also just as mediocre, and unfun. Not worth the money. If I could refund I would but sadly, it's too late.
  57. AShinyG1ratina
    Jun 21, 2022
    6
    It's good! Very overhated and misunderstood storyline. Graphics andys are the most annoying people out there.
  58. xXGigaGamer_SUS
    Jul 31, 2022
    6
    A fun game, otherwise, it's nothing fans haven't seen from Nintendo before.
  59. Trailblazer34
    May 7, 2023
    5
    Why didn't they cut Quash? They massacred my boys Signal Beam and Mud Bomb, but kept that useless move?
  60. DrMaskWolf
    Dec 6, 2019
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'll be completely honest with you guys. I did have fun with this game until the ending. It also feels more and more like they are using the older Pokemon as a crutch since I barely found any new and interesting Poke. On for the longest time. Also the Gigamaxing is kinda **** when it is really only something that you can get from the raids, which hardly every work do to Nintendo's poor internet structure and they made trading almost impossible.

    The last part of the game honestly felt like they forgot that they needed a villain for the series. And the villain isn't even somebody who you can really consider a villain since he's actually trying to save the entire region from destroying itself due to low energy resources although his plan makes no sense and it's never actually explained. The lore is crap and makes no sense especially with the post game content.

    The last good Pokemon games I played were Gen 7 and the last time I had fun and was challenged was Gen 3. You could say these games aren't meant for me any more but I assure you kids will get super bored eventually.    … Expand
  61. KunkMast3rFl3x
    Nov 5, 2020
    7
    Pokemon Sword and Shield Offer many innovations that make the late game actions of competitive team building and Shiny hunting more manageable to the average player. In turn making those activities more open to a wider fan base than what has historically been the same repeat tournament players over and over again. This does make the game have a longer breath, even before the DLCs, as youPokemon Sword and Shield Offer many innovations that make the late game actions of competitive team building and Shiny hunting more manageable to the average player. In turn making those activities more open to a wider fan base than what has historically been the same repeat tournament players over and over again. This does make the game have a longer breath, even before the DLCs, as you try to create the best version of you favorite pokemon. I myself have the best quality pokemon I've ever had in the 20 years of me playing the game. It almost makes me want to release any pokemon i brought over through Pokemon Home and start again. However, the one aspect that Game Freak has introduced, maintained and insisted on since Generation 3, the storied RPG element, is very lacking. The story mostly suffers from logical breakdown of character motivations and the presence of an NPC who is more active in the story than you, the PLAYER CHARACTER, are.
    Chairman Rose's plan is lacking in explanation, though not for a lack of a lot of dialogue with him. his protege and the interactions you witness with him are also confusing come the finale. Sonia continuously keeps pointing out topics in the Galar environment that go nowhere (ie the power plant on Route 3). Even Leons presence muddles everything up as he is.
    It seems like characters were created to solve problems that GF couldn't solve within their narrative skills for fear of making a game too grown up. So they talked down to all players, instead of writing intelligently. This in turn makes the main game something you begrudgingly speed run through just to get to the point where you can perform all the endgame material, shiny breeding with better odds, and competitive online play. This is sad because the DLC segments are a blast to play and much better constructed to competition and exploration.

    [Personal Thought-only makes sense it you've played the game]
    Personally, I would have combined certain characters and made subtle changes to the story to make motivations feel more legitimate. i.e. Rose and Leon as one character. Rose/Leon is the reigning Champ (and energy supplier for Galar), but is hinted at that he's cheating somehow. Hop keeps fighting people who say his brother cheats-which gives him a bigger arch (other than just being bad at pokemon battles) for the game to be better than his brother. The rest plays out the same just with more streamlined scenes and dialogue.
    Also get rid of Shielbert and Swordward-do something else. Like just damage control after the incident with Eternatus.    … Expand
  62. milopaulino
    Jul 13, 2020
    5
    In this new region, there are very few things to do or places to explore. There is practically no post-game content. Criticism aside about having several Pokémon removed, this game does not have much content. They're launching DLC to make up for the lack of content, but I don't think it's fair for a game to cost $ 60, remembering that when the game cost $ 40 there was a lot more contentIn this new region, there are very few things to do or places to explore. There is practically no post-game content. Criticism aside about having several Pokémon removed, this game does not have much content. They're launching DLC to make up for the lack of content, but I don't think it's fair for a game to cost $ 60, remembering that when the game cost $ 40 there was a lot more content

    Other than that, the general criticisms are true. The animations are not good. There is nothing that could not be done on the 3DS, and what was done was done poorly. Cities are empty and there is not much to explore in them. Some scenarios are corridors, without the feeling of exploration

    The game was made in a hurry and was not worth it. It was a throwback to the video game series    … Expand
  63. Gerard51MX
    Aug 1, 2020
    5
    Decepcionante. Esperaba poco del juego después de leer reseñas de todo tipo, sin embargo resultó ser más aburrido de lo que esperaba. Una historia aburrida, muy, muy básica a la que le dan vueltas para hacerla durar todo el juego, totalmente secundaria, el personaje avanza de manera normal y cada cierto tiempo te meten una plática para que sepas que estás avanzando no solo en la meta deDecepcionante. Esperaba poco del juego después de leer reseñas de todo tipo, sin embargo resultó ser más aburrido de lo que esperaba. Una historia aburrida, muy, muy básica a la que le dan vueltas para hacerla durar todo el juego, totalmente secundaria, el personaje avanza de manera normal y cada cierto tiempo te meten una plática para que sepas que estás avanzando no solo en la meta de ser un campeón, si no tambien que estás avanzando en la historia. Es cierto que la historia nunca ha sido el fuerte de la franquicia, pero vamos, ni siquiera sirve de pretexto para otra entrega. Por otro lado, que los Pokémon se hagan gigantes no aporta nada, la dificultad es casi nula, la música es horrible, solo se salvan un par de melodías, gráficamente es pésimo, los controles funcionan bien. En cuanto al apartado online, es recomendable para los que les gusta el metajuego, si el meta te abruma alejate de esta edición porque la poca variedad de Pokémon no ayuda a que lo haga divertido para un casual y terminará aburriendo te rápidamente.… Expand
  64. Lone_Wolf_Sones
    Feb 2, 2020
    5
    Where to start with Sword and Shield. Are they bad games? No. Are they great games? No. So what are they then? Well they strangely find themselves sitting in the middle. Considering these were to be the first console mainline installments in the series? Expectations were understandably high.

    That is not to say that there aren't any redeemable aspects about these titles. However for    Where to start with Sword and Shield. Are they bad games? No. Are they great games? No. So what are they then? Well they strangely find themselves sitting in the middle. Considering these were to be the first console mainline installments in the series? Expectations were understandably high.

    That is not to say that there aren't any redeemable aspects about these titles. However for every step forward? It feels like one step was taken back. First we have to talk about the cuts to the national dex as well as the move pool. Game Freak said this was in an effort to deliver high quality animations. Unfortunately, we do not really have "high quality animations" here.

    The Wild area is easily the biggest new addition and it is a positive step forward. However this is tempered by the fact that you will find high level pokemon early on. You can't catch them. This would have been somewhat tolerable if you could catch them but couldn't use them in battle due to the level restrictions that have been in place since the series' inception. Also a bummer is that while online the frame rate tanks and trainers you come across can't be interacted with.

    The games also have a shocking lack of visual polish across the board. There are some glaringly low resolution and muddy textures. The cities and towns feel like window dressing and facades. Many doors can't be entered. Interior's of buildings have been copied and pasted with the same layout in each.

    Dynamax and Gigantamax battles feel like gimmicks. They add very little to the meta and feel like nothing more than damage sponges even if you exploit elemental advantage. I would rather the time spent on these have been spent on creating more new pokemon or getting more of the roster in there.

    The new pokemon we did get are generally cool. Regional variants though again I could do without in favor of more new ones or more of the proper national dex.

    Now we come to the really scummy part. They revealed DLC where many of the cut pokemon will be added back in for $30. They said there would be a "Free" update. But many people fail to consider this isn't really free. We also have been given the news of Pokemon Home and that it will cost $16 for a year. Also placed behind Pokemon Home is the GTS system that has been carved out from the previous games.

    IF you want to transfer from pokemon Bank which itself already costs $5 a year? You need Pokemon Home which is another $16 for a year. This is on top of paying for Switch online at $20 for a year. That means you will have spent $41 on subscriptions alone just to transfer/trade and battle online. And if you want the DLC which most fans are probably going to want as there are yet new legendaries in there, that's another $30. That's $71 total on top of the $60 for the base game where you already were paying $20 more up front being a switch title vs. a 3DS title.

    This kind of excessive monetization of Pokemon is my greatest fear come true.    … Expand
  65. dislexicpotato
    Jun 17, 2020
    6
    Pokemon Sword & Shield are by far the weakest mainline Pokemon games in years, just a bit of context:

    Gamefreak lied to the fanbase, claiming that they needed to remove over HALF of the Pokemon in order to ‘improve animations’ when in reality the animations are ripped right from the 3DS games. The annual releases are killing this franchise nevermind the mediocre graphics, laughable    Pokemon Sword & Shield are by far the weakest mainline Pokemon games in years, just a bit of context:

    Gamefreak lied to the fanbase, claiming that they needed to remove over HALF of the Pokemon in order to ‘improve animations’ when in reality the animations are ripped right from the 3DS games. The annual releases are killing this franchise nevermind the mediocre graphics, laughable animations, noticeable pop in, EXP share being mandatory making the games even easier than usual when the Pokemon games are already too easy, the game also only takes 15 hours to beat and has practically 0 post game. Do not support Gamefreak with these half assed efforts. They even removed Aipom wtf???    … Expand
  66. Reed618
    Jan 14, 2020
    7
    This is a controversial release but i'm just going to give my honest thoughts. The last pokemon game I played was red on my gameboy when I was a kid so it's been a while. Overall I think the game is worth playing but not exactly great. It has some pros and a whole bunch of cons.

    pros = raid battles are fun the wild area is cool, you can just run around catching all kinds of powerful    This is a controversial release but i'm just going to give my honest thoughts. The last pokemon game I played was red on my gameboy when I was a kid so it's been a while. Overall I think the game is worth playing but not exactly great. It has some pros and a whole bunch of cons.

    pros =
    raid battles are fun
    the wild area is cool, you can just run around catching all kinds of powerful pokemon
    social aspects work well
    the art style isn't amazing but it's pretty good for the most part
    the animations are pretty good, again... could be better but not bad.

    cons =
    hop... oh my god... stop interrupting me every time I take two steps
    the story... please hire some better writers. it felt like this was just patched together by the devs
    higher difficulties are needed. it feels like persona for babies.
    it's quite short. I just finished it after about 18 hours. There's some post game stuff but i'm not motivated to play more.
    the game needs more variety. it feels so routine very fast. travel to a town, challenge a gym leader, travel to another town, challenge another gym leader... etc.
    the game needs some interesting dungeons, social links, higher stakes.... basically more stuff from persona
    dialogue choices that are pointless e.g let's do it! or we're unstoppable!

    Overall i don't care if gamefreak lied, removed half the pokemon or whatever... I just care about whether it's fun. It's fun for a while but it gets old and there's a real lack of innovation here. This is pretty underwhelming for the first pokemon game on home consoles. It's fine... mediocre... alright...
    Mostly I just wish i'd spent my time playing dragon quest 11 or octopath traveler.    … Expand
  67. Frenish
    Nov 18, 2019
    5
    Finished the shield under 25 hours, now I’m playing sword. The game is pretty underwhelming. The design of the Pokémon are underwhelming as well. I got a eve evolved it into sylveon and got it to lvl 60 while everyone one else was 20-35 Including gyms, so pretty easy. The feature of dynamaxing is also lame.
  68. zetaz
    Nov 15, 2019
    5
    This 5 is not for the cut Pokémon, it’s for the poor quality when compared with other RPGs on the same platform. It’s really upsetting not having difficult levels and a good and long story. It also lacks side quests and two versions should had died back on the DS. -Also, after beating the game I can reassure, the story is bad and the game goes downhill after the 6th badge. It’s the mostThis 5 is not for the cut Pokémon, it’s for the poor quality when compared with other RPGs on the same platform. It’s really upsetting not having difficult levels and a good and long story. It also lacks side quests and two versions should had died back on the DS. -Also, after beating the game I can reassure, the story is bad and the game goes downhill after the 6th badge. It’s the most disappointing Pokémon title together with ultraSunMoon… Expand
  69. scart35
    Nov 20, 2019
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. So I would like to start my review with statement that I'm a big pokemon franchise fan and I realy do care about the games and as every PKMN fan i want them to be good.

    That's the correct word,SWSH is only good.

    When you first start the game you're presented with beautiful (for pkmn standarts) cutscene welcoming you to the game. And from here my hype started to vane. As with SUMO game is constantly holding you by the hand and will not let you do anything "wrong". Hau...I mean Hop is the new "rival" if you ever can say that about him as he is too much positive about everything (and he will also heal up your mons everytime you're going to fight him!what a bro) and posing literaly no threat. After a while you'll arrive in the one of the new additions to the series - The wild area. Which is pretty much wider route and it won't take you long to cross it to the first city. Wild area hosts also another adition - raids. Raids are fressh and cool adition to the game but it's shine fades very quickly and it can get very boring after few runs. You can join the raid even without online player and in that case NPCs will join you in your efforts. Which is good for those without stable or even no internet but it's not so good as NPCs are overpowered and will easily defeat the dynamaxed pokemon on their own. After that you're able to cath the weakened pokemon - and here is where the game starts to brake down. Usually pokemons from raids are 15lvl+ are very easy to catch (cought almost 50+ pkmns from raids and never failed a once) and raids drop rare candies and XP candies - which will provide amount of experience depending on the type of the XP candy. Raids are very quick way to lvl-up your pokemons at the start, Which is very bad as with exp share (which you can't even turn off) you'll out level not only the first gym but every other after that. I was personaly constantly at least 10+ lvls above wild pokemons,players and gym leaders, making the game very very easy. Won't write too much about the story as it is almost not existens. Speaking of not existent, the post game is also not there for player not digging the PVP and farming the raids/completing regional dex. Hour to two running errands and cathing legendaries is simply not enough. Combined with baffling removal of the GTS, you're left with wonder trade (renamed to surprise trade) as your "neverending well of fun".
    Oh and did I mentioned the cutscenes and dialogues which are there every 10 to 20 minutes and are not skippable? Yup, it's anoying and most of the time they are not moving the "story" forward. Routes are as short as ever with only few patches of grass and few easy trainers. Game is also missing the classic caves/islands with puzzles.
    For the first entry of PKMN games on the Switch is very...meh. Just meh, Pokemon games can't be bad in their nature and that's why we won't get great pokemon game, GF don't have to make it.
    Technical:
    Models of newly added pokemons are great,animations of them are great and complete style is spot on. But that's it. Old pokemons are not updated for the big screen. Low ress textures, horrible animations that would be bleeding edge on the PS1. SOme moves are only pokemons making a move in general direction (I'm loking at you double kick) and animations in cutscenes are very poor.
    Regarding the graphical side of the game, the game looks good but not so BOTW or SMO beautiful. The object pop/in is ever so present and sometime it's very visible and anoying. Textures are low res and background is even worse - almost of DOS game quality (2019?yuck...) Music is in equal quality and is made of very well know music themes from previous PKMN game. Sometimes is glitchy and missing. And almost forget pokemon cries are still the same,mono MIDI sounds like you know them from the original Gameboy in 90's...why GF why.

    TL;DR - It;s the same old same pokemon game without pretty much any story, with lackluster rival,team yell and dialgues and non existing post game for casual player. Game is always holding your hand and in 90% of the situatins won't let you do it "wrong".Map is small, routes are shorter than ever,no dungeons/caves/islands with puzzles. Newly added content is cool but boring after a whil. With removal of GTS system your only post game is battle tower (meh) and pvp battles. Graphics are ok,music is ok. If you want your Pokemon fix as I did it will sate your hunger only partialy. And that's how the game feels,half baked, half the rating.    … Expand
  70. Dazan
    Jan 20, 2020
    6
    Es un Pokemon tradicional, añadiéndole un área tipo mundo abierto que, para mi, me parece una pasada pero que está muy poco explotada ya que se te hace pequeña rápidamente y es muy uniforme. Podrían haber añadido cuevas, o zonas con vegetación diferente, pero al final lo que parece es más bien un jardín grande.

    La mecánicas de raids y el gigantamax son muy divertidas pero no funciona    Es un Pokemon tradicional, añadiéndole un área tipo mundo abierto que, para mi, me parece una pasada pero que está muy poco explotada ya que se te hace pequeña rápidamente y es muy uniforme. Podrían haber añadido cuevas, o zonas con vegetación diferente, pero al final lo que parece es más bien un jardín grande.

    La mecánicas de raids y el gigantamax son muy divertidas pero no funciona corretamente la conexión a raids de otros jugadores, el estilo artístico es muy bonito, pero con deficiencias técnicas graves, y la BSO nada que criticar, al contrario, es de las mejores en la serie. Pero lo que más me ha decepcionado ha sido el postgame, que es casi inexistente y el peor de la serie (la captura de Mewtwo en Azul/Rojo es más interesante que el de esta edición). No hay captura de legendarios (solo uno), el argumento es un poco tonto, corto y aburrido. Obviamente no se puede perdonar la sensación de poco trabajo al ver algunas texturas, y en la eliminación de MUCHOS pokemon. Es una pena porque siento que éste podría haber sido el gran juego de Pokemon, pero se ha quedado en una transición que da esperanza para la siguiente entrega, ya que hay ideas muy chulas a potenciar.    … Expand
  71. jrdnnn
    Feb 23, 2020
    7
    Far from the massive leap forward we expected as Pokemon fans but also not as terrible as people would have you believe, Sword/Shield are decent games with a bitter edge of disappointment around most corners. The National Dex exclusion is totally unforgivable, whatever way GameFreak spin it and the graphics are lightyears away from what the Switch (and GameFreak) is capable of.

    The new    Far from the massive leap forward we expected as Pokemon fans but also not as terrible as people would have you believe, Sword/Shield are decent games with a bitter edge of disappointment around most corners. The National Dex exclusion is totally unforgivable, whatever way GameFreak spin it and the graphics are lightyears away from what the Switch (and GameFreak) is capable of.

    The new Pokemon are, in my opinion, excellent. There are so many great designs, both visually and gameplay-wise (my favourites are Hatterene, Grimmsnarl, Corviknight, Copperajah and Sirfetch'd) and it's probably the best batch since Black and White. Galar is fantastically presented and the little nods to British culture, architecture and atmosphere are brilliant. Some of the cities are a spectacle to behold, especially the Cornwall-based seaside town and the London-based capitals. Dynamax is, admittedly, quite cool and not as straightforward as I thought it would be. Raid Dens are also really fun and the accessibility of the Pokedex, with pretty much everything available in some form and rare Hidden Abilities there for the taking - I love this. Battling is the same as ever, and is beginning to show its age, but is fine.

    Now, the main positive - the gym system. Converting the boring old gym format to an exhilirating, stadium-held, anime-esque championship is a genius move. Each gym leader has so much personality for the first time since Red and Blue, and are more than just bosses. The gym battle music is INCREDIBLE (a lot of the music is) and the format of random league opponents is inspired. This NEEDS to be a recurring feature in games going forward as it is the most fun I've had with the franchise in a while.

    Now to the main negative...the story. The story is paper-thin, boring, and weirdly takes place off-screen for the majority (with the "adults" handling all the drama - what the hell is that about?) . Probably the worst narrative of any of the games in the franchise, totally lazy. The inevitable Legendary showdown at the end in unearned, dull and trite. Plus the villainous plans are totally nonsensical, even for Pokemon. The focus is almost entirely on the gyms, so it's a good job they're great. Everything else is pretty garbage, all the side characters are irrelevant and annoying. This goes hand-in-hand with the lack of challenge in the game, it all sort of washes over with you with no speedbumps and is done. WHY is Experience Share mandatory???

    All things considered, I've enjoyed this game purely on merit of the Pokemon available (but there should be more), the cool world (which deserves way better graphics) and the gyms (the only standout feature of the games). And the soundtrack is unreal - look up the Championship Lobby theme! GameFreak really need to get their act together for the next entry as they've absolutely rode on the franchise's success for an easy cash-grab and have consequently exposed their ineptitude at innovation. I'll be here finishing my Pokedex no doubt and trying out the DLC because I am a helpless puppet consumer, but in the face of fantastic Switch games available and even apparently better Pokemon-style games in TemTem, they are at risk of becoming the most stale, embarrassing games around. Interesting to see what happens from here on out...    … Expand
  72. moose_stash
    Jul 30, 2020
    5
    I had a lot of fun with Pokemon Sword and Shield, I won't lie to you. I have over 100 hours in my save file. It's the most fun I've had in a pokemon game since LeafGreen. I haven't picked up a pokemon game since diamond and pearl. But as soon as I picked up sword and shield, I remembered why. Nothing has changed. There are a few tweaks here and there but nothing to keep hardcore pokemonI had a lot of fun with Pokemon Sword and Shield, I won't lie to you. I have over 100 hours in my save file. It's the most fun I've had in a pokemon game since LeafGreen. I haven't picked up a pokemon game since diamond and pearl. But as soon as I picked up sword and shield, I remembered why. Nothing has changed. There are a few tweaks here and there but nothing to keep hardcore pokemon fans engaged throughout the story. The difficulty is largely abysmal and the fact that there still isn't difficulty settings in a main-line pokemon game baffles me. The removal of the national dex is largely due to a cash grab so game freak can release disappointingly short DLC and add new pokedex entries. It's essentially the promise of an additional 200 pokemon under the guise of an additional 30$. Don't get me wrong, I bought the DLC. You may be asking yourself, if you're so critical of the game then why do you have over 100 hours in your save? Well, funny you should ask. It's for one reason and one reason only. Never has competitive been this accessible in any pokemon game. Competitive was always so daunting, having to grind levels, breeding perfect IVs, and EV training. Well all that has been streamlined. You can accomplish all that in a matter of hours as opposed to days in this game. The post-game content has never been easier to dip into and I love it. As someone who never liked competitive pokemon, this game made me love it. If the game didn't do that, my score would be significantly lower. Buyer beware, if you're interested in playing through a decent story, catching cool mons, or anything reminiscent of your childhood experiences, you are going to be deeply disappointed. If you're down to dip your toe into some post-game content, no other pokemon game has done it better.… Expand
  73. PappyBakesCakes
    Apr 5, 2020
    7
    Beautiful game with lots of Pokémon to catch. Story is fun but a bit short (25 hours) and only found one really tough Pokémon battle. Lots of Pokémon to catch.
  74. Ryuail
    Feb 1, 2020
    7
    Pokemon is always a warm nostalgic bubble for me, much like a Dragon Quest game.
    I enjoyed the English setting, and the new pokemon are quite delightful.
    I miss my main man Magneton, but it's not like I don't have him in other Pokemon titles, no what I think really sets this back from being a great game is the bad online experience. Wild area(s) was a neat proto idea, but I think it    Pokemon is always a warm nostalgic bubble for me, much like a Dragon Quest game.
    I enjoyed the English setting, and the new pokemon are quite delightful.

    I miss my main man Magneton, but it's not like I don't have him in other Pokemon titles, no what I think really sets this back from being a great game is the bad online experience.
    Wild area(s) was a neat proto idea, but I think it needed another year of work to fine tune it into something a little more enjoyable.

    The raid battles also are fun when you're low level going against 3 stars, but once everything is 5 star, lv 99 its the most boring and tedious process in the game.

    Music is fantastic though! Damn I haven't been this into a Pokemon soundtrack since 2nd gen!    … Expand
  75. dash383535
    Dec 4, 2019
    5
    #DashReviews

    The Pokémon series has finally come to home consoles after two decades of handheld mainline games. With expectations high for what the series can do with this new powerful hardware, will it be able to live up to these expectations or will fall flat on its face compared to the less powerful 3DS versions of the game? The story in Pokémon Sword and Shield is pretty generic    #DashReviews

    The Pokémon series has finally come to home consoles after two decades of handheld mainline games. With expectations high for what the series can do with this new powerful hardware, will it be able to live up to these expectations or will fall flat on its face compared to the less powerful 3DS versions of the game?

    The story in Pokémon Sword and Shield is pretty generic when it comes to the standard Pokémon adventure. Nothing really deviates you from going to the gyms, getting the badge, rinse and repeat. The story has a villain and a bit more going on besides the standard of trying to become the ultimate Pokémon trainer but it strangely set up near the end of the game. This makes for a story with super-fast pacing that has almost nothing interesting happening through most of its run time. The pacing is so fast and rushed, that the box art legendary plot is saved for the post-game. The story is easily one of the most boring aspects of this game which is a shame since titles like Pokémon Black and White had more going on and those are $30 DS games.

    Gameplay-wise, this is a Pokémon game through and through. It’s the standard turn-based RPG everyone has been playing for years. There a few new gimmicks like Dynamaxing, a way for your Pokémon to turn into kaiju monsters. There one open area in the game with a free-roaming camera. The game treats this as a big deal but consoles games have had free moving cameras since the N64 days. The best new mode in the game is Co-Op raid battles since you will be working with your friend to catch powerful Pokémon. These few new modes and gimmicks are also at the expense of half of the Pokémon roster being cut. Even with the fun of raid battles, it not enough to make these games stand out as next-gen titles. They are painfully average games in the series that are super easy to boot. If you love Pokémon games, there passable but I feel like these games need more innovation for being console games in 2019.

    This is the least polished Nintendo I have ever played. Framerates dropping drastically every time you go into the open area, models pop in constantly, and it graphically looks like Pokémon Sun and Moon unscaled to HD. Animations are so stilled to the point that everyone moves like a robot and no one blinks. The soundtrack is my personal favorite of the series but the amazing songs don’t make up for this game's wealth of technical problems.

    Pokémon Sword and Shield are passable games in the franchise that will either please fans that want more of the same or anger others that wanted these games to have a new life on a home console. They don’t do enough to innovate this stale franchise and don’t even bother to give this generic game the polish it should have. I would wait for a discount or skip these games entirely. Hopefully, the next installments in this franchise give fans what they truly deserve.

    Pros:
    +It’s the Same Old Pokémon
    +Great Soundtrack

    Cons:
    -Boring Story
    -No Innovation in the Gameplay
    -Technical Mess
    -Cut Roster for Little Change    … Expand
  76. Maxttvd
    Jun 22, 2020
    6
    Falta brilho num jogo de uma franquia que necessita urgentemente de uma reinvenção.
  77. TrainerEstew
    Nov 18, 2019
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Tl;Dr: On their own, Sword and Shield aren't bad games. In the context of the other Pokemon games, however, they feel a bit hollow. They feel more like foundations for the future of Pokemon rather than true next-gen Pokemon games.

    Addressing the most common concern: "Dexit." Yeah, it sucks. A lot. The main game has fewer Pokemon than X/Y's main game, and the game honestly does not feel like there's anything in there that justifies the exclusion of Pokemon.

    For the rest of the game, it's... Pokemon. The routes feel a little too short, but the formula is there and as solid as ever. The new designs are great, in my opinion. The selection of Pokemon was solid, and I was happy to see there wasn't much of a Gen 1 bias (except in Gigantamax forms).

    The wild area felt... Barren. It wasn't very large, but it was ugly as hell and the pop-in was horrible. Pop-in was actually pretty bad throughout the whole game. Frame rate was a big concern of mine going in, and it's a big concern of mine having finished the game. It was far from a stable 30 - mine dropped briefly during most "split" effects in battles and dropped continuously anytime there was a "split" effect and sandstorm was active. I also noticed a few frame drops in the wild area while boosting through it on the bike, which was annoying. And, oddly enough, one section of the icy city had frame drops by going in front of a vendor.

    The main "story" felt... Entirely unfinished. There were a lot of events that occurred in the middle of the game, but the player was never part of them. The climax was really cool, but it felt like there was little to no build-up to it. Lots of areas felt rushed. It really feels like GameFreak might be planning a third version to "complete" the areas and story, which is a shame.

    Raids, however, made the wild area a lot more palatable. Raids were a genuinely great addition that I hope to see in future games.

    Lots of QoL features added, but also too many taken away for my liking.    … Expand
  78. herguitar
    Dec 3, 2019
    6
    Pokemon Sword did some things right. The landscapes are beautifully designed, the new pokemon look amazing, character customisation is so much fun, and the core addictive thrill of collecting and battling pokemon still holds up. But the game is far from perfect. There are many, many things that I would have loved if they'd just been developed further.

    One example is the battle tower,    Pokemon Sword did some things right. The landscapes are beautifully designed, the new pokemon look amazing, character customisation is so much fun, and the core addictive thrill of collecting and battling pokemon still holds up. But the game is far from perfect. There are many, many things that I would have loved if they'd just been developed further.

    One example is the battle tower, which promises a tough challenge for competitive players but is actually far too short and not at all difficult. I reached the highest rank without losing a single battle, at which point there is nothing to do except repeat.

    Another example is raid battles: the concept of taking down a super-powerful pokemon with 3 friends is great, but the way that the battles are designed means that the single viable strategy is to spam your most powerful super-effective move until the end. They are tedious and all very much alike. The background during these battles is also rather uninspired, something like a hazy red cave? It's not obvious and it doesn't look good.

    A third example is transportation around the region, in the form of the train, corviknight taxis, and the bike. I only took the train twice in my entire play through, not because I don't like it (I love the idea) but because it was almost never necessary. The taxis seem cool until you realise that you don't get to actually ride in them, it's just a loading screen. And the bike is a staple and I'm glad it's in the game but why must my character wear that awful lycra suit while cycling? I had a lot of fun customising my character's look and was frustrated by having to choose between wearing it and getting anywhere fast. This in particular is a small thing but indicative of the way that the game as whole fails to live up to its promised potential.

    There are also parts of the game that it's hard to defend at all, even in concept. I still find dynamaxing as idiotic as the first time I saw it, and the in-game reasoning for it is extremely thin. The region of Galar is small, with no real dungeons and an insultingly linear story, and many of the gorgeous locations give you no reason to be there for more than a minute or two. There is no exploration. Everything can be taken at face value. And the fact that only half of all pokemon made it into the game really is a shame. I didn't think much of it until I got the master ball (which for fun I usually use on one of my favourite pokemon) and realised that none of my favourites are available.

    I truly love pokemon, and wanted to love Pokemon Sword, but it has been a disappointment and I'll think twice before buying the next game. There is a lot more I could say but I think this gives a good idea of my thoughts.    … Expand
  79. DeadSmack
    May 17, 2023
    7
    Can't get the hate on this series. The games are GREAT, the online events were great also. The new regional forms are... meh, i don't like the idea of regional forms, but that's me. The story is not that great at all, but it's entertaining at least. Gameplay is fine, the pokedex are great, and the dlc's add the diversity much needed in the game. While they are not the best games of theCan't get the hate on this series. The games are GREAT, the online events were great also. The new regional forms are... meh, i don't like the idea of regional forms, but that's me. The story is not that great at all, but it's entertaining at least. Gameplay is fine, the pokedex are great, and the dlc's add the diversity much needed in the game. While they are not the best games of the series, or in general, great addition to the franchise.… Expand
  80. Dedus
    Jul 25, 2020
    6
    This is not a game - this is a movie. And a poorly written one at that.
    4/10
  81. HellsaintED
    Jan 20, 2021
    6
    After seeing the evolution of other Nintendo franchises in the Switch like "Mario Odyssey" and "Breath of the Wild", it is just lame to see Pokemon receive little to no evolution at all, it is a 3DS game with a Switch price tag.
  82. Ultralevixz
    Dec 11, 2019
    6
    It's not a bad game but it's not a great game either it's still core Pokemon but a lot of Pokemon aren't there and there isn't any national dex but it's still a fun game but they could have made it better
  83. Gregnator
    Nov 19, 2020
    7
    Pokemon sword is a fully 3d full fledged Pokemon game.
    The story isn't the greatest, but compared to the other Pokemon games it's fairly okay.
    No voice acting makes many scenes feel empty, and the obvious copy/paste attacks they ripped straight from the 3DS version, makes me wonder why they decided to remove many pokemon that could be found in previous versions. Hackers have been plaguing    Pokemon sword is a fully 3d full fledged Pokemon game.
    The story isn't the greatest, but compared to the other Pokemon games it's fairly okay.
    No voice acting makes many scenes feel empty, and the obvious copy/paste attacks they ripped straight from the 3DS version, makes me wonder why they decided to remove many pokemon that could be found in previous versions.

    Hackers have been plaguing online, and seemingly no change in sight.

    The game is fun, it could've been more, perhaps that the dlc makes for an interesting addition.    … Expand
  84. zycore718
    Nov 20, 2019
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Summing up Pokémon Sword/Shield in one word - "safe". While other Nintendo franchises innovate, Pokémon is stuck in its ways. This doesn't make the games unenjoyable, but leaves me with a feeling of missed opportunities, like the games are being treated as nothing more than a tool to push the brand.
    Game plays well enough. Didn't notice any significant slowdowns. No big changes to the formula. Will say that the League feels the best it ever has, so at least they made some kind of effort to jazz it up. Most trainers have 1-2 Pokémon at most, Gym Leaders 3-4. Basic battles that you can easily take care of if you've played Pokémon before. If you spurn all side activities, you'll be on par level-wise with other trainers for most of the game. It’s okay as it has always been, but in the end just another Pokémon game. Probably my biggest gripe, especially after 20+ years of this over and over. IMO, this is the biggest thing that is holding the series back.
    Played on Lite and graphical flaws weren't that noticeable to me, except the draw distance and ‘pop-in’ on models which is abysmal. Game looked nice in some places, like the Galar Mine. Corners were cut; it’s only day or night at set locations. Several times characters were in a building/city, and teleported to a nondescript field/blank void for battle. Sun/Moon had proper day/night and managed to render backgrounds for all locations, can't understand why they went backwards. Battle graphics do their job well enough, but not much difference from previous games and boring for a 2019 game. Not a lot of improvement over the 3DS era, I understand why people are angry.
    As a UK citizen Galar definitely resembles a touristy version. Route/dungeon designs better than Sun/Moon. Towns don't have a lot to do besides Gyms and clothes shop. Story though inoffensive is basic even for a Pokémon game. Despite this, the game pads with fluff dialogue to keep railroading the player. Hop/Sonia constantly pop up to remind me to go this way or that. Characters are terrible. No difference at all between Hop and Sun/Moon's Hau. Sonia does nothing except exposition to move the plot forward. Team Yell are Team Skull with a punk coat of paint. Chairman Rose and Oleana are obvious 'twist' villains. Only liked three characters – Opal, Piers and Bede, who I wish I got more of. Everyone else is dispensable and unmemorable. Used the Wild Area to get away from the incessant mundane dialogue and characters, this is the only thing that makes it tolerable.
    Overall Pokémon quality has taken a nosedive. I look at Pokémon like Inteleon, Mr. Rime and Eiscue and shake my head. That's not to say there aren't some standout designs in Gen 8 - Dreepy line is fantastic, Falinks is clever, most of the Galarian forms are great. But it feels like Pokémon are now designed to be quirky cartoon characters rather than living monsters in a world.
    Music - Good as always. Hop’s battle music got stuck in my head. Gym Battle music is great and helps make the Gyms feel like an actual spectacle. Wild Area music is phenomenal, just frustrating how grandiose the music would be if only they stopped using the same outdated MIDI-sounding VST plugins, which bring down the soundtrack.
    ‘New’ features mostly repackaged from old games. Tried out various curry recipes before getting bored, whole process is repetitive. Went the whole game not knowing Poké Jobs existed. Dynamax looks cool at first, but novelty wears off quickly and is nowhere near as visual or strategically flexible as Mega Evolution/Z-Moves. Wild Area and the Raids were my sanctuary for much of the game. Had tons of fun wandering around, battling high-leveled Pokémon for a challenge and doing Raid battles online. Quests, more NPCs, more environment variety and little side stories would have made it more vibrant. Yet again, missed potential.
    The game was a comfortable jaunt like previous entries, but having had echoes of ideas that could turn Pokémon back into a wondrous world to get lost in, I came away from Sword/Shield wistful over what could have been. Wild Area sticks out like a sore thumb from the rest of the game, and exposes the datedness of the old Pokémon 'formula'. I always felt disappointed when I had to go back to following the Designated Game Freak Path. Majority of the game ultimately does nothing new and, coming back to the 'Dexit' issue, there's just not enough here that convinces me the cut was really worth it right now. That could change in the future if Game Freak seize the opportunity to refresh the games like developers have with other similarly-aged series. Not optimistic though, as they appear to be inside a nostalgic bubble and believe that as long as they have 'Pokémon' on their games, they don't need to move forward as developers and can coast along with the same old forever. In which case Pokémon as a game is in for a bleak future which will probably end with a whimper rather than a bang.    … Expand
  85. ArmFlailingTube
    Jan 15, 2021
    5
    [TL;DR] Not worth a full $60 but not a total disappointment either. Lot’s of fun to be had but not really any replay value.

    First things first, this game is not as bad as some people are making it sound but it falls short in many areas. Pokémon Sword and Shield deliver on being a basic pokémon experience, eg: three starters, rival, eight gyms, champion, blah blah blah we've all been    [TL;DR] Not worth a full $60 but not a total disappointment either. Lot’s of fun to be had but not really any replay value.

    First things first, this game is not as bad as some people are making it sound but it falls short in many areas. Pokémon Sword and Shield deliver on being a basic pokémon experience, eg: three starters, rival, eight gyms, champion, blah blah blah we've all been here before.

    First, the wild area is fun but only for a bit since it can get stale quickly with little to do aside from catching pokémon. It’s pretty cool that you can see other players running around ingame with you but I've heard that the framerate can drastically drop.

    No national dex wasn’t too big an issue for me but it’s completely understandable why someone would be upset about it. I was disappointed that I couldn’t bring in a few of my own favorites from previous titles.

    The clothes customization is lacking in options. A lot of stuff looks the same and there aren’t enough clothes stores.

    Animations are jagged and uninspired. People have been complaining about this since X&Y.

    The music is just okay. Most of the tracks sound like too many instruments are playing at the same time. Overall forgettable OST.

    The story is really where the game falls short. As said, it is a basic pokémon story so your goal is to become the champion although, I do still wonder how a child who started their training yesterday is capable of defeating several adults who have been training for years.

    The game does hold your hand a lot and constantly drags you around the map kicking and screaming. There are many ways to go but only one way that you can go. In fact, the game has you loop back around in the other direction to go back to a place that you already were like three times in an effort to pad out the runtime.

    This is because Galar is smaller compared to previous regions. It does try to make up for that by having pretty scenery, some of the best we’ve seen in the series, but this doesn’t work since you can’t interact with anything at all aside from a few park benches.

    Gym battles are the most fun thing in this game however, you can only repeat them if you pair with them in a tournament. Battling in an actual stadium and having a crowd to cheer you on is a nice touch of aesthetic. Also, the Gym Leader battle theme is the best in the game. I liked how the whole Gym Challenge thing was portrayed as an actual official region wide tournament than something you do because your mom kicked you out of the house.

    The characters are all one note in that they have precisely one personality trait which usually adds up to be either: is so pumped to be here or is so far up their own ass that everyone else is feeble and insignificant. Some of them do have their own story arcs but they're all pretty much the same in that they all revolve around learning the importance of not giving up and trying your hardest which is pretty standard for pokémon but, again, the purpose of a sequel is to build on previous titles whether it be through story or gameplay.

    Voice acting still doesn’t exist in Pokémon and it dawned on me that is was going to be a glaring annoyance when, at the very start of the game, a dude in suit walked out onto a stadium and started giving a speech with his mouth moving and his body emoting but no sound coming out. Just a text box at the bottom of the screen. This game desperately needed voice acting and it may even have saved it. Some of the characters even have english accents which you can read in the subtitles but these accents don't provide any spark due to them not being able to give the person any character. It's also worth pointing out that this is a game for children, a demographic not know for their top-notch reading comprehension so, making the whole story come through text probably wasn't the best design choice anyway.

    Even less helpful to the story is the new criminal gang, "Team Yell". Aside from the pathetic name, Team Yell only exist to block your path when the road forks so you go the way to the place where the story wants you to be at that time. Unlike previous evil gangs, they have no part to play in the overarching plot of the game. They are only here because the formula demands it.

    So to sum it up, I think that it's fair to say that this game was a disappointment. A lot of missed opportunities, unused technological advancements and a few controversial decisions are what led to this game receiving the score that it did. I’d wait for the price to drop down to like $40. Fun game but has little to do once you beat the main story. Will be using careful consideration before buying the next one.    … Expand
  86. ajgbcool
    Jul 1, 2020
    5
    Ahhh Pokémon... Far away we have a good Pokémon title, this game is not so awful, but would be better, this game is SOOOO EASY and the challenge left the house so many years. I feel sorry for me, because I REALLY like Pokémon, but game by game every time spectedless.
  87. Manuelx890
    Jan 8, 2020
    5
    Juego absolutamente decepcionante, desde el comienzo hasta el final. Al jugarlo esperaba una experiencia nueva y novedosa, algo acorde a la generación, sin embargo, mis expectativas fueron erróneas.
    El argumento de la historia fue totalmente nefasto, personajes poco desarrollados, carisma nula, totalmente predecible, toda la aventura consistió en ir de gimnasio a gimnasio, la historia    Juego absolutamente decepcionante, desde el comienzo hasta el final. Al jugarlo esperaba una experiencia nueva y novedosa, algo acorde a la generación, sin embargo, mis expectativas fueron erróneas.
    El argumento de la historia fue totalmente nefasto, personajes poco desarrollados, carisma nula, totalmente predecible, toda la aventura consistió en ir de gimnasio a gimnasio, la historia mejoró un poco en el post-game.
    Tu rival es un lameculo, no tiene una personalidad propia, parece que es un personaje totalmente plano que está destinado a mejorar solamente tu bienestar y no el de él. Parece que el guionista intentó desarrollarlo con momentos existenciales, pero aún así no se obtuvo un personaje interesante.
    Los gráficos no van acorde a una nintendo switch, me dio la impresión de jugar un videojuego de nintendo 3ds en HD (hay información de que reutilizaron los modelos 3d de los videojuegos de 3ds), el escenario del videojuego era totalmente vacio, hay carencia total de ambientación, principalmente en el área silvestre.
    Me dio pena ver las animaciones de los pokemon y personajes, parecen robots programados para hacer una acción, no hay realismo. También quiero decir que falta un doblaje de personajes, puesto que es muy raro ver cinemáticas con personajes modulando sin emitir un sonido, no parece ser un juego AAA.
    En cuanto a los aspectos positivos, este juego es un pokemon de toda la vida, los combates son excelentes, y puedes viciarte con la pokedex.    … Expand
  88. Ultimagara
    Nov 17, 2019
    5
    I think my sentiments have been more or less echoed here among the other mixed reviews. I never cared about the "controversy" frankly, but the game fails on a lot more than that. I had fun for a time, but the game is just lacking in too many departments.

    I felt that the story started strong and got weaker as it went along. There isn't too much hand holding in the early game, which is    I think my sentiments have been more or less echoed here among the other mixed reviews. I never cared about the "controversy" frankly, but the game fails on a lot more than that. I had fun for a time, but the game is just lacking in too many departments.

    I felt that the story started strong and got weaker as it went along. There isn't too much hand holding in the early game, which is good. For example, you start out with Pokeballs right away and if you get to the tutorial section having already caught something, then you can skip it. There are a but too many cutscenes and breaks in the first 2 hours or so for my liking, but that kind of levels out once ou start doing gyms. I can say, however, that the characters are pretty decent here for the most part, but your rival, Hop, just **** everything up. The game feels more like a story about this loggerhead than it does anyone else, but he's just too persistent and annoying to have much charm. He just doesn't shut up, and you're always chasing down this brat to keep him from getting into trouble. The best part of the game is when he stops showing up every time you walk 2 feet for a while.

    I think what I hated most about this game, beyond how pathetically easy it is (I'l get to that in a second), was the structure of the ending, of which there are actually 2 (in succession). As I mentioned, everything gets lazier the later into the story you go. The gyms get less creative in time, to the point where in the last gym all you do is walk into a room and fight 3 people, and after those are done, the entirety of the equivalent of the Pokemon League takes place in a single arena. But the climax feels really, really rushed. There's no dungeon, you just go to one place, get a thing, go back to a place, do one battle, and then it's the boss. The boss, mind you, is actually pretty epic, but it was over far too quickly. The real trouble in the second ending, which feels tacked on. Two random characters show up from out of nowhere, spout nonsense, and then proceed with an incredibly boring plan that has you do what is effectively the same easy fight 8 times before you catch the legendary and the game ends. It's so anticlimactic, so much less worse than the rest of the story, that I think the game might have actually been BETTER if this part were not in it.

    Also, 30 hours, like some of the reviews said? Tough fights? One review even said tricky puzzles? Nope, nope, and what? Regarding the latter, there was like 1 puzzle in the whole game, and a 2-year old could have solved it. As for fights, I lost one match due to recklessness. It really feels like your Pokemon have this mystical quality of being stronger than everything else, even when it's the same Pokemon at the same level. The AI is brain-dead. You will only ever lose in the top-level raid battles because your AI team will bring a full team of Magikarp to a fight with an electric type and use only moves that do literally nothing. Why not team up online? Because the whole thing works by an obtuse invite system and completely lacks matchmaking, you you have to closely monitor the Y-link channel for other people's LFGs to pop up, but it's strangely selective and doesn't update in real time, and then the AI that fill the gaps in the battles will throw, failing he whole thing. If you win, it's because the bosses are dumb easy. If you lose, it's because your AI team is utterly incompetent and drains all of your lives. And when you do win, the rewards you get are so absurd that I you can level up a 'mon from 5 to 70 in about 2 hours. What? XP share can't be turned off? No options for main game difficulty, as always? The incessant yammering of NPCs about how they're unbeatable, and you proceed to crush them without taking a single hit, because numerous basic strategies can wipe entire teams without fail?

    Bad.
    Bad.
    Bad.

    Also, everything is the post-game is trivial. The only redeeming quality about all this is that a lot of good changes have been made for competitive, but who the **** cares about competitive? Even the primary endgame activity, the Battle Tower, rewards primarily single use items that are utterly useless.

    I beat everything in the game in 22 hours, and that includes a lot of dilly dallying and camping, which, while cute, feels half baked, much like the rest of the game. The weak magic that makes the game enjoyable and interesting in any capacity wears off about halfway through the game, and comes back only temporarily during the first ending simply because the visual effects are sick, and Toby Fox worked on this game's score.

    Not worth $60, maybe 40, though I don't entirely regret my purchase. The real problem here is not the "Dexit" crap, but the increasing disregard for balance, post-game content, and serious players that Game Freak continues to show.    … Expand
  89. Isitrolc
    Nov 19, 2019
    5
    Il y a de bonnes choses et le jeu est globalement très sympa avec une direction artistique qui fait mouche de temps en temps, mais là il faut que GameFreak se fasse aider où que le jeu passe dans un autre studio. Au final peu de surprises, une technique à la ramasse et trop de choses introduites dans la saga retirées ici pour un résultat pas au niveau
  90. Garlands
    Sep 1, 2020
    7
    l'histoire est trop légère , la team ennemie ne sert a rien et le rival est un boulet mais sinon les pokémon , les stades et les combats gigamax sont vraiment cool
  91. Wunpleum
    Aug 15, 2023
    6
    Since The last time I played Pokemon is Black & White 2, This is the fantastic one that brings back my memories. It is really enjoyable and the mechanic is really improved but the story is below average. Black & White still the best in term of story
  92. Tamsmit
    Nov 23, 2019
    7
    While it's definitely not perfect and feels rushed in a lot of areas, it's still a blast to play through. If Gamefreak spent like 5 more months just polishing the graphics and some story elements, than this seriously could have been a fantastic game.
  93. gialo
    Jun 22, 2020
    5
    piss easy video game, completely mediocre in every respect. buy if you really want it, but leave this one otherwise
  94. Minemon106
    May 1, 2020
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Alright so Pokémon sword is a decent Pokémon game but it's kinda disapointing for a switch game, It could of been so much more then it is especially now that the series is on the switch but it still feels like a 3ds Pokémon game, the graphics are better at some parts but horrible in others, easiest example, the trees, they look like something from ocarina of time, The animations are pretty eh as well, I mean a few of the character animations have been recycled from sun and moon, why!? And the Pokémon? Same sprites that we have been given for the past 7 years oh and 51% (I believe) of the Pokémon are locked through DLC or Pokémon Home, But the new Pokémon are pretty cool and extremely powerful, Some of the more competitive things about Pokémon are a lot easier then before like EV Training ( Usually took forever to do since you had to take down hundreds of Pokémon to get a single EV stat up to max but now it only takes 5-6 hours to EV train an entire team ) and shiny hunting is a bit easier too thanks to the Masuda Method ,The online has improved though, You can still trade and battle like usual but now you can meet up with friends in wild areas and battle in raids (Doing 5* Raids by yourself is a death wish, becuase the computer players will just faint and you'll get kicked out of the raid, Don't ever do it alone) it's definitely an improvement or start compared to past games (Looking at you sun and moon) story wasn't important at all, nothing anyone said mattered unless it was at the end of the game or when hop said he was depressed (still not important but was fun to read), the new mechanic with dynamaxing Pokémon Is alright, Problem is, you can only use it in raids, online battles, battle tower and gyms (counting the final stadium) which makes me wonder more why they didn't include mega evolution or Z-Moves (It was even in let's go) they couldn't of nerfed them or made it so you could only use one or the other but nope! The music is good l, like the gym battle, battle tower themes, I have mixed feelings with hop's and The champion's though. To sum all of this up, Game Freak Have An Incredibly Popular Franchise In Their Hands But They Aren't Doing A Lot With It This Game Could Of Been A Lot Better If They Just Added Everything From Past Games Into This One, Give it A Few New Animations (Not talking just about Pokémon) And Make It Harder And Fix Those Trees! The only reason why it gave it a 8 Is becuase..I Love Pokémon?… Expand
  95. Welkinz
    Jan 14, 2021
    7
    They added new features and did make the game more interesting. However the 3D graphic in background is quite ugly, and I can feel they were rushing in making the latter part of the game.
  96. Mattia9336
    May 27, 2020
    6
    The most disappointing Pokemon game I've ever played. It's still a 6/10 because it's still Pokèmon and the gameplay is as good as always, but from a technical prospective is really bad and the story is meaningless to me
  97. Zzgamer
    Jan 3, 2020
    7
    Meh.

    I expected more from GameFreak Wouldn’t really recommend unless your a huge Pokémon fan to be honest. If your not a huge Pokémon fan DON’T get the game!
  98. alanwaketan
    Apr 27, 2020
    7
    高清化的宝可梦确实很让人振奋，再也不用看马赛克了。荒野地带也很出彩，算是一瞥开放世界宝可梦的雏形。但本作也就止于此了。其他方面可谓全方位退步。弱智且残缺的故事可谓系列最弱；新宝可梦的造型一言难尽；极巨化算是其中可圈可点的变化，但是超极巨化这么少还要练级才能开启，GF良心不会痛？对于没有全国图鉴，我倒是可以理解毕竟开发量巨大，慢慢DLC补全就好。所以总结一下，实属系列平庸之作。高清化的宝可梦确实很让人振奋，再也不用看马赛克了。荒野地带也很出彩，算是一瞥开放世界宝可梦的雏形。但本作也就止于此了。其他方面可谓全方位退步。弱智且残缺的故事可谓系列最弱；新宝可梦的造型一言难尽；极巨化算是其中可圈可点的变化，但是超极巨化这么少还要练级才能开启，GF良心不会痛？对于没有全国图鉴，我倒是可以理解毕竟开发量巨大，慢慢DLC补全就好。所以总结一下，实属系列平庸之作。
  99. JacobH23
    Dec 4, 2019
    5
    The world feels flushed and the pokemon in them realer than ever. Seeing actual wild pokemon fly and move in the grass/caves felt like a brand new pokemon experience. The characters were actually interesting and not just carbon copies or stereotypes
  100. IndyGameFan
    Nov 17, 2019
    5
    I felt really let down by this game. This is a really expensive (and highly anticipated) title, and I'm left wondering if I should just trade it in.
    Not sure where exactly pokemon started to go off the rails, but this one is not worth the money. Maybe buy it used or something.
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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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