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. Drakko03
    Nov 15, 2019
    9
    Es un gran juego sin duda, quizas el mejor de la serie. Aveces hay que atravesé a cosas que no siempre estarán y dar paso a lo nuevo. Increíble historia, personajes con carisma, nuevos pokemon balanceados. Mi puntuacion es de 95 sobre 10 pero respeto para los que ponen 0 de nota o 1 o hasta 4 de nota pero esa puntuación nunca lo es para ser objetivos. Saludos
  2. Stevetry
    Nov 15, 2019
    3
    The worst Pokemon game EVER
    Pokemon Sword and Shield brings pkm to the next generation with the same tired old mechanics only that this time they decided to cut 60% of the pkm giving you the smallest selection of pkm since Gen 5.
    The reasoning behind the cut was to improve the core of the game but while playing it that was not the case. the game features outdated graphics, worst    The worst Pokemon game EVER
    Pokemon Sword and Shield brings pkm to the next generation with the same tired old mechanics only that this time they decided to cut 60% of the pkm giving you the smallest selection of pkm since Gen 5.

    The reasoning behind the cut was to improve the core of the game but while playing it that was not the case. the game features outdated graphics, worst animations than previous gens to that also add that they somehow made it and easier game than let's go Pikachu.

    Cant not really recommend this game as a Pkm fan and as a consumer is a lazy attempt at a pkm game and is odd that so many people keep enabling them to keep doing this. Collapse    … Expand
  3. 0Bennyman
    Nov 15, 2019
    4
    I am coming at this from the perspective of my last latest pokemon game being Pokemon Pearl so I was hoping on an improvement from that and uhhh, What happened???

    So you know how in the Original games your rival will pick the stronger pokemon to you? You know, to make it more challenging. Uhh, well this game decides to throw that out the window and HE PICKS THE WEAKEST POKEMON, I picked    I am coming at this from the perspective of my last latest pokemon game being Pokemon Pearl so I was hoping on an improvement from that and uhhh, What happened???

    So you know how in the Original games your rival will pick the stronger pokemon to you? You know, to make it more challenging. Uhh, well this game decides to throw that out the window and HE PICKS THE WEAKEST POKEMON, I picked Fire and he picked Grass, like what???

    Also, Cutscenes are so heavy but tbh I can excuse it, it's an okay-ish story (Even if boring) so far but it definitely can be annoying considering I'm supposed to be best friends with my rival??? And with the champion??? I want a reason to fight through to the end and become the best, I don't want to be friends with them. Also Hop is just plain annoying! He's constantly saying how he's the best and will beat me but yet we are best friends, it just seems like he was set up to be a bad person and then suddenly they decided nah they are best buds.

    One thing I CANNOT excuse is SCORBUNNY IS MISSING ANIMATIONS?! High Double Kick animation is literally his model just moving up and then down, there is no actual animation for it. Now for his normall Scorbunny it's kind of okay because he's jumping around and you could kind of say he does kick out BUT his Evolved form Stands still SO IT'S BLATANT.

    The game is beyond easy so far with the game holding your hand as much as possible.

    BUT there are things I like, such as the Multiplayer functionality, being able to just battle my friend anywhere at any time with any rule sets (So keeping us at the same level etc) is really cool! And being able to see other people.

    The Raids were something I was worried about with NPC's and YUP they are awful. Me and my friend almost lost because the NPC's were just awful and died immediately almost causing us to fail.

    The game also looks beautiful imo everywhere except the wild area, it's really nice to look at and while it could obviously look better It's nice to look at.

    The game also runs fine in Handheld and Docked, I've had no noticable issues so far.

    Character customisation is really cool as there is a wide variety of clothing to purchase.

    The reason for the 4 is because it's just lazy, the story is boring and the animation for my Starter is absolutely unacceptable. I hope patches will fix the animations otherwise I will definitely be holding off paying for anything Gamefreak makes again.    … Expand
  4. fred9876543
    Nov 15, 2019
    4
    Long but honest review, listing all the good and bad points I could think of:

    Pros: - Some of the new pokemon are cool (not the starters though), most look good and there are some good animations. - The Galar region does look comfy and has some nice areas. - The graphics, although there are issues, are still better than the previous games and are quite vibrant and colorful. - Raids    Long but honest review, listing all the good and bad points I could think of:

    Pros:
    - Some of the new pokemon are cool (not the starters though), most look good and there are some good animations.
    - The Galar region does look comfy and has some nice areas.
    - The graphics, although there are issues, are still better than the previous games and are quite vibrant and colorful.
    - Raids and camping are good new additions.
    - A lot of trainer customization.

    Cons:
    - The routes outside the Wild Area are short and very linear, and there are only 11 routes.
    - Whereas the Wild Area feels empty and monotonous, although the concept itself is good.
    - The game (besides raids) is very easy except for some minor difficulty spikes, you get overleveled fast, there's almost no strategy needed.
    - It's 15-20 hours of gameplay, 10 if you go fast, which is quite short for a Pokemon game.
    - Especially the last part of the game feels rushed and empty except for the many cutscenes: e.g. the last gym has no puzzle at all, there is no Victory Road, instead of E4 you get battles against the rivals you fought many times already, and the final evil team fight is just a lot of same enemies in the same elevator.
    - Also there's almost no post-game, except for a short after story and a lame Battle Tower without bosses.
    - Even though you can skip some tutorials, there are still a lot of cutscenes and a lot of repeated annoying comments during battles with rivals. The rivals are boring, especially Hop who is annoying.
    - The story is not interesting, predictable (in many aspects the same as in the last game) and sometimes ridiculous.
    - Searching or putting mons up for trade over over the internet is gone, there is no GTS anymore. Y-Comm does not have this I think?
    - Although not a problem for me personally, the fact that they removed more than half of the mons means that players who want to use their mons from previous games often cannot. Also a lot of moves from previous games are gone.
    - Compared to other Switch games the graphics are low quality, and the pop-ins/short viewing distance is quite bad.
    - The music is forgettable at best, and some tracks are just bad (this is subjective of course).
    - Many of the features of previous games are gone again. This is not new though, happened with other Pokemon games too.
    - Finally, there is little innovation except raids. Dynamax is just another gimmick much like Mega Evolution and Z-Moves which we probably won't see again in the next games.

    So even though it has some good points, the game just feels short, easy, rushed, uninspired and boring. Not nearly as immersive as previous games. Which is okay if you don't care for that and just want to catch and battle some cool/cute Pokemon. But I think it will be disappointing for many long time players.    … Expand
  5. DobleC
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    If we were facing a GameCube game, the game would probably have a 7 (due to Dexit and lack of content and animations).

    But we are faced with a game of the most successful franchise in history (ergo a franchise that generates a lot of money) and sincerely it is shameful the technical work it has. Anyway, if you're not very smart (as with the vast majority of Pokémon fans) you probably    If we were facing a GameCube game, the game would probably have a 7 (due to Dexit and lack of content and animations).

    But we are faced with a game of the most successful franchise in history (ergo a franchise that generates a lot of money) and sincerely it is shameful the technical work it has.
    Anyway, if you're not very smart (as with the vast majority of Pokémon fans) you probably won't even notice.

    As good points, the music is great, the game (when it is not frozen or terrible laggin) looks nice too and you can also finish it in less than 10 hours if you rush, so you can go play any other game of Pokémon that is good (from DS and earlier).

    Lazyness :/    … Expand
  6. adamskate123
    Nov 15, 2019
    9
    Having not played a mainline Pokémon RPG in quite some time I was pleasantly surprised by Sw&Sh. While the graphics are not the best for a Switch game, the gameplay is engaging and the quality of life improvements most welcomed. Overall it’s an excellent experience!
  7. Akino1994
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Gamefreak not only snapped half of the pokemon, they also snapped half their development effort.
    It's a buggy mess of a game and you shoudn't get it.
    And it comes with FREE DLC of snapping your safe files of all your games too.
  8. montyb
    Nov 15, 2019
    2
    Mediocre. That's the only word that comes to mind. This was not the step forward we'd hoped for, and Pokemon has been completely left behind by it's Switch peers. The Wild feels like a beta feature. It's flat, too small to be considered "open world". Difficulty is non-existent as I had to self-impose challenges on a blind run just to remain engaged enough to keep playing. Your rival andMediocre. That's the only word that comes to mind. This was not the step forward we'd hoped for, and Pokemon has been completely left behind by it's Switch peers. The Wild feels like a beta feature. It's flat, too small to be considered "open world". Difficulty is non-existent as I had to self-impose challenges on a blind run just to remain engaged enough to keep playing. Your rival and the champion are basically cut and pasted from Sun and Moon. There is nothing to explore outside of that very small wild area, as the rest of the game is basically on-rails. There are interesting looking places in the background, but you never get to go there. The best way I've heard it put is, it's like a trip to Disney. You can look at the castle, but it's a set piece, there's nothing more to it. Add to that all the cut corners, graphical glitches, the save problem, and the outright removal of staple features (National Dex, moves, Megas, GTS, etc.) This is the first time I've come away from a mainline pokemon game, outright regretting having played it.… Expand
  9. Marioyluigi
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    Una lastima sinceramente, pénse que iba a ser como un zelda , pero solo tuve un juego que se repite año tras año quedandose en los tiempos anteriores, no hay cambios, hay recortes, animaciones que dan pena, personajes que se pasan de infantiles a tontos, no hay vida con esa banda sonora, Las voces de los pokemon poco originales, tengo que volver a leer y no le pueden poner voces, textura,Una lastima sinceramente, pénse que iba a ser como un zelda , pero solo tuve un juego que se repite año tras año quedandose en los tiempos anteriores, no hay cambios, hay recortes, animaciones que dan pena, personajes que se pasan de infantiles a tontos, no hay vida con esa banda sonora, Las voces de los pokemon poco originales, tengo que volver a leer y no le pueden poner voces, textura, graficos, historia, todo es malo , no hay nada rescatable.… Expand
  10. Crackdily
    Nov 15, 2019
    10
    Pokémon parece reinvertarse en estas entregas, no te llegan de la mano, los nuevos monstruos son bien presentados a comparación de otras versiones (en XY y SM abundaban más los Pokémon de otras regiones que sus respectivos nuevos monstruos. Buena jugabilidad e historia. En definitiva se puede decir que este es: "El verdadero Game of the Century"...
  11. Hasoon10
    Nov 15, 2019
    10
    Amazing game, and most negative reviews are probably made by people who had a strong opinion on the game before its release due to the lack of the national dex.
  12. Totto692
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    More of the same.... but less. The story is soo lame, the graphics underwhelming, the routes are boring, not challenging trainers. The wild area is probably the most exciting feature, but the execution both visually and functionally feels unpolished, The pop in, ugly trees, broken water reflections, not as big as zelda botw like they promised.
    I wont give it a pass just because it is    More of the same.... but less. The story is soo lame, the graphics underwhelming, the routes are boring, not challenging trainers. The wild area is probably the most exciting feature, but the execution both visually and functionally feels unpolished, The pop in, ugly trees, broken water reflections, not as big as zelda botw like they promised.
    I wont give it a pass just because it is Pokemon, It is a lazy cash grab game. Not what Gamefreak promised.    … Expand
  13. Pcero321
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    Es el peor juego de todo el año, lamentable que uno de las franquicias mas importantes del mundo, se haya envuelto en una conformidad que da pena ajena, animaciones muy torpes , malas , musica muy simple que en combates no me da emoción , si no ganas de apagar la portatil e irme, y lo vende a precio completo, parece un juego indie.
  14. QueDuBonheur
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    This is by far the most disappointing Pokémon game of the main serie ever released. Game Freak laziness is an insult to the fans. it's by no means the most ugly and lazy exclusive on the Switch.

    + Artistic direction + Trainer customization + New pokémons - Cut content everywhere - Lot of techinal issues including clipping, wrong background, fps drops, crashs, time stop, bad distance    This is by far the most disappointing Pokémon game of the main serie ever released. Game Freak laziness is an insult to the fans. it's by no means the most ugly and lazy exclusive on the Switch.

    + Artistic direction
    + Trainer customization
    + New pokémons
    - Cut content everywhere
    - Lot of techinal issues including clipping, wrong background, fps drops, crashs, time stop, bad distance view, etc.
    - Linear and holds your hand
    - Story not engaging
    - Almost no post-game
    - Braindead difficulty even for a child
    And the list go on and on and on...

    You should avoid this or at least be prepared for a very underwhelming experience.    … Expand
  15. DanielCarrilho
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Is this really the next generation Pokemon game for the Nintendo Switch? It's somehow worse than the 3DS Pokemon games, lacking all the features with nothing to make up for it.
  16. blackabe111
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    10/10 minus one point for every of my favorite Pokemon missing from the game. I have to many favorite Pokemon
  17. IndomitableFark
    Nov 15, 2019
    2
    Aside from the dex cut, heavily-memed animations, mostly empty areas, lack of a story, nonexistent post game, and subpar music, what bothered me most was the difficulty. The exp. share is now REQUIRED to be on at all times. What this means is that all of your Pokemon level up even when you don't want them to. It creates an annoyingly precarious imbalance of exploration with difficulty. IfAside from the dex cut, heavily-memed animations, mostly empty areas, lack of a story, nonexistent post game, and subpar music, what bothered me most was the difficulty. The exp. share is now REQUIRED to be on at all times. What this means is that all of your Pokemon level up even when you don't want them to. It creates an annoyingly precarious imbalance of exploration with difficulty. If you explore too much (by the way, there's practically LESS to explore than Sun and Moon), you wind up grossly overleveled for whatever sense of a challenge the game tries to throw at you. If you don't explore to try and stay within the right level range, you just rush through the game even quicker because, surprise, surprise, you'd still probably be overleveled anyway. The only way around this is to force yourself to be constantly catching and switching out Pokemon, which is never how I like to play the games. In addition, with the aforementioned dex cut, your options for team creations for repeat playthroughs are severely limited. There ARE many good things that were added, but for a game that was promised to be for experienced players over a year before its release, this game is anything but. Simply put, Pokemon Sword and Shield are the worst games in the series -- and I've played them all.… Expand
  18. Gears2011
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    No lo compres, mira analisis pero obviamente no de youtuber que solo hablan de nintendo, si no de aquel que habla de todo, porque este juego realmente es una verdadera verguenza, que infantil son los perssonajes , con unicas animaciones toscas y torpes , parecen que ni siquiera en el diseño se han esforzado, No lo compren.
  19. BigBlue42
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    The game simply feels unfinished in all areas.
    For starters, the infamous Pokemon cut; this wouldn't be so bad if the extra dev time was truly used to make up for other areas of the game, but I simply do not see where that extra effort has gone.
    The visuals are lackluster compared to most Switch titles. The story is very basic. The main campaign of the game is roughly 20 hours at a    The game simply feels unfinished in all areas.
    For starters, the infamous Pokemon cut; this wouldn't be so bad if the extra dev time was truly used to make up for other areas of the game, but I simply do not see where that extra effort has gone.
    The visuals are lackluster compared to most Switch titles.
    The story is very basic. The main campaign of the game is roughly 20 hours at a leisurely pace, which is quite short for the Pokemon franchise. They've also decided to disallow you from shutting off EXP Share; this wouldn't be an issue, if the game was balanced around this, but it feels as though you're overlevelled for every encounter in the game, leading even dynamic, challenging battles to be swept through with no challenge at all. On top of this, the endgame is mediocre as well; it's little more than rematches with the gym leaders, meager story content of little impact, and a basic Battle Tower with no gimmicks, no hard mode, no bosses, nothing.

    Sword and Shield do have some spare quality of life improvements, which I will credit the game for. They have improved the method of obtaining competitively viable Pokemon drastically, changes which do make me quite hopeful for future installments that may be better than this one; however, the quality of life changes are drastically overshadowed by the game's flaws.

    The only reason anyone would review this game positively is if they're a very surface-level player; someone who doesn't particularly care about playing Pokemon long term, someone who just wants something they can shut their brain off with, that offers nothing that any other Pokemon game hasn't already given.

    The reason why people are so critical of this fact is because Game Freak promoted this game by saying that this would be the title made for the long-time fans of the franchise, the people who are passionate about the games; however, this was an outright lie. One of many lies used to make this game look better than it is. People need to be able to accept that this is a bad Pokemon game: If you don't, and simply mindlessly approve of anything Game Freak produces, the franchise will only continue to decline.    … Expand
  20. Andi16ID
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    After avoiding leaks and spoiler I finally got to played the game for 10 hours and then decided to sell it on eBay because I never thought franchise that I used to love has become a quick money grab. There's absolutely nothing ground breaking in the game. After releasing great games like Breath of The Wild and Odyssee I never thought Nintendo would allow Pokémon to release this excuse of aAfter avoiding leaks and spoiler I finally got to played the game for 10 hours and then decided to sell it on eBay because I never thought franchise that I used to love has become a quick money grab. There's absolutely nothing ground breaking in the game. After releasing great games like Breath of The Wild and Odyssee I never thought Nintendo would allow Pokémon to release this excuse of a game.

    I hope they start from the scratch and pretends this game never existed.    … Expand
  21. rbesaaco
    Nov 15, 2019
    3
    The main problem with this games isn't even their varied tiny flaws (absent animations, graphical issues, same models as 3DS games etc.). Those could be overlooked if not for certain decisions such as Dexit, which means a lot more than just erasing fan-favorite creatures:

    -Dexit means you won't be able to battle against future games that have a different creature selection, reducing    The main problem with this games isn't even their varied tiny flaws (absent animations, graphical issues, same models as 3DS games etc.). Those could be overlooked if not for certain decisions such as Dexit, which means a lot more than just erasing fan-favorite creatures:

    -Dexit means you won't be able to battle against future games that have a different creature selection, reducing the playerbase and shortening it's lifespan.

    -Dexit means unified metagame will dissapear and will be limited to each specific game, making impossible to have a general balance.

    Mix that with intermitent moves and Mega Evolutions (absent from this game, but not discarded from future ones) and you have a fragmented, unsolid competitive game. That's the "balance" GameFreak is making, without actually balancing. They have reduced all complexity to a 30%.

    In my opinion, this games are only valuable for little children with no knowledge of previous Pokémon games, or casual players who doesn't care about learning, breeding or anything battle-related. And even then, we are talking about the worse Pokémon games quality-wise.

    Any other player that knows and cares about fighting with their Pokémon, learning the complex mechanics and breeding their creatures with effort, hardcore or not, should stay away from a game that offers less for more money and builds the basis for an extremely casualized, low quality saga in the future.    … Expand
  22. nicizdiz
    Nov 15, 2019
    3
    As a long time pokemon fan excited for the franchise's first real console outing this game is a tremendous letdown on nearly all fronts. As per usual with the franchise, there are convenient quality of life improvements that are greatly appreciated like having the ability to change nature easily. The fan favorite ability to have customization over your character's appearance has alsoAs a long time pokemon fan excited for the franchise's first real console outing this game is a tremendous letdown on nearly all fronts. As per usual with the franchise, there are convenient quality of life improvements that are greatly appreciated like having the ability to change nature easily. The fan favorite ability to have customization over your character's appearance has also returned which is greatly appreciated. But looking further it feels as though any gains the developers could have made by moving from handheld to console has been completely squandered. Simply put, this is a 3DS game that has been ported to console, there is no other way to describe how pitiful this games looks. This stings even further when the developers claimed reason for not including the full dex was to better fine tune the visuals and animations of what was actually in the game. On top of this, the proven reveal that the in-game models were simply reused from previous games, which itself isn't bad and is honestly expected, makes things even worse when the developers explicitly stated this to not be the case.

    Making matters worse is the lack of content. The series seems to have taken a sharp nosedive in the amount of available content available to the player since the release of Black and White 2, and this game has the least yet while costing 1.5x more than previous games. It is simply astounding that a developer making its big console debut in one of the most beloved franchises in the world would actively choose to not do their best. GameFreak has done better this, can do better than this, and you as a fan deserve better than this. Your money and more importantly your time is better spent elsewhere.    … Expand
  23. FlowSchmoe
    Nov 15, 2019
    6
    This game isn’t a 6 because it’s garbage or unfun.

    This game is a 6 because it’s boring and uninspired. The story mode is mind numbingly simple, the combat is stupidly easy, and the entire game holds your hand like your mom when crossing the street. Add this on top of the fact that GameFreak, the developers of this game, lied when they said they were creating models and high quality    This game isn’t a 6 because it’s garbage or unfun.

    This game is a 6 because it’s boring and uninspired.

    The story mode is mind numbingly simple, the combat is stupidly easy, and the entire game holds your hand like your mom when crossing the street.

    Add this on top of the fact that GameFreak, the developers of this game, lied when they said they were creating models and high quality animations from scratch. This was their excuse for cutting over half of all Pokémon. Instead, they reused the same models and animations from 6 years ago, and it shows.

    While sometimes the graphics look acceptable for a Switch game, other times the graphics look like an N64 game, with the animations looking worse than Pokémon Colosseum from more than 15 years ago.

    Added onto the poor design choices and bugs like the one that corrupted my SD card, this game was obviously rushed and not worth $60.

    Go play Heart Gold/Soul Silver or Black/White if you want a good Pokémon game because this isn’t it.    … Expand
  24. Jbo
    Nov 15, 2019
    4
    A very disappointing new entry for the highest grossing franchise ever.
    The total number of pokemon available has been reduced by approximately 60% and while this could be good to experience new pokemon, the choice to make non-galar mon not even importable is a big **** you to long term fans (with the promise that we MIGHT be able to use the excluded in the next game). Also the choice of    A very disappointing new entry for the highest grossing franchise ever.
    The total number of pokemon available has been reduced by approximately 60% and while this could be good to experience new pokemon, the choice to make non-galar mon not even importable is a big **** you to long term fans (with the promise that we MIGHT be able to use the excluded in the next game). Also the choice of which pokemon to include/excude was rather stupid (e.g. why exclude the lillipup line from a UK-inspired region?).
    The reduced number of pokemon was explained by gamefreak as necessary because all models had to be redone (proven false time and time again) and to include high quality animations (most animations are recicled, many are outright terrible and out of combat animations belong to tge early 2000s, with characters walking on the spot and spinning to turn around).
    Graphical quality is also pretty poor, with wild areas textures and effects being especially bad (e.g. no water ripple effects), yet there are still poor pop-up effects and fps drops.
    The removal of features is a really sad point, with the amazing concept of mega-evolution thrown out of the window to introduce the much more gimmicky and limited dynamax forms.
    The level design is extremely linear and the game is simply too easy, especially due to not being able to turn off the exp. Share. Even childs experience a cake-walk.
    The story is pretty bland, but not outright bad.    … Expand
  25. NINTEDEROPORSIE
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    La banda sonora es tan aburrida , tan mala , no te inspira a seguir más, hasta incluso te da sueño, sus animaciones para este año 2019, da verguenza ajena, tanto dinero que gana pokemon y no le pueden poner voces por lo menos , que las texturas sean respetables. Nos estan tomando el pelo
  26. Golem25
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Most definitely not worth the price of admission; cut corners everywhere, more than 50% of Pokemon slashed from the game, technical issues, lifeless world, dreadful art direction, and less content (no post-game beyond a small episode and a battle tower clone) for a higher price point. I could not possibly recommend this game at any price above maybe 20 Dollars.
  27. KingBradley3004
    Nov 15, 2019
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. -Recorte de más de 500 Pokémon -Quitaron más de 100 movimientos
    -Postgame casi inexistente -Popping salvaje en el área salvaje, parece que los pokemon te aparecieran en la cara o salieran de la tierra
    -Graficosy animaciones mediocres    … Expand
  28. JuegoG2
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    Este juego solo lo defiende mi nostalgia ,porque desde hace mucho tiempo dejo de ser divertido, la banda musical, su pobres animaciones , los pokemon poco originales y el recorte que hicieron, me doy cuenta que es una compra sin sentido.
  29. allewel2
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Overpriced now ($35x2 used to get you all of the game and now $60x2 only gets you 55%).

    GameFreak just needs to sell Pokémon and let someone else give it the attention it deserves.
  30. EpicGamer420
    Nov 15, 2019
    3
    We live in a society where gamefreak can get away with making a half baked game and changer 60 dollars. With only a fraction of old pokemon and not even 100 completely new pokemon.
  31. MiawMix
    Nov 15, 2019
    3
    What is this abomination? It's as if the developer know their consumer will eat whatever they made no matter how bad they're, so they prioritize to cut the budget. Literally every aspects in this game is bad: contents, graphic quality, performance, music, innovations. No doubt it will be success financially, but it doesn't change that the game itself is a lazy cash grab.
  32. Braduk
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    The worst pokemon game ever, launched with lie, and obvious lack of effort from Gamefreak.
  33. Matsumi
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    i love pokemon and i have loved it since i started playing it with silver but this this is such a giant step back from what we had sloppy animations etc there are SOME animation which are mostly just signature moves of pokemon that are well animated but that doesnt help the rest of the game. gamefreak outright lied to us saying that the sacrifice of pokemon is for better animations well ifi love pokemon and i have loved it since i started playing it with silver but this this is such a giant step back from what we had sloppy animations etc there are SOME animation which are mostly just signature moves of pokemon that are well animated but that doesnt help the rest of the game. gamefreak outright lied to us saying that the sacrifice of pokemon is for better animations well if it were than we wouldnt have a legendary that spins on the spot while its legs are moving… Expand
  34. FirstMx
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Inadmissible en 2019 un véritable scandale. GameFreak Se fout de la gueule des consommateurs en proposant la version la plus feignante jamais existé dans un jeu vidéo à succès qui n’est plus que l’ombre de lui-même
  35. OneNoobGuy
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    This is not a complete game for sure, they removed lots of stuff from previous games just to keep the quality, saddly gamefreak lied
  36. Bhanscom
    Nov 15, 2019
    2
    Gamefreak lied... they said that they were cutting Pokémon from the game to spend more time on the graphics but they are some of the worst I’ve seen a console that has been released in the last 5 years. The animations in the outer world are stale and jagged, they look like the animations someone made in their basement while learning on their own how to use Maya or Blender. And that’s theGamefreak lied... they said that they were cutting Pokémon from the game to spend more time on the graphics but they are some of the worst I’ve seen a console that has been released in the last 5 years. The animations in the outer world are stale and jagged, they look like the animations someone made in their basement while learning on their own how to use Maya or Blender. And that’s the for the outer world animations, when it comes to faces it’s even worse. The textures themselves also appear to be from a game that is way past its expiration date.

    Graphics aside, the game is abysmally easy with the developers holding your hand from beginning to end. The only way the story experience is enjoyable is if you prefer to be on the rails guided from location to locations without having to much of any thought into what you’re doing. Additionally, the post-game is nothing compared to the post-game of previous generations.

    Overall, do yourself a favor and if you’re a fan of pokemon wait until the price substantially drops or buy it used so that your aren’t paying $60 for a $20 game.    … Expand
  37. Louloupo
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    I think it's not fair to have a poor quality game like this for a home console ... Boring. No surprise, same scenario, same graphics than sun and moon... I think im gonna play to digimon to forgzt this game...
  38. limefroge
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Lazy cashgrab garbage with no redeeming factors. It's objectively inferior to any game on the franchise released since Platinum and that's unacceptable for a HD high budget game.
  39. Jose112
    Nov 15, 2019
    9
    Muy buen juego este es el comienso de una nueva era en switch y no esta mal lo mismo Paso en 3ds con pokemon xy pero la siguiente generasion va hacer perfecta por ya senbraron las bases con este juego
  40. EikoBiko
    Nov 15, 2019
    3
    Before the announcement of this game I was incredibly excited to finally see what The Pokemon Company could pull off with Switch-level hardware, especially having played the likes of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Super Mario: Odyssey. I was preparing myself to see Game Freak pull out all stops to really show us how much they've been wanting to do, but couldn't because ofBefore the announcement of this game I was incredibly excited to finally see what The Pokemon Company could pull off with Switch-level hardware, especially having played the likes of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Super Mario: Odyssey. I was preparing myself to see Game Freak pull out all stops to really show us how much they've been wanting to do, but couldn't because of handheld console limitations.

    After the announcement, I was already disappointed, but I figured "this is still salvageable, I could still enjoy a classic pokemon experience." What I got was... well, even more disappointing.

    First of all, the elephant in the room is, as you probably already know, Game Freak has decided to cut 50% of all the pokemon from this game for dubious and unexplained reasons. Not only are they reusing assets from 3DS titles, they couldn't even fit all the assets from the 3DS titles into these games. Ordinarily I would find this to be no problem, however the amount of content that exists to replace this is: zero. The only relatively exciting thing to come of this is the wild area, which is a single zone that can be explored in less than 15 minutes. This area (and the majority of the game) is not only visually unimpressive, but suffers majorly from pop-ins when characters move anywhere closer than 15 feet from the subject. If you are traveling at a high speed, you are likely to run into something you didn't know was there because the game refused to render it in time. Not only do these pop-in issues happen in the wild area, but all over the game, making the areas seem completely devoid of life until SURPRISE! Someone is standing there. But the problems don't end there.

    One of the things Game Freak said was being done to make up for the lack of pokemon was improvement of animation (let alone the remaking of models, which was an utter fabrication). The improvement in animation quality, like 50% of the pokemon, is non-existent. There are several instances, including the climax of the story, where pokemon rotate in place when making a turn, animation oversights that totally took me out of the experience. And in regards to the story itself, it is unrelenting, seemingly bent on not allowing you to play the game for yourself, and railroading you to no end with pages upon pages of unvoiced dialog. The few routes in the game between towns are very small, and amount of actual gameplay seems even smaller with the constant interruptions. Overall the game took me about 15 hours to beat, but thinking about it realistically, I was only really PLAYING for a fraction of that time. The difficulty of this game has also somehow diminished since previous entries, as your team is constantly being healed for plot reasons, and you have no choice but to use Exp. Share throughout the game -- legitimately you can't turn it off.

    Additionally, the game's key feature, "dynamaxing" tends to cause slowdowns, and has since replaced previous battle features such as mega evolutions and z-moves. As a long-term player, I cannot commit myself to growing accustomed to dynamaxing since it's really only usable in story-relevant battles, and I know that it is likely that this is just a gimmick that will be thrown away in the next generation games.

    As for post-game, there is even LESS to do than previous titles, as there are no extra legendary pokemon to hunt down, and the one post-game feature, the battle tower, has removed super singles, doubles, and completely lacks triple battles. Unlike Sun and Moon, there are also no tower bosses, and all there is to see in the battle tower is an endless number of random NPC's.

    Online capabilities have also suffered in this release, as the GTS trading system that as been present since Generation 4 on the original DS, is absent. This is likely because these features are being moved to Pokemon Home, which at this time is unreleased, but will likely be locked behind a subscription-based paywall if Pokemon Bank is a good point of reference.

    All this said, we are looking at a vastly inferior release than the 3DS games as the series continues on its steady decline. I would not recommend this purchase to anybody, as it appears Game Freak is banking on using sheer brand recognition to justify raising the games price by 50% while doing nothing but cutting features and failing to innovate. Not only does it fail to exceed expectations set by the switch to next generation, console-level hardware, it fails to meet expectations set by previous entries in the series.    … Expand
  41. GFLied
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    The game is embarrassing to look at. The graphics and animations look like someone's college project! The game costs more than the 3DS games with less content. Pokemon deserves better!
  42. ssxcool
    Nov 15, 2019
    4
    honest review

    positive 1. catching pokemon is still fun 2. no more random encounter 3. new wild area 4. QOL improvements Neutral 1. Dynamax is ok i guess, but mega evolution is much better negative 1. reuse of model (according to leaks), not honest with the reason of cutting dex 2. no camera controls in towns 3. Unjustified +$20 price increase (Less content, less    honest review

    positive
    1. catching pokemon is still fun
    2. no more random encounter
    3. new wild area
    4. QOL improvements

    Neutral
    1. Dynamax is ok i guess, but mega evolution is much better

    negative
    1. reuse of model (according to leaks), not honest with the reason of cutting dex
    2. no camera controls in towns
    3. Unjustified +$20 price increase (Less content, less legendaries, pokemons, no improvements in the story, and less post game content than last gen pokemont)
    4. Not fun having to be a 10 year old in the game
    5. Bare bone experience
    6. exp share should have an option to turn it off
    7. Bugs in the game, bad tree texture, short view distance (pokemon popups)

    Conclusion
    Not good not bad, but because of GF dishonesty regarding the pokedex issue, i had the -1 the score (5 to 4).
    I just wish GF would take a note on games such as zelda botw, mario odyssey, ssbu, luigi mansion 3 and dragon quest xi s and learn on how to improve their next pokemon game.    … Expand
  43. Smartins2000
    Nov 15, 2019
    3
    got the game as a present from a friend as he did not want to be playing it alone
    the gameplay is the same as ever, this is not bad but its everyting else that bogs the experience down
    like the cutscenes with your "rivals" or the drawn out fights that made me actually fall asleep at some points (granted i worked that day, but im a programer so how tired can that be?), some music was B A    got the game as a present from a friend as he did not want to be playing it alone
    the gameplay is the same as ever, this is not bad but its everyting else that bogs the experience down
    like the cutscenes with your "rivals" or the drawn out fights that made me actually fall asleep at some points (granted i worked that day, but im a programer so how tired can that be?), some music was B A D normally pokemon has decent to godlike music and to have some tracks this horrendous is unaceptaple
    the final nail in the coffin for this game is the inflated price tag, you wont feel like you got your moneys worth out of the game, this game is inferior to ultra sun and moon and even those games where unaceptable to some degree witch was excused because the 3ds was a underpowerful system, but now?
    TL;DR: buy soulsilver, still SS but much better    … Expand
  44. Wolf_2786
    Nov 15, 2019
    9
    One of the best Pokemon games since heart gold and soul silver,The game is addicting as hell the game-play is great the UI looks smooth and good the pokemon look cool.Don't get me wrong but there is still room for improvement like the lack of national dex or the lack of multiple save files for multiple playthroughs.But still the game is fun.
  45. noodles888
    Nov 15, 2019
    2
    Having played through the game at a leisurely pace, catching some pokemon and exploring areas I have done everything (including the really threadbare post game and some battles in the battle tower) in less than 20 hours I can't believe this is a full price game.

    There are times when the game just feels totally unfinished, blank battle backgrounds (literally just a blank white void) the    Having played through the game at a leisurely pace, catching some pokemon and exploring areas I have done everything (including the really threadbare post game and some battles in the battle tower) in less than 20 hours I can't believe this is a full price game.

    There are times when the game just feels totally unfinished, blank battle backgrounds (literally just a blank white void) the reused animations (Hop is literally just Hau), the hilariously bad legendary scenes (no music, terrible PS1 era animations, fade to black symbolising something actually happening) the barren world (one town is literally just a straight line with a Pokemon Center and nothing else), the constant unskipable cutscenes, not being able to turn the EXP share off, the complete lack of content compared to other games (even the Battle Tower is stripped down, no legendary trainers to fight just endless faceless NPCs), even trading, always one of the core feautures of the series is locked behind another paywall.

    The last two JRPGs I played on the Switch are Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and DragonQuestXI, both games crammed with content (even before the DLCs), beautiful and imaginative worlds so I had high hopes for what Pokemon could have been on the platform but all I'm left with is a bad taste and disappointment,    … Expand
  46. Squids
    Nov 15, 2019
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Pokemon Sword (and by extension, Shield) is the newest mainline entry in the Pokémon franchise. The first console mainline pokemon game on a console, expectations are high and rightly so but does the game deliver? Simply: No, it doesn't.

    You are transported into the colourful world of Galar, brimming with new Pokemon and offering a challenge much familiar to any seasoned pokemon trainer to become the most powerful pokemon master of the region. A big part of pokemon charm is its extensive world building which isn't really present in Sword. The large open seeming cities only contain a handful of places you can explore with buildings and areas deceptively giving the appearance of much more. It advertised a wild area, with over world sprites and new Pokemon encounters but for the most part is completely barren with graphical issues and only a limited range of pokemon to catch. Gone is the dream of catching 'em all with over half of the current Pokémon being cut from the series for the first time.

    Stories in pokemon mainline games have never been praised for their brilliant writing but Sword and Shield pales in comparison to even the series' weakest points. The characters archetypes are painfully already overdone with previous games, with the rival being a direct copy in terms of personality and animations to the last. Characters such as Bede and Marnie although seem promising at start, don't really have story development and don't give the time for the player to relate or to grow attached to them. The evil team is also painfully irrelevant with them only appearing at the end briefly and Team Yell being more of an annoying backstop than anything. Alongside a rushed and confusing short post-game, SWSH is the weakest in terms of story so far. With love it or hate it pokemon designs, an array of graphical issues and issues such as digital download copies corrupting save data for other game and softlocking - I cannot in good conscience recommend this game to anyone at this price.    … Expand
  47. Magenta1991
    Nov 15, 2019
    3
    5 horas con el juego y ya estoy por encima del nivel de todos los entrenadores del juego. La introducción tarda más de media hora por si sola y no haces más que caminar del punto a al punto b, mínimo tuviera musgo bonito para mirar como en Death Stranding pero no. Los gráficos parecen tomados del proyecto de Unity de algún fan con demasiado tiempo libre y no de una de una compañía5 horas con el juego y ya estoy por encima del nivel de todos los entrenadores del juego. La introducción tarda más de media hora por si sola y no haces más que caminar del punto a al punto b, mínimo tuviera musgo bonito para mirar como en Death Stranding pero no. Los gráficos parecen tomados del proyecto de Unity de algún fan con demasiado tiempo libre y no de una de una compañía multimillonaria con la franquicia de mayor renombre en el mundo de los videojuegos. Una vez que termina la introducción los personajes no dejan de interrumpir tu camino para llevarte de la mano y hablarte de lo genial que es ser un niño y atrapar Pokémon. Hop es Hau 1.0001 y no han tenido pena siquiera de reutilizar sus animaciones de la forma más descarada. Porcierto que los personajes se muevan por casillas y tengan que girarse para caminar a la Resident Evil 1 en pleno 2019 en una consola tan poderosa como la PS3 es para echarse a reír y llorar al mismo tiempo

    Las rutas son cortas, los escenarios poco inspirados, las ciudades son pasillos adornados con uno o dos personajes y todas las casas iguales, el área salvaje es una zona safari glorificada y vacía. El curry solo son pokepoffins con otro nombre (de todas las cosas que la gente pedía de vuelta han traído la única que a nadie le importa). Se nota el nulo interés hacia su trabajo y su deseo por querer ganar dinero estafando niños. Me da pena por los Pokémon que debutan en esta región pues no se merecen quedar atrapados en este juego paupérrimo (porque seguramente más de la mitad no vuelve para la próxima entrega). Tengo más diversión jugando Pokémon Go en mi casa girando el disco de la pokeparada que hay encima mío cada 5 minutos que lo que ganó jugando esta kusoge de juego. Planeaba regalarle el juego a mi sobrino está navidad para iniciarlo en el juego pero mejor será que le dé cualquier otra cosa. Nadie merece que este sea su introducción a la saga. La historia por cierto es peor que la de Sun/Moon y X/Y combinados. No entiendo por qué han sacado la GTS.

    Actualizacion.: Juego terminado. Hora de devolverlo. Haha    … Expand
  48. EhDiddyIceDaddy
    Nov 15, 2019
    9
    A great game. Not a full DeX but that didnt deter me from my enjoyment. Loving it.
  49. KinuTS
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    The most dissapointing entry in the series. Rushed and most of the content from the previous game is cut.
  50. PSLucky
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Unfinished game with a multitude of technical bugs and failures and fewer features than any prior game in the series.
  51. Jefedemuchanina
    Nov 15, 2019
    8
    I'm about 7 hours in have beaten 3 gyms and not a single bug literally not one. The wild zone is massive and has a ton of different pokemon and is a welcome addition the new pokemon kick ass

    For the negative cant skip cutscenes and stuff and they drag on sometimes some of the textures don't look great but its pokemon so who cares.
  52. Terriblefate58
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    These games are not only a huge step down from earlier titles, but it goes beyond what used to be already barely tolerable standards to way below standards, keep in mind this is the biggest, most profitable franchise on earth.

    This is the first time a pokemon main game is released on console, people were excited for game freak to finally do whatever they wanted and it's been done with    These games are not only a huge step down from earlier titles, but it goes beyond what used to be already barely tolerable standards to way below standards, keep in mind this is the biggest, most profitable franchise on earth.

    This is the first time a pokemon main game is released on console, people were excited for game freak to finally do whatever they wanted and it's been done with the most minimal of efforts, all the money you've spent on Pokemon didn't went on making this a better game, it went straight into the pockets of the people in charge, those that made sure this was made with the most minimum effort and those that cut corners.    … Expand
  53. PokeTrainer
    Nov 15, 2019
    10
    a simple fun game just like most pokemon games have been, I have found myself happy playing it
  54. HaroLain
    Nov 15, 2019
    5
    From the very beginning, through all of the announcements, controversies, and leaks, I've been willing to go into Pokemon Sword & Shield with an open mind. I've been a fan of the games for nearly two decades now, and each mainline entry has managed to be enjoyable in some way, even the weaker games of the 3DS era. I understood the concerns that were raised around the title - the lack of aFrom the very beginning, through all of the announcements, controversies, and leaks, I've been willing to go into Pokemon Sword & Shield with an open mind. I've been a fan of the games for nearly two decades now, and each mainline entry has managed to be enjoyable in some way, even the weaker games of the 3DS era. I understood the concerns that were raised around the title - the lack of a National Dex, subpar graphics for Pokemon's console debut, the fact that nearly half of all Pokemon were straight up cut from the game. But even so, I chose to remain optimistic until I finally had a chance to try it out for myself.

    Now that I've put about 12 hours into the game, it saddens me to say that the outcome of Pokemon Sword & Shield is the most disappointing I could have imagined. These games aren't the franchise ending disaster that many hardcore fans claimed they would be, and they're not the amazing leap into the realm of console gaming that was promised by the developers. Sword & Shield are, for all intents and purposes, a continuation of what we got on the 3DS.

    Whether or not that is a good thing depends on the individual player, and how easily satisfied they are by more of the same. However, with all of the uproar surrounding these games, I think it is safe to assume that a lot of fans, including myself, expected more from Sword & Shield, and I believe Game Freak could have done a better job if given more time (or manpower, motivation, focus - whatever it is that they lacked). As it stands now, the major changes Sword & Shield make to the long-established Pokemon formula are too few, and too insignificant.

    The graphics look considerably better than they ever could have on the 3DS, and the Wild Area is an interesting new concept that only exists because of the more powerful hardware. Creating a competitive team and adjusting their stats/natures/IVs is easier than ever, which is a great change for PvP enthusiasts. Lastly, there is now nearly 50% less Pokemon to experiment with compared to Sun & Moon. Sadly, with the exception of the competitive streamlining, even the positive changes fail to impress.

    The Wild Area, while open and fun to traverse, is relatively empty with not much to do besides catch Pokemon and enter raid battles. It's also here where the game suffers from frame rate issues and pop-in the most, which ruins what little immersion there is to be found. The graphics, while better than anything we've seen so far in the series, are far from perfect. There are many cases of poor texture work (I'm sure everyone's seen the infamous tree), and many animations are jarring, both in battle and during cutscenes. The removal of so many Pokemon is an inherently negative change, but that was honestly not my biggest problem with the game, and I believe most casual fans will be able to overlook this.

    There's a lot I'd like to add, regarding the overall story, music, characters etc, but these areas are more subjective and are best left to the individual to form an opinion on. I will say, the story so far has not personally impressed me, and Sun & Moon had the more engaging tale despite the constant cutscenes. The last point I'd like to touch upon is the removal of Mega Evolution and Z-Moves in favor of the new Dynamax (and Gigantamax) mechanic.

    There's not a lot to say about Dynamax, given that it's only available during pivotal moments like gym battles and raids. It's exciting the first couple of times, but I found that by the 4th gym, it started to become repetitive, and I realized that Dynamaxing lacks the depth that Mega Evolutions had. Had it been included alongside Megas, I don't think I would have had a problem with Dynamax as a mechanic; but as a replacement, it ultimately fails to live up to what we had previously.

    Despite all of my gripes, Sword & Shield are still enjoyable games in the end, but they are also incredibly mediocre. If you're able to accept the fact that they're not much more than another 3DS entry, this time in HD with some added bells and whistles (and a lot less Pokemon), then I recommend giving it a try. Just know that while it doesn't break the streak of entertaining mainline entries, it did disappoint me more than any other game in the series so far.    … Expand
  55. oshawott94
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    One of the worst games I ever played. Even Let's Go PE outsold and that tell a lot. Really disappointed with everything in this game. Not a single highlight. Sad.
  56. JaggerDonahue
    Nov 15, 2019
    3
    I already beat it before school started, wtf. The game is really easy and really short. It also feels really empty and there's not a lot of plot. Most of the characters hype you up as the champion but the Pokemon League gets interrupted by the stupid League President who summons a demon from hell, WHAT? And it's a long scripted cutscene meant to feel epic, but you hardly do anything. GameI already beat it before school started, wtf. The game is really easy and really short. It also feels really empty and there's not a lot of plot. Most of the characters hype you up as the champion but the Pokemon League gets interrupted by the stupid League President who summons a demon from hell, WHAT? And it's a long scripted cutscene meant to feel epic, but you hardly do anything. Game is pretty lame ngl, I hope there's another one next year that is longer.… Expand
  57. Fanfo
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Un juego que igual que entregas anteriores ofrece una experiencia que podría llegar a a ser muy disfrutable pero que termina antes de llegar a algo. Poca duración y casi nulo post game.
  58. Mockyy
    Nov 15, 2019
    10
    The charm and excitement that this new entry brings to the series is overwhelming, the game is brimming with emotions and new designs, it comes as a breath of fresh air to the series, even if it’s a shame that some cuts were made for long term fans the new designs and direction more than make up for them and make way for a new generation of pokemon players, when I saw the new fossils,The charm and excitement that this new entry brings to the series is overwhelming, the game is brimming with emotions and new designs, it comes as a breath of fresh air to the series, even if it’s a shame that some cuts were made for long term fans the new designs and direction more than make up for them and make way for a new generation of pokemon players, when I saw the new fossils, coalossal, the new penguin and the gigantimax mons I could only think “YES, NINTENDO FINALLY HIRED THIS MAN” personally as a long term fan of pokemon GO I found the increased difficulty fantastic, I would wholeheartedly recommend this game to anyone getting into the franchise, children below the age of 10 or to pokemon GO fans looking for a quick 10 to 15 hours challenge… Expand
  59. YT123
    Nov 15, 2019
    6
    This game gets too much hate. It's not a bad game, but it definitely lacks ambition.

    + Some QoL improvements - The (3)DS Pokémon games have more Pokémon in the game - Very poor pacing in the second half of the campaign - Graphics and animations are subpar compared to other Switch games - No GTS - Forced exp share, extremely linear routes and frequent auto-healing further simplify    This game gets too much hate. It's not a bad game, but it definitely lacks ambition.

    + Some QoL improvements
    - The (3)DS Pokémon games have more Pokémon in the game
    - Very poor pacing in the second half of the campaign
    - Graphics and animations are subpar compared to other Switch games
    - No GTS
    - Forced exp share, extremely linear routes and frequent auto-healing further simplify the game (which was not necessary at all)
    - The game feels unfinished/unpolished

    It's still a pretty fun game though, most Pokémon fans will probably enjoy it. But it could have been so much more..    … Expand
  60. Baltha
    Nov 15, 2019
    9
    Melhor do que nunca, mas ainda Pokemon. Visual, jogabilidade e história em harmonia proporcionando uma excitante imersão.
  61. Illuluminati
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Looks like a ds game, for a company that made billions and billions from that **** gacha game, this is unacceptable.
  62. theodoros_patt
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    i want my money back this game is so bad , first of all gamefreak lied , reused models , hop is a hau clone its just an unfinished game Nintendo is time to get the franchise back this morons don't deserve the biggest franchise in the world because the simply don't respect us , i was going to recommend this game to children but it's overpriced
  63. Jasskip
    Nov 15, 2019
    10
    .........................................................…………… Amazing.!!
  64. sonicpulsar
    Nov 15, 2019
    10
    From the Open Wild area, to the fabulous new Pokemon, Stadiums, Dynamax and Max Raid battles, there's enough new stuff here to keep fans entertained for a long time.
  65. Zenarium
    Nov 15, 2019
    10
    I skipped the 3DS Pokémon games. I just lost interest at some point. The moment I saw the trailer for this game I knew it was time to go back to the series. I am glad I did, this game is amazing.
  66. AzazelSC
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    This is an insult to fans and video games alike. Please do not fall in this trap, don't give into the hype. This game feels like an incomplete mess, everything is restricted and the world feels absolutely empty.
  67. pokeanon
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    With this entry the developers behind Pokémon go deeper in a trend they should have stopped years ago: story modes that are insultingly easy, insultingly short and filled with forced cutscenes and handholding. That reason alone is enough to guarantee a red rating: The games are simply not very fun; they are less of a game and more of a showcase of the new Pokémon and new characters thatWith this entry the developers behind Pokémon go deeper in a trend they should have stopped years ago: story modes that are insultingly easy, insultingly short and filled with forced cutscenes and handholding. That reason alone is enough to guarantee a red rating: The games are simply not very fun; they are less of a game and more of a showcase of the new Pokémon and new characters that will drive TPC's merchandise lineup for the rest of the generation. That is bad, but they reached new unexpected lows with the deletion of more than half the monsters and the mediocre artistic direction. Variety of monsters was the strong point of the series, a game about collecting and training your favorites. With this loss Pokémon drops its strong point and is mostly a list of bad or questionable elements. It does not help that it has pops-in everywhere, bad animations (some of them really glaring for a 2019 game, and even worse when they were the given excuse for the deletion of the monsters), a region with few routes (less than ever before, including corridors) and no dungeons at all. Good points are the intention of an open world adventure with Wild Area and the improved breeding mechanics. The reasons why I did not give this a zero.… Expand
  68. noxxion
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    With the huge backlash of around half of the national pokedex missing, we were promised improvements and a.morecpolished game. We got the exact opposite.

    Around 177 moves missing from the game, an incredible amount of animations reused from Sun and Moon (Hop is a carbon copy of Hau in every aspect) Not to mention the appalling animations in general. Pokemon doing a half-ass pivot on the    With the huge backlash of around half of the national pokedex missing, we were promised improvements and a.morecpolished game. We got the exact opposite.

    Around 177 moves missing from the game, an incredible amount of animations reused from Sun and Moon (Hop is a carbon copy of Hau in every aspect) Not to mention the appalling animations in general. Pokemon doing a half-ass pivot on the spot to turn. A crowd of characters applauding with sound playing BUT NO ANIMATION.

    The soundtrack is terrible and low quality outside of a track from Toby Fox, sometimes the audio even glitches out or just doesnt exist. (The legendary finale was devoid of music and the battle music cut out)

    Also there are only 8 gym leaders that are reused a few times through the story. There are no Elite Four, you fight the same trainers all over again intead. The postgame is nonexistent too.

    No amount of #ThankYouGamefreak can cover up this travesty. Stop letting them get away with this sheer laziness.    … Expand
  69. Tomcat8
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    A disaster, pokemon just died!
    Even let's go, which was a medium game, had undeniable qualities (nothing but the catching interaction was excellent, it's something that should have stayed on this game)
    The 800 Pokemon are not available supposedly because to redo the sprites for the switch is too long while we have the proof that they have reused the sprites of pokemon Ultra Sun and    A disaster, pokemon just died!
    Even let's go, which was a medium game, had undeniable qualities (nothing but the catching interaction was excellent, it's something that should have stayed on this game)

    The 800 Pokemon are not available supposedly because to redo the sprites for the switch is too long while we have the proof that they have reused the sprites of pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.

    Non-existent combat animations, knowing that stadium versions on N64 had animations

    Gigamax combat which is a useless feature, ugly graphics with violent aliasing and catastrophic FPS drops!
    Knowing that the console manages to turn The Witcher 3 correctly
    Besides, the open world is empty and uninteresting!

    Sell ​​50 balls a **** alike, a nice scam for a game that is a half porting 3DS games !    … Expand
  70. MasudaBugBoy
    Nov 15, 2019
    2
    Removed Pokemon, removed features, Dreamcast-quality graphics, laughable post game and inconsistent animation. Is this the best they could do on an HD console from 2017? It's barely more impressive than Sun/Moon.
  71. danbeaman123
    Nov 15, 2019
    10
    This is an excellent Pokemon game. Best in the series!
  72. Pepsimurti
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    A Total Disappointment, bad animations , (HIGH QUALITY ANIMATIONS) and previous animations ripped from SM, same for 3d models, exactly the same from SM, the worst pokèmon crrated by Gamefreak
    #gamefreaklied
  73. pkmn1_5genfreak
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Corporate greed should not be rewarded. You need to recall this game and let the developers make what they wanted to make, Game Freak. You stand to lose a very sizable core of your fanbase, many of us have started as children from 1-4 gen. We hate to see the series we cherish so much be treated as some showpony. Fix it.
  74. Talisa
    Nov 15, 2019
    8
    It's lacking polish but it's still a fine enough Pokemon game to play, and the Wild Area is a lot of fun.
  75. ElHeroeLoco
    Nov 15, 2019
    3
    The game it's just like the 3DS entries, doesn't evolve in anything, too short and the Wild Area looks horrible
    Poor story, poor postgame and the dexit it's another factor for rate the quality of this cut gaming
    And pop in exist in the entire game
    A unnecesary pokémon game
  76. Plisken
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    From now on Game Freak do it like Blizzard.
    Its a shame, they lie to us customers and use their power to appease.

    Why international companies like Volkswagen think its ok to treat her customers like this?

    Did they realy think in 2 months everything will be all right again? Our trust in them is sustained damaged for a long time.

    THAT'S THE REAL PROBLEM!
  77. Michiehm
    Nov 15, 2019
    5
    Not bad but not great either, shortest Pokémon game I played unfortunately
  78. bigmacdaddyHBZ
    Nov 15, 2019
    10
    Its more pokemon. I understand that people are upset that not every pokemon is in the game and I am too but I still really like the games.
  79. Baddap
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    An incredible setback in comparison to previous generations, even the sixth one. Sword and Shield lacks clever route designs, has a lower amount of named characters and a really short story, not letting you get to know them, terrible texture quality in the wild area (infamous tree) and routes (route 8 in particular), lack of polishment in the overworld (no water ripples while surfing,An incredible setback in comparison to previous generations, even the sixth one. Sword and Shield lacks clever route designs, has a lower amount of named characters and a really short story, not letting you get to know them, terrible texture quality in the wild area (infamous tree) and routes (route 8 in particular), lack of polishment in the overworld (no water ripples while surfing, TERRIBLE draw distance, bad Pokemon animations (Wingull floating in the air, Gyarados doing a hard turn in the water). In addition, Game Freak did not deliver on the promised "good animations" which were their justification for cutting over 60% of all Pokémon. Many moves such as Double Kick are just the user hopping in place, or shifting left and right. The battle arenas are also incredibly bland most of the time, with battles taking place in a colorless void. In comparison, the GC and Wii games by Genius Sonority had quality animations for each Pokémon, and the battle arenas fit where the battles were taking place in the world. Even Let's Go had really good battle arenas.
    The game also lacks in gameplay, not having a proper "Battle Frontier" post game area to test your team against the toughest opponents. Instead, you can borrow whole teams and breeze through everything the post game area has to offer in under 35 battles.    … Expand
  80. Kirizame
    Nov 15, 2019
    3
    Here's an honest review of the game from someone who actually played it.
    The game is an inconstant mess of love and effort, take the gym challenges for example. There's a variety of activities from riding a 'raft' down a slide dodging obstacles which was kind of neat to going through a maze of breaking floors. Then you get to the last two challenges - walking down a corridor while a few    Here's an honest review of the game from someone who actually played it.
    The game is an inconstant mess of love and effort, take the gym challenges for example. There's a variety of activities from riding a 'raft' down a slide dodging obstacles which was kind of neat to going through a maze of breaking floors. Then you get to the last two challenges - walking down a corridor while a few grunts jump you and the final challenge. The gym leader places 3 NPCs in front of you and essentially says "beat them, I'll see you out on the field"

    On the other hand, the game has some really charming moments. The first foggy forest you go into, the atmosphere and music is absolutely beautiful. Pity nothing in the game lives up to that area.

    One doesn't usually jump into a Pokemon game for the story, but this is a huge step down from anything the series has seen. Like Team Rocket, Aqua/Magma, Galactic etc you'd expect Team Yell to do.. something, but they don't. Even the big reveal of the evil guy at the end comes out of pretty much nowhere, lasts a battle and he's a happy chap again. There was no evil base to explore, no corrupt Boss with a ridiculous goal. It was last a lame, last second end to the story.

    On the positive side again, the customization is brilliant. There is a wide-range of clothes options. I just wish the male could either get a smaller bag or remove his big boxed suitcase. Poor guy's probably glad his adventure was so short - his back probably couldn't take much more of it.

    Overall the game just isn't impressive and is a major step down from pretty much anything the series has seen which is a shame, not counting Let's GO as it was more of a spinoff and the GCN titles for the same reason, this was Pokemon's first big jump to consoles. Many of us had imagined as kids what it would look like. I remember playing Stadium 1/2 on the N64 and imagining what the games would look like one day on the big screen. Pity this is what we got.

    Honestly, wouldn't recommend it unless you're absolutely 100% desperate for your Pokemon fix and can't grab a copy of Emerald, Heart Gold or Black 2    … Expand
  81. ggdales
    Nov 15, 2019
    2
    This was Game Freak's opportunity to make a truly franchise defining game, but nope! More of the same with some significant steps back. This game is disappointing on so many levels.
  82. Fumetic
    Nov 15, 2019
    3
    Honestly, the game is not all negatives.
    While this review is low, we'll get to why in a moment, this isn't just part of some bomb.
    Pros: The game isn't completely unplayable, there's some good in there. -The game has great Pokemon designs. Creativity abounds, with everything from a group of little Kirby-like soldiers that fight as one to an alien-like witch with tentacles. -There's    Honestly, the game is not all negatives.
    While this review is low, we'll get to why in a moment, this isn't just part of some bomb.
    Pros: The game isn't completely unplayable, there's some good in there.
    -The game has great Pokemon designs. Creativity abounds, with everything from a group of little Kirby-like soldiers that fight as one to an alien-like witch with tentacles.
    -There's some good QoL features added, such as nature changing items and increased vitamin limit, plus reduced level grinding if you do the (rather easy) raids.
    -A few neat compromises, such as the inclusion of both overworld and random encounters.
    Cons: While the list goes on much more than this, I'm sure the other reviews have quite a thorough explanation, so I'll keep it brief, at 5 points or less.
    -The dex cut. Regardless of what you think of it, this is removing what was known as a series staple.
    -Bugs. As of this writing, there's apparently a dangerous autosave bug that could result in data loss.
    -Low content. I'm not talking about the length of the story here, but rather the fact that the game uses the Wild Area to patch up how little content the rest of the game has, even compared to some of the 3DS games.
    -Finally, the game doesn't really have much in the way of engaging fights and just isn't as immersive overall. While there is one uniquely interesting fight that I will not spoil here, it falls more to just watching CPUs fight for you.

    Overall, the game just isn't terribly good. It's not worthy of a 1 or 2 for sure, as there are some good points, but for now, it will have to stay at 3. The length isn't much of an issue as some may say it is, because it's not too much shorter than average, but the Wild Area feels disappointingly flat and bland, and there's not enough content to make up for the removed content or even ignoring that, it's just not something I'd recommend getting for full price, especially as someone who's not supremely rich and has to pick and choose carefully when buying expensive Switch games like this. There's not enough bang for your buck with these games. Do yourself a favor and shop around for another game before choosing this one, and if you HAVE to get this because it's Pokemon, I'd at least say postpone the purchase until they iron out that save bug or it becomes available for a little cheaper.
    Cheers, and happy hunting (for a different game that is).    … Expand
  83. Rusty93x
    Nov 15, 2019
    3
    Average, Uninspired half hearted imitation of a once great series. The game is about a quarter of what you would get in a normal pokemon game. Graphics are nice im comparison to older Gens, but not botw level. Draw distances are a joke, animations are reused and lacking. The dex cut wasnt even an issue for me as i dont collect em all anyway. Howveer cutting fan faves kinda sucks. I reallyAverage, Uninspired half hearted imitation of a once great series. The game is about a quarter of what you would get in a normal pokemon game. Graphics are nice im comparison to older Gens, but not botw level. Draw distances are a joke, animations are reused and lacking. The dex cut wasnt even an issue for me as i dont collect em all anyway. Howveer cutting fan faves kinda sucks. I really hope TPC sorts their issuesnout fornyhe next kne. Gamefreak did lie but its probably due to TPC unrealistic expectations of getting a botw/pokemon syyle open world game out in a year. Shouldve delayed to keep core fans happ. This is a pokemon game for new players and 5 year olds. Id suggest voicing concerns and frustrationz respectively to GF and TPC so that they inderstand we have come to expect a certain level of quality as we have been given every other year from these teams.… Expand
  84. Declau
    Nov 15, 2019
    8
    The game may not tempt you when you ask people who just saw gameplay of the game. If you're a pokémon hardcore fan you will enjoy this game I even haven't finished the game yet and I LOVE it. There is maybe things that are not here like the full pokédex but who cares ? You wouldn't even play all the 900 and more pokémon. The game is like Pokémon Let's Go visually, if you see pokémonThe game may not tempt you when you ask people who just saw gameplay of the game. If you're a pokémon hardcore fan you will enjoy this game I even haven't finished the game yet and I LOVE it. There is maybe things that are not here like the full pokédex but who cares ? You wouldn't even play all the 900 and more pokémon. The game is like Pokémon Let's Go visually, if you see pokémon appears it's totally normal, in Let's Go the camera is ALWAYS up and close to you so you can't see the game like in Sword and Shield. … Expand
  85. Nintendero97
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Como videojuego es divertido, pero como producto es también mediocre, tú no puedes hacer un videojuego tan poco trabajado en una saga que vende millones de unidades, no pido un videojuego con gráficos realistas, pero si un videojuego con unos gráficos a la altura estilo Zelda, y de las animaciones mejor no hablemos, son las mismas animaciones que en 3ds pero cuando digo eso es LAS MISMAS,Como videojuego es divertido, pero como producto es también mediocre, tú no puedes hacer un videojuego tan poco trabajado en una saga que vende millones de unidades, no pido un videojuego con gráficos realistas, pero si un videojuego con unos gráficos a la altura estilo Zelda, y de las animaciones mejor no hablemos, son las mismas animaciones que en 3ds pero cuando digo eso es LAS MISMAS, y en combate tu personaje en ocasiones desaparece y resta total inmersión, señores de Game freak que no estamos en la época de PS2!!, Que la switch puede con mucho más!… Expand
  86. xCore
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    GF is killing this saga.
    Ridiculous animations, 3DS textures...Unfortunately, I had to skip the purchase, I would NEVER pay for this stuff.
  87. NightRacoon
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    The game is simply bad, no national dex, no good animations, a **** history, there's almost no legendaries, a lot of popping, etc.
  88. Ringo00
    Nov 15, 2019
    3
    Not worth your time. Aside from the National dex issues, this game is one more example of the "half a step forward, three steps back" that Gamefreak has had for quite a while now. The wild area, a selling point for the games, feels unfinished and buggy, far less polished graphically than the rest of the game, and with big pop-in and lag issues. It is also extremely small, only reallyNot worth your time. Aside from the National dex issues, this game is one more example of the "half a step forward, three steps back" that Gamefreak has had for quite a while now. The wild area, a selling point for the games, feels unfinished and buggy, far less polished graphically than the rest of the game, and with big pop-in and lag issues. It is also extremely small, only really feeling as a couple of open routes rather than an "open world" experience. The rest of the routes are basically hallways that don't reward or encourage exploration whatsoever, a terrible thing when we are talking about a JRPG. It's sad to see Mario Kart having circuits more complex than this.

    The difficulty is abysmal, with no ability to turn off the global EXP. Share and way too much experience being given for doing anything. Unless you are constantly switching between 12-20 Pokémon, you will find yourself at least 4-5 levels over gym leaders. You might also have to avoid trainers and certain features, like Pokémon Camp, to try to make it a "fair" gameplay experience.
    Following that last point, this also includes another selling point of this games, the raid battles. You will find yourself able to one-shot a lot of the raid Pokémon, sometimes without even dynamaxing yourself.

    For the last big selling point, dynamax and gigantamax, you should also know that only a few Pokémon will be able to do so. The effect can not be passed down, so if you want a specific Pokémon to dyna/gigantamax you might spend hours to find it.

    Be warned: there is no post-game either. A small 1h chapter and Battle Tower 3.0 is all you will have left. Since the legendaries are all shiny locked, there are no legendaries from other regions, no GTS and the wild area is tremendously shallow, this game does not come close to having the shelf life that previous entries had. Even XY, one of the worst post-games the series had, is marginally better than this.

    As a final warning, the touch screen is not compatible with this game. This means that you will not be able to pet your Pokémon like you could in the 3DS entries. Pokémon Camp "replaces" this feature, but you can barely interact with your Pokémon, who will wander aimlessly.

    In conclusion, every single previous Pokémon entry, including the Let's Go games, has more to offer than this game. I would severely recommend replaying or revisiting older Pokémon games you might not have played if you want you nostalgia fix.    … Expand
  89. TheAiTgod
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    I'm disappointed so much. This game is the worst Pokemon main series game ever. Short, easy and expensive.
  90. Metagrass
    Nov 15, 2019
    2
    This game... is not great. It's not even good. You can't imagine how much that bothers me as a 12 year Pokemon fan to say this, but I have to be honest, I regret buying these games.

    There is a myriad of issues with this game that give it a feeling of being rushed. Firstly the game suffers from many graphical issues. Pokemon, trainers and objects will just pop into and out of the    This game... is not great. It's not even good. You can't imagine how much that bothers me as a 12 year Pokemon fan to say this, but I have to be honest, I regret buying these games.

    There is a myriad of issues with this game that give it a feeling of being rushed. Firstly the game suffers from many graphical issues. Pokemon, trainers and objects will just pop into and out of the overworld for seemingly no reason, many battle arenas lack backgrounds and trainers will disappear and reappear from them, completely breaking my immersion. Another issue is the game is extremely short. I am already at the 5th gym and I bought it yesterday, I hope that somehow the last 3 gyms take triple the time of the first 5, but from what my friend tells me, this isn't the case. Also my friend tells me that the post game is just the battle tree from sun and moon but with no bosses. The story is extrememly basic too, it is just a carbon copy of the story from one of the other games in the series (of which I'm not going to mention as I don't want to spoil anything). If you thought they were taking a step in the right derection with Sun and Moon's story, then Sword and Shield takes two steps back. As you might expect, the game is really easy, but I don't mean as easy as some of the other games in the series, Sword and Shield is probably the easiest Pokemon game to date. Easy games aren't in themselves a bad thing, but in a strategy game like Sword and Shield, you need at least a basic level of difficulty to make it interesting. Alas, due to the forced (always active) exp share on your whole team, my entire team was so overleveled for each gym. I would just end up dyanamaxing and sweeping the entire trainer's team for each of them with no problem. I really wish you could just turn the exp share off, the game would benefit so much from this. Speaking of the gyms, the challenges for each gym are completely ridiculous. Most of them are boring and had very little effect on the gym battle itself, for example there is one where the gym leader asks you bizzare questions like what you had for breakfast, not impressed with the gyms at all. The game in general is riddled with bizzare decisions like extra volume controls being locked behind an item for some reason and not being able to pet your Pokemon anymore. I would not reccomend picking this game up.

    Now lets address the donphan in the room, the dex cut. Around 60% of the Pokemon were removed from this game along with a handful of moves for the reason of "improving the animations an models". The dex cut wouldn't be much of an issue for your average player, but the animations and models weren't improved at all. The models are just ported from Sun and Moon, scaled up for the Switch and there are less new animations in this game than Sun and Moon due to the lack of Z-Moves. So in short the dex was cut down for absolutely no reason. The smaller dex also limits people's options in online matches and competative, but I haven't played online yet and don't know anything about it so it wouldn't be fair for me to judge it.

    Now that I've finally gotten through the bad things I should list the good. Some of the designs of the new Pokemon are amazing. In typical James Turner (the man who designed many of the Pokemon in this game) style, they're very hit or miss. But the ones that hit, hit hard. The final evolutions of the starters in particular ooze personality, I love them all. The wild area is a great concept, though it's fairly poorly executed it is still fun to explore. The addition of overworld encounters from the Lets Go games is a great idea and makes the world feel way more alive. Sadly though, the good is outweighed by the bad in this game.

    In conclusion, I would not reccomend these games. They are definately the worst in the series and do not justify the Switch price tag. Avoid these at all costs, there are many, far better games on the switch this year, get one of those instead.    … Expand
  91. gustave154
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Game Freak lied this game is not what they advertised it to be and they deserve to be getting no sales for their actions. Pokemon fans need to be treated better.
  92. isaka
    Nov 15, 2019
    8
    I don't want to argue about the dexit issue. The game itself deserve at least a 8.
  93. ricelord
    Nov 15, 2019
    9
    The game has texture issues and popping but otherwise it's a graphically gorgeous game and soundtrack is top notch. It is one my favourite Pokemon games
  94. cruzathor89
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    ¿Pero esto que es? no hay ciclo día noche, se han gastado más en personalizar al personaje con ropa que en los detalles del juego.

    Mapeado de botones totalmente vacío. En 2019. Skins repetidas... El tercer entrenador que te encuentras es el mismo que el primero... Vamos a ver... Que no estamos en 1998 por dios. Pokémon totalmente reciclados de generaciones anteriores.,simple, sobre    ¿Pero esto que es? no hay ciclo día noche, se han gastado más en personalizar al personaje con ropa que en los detalles del juego.

    Mapeado de botones totalmente vacío. En 2019.

    Skins repetidas... El tercer entrenador que te encuentras es el mismo que el primero... Vamos a ver... Que no estamos en 1998 por dios. Pokémon totalmente reciclados de generaciones anteriores.,simple, sobre explicado, creo que el equipo de Game freak necesita unas vacaciones después de esto. De verdad, soy seguidor de la saga desde la game boy. Y aunque la banda sonora y se salve... Por dios la cámara fija, el mapa totalmente lineal... Vamos que es el equivalente a final fantasy XIII pero para la saga pokémon. Un auténtico despropósito. 1/10    … Expand
  95. Z3D_
    Nov 15, 2019
    2
    Here we are in front of the worst Pokémon game ever. The one that god bad graphics, the one that got no gameplay improvements, the one that got only cuts over cuts on Nintendo's most ever powerful console instead of adding stuff.

    Sword and Shield is a huge disappointment, the game that shows the transition from an era of creativity, innovation and progress to total laziness by its    Here we are in front of the worst Pokémon game ever. The one that god bad graphics, the one that got no gameplay improvements, the one that got only cuts over cuts on Nintendo's most ever powerful console instead of adding stuff.

    Sword and Shield is a huge disappointment, the game that shows the transition from an era of creativity, innovation and progress to total laziness by its developers and creators.

    5000 lines wouldn't even be enought to express the total disappointment that this thing has been, especially counting that it was also a total fraudo, counnting that developees have spread lies ovee lies for rhe past 5 months.

    And for now for me (atleast) Pokémon ends here, because it is a shameful thing to release a game kn these conditions.

    BYE GAME FREAK, BYE NINTENDO, BYE POKÈMON!    … Expand
  96. TheRealJaXx
    Nov 15, 2019
    10
    From what I've experienced so far is it's an amazing Pokémon game.
  97. LoganWolverine
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Cut features such as the Global Trading System, Mega Evolutions, Z-Moves, pokemon following you, and over 50% of the roster removed, coupled with copy/pasted animations, hand-holding, and an overall lack of effort make Sword and Shield the worst mainline pokemon experience of all time. It's not all bad, however, a lot of the new pokemon designs look great, but when one mon uses headbuttCut features such as the Global Trading System, Mega Evolutions, Z-Moves, pokemon following you, and over 50% of the roster removed, coupled with copy/pasted animations, hand-holding, and an overall lack of effort make Sword and Shield the worst mainline pokemon experience of all time. It's not all bad, however, a lot of the new pokemon designs look great, but when one mon uses headbutt and the animation is it kicking and that same mon has double-kick with the animation of bouncing twice, you quickly realize the issues are only going to keep piling up.

    Things such as trees, trainers, and pokemon pop in and out randomly because of the extremely short draw distance. You can also see this in the middle of battle, because some moves cause the opposing trainer to disappear. Another issue like this is some wild battles cause you to end up on an entirely different battlefield. You can catch a water pokemon on a dock in the center of a town and wind up in a huge open grassy field.

    Pokemon are restrained to tiny plots of land by an extremely tiny invisible box and have a habit of teleporting and/or de-spawing for no apparent reason. This is most glaring in the "wild area" (an area of the game treated much more like an open world, with a free-moving camera) where it's mostly devoid of life with the exception of grass patches and a few roaming mons that are still limited to a small area.

    The level limiter in the wild area attempts to keep the game "balanced" by making it impossible to catch certain higher-level mons without having the corresponding badge, which begins at level 20 and increases by 5 after each gym win, but it totally removes the danger of attempting to catch something that could easily defeat an under-leveled team. The experience share always being on is another issue. While the exp. share itself is a good thing, the fact that it can't be turned off is head-scratching. Previous games had the option to leave it on or turn it off for an adjusted experience. It's a bit odd that they decided against that this time around.

    Sword and Shield had the potential to really shine on the Switch, but it ultimately fails at improving anything of substance and relies on it's, at times, pretty graphics while simultaneously asked a higher entry fee. Overall the game is a mess and I implore GameFreak, Nintendo, or The Pokemon Company to please look at the direction the series is going and make the right decisions going forward.    … Expand
  98. LinYuntaek
    Nov 15, 2019
    2
    There has been some improvement. But it's not enough to be a game released in 2019.
  99. corcoles9310
    Nov 15, 2019
    4
    Un juego mas de pokemon que no mejora en nada y que va para atras como los cangrejos. Un juego lineal sin backtracking, graficos mediocres viendo lo que es capaz de hacer nintendo switch y animaciones recicladas. Un juego de 3ds en hd que da verguenza ajena. Un area silvestre decepcionante donde se muestra aun peor graficamente la calidad del juego. Nula dificultad y ademas menos ataquesUn juego mas de pokemon que no mejora en nada y que va para atras como los cangrejos. Un juego lineal sin backtracking, graficos mediocres viendo lo que es capaz de hacer nintendo switch y animaciones recicladas. Un juego de 3ds en hd que da verguenza ajena. Un area silvestre decepcionante donde se muestra aun peor graficamente la calidad del juego. Nula dificultad y ademas menos ataques que en anteriores entregas. Gamefreak debe hacer el juego que todos los verdaderos fans estamos esperando, el juego que necesitamos y el que nos merecemos.… Expand
  100. NationalDex
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Reused Animations, lying about new models, bad textures, cut Pokemon, Masuda should've been laid off awhile ago and there is a game breaking bug that deletes everything on your micro sd. Wasn't tested, absolutely avoid
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 87 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 66 out of 87
  2. Mixed: 21 out of 87
  3. Negative: 0 out of 87
  1. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Apr 30, 2020
    80
    Sword & Shield stumble in a few areas and history may not be kind to them, but they're setting up a future that I'm excited to see. [Issue #44 – January/February 2020, p. 73]
  2. GameCritics
    Feb 6, 2020
    75
    I enjoyed my time with Pokemon Sword and Shield, but I ended feeling conflicted. I appreciate many of the changes and felt that it generally respected my time, but I almost felt like a passive participant. The more complex gym challenges had a meatier role, but the narrative shouldn’t have been shoved to the side. Overall, I would recommend it to players who want to have a Pokemon experience, but this one won’t stick with me the way the older ones have.
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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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