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. Speedie
    Nov 24, 2019
    7
    If you're looking to compare this game to the rest of the Pokemon series, don't bother. Game Freak is taking their world famous series in a different direction, and as a life long Pokemon fan, I'm not upset at all. There are new introductions to the series between battle functions and main quest direction that keep things interesting at all times. There is of course room for improvement,If you're looking to compare this game to the rest of the Pokemon series, don't bother. Game Freak is taking their world famous series in a different direction, and as a life long Pokemon fan, I'm not upset at all. There are new introductions to the series between battle functions and main quest direction that keep things interesting at all times. There is of course room for improvement, as with any video game produced, but it's plenty of fun, and a welcome introduction to my lineup of Pokemon game cases.

    When the game was first announced, and we were told that the National Pokedex was gone (meaning not every existing Pokemon would be in the game) I was quite upset to say the least. I had a feeling some of my favorite Pokemon would be cut, and I was correct. Looking back on it, I was an idiot. The 400 Pokemon included in the game fit so perfectly into the world, being spread out not too thin, but also not having an overwhelming variety in each area. The game feels balanced on the combat side of things due to the limit on specific Pokemon and abilities. Cutting Pokemon from the final project wasn't a split second decision of laziness, it was a decision made to ensure the world feels expansive enough without being crowded, it it works like a charm.

    The story driven content in the game isn't very deep. Not in the slightest. The sad excuse for the "Team" of this generation is something to be disappointed over for sure. The climax has very little build up at all, and a majority of the game is just the protagonist children talking about how they'll be the best trainers there ever was. The post game content is a bit better. More witty, funny, and overall entertaining, but short. I do wish there was deeper lore in the game, or really any significant lore at all to make me excited about the world, but sadly there is no hope. The one slight upside, is that some of the character development is very fun to follow, and caused a few smiles and laughs from me watching the characters change, or chose not to.

    The online features work a bit better than I expected. A bit laggy in the Wild Area sometimes, but otherwise very smooth and reliable. The servers had some issues at the start, but that has nothing to do with the actual experience I had while they were active. The new Raid addition to the game, as well as Trades and Battles are very smooth and work like a regular online game server, which is more than is usually expected from Nintendo.

    In conclusion, this generation is very fun, without a doubt. If compared to the rest of the Pokemon games, sure, it's towards the bottom of the list. As a standalone Switch game though, it truly is a great experience! If you can will yourself to simply get excited about a new video game, and jump into it with a positive, or even neutral mindset, you truly will enjoy yourself. The game is worth a full play through, and deserves praise for the things it does well.    … Expand
  2. Kamarr
    Nov 24, 2019
    4
    Hot trash! Cause it's a Pokemon game it's gonna sell regardless of it being bad or great. There are many things wrong with this. 1 being Gamefreak being lazy and it shows. Copy paste trees lack luster Pokedex more than half of the Dex has been cut to bring in hot garbage Pokemon feels like a lot of the older games meant nothing. This is the best franchise in the WORLD and it doesn't showHot trash! Cause it's a Pokemon game it's gonna sell regardless of it being bad or great. There are many things wrong with this. 1 being Gamefreak being lazy and it shows. Copy paste trees lack luster Pokedex more than half of the Dex has been cut to bring in hot garbage Pokemon feels like a lot of the older games meant nothing. This is the best franchise in the WORLD and it doesn't show period. No real end game beyond online battling and Battle Tower and a tournament mode which is very dull. I'd give this a 0 but I feel they deserve a 4 cause at least the wild area and such was pretty legit beyond the copy paste tree's and water that looks like tar. Another thing to add is the fact that the Online capabilities of this game is trash and no GTS? like give me a break.… Expand
  3. Ghostbot
    Nov 24, 2019
    3
    Forget the Dex cut, this game has bigger issue.
    Admittedly, they're also related to lack of content.
    No mainline game has ever been this short and empty. No evil team, no side legendary, no CS (Fly lives on as the fast travel system, which doesn't even have an animation; Surf lives on as the water bike which is probably the least exciting way to handle that), barely any point of    Forget the Dex cut, this game has bigger issue.
    Admittedly, they're also related to lack of content.

    No mainline game has ever been this short and empty.
    No evil team, no side legendary, no CS (Fly lives on as the fast travel system, which doesn't even have an animation; Surf lives on as the water bike which is probably the least exciting way to handle that), barely any point of interest (a single cave, 2 forests, a single water route, ZERO building/ruin of any kind to clear), no victory road, no Elite 4 (you basically do more of the same instead), arguably there is nothing to do in the entire game aside from going from gym to gym, and clearing a gym isn't any longer than in previous games.
    The WA is a mixed bag, I can hardly call it a plus when 1: you need to pay the online fee to get the most out of it, 2: it lags, 3: it is ugly and empty. Raids are fun but they're the only saving grace.
    The permanent multi-EXP means if you try to make your own fun, you'll be overleveled all throughout the game, so even if you block out the lack of content and embrace the open area, you'll just make what little content is left worse.
    The postgame is a joke. They basically cut characters that should have been elements of the story, and have you rush through their events (more stadium battles!) for two hours before rolling credits again.
    Hop's final team is on par with the champion's, so since your team was stronge enough to defeat Leon, as soon as his final postgame battle is available you are more than ready to face him (and that's assuming you don't just solo his team with the legendary pokémon you just got).

    If this were a 3DS game, it'd be a pretty one but the lack of content would be a deal breaker.
    As a Switch game, as the first mainline title on console, as a game worth 60 dollars + the online fee (a first!) this is an EMBARASSEMENT, a step on down on a lot of fields and its lack of new elements (voice acting, multiple saves, gameplay overhaul...) is damning.

    It's okay to enjoy what little is there, it is NOT okay to pat Game Freaks on the back with this lazy game.    … Expand
  4. BIGBenY
    Nov 24, 2019
    0
    This game is uninspired and boring. It's the same thing for 20 years now or something. Try something new. The graphics are poor. Pokemon aren't even all in the game and the new Mons are quite ugly/boring, though the last thing is a matter of taste for everybody individually.
    Try something new GameFreak. Don't give us the same warmed up **** stew every time and with some new irrelevant    This game is uninspired and boring. It's the same thing for 20 years now or something. Try something new. The graphics are poor. Pokemon aren't even all in the game and the new Mons are quite ugly/boring, though the last thing is a matter of taste for everybody individually.
    Try something new GameFreak. Don't give us the same warmed up **** stew every time and with some new irrelevant bull**** features, but with few good features or even less features that became a standard.
    Step aside if you can't do it because you are too lazy.    … Expand
  5. GuessWhat
    Nov 24, 2019
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Yea, the game isnt over 8.0 in my opinion. The graphics look like somebody was likeL "hEy WouLDnt It Be CooL If wE WouLD mAkE UlTra MoOn Hd ANd CaLl iT a NeW GaME?" (and yes i know the story is diffrent af plz dont kill me) the animations are hot garbage and the animations for the *LEGENDERY POKEMON* who are supposed to be the second most important pokemons on the story (right behind you're starters) have one animation. walking. im not kidding instead of having a turn around animation they litterly walk forward and turn around. gamefreak freaked up. yea they have the wild area. but all of the routes are so boring and have nothing special and rememberable. the wild area makes my game run at 2 fps and raids suck alone beacuse you get such bad NPC's one time i was vs a dinamax Mudsdale and i got evee and pikachu as my NPC's and all they did was the evee spammed helping hand and the pikachu did barley anything. The story is really bland and suprise suprise rose the obvious bad guy is a bad guy... who couldve know? the starters (besides scorbunny his ok) evolve into hot garbage and look like the person who designed them was on **** weed or something and it doesnt help that they removed so many pokemons like i know it makes sense but since when does pokemon makes sense? it never made any sense and now when they need an excuse to be lazy they say "it doesnt make sense" or "we need more quality". the game costs 60$ for a game that looks like 20$ game and has a story that a 3 year old probobly wrote before going to nap. with all that its still a ok game, i love the way they made it less grindy by making the exp share always work and buff ur pokebro's. i think that if the game got nintendos quality tag then i dont trust the quality tag anymore. ik i just said so many bad things and only one but for some reason i guess i still like the game...… Expand
  6. Lamabunnyvile
    Nov 23, 2019
    10
    This game has been incredible despite my original concerns with problems like the national dex turned out to not really be much of an issue to me.
  7. SKG
    Nov 23, 2019
    8
    Jumping into this Pokemon game has been a bumpy ride. Hearing all the controversy made me concerned. But now that I've actually played it I can finally give my honest opinion of it. First off the graphics. Seeing so many good looking games on the switch it made me look forward to Pokemon. The game has both good and terrible graphics. The Pokemon look fine and some areas look beautiful butJumping into this Pokemon game has been a bumpy ride. Hearing all the controversy made me concerned. But now that I've actually played it I can finally give my honest opinion of it. First off the graphics. Seeing so many good looking games on the switch it made me look forward to Pokemon. The game has both good and terrible graphics. The Pokemon look fine and some areas look beautiful but others are not good, for example the wild area. The wild area really makes this game worthwhile with the Pokemon walking about and an actual movable camera. It's big and fun to walk around in but the graphics are terrible and it has horrible frame rate drops when connected to WiFi. In all with all it's problems it's still fun to play in especially with raid battles which I'll get into later. Next the story is something I have mixed feeling about. Pokemon really tried to mix up how they write there stories with this game but it feels weird. From playing tons of Pokemon games with great story's this game feels rushed and not much thought went into the story. The only really good parts of the story are short and only happen toward the end. The characters are half and half. Your rival is ok his personality grows throughout the story but it's kinda really boring. Other characters are great such as the gym leaders, Bedde, and Marnie. It's just a bummer that they don't really expand on there characters. You want to make a connection to them but can't because the story won't let you. Now with gameplay it's the same old Pokemon game except with a few changes that some will hate and others will love. One exp share does make the game easier which is a little bummer. I was finding myself not finding the game a challenge which made me wonder why gamefreak doesn't add different difficultys to balance out there game. Next are raid battles which at fist I didn't really think would be fun but oh man was I wrong. Raid battles have allowed me to play with my friends unlike any other Pokemon game has. There exillerating and the addition of dinamaxing really makes it fun. The dinamaxing moves look amazing and they remind me old the good old days of mega evolving and Z moves. The basic turn base battle system is the same which is great. It brings back memories of playing my fist Pokemon games. In the end Pokemon Sword/Shield are fun games. Yes there are a lot of things that Gamefreak needs to work on in there next game but it all comes down to if the experience was enjoyable. The things that really stood out and bothered me I eventually ignored and forgot were there. I had a great time playing this game and I don't believe this game deserves a 0 or a perfect 10 but an ok score. I do hope though that Gamefreak learns from there mistakes and the positive and bring out a game on the switch which earns an amazing score in the near future.… Expand
  8. Iki2234
    Nov 23, 2019
    10
    This game is actually Very nice!! I enjoyed it more than i thought i would. The story is nice, the pokes are Nice and the gym leaders are Nice as well!! I dont think It deserve a 10 but since the rates are really bad, i Will give a 10
  9. Ihatepokemon
    Nov 23, 2019
    0
    Horrible game. Took out all the best Pokemon. No GTS. Hand held through entire story.
  10. demonkisa
    Nov 23, 2019
    10
    The game is still very good despite lack of some pokemon. Not all animations are bad and I think the animation debacle has been overblown. Pokemon has never been known for its animations. In comparison to the previous entry it is a rather appreciated return to form. Less emphasis on story and cutscenes every 5 seconds and more on collecting and training your pokemon. Also shiny Zizagoon.
  11. OnlyOneHere
    Nov 23, 2019
    0
    This game is an absolute embarrassment to this generation of gaming. The graphics are beyond horrible. This 2019 game looks like a GameCube game. The textures look extremely awful, especially the trees. The tree textures look so bad, it looks like it was literally taken from a N64 game. It's pathetic that low budget indie games look better than this trash. The developers were clearly lazy.This game is an absolute embarrassment to this generation of gaming. The graphics are beyond horrible. This 2019 game looks like a GameCube game. The textures look extremely awful, especially the trees. The tree textures look so bad, it looks like it was literally taken from a N64 game. It's pathetic that low budget indie games look better than this trash. The developers were clearly lazy.

    Speaking of laziness, the developers copy and pasted models from previous games. The developers lied about the reused assets. The environments lack detail. There are too many jaggies. It's pretty clear that the developers lazily ported a 3DS game to the Switch. The animations are garbage. The physics are horrendous. The gameplay is so boring and repetitive. There is annoying music everytime you pick something up. Too many pop-ins with horrible framerate. 2019 and still no voice acting. The story and multiplayer are trash.

    The greedy developers continue the Pokemon tradition by cutting the game in half and selling it separately, only this time $20 more. That means you have to pay $120 for the full experience. What's laughable is that this game doesn't even have the AAA quality to justify the $60 price tag. This outrageous greed makes EA, Activision, and Ubisoft look like saints in comparison. I don't recommend this pile of garbage at all, unless you want to support greed and laziness.    … Expand
  12. Tamsmit
    Nov 23, 2019
    7
    While it's definitely not perfect and feels rushed in a lot of areas, it's still a blast to play through. If Gamefreak spent like 5 more months just polishing the graphics and some story elements, than this seriously could have been a fantastic game.
  13. Menkonialex
    Nov 23, 2019
    0
    The game is unpolished. Boring. Looks like a ps2 game. They ruined pokemon franchise.
  14. Jesse_Liv
    Nov 23, 2019
    10
    I personally loved this game not gonna lie. The national dex thing really didnt affect me because i wasn't gonna buy pokemon home anyway so its whatevs. This game is not as easy as people say, the game is built around the exp share so you're not really overlevelled but also dont have to grind.
    I really don't have much to say other than that most of these negative reviews come from salty    I personally loved this game not gonna lie. The national dex thing really didnt affect me because i wasn't gonna buy pokemon home anyway so its whatevs. This game is not as easy as people say, the game is built around the exp share so you're not really overlevelled but also dont have to grind.
    I really don't have much to say other than that most of these negative reviews come from salty incels who didnt even buy the game lmao bye    … Expand
  15. eugenioanez
    Nov 23, 2019
    10
    Great game and nice introduction to the series for new players. Give it a go if you enjoyed Pokémon Go!
  16. HeyImRandom
    Nov 23, 2019
    9
    The game honestly got review bombed pretty hard

    I found the game really enjoyable and I will find myself coming back to it. I understand why people are mad, No National Dex, cut features, questionable graphics, but overall the games are a blast! Although there wasn’t much of a story I will admit, the game overall was still fun. The gameplay was really good and I loved how it was made.    The game honestly got review bombed pretty hard

    I found the game really enjoyable and I will find myself coming back to it. I understand why people are mad, No National Dex, cut features, questionable graphics, but overall the games are a blast!

    Although there wasn’t much of a story I will admit, the game overall was still fun. The gameplay was really good and I loved how it was made. It deserves better reviews    … Expand
  17. KingGoonie1217
    Nov 23, 2019
    9
    This game is awesome! Exactly what I wanted in a console version. I’ve played about 5-6 Pokémon games through the years and this is either my favorite or second favorite behind sun-moon. I don’t notice the lack of national dex or missing Pokémon I guess since I’m not a hardcore kneed to catch them all!!!’ Pokémon player. I enjoy to play the games until beat main quest and that’s it. IThis game is awesome! Exactly what I wanted in a console version. I’ve played about 5-6 Pokémon games through the years and this is either my favorite or second favorite behind sun-moon. I don’t notice the lack of national dex or missing Pokémon I guess since I’m not a hardcore kneed to catch them all!!!’ Pokémon player. I enjoy to play the games until beat main quest and that’s it. I try to catch as many Pokémon as I can and level them up as I progress and that’s as fun as ever in this one!… Expand
  18. EpicGamerScout
    Nov 23, 2019
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Pokemon Sword is a surprisingly solid entry into the Pokemon franchise if you can overlook the flaws. While it has subpar visuals and less than half the Pokemon in the previous games, as well as an absurdly easy story, the story itself is pretty good and it has a climax that made me feel as if I'm literally saving the world. The new Pokemon are mostly great, and the post game is full of things like shiny hunting, a (dumbed down) battle tree, and a fun mission that can take you a few hours, etc.… Expand
  19. Gabe120402
    Nov 23, 2019
    0
    I made an account just to give this a 0. Models directly cut from previous games. Animations lazily ripped, too. Corporate liars gave us an unfinished game, and a bad one at that. This is the only game in the series where you cannot catch them all. I have been following and purchasing Pokemon games for a while now. I am infinitely disappointed. I'll keep my $60 and spend it on cat foodI made an account just to give this a 0. Models directly cut from previous games. Animations lazily ripped, too. Corporate liars gave us an unfinished game, and a bad one at that. This is the only game in the series where you cannot catch them all. I have been following and purchasing Pokemon games for a while now. I am infinitely disappointed. I'll keep my $60 and spend it on cat food before purchasing this dumpster-fire.… Expand
  20. DJRummel
    Nov 23, 2019
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. there seems to be a big disconnect in the fandom. the way that there are tons of people out there hatemongering and giving fully functional and actually fun games zeros is rather disappointing. this platform is not for venting, or bringing a game down because you want to send a message. its for reviews. to share what you experienced. i caught zacian. after 45ish hours of gameplay. i have actually played the games. and i also have plenty of game design experience both in coding and modeling. animation in video games is not the same thing as animation in a film. to render something in the game engine, the rig needs to have an animation controller. Those things brought my education in game design to a halt, for how confusing and complicated they are to manage. to even remotely make something look animated, it takes hours of tweaking hundreds of variables in a sequence that can explode on you at any second. in the overworld, pokemon roam, they look organic and this cannot be denied. in combat, they have a ranged animation and a physical animation. some attacks call this action, and some attacks call for the idle animation to be moved somewhat jarringly. this is about all i can find wrong with these. the way they turn is also rotating the model in its walking animation. EVERY GAME DOES THIS. there are many lists going around and many still images and gifs that show flaws in this game. there are flaws. but they are mostly subjective, and the few objective flaws comprise less than 1% of the overall game. in factall of the bad press on these games is the result of toxic hatemongering and hackers making the game look bad. every time I see a non national dex complaint, it can be traced back to this propaganda. i even question if i got the same game as everyone else with how little ive seen wrong. the cities look amazing, and it feels like how x and y felt on the 3ds. a new step onto a new console. the art direction has lent itself to a beautiful world in the galar region. the story has some weird pacing, but is rather enjoyable and i found myself genuinely entertained by the whole thing save for some parts here and there. and the new pokemon are mostly awesome. the most common complaint is the removal of 500 pokemon and 120ish moves. in my playthrough, I didn't miss any of these or notice their absence, i have yet to fill my dex and im in the post post game. yes this game does have a fun postgame, it lastedme a few hours after beating the champion around 37 hours in. the breeding is also revamped and streamlined to the point you can get egg moves and nature mints to almost fully customize your mons. another common complaint is the cath level cap. you cannot catch higher than certain level if you don't have the right amount of badges, but if you complete each gym when you arrive in town, you shouldn't notice it outside the open world wild area, where strong mons will chase you down and make you thankful for a permanent exp share, many of uncatchables can actually rn faster than you before you have your bike, making this a welcome restriction for upping how intense the encounters get.

    tldr games are not a 0, they are fun and anyone who refuses to play is missing out on a fun adventure with tons to do. wish i had more time to type but i have work to go to    … Expand
  21. Mishtacody
    Nov 23, 2019
    9
    A solid Pokémon game despite whiners complaints. The wild area is a great addition and the game looks and feels phenomenal
  22. AWARK
    Nov 23, 2019
    5
    I suspect that in 6 months time we are going to get a Pokémon Sword (ultra) version of this game released, with the full national dex and probably an extended wild zone maybe some more story. I enjoy the game but my concern was this game was way to quick.

    it seems to have fallen into the same pit that MMO's did a few years back, "hey everyone hates grinding lets speed it up" So now    I suspect that in 6 months time we are going to get a Pokémon Sword (ultra) version of this game released, with the full national dex and probably an extended wild zone maybe some more story. I enjoy the game but my concern was this game was way to quick.

    it seems to have fallen into the same pit that MMO's did a few years back,
    "hey everyone hates grinding lets speed it up"
    So now all your pokemon in your group earn exp you don't have to swap them out or find an Exp Share or grind on chancies (yes I did that) But in some respects its made your pokemon totally disposable. it used to be you would end up at the end game and I would say normally your starter pokemon would be in your team. Now why bother run a few raids get the exp candies boost up any pokemon that's better in a few minutes.

    The graphics are not a deal breaker for me and I sort of understand why they didn't do the full national dex. They wanted to make it easier for maybe people or newer gamers who may not have played the previous games to have an easier job instead of trawling through 900+ pokemon. However I always feel they should at least have kept all starters from all previous games.

    The trading system is broke, they should have either committed to put in a GTS system to allow trading. OR put in a chat system to allow you to find another trader willing to trade specific pokemon. as its stands the "random trade" feature is just trash pokemon.

    The grouping mechanic is a good idea it just feels like it was unfinished you try and join 10+ games to get "communication close" messages.

    The story I think is the weakest part of the game I actually didn't care for what was going on it didn't even make sense at the end. It was another unfinished aspect to the game. The second story after you finish the main one was even more stupid.

    So to sum up the game feels "unfinished" in that elements feel like they were rushed out the door they may have been tested but it just felt mediocre compared to the prior games they have done.

    The "wild" zone isn't that big its a good attempt at making it multiplayer but it feels smaller than the safari zones in some of the earlier gba games. additionally the group play element is just broken you wait 2.5mins for someone to join your game and if you just rush it you get 3 garbage trainers with trash pokemon that proceed to chain die thus throwing you out. there is no lobby system OR facility to group up with 4 people and stay grouped after you beat a boss and move around.

    So to sum up, its an OK game but a Poor Pokémon game, will be fine for a new player just getting into pokemon but will frustrate anyone who has played the previous games or has invested time. I would wait till either the next iteration is released in 5 years time or if they can patch sword to fix some of the obvious faults such as trading and the national dex.    … Expand
  23. DeathSpell
    Nov 23, 2019
    3
    Animaciones de comienzo de siglo, mitad de pokemones sin aparecer, texturas de los 90, rendimiento pésimo, el dynamax es una porquería.

    Juego a medio hacer, lo único bueno es el diseño de personajes, la customizacion del entrenador y el wild field, que aun así se vuelve aburrido en nada.
  24. Coconutnut
    Nov 23, 2019
    6
    I think it's a decent game, the story wasn't as annoying as previous Pokemon games, but it also felt lazier. There are no big oceans to explore, no big caves to get lost in, it's pretty much a straight line to the finish.

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

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

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

    There are very good things in this game, but the shortcomings drive the overall experience down. If you don't care about the story, this might seem good as you can finish the story pretty quickly with no problems, but if you're looking for a game with a good story, this is not it. Pokemon has never been about the story, but this is one of the weaker ones.    … Expand
  25. JoshuaF
    Nov 23, 2019
    9
    El juego es entretenido y engancha bastante, podría mejorar un poco la parte gráfica pero fuera de eso está bastante bien
  26. MaidHikari
    Nov 23, 2019
    10
    Love it. Not the best Pokemon game but deffo not the worst etheir not bad for there first try at a home console game.
  27. Ishrod24
    Nov 23, 2019
    0
    Tired of these half ads games! I understand you want to make it kiddish for the young ones but if you want the support of adult gamers then make better games!
  28. LimitBoZz
    Nov 23, 2019
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Ich bin kein Fanboys und sondern ein Pokènom OG und gebe meine ehrliche Meinung zu dem Spiel ab sowie ich es bei jedem anderen Spiel mache. Zuerst mal Das Spiel macht unglaublich viel Spaß und ist wunderschön.Die sotory ist nicht zu kurz sondern lang genug. Einige Routen sind zu kurz und manche orden kamen auch viel zu schnell hintereinander. Die Story hätte man auch viel besser gestalten können wenn man ein richtiges böses team eingebaut hätte. Es kamen sehr viele pokemon bei Trainern aus der 5. Genrationen zum Einsatz was ein bisschen einseitig vorkam wenn man das Spiel schnell durch gespielt hat. Aber das waren auch schon alle Kritik Punkte von mir und das Spiel macht das auch alles eigentlich wieder weg. Deswegen auch 9 Punkte von mir und keine 8 oder noch weniger. Ich hoffe einige teilen die selbe Meinung wie ich würde mich sehr freuen. Und jeder der sagt oder schreib das spiel hat Bugs oder stürzt ab TOTALE LÜGEN das ist mir in 45 Stunden Spielzeit noch KEIN EINTIGES MAL AUFGEFALLEN und ist noch kein mal.passiert also lässt euch mal nicht verarschen!!!… Expand
  29. Leonelli
    Nov 23, 2019
    10
    I've been a Pokémon fan for a long time, which means I've played all of the previous games. This is the first time since B2W2 that I can connect emotionally with the story. There's something about the designs of the mons this time that makes you feel they are alive. I know there is no National Dex and I find that amazing. It's a fantastic way to make the players try Pokémon other thanI've been a Pokémon fan for a long time, which means I've played all of the previous games. This is the first time since B2W2 that I can connect emotionally with the story. There's something about the designs of the mons this time that makes you feel they are alive. I know there is no National Dex and I find that amazing. It's a fantastic way to make the players try Pokémon other than Landorus and the ones we are used to seeing in all teams. I think it's the perfect direction they could have chosen.… Expand
  30. EpiKuro
    Nov 23, 2019
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I just beat Shield and it was... bare bones?

    There are only 10 routes and no real landmarks between them, it's mostly just route -> town -> route -> town.
    The routes are extremely short and rail-roady (a problem SuMo had as well) with very few NPC trainers on them.

    This was by far the easiest Pokemon game I've ever played, I was done with the main story in about 20 hours and my Pokemon were, for most of the journey, 15-20 levels above the NPCs I faced at any time.
    This was thanks to an overabundance of EXP Candy, which I got in about one hour or so, once I reached the Wild Area.

    This is the first Pokemon Game in which my team NEVER wiped, and I can count the number of times, one of my Pokemon ever reached 0 HP, on one hand.

    The wild area is small and has no real differences between its internal areas, there's a small, non-enterable ghost tower, a lake, a sandbox with some stones... and that's it I think?

    Raids get old fast, since it's damage move after damage move, without any reason to use anything else.
    Also, you feel somewhat irrelevant if you aren't the one dynamaxing, your only job is pretty much to take out one or two shield brackets and not add to the 4 deaths count.
    At the same time some 5 stars raids are impossible to do with 2-3 NPCs, since they seem to die on purpose.

    Any "evil" team will have trouble following up on Team Skull, but with Team Yell it feels like they didn't even try, for most of the time they only function as human roadblocks and nothing else.

    It was interesting to see a rival hit a slump, but they didn't follow through with that and he "got better" before anything meaningful could occur.
    Marnie wasn't even relevant for most of the time and had a lackluster finish to her story.
    Almost every side character in SuMo was more memorable than the ones in Sword and Shield.
    The story follows the same tropes a Pokemon story always does.

    The got rid of multiplayer in the Battle Tower, something that has been in the series since Gen 3, so my entire favorite post game content (co-op multiplayer with a friend in Battle Whatever) has been cut from the game.

    The online functions are jarring and unwieldy, which is especially sad because we now have to pay for them.
    You can't do multi battles with one friend against online opponents, since the code system doesn't work if only two people are using it for multi.
    There's no lobby or anything and a 4 digits code is too easy to random match with people other than your intended friend.
    If you don't use the code, friends don't get preferential treatment, you both just get matched with 3 randos in different battles, if you don't find the sticker fast enough.
    There is no GTS anymore.

    There are of course things I like: I love the designs of most of the G-Max Pokemon, I love the region/flavor, I love the cooking, I love Piers, the towns and the area with the legendaries look amazing, the fast travel is awesome (and fast!) and we can FINALLY see Pokemon before we encounter them (even on routes!).

    I accepted the dex cuts (though I do miss Mega Evolution) and I don't care about models or graphics, but, even with all the things I like, the stuff above is what makes this an below average Pokemon game for me, especially following (Ultra) Sun and (Ultra) Moon.

    The creativity was there, the design was there, the gameplay and the story weren't.
    From here on out, it's only raid after raid after raid, which makes this feel more like an MMORPG, instead of an J-RPG.
    It's all side dish with no meat.

    Bonus: Why in the world would they take out the touch organization in boxes, battles and menus? That made them so much faster and easier to use.    … Expand
  31. Shinken
    Nov 23, 2019
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. New map and good design characters, but the animation of Pokemon is very bad. Dynamax doesn't hit the mark, lack of interesting battle system. The main story is quite short and bored. Remove quite a lot of mechanic and stuff, it makes the gameplay too easy and bored.… Expand
  32. 1Eliash1
    Nov 23, 2019
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Hi everyone, I want to share feedback on this game. The game of course, on the one hand, the game is well made (there are new Pokémon, new items added, and so on), and on the other hand, the yoke is made very poorly for several reasons. Pokedex was limited to almost half of the Pokémon, the game was lagged in places of large concentrations of Pokémon, the game was done very poorly (After defeating the champion, the credits went right away, and at least they would reward them for defeating the champion), because in previous games on 3ds consoles there was a normal end to the game. And so I give a rating of 5.… Expand
  33. TheRetroPrime
    Nov 23, 2019
    9
    This game is a disappointment only by the possibilities the switch presented to Game Freak and the Pokémon Company. They chose to play it safe and it’s a little sour they didn’t want to expand the franchise to new heights. But that doesn’t make this a bad game by any stretch, it’s a good game.

    Once again like recent entries it’s a little too easy. It could do with extra options for    This game is a disappointment only by the possibilities the switch presented to Game Freak and the Pokémon Company. They chose to play it safe and it’s a little sour they didn’t want to expand the franchise to new heights. But that doesn’t make this a bad game by any stretch, it’s a good game.

    Once again like recent entries it’s a little too easy. It could do with extra options for veterans and the game does handhold a lot.

    But despite the also underwhelming visuals, now and then the Galar region does spark to life and is pleasing to look at. The quality of life changes are a welcome addition, the core gameplay is as good as ever.

    Yes, the removal of the national dex isn’t ideal, but you still have hundreds of Pokémon to work with. There is too much review bombing from people who have yet to touch the game.

    It’s a solid entry and a perfectly fine Pokémon game. A victim of it’s own titanic reputation, but not a game to avoid.    … Expand
  34. SuperShrooms
    Nov 23, 2019
    8
    Fantastic game. Definitely in my top 3 and I've been a long time fan since Red n Blue. Easily the best game available on Switch. The easy difficulty is the only thing keeping this from a 10. The hate for these games is the biggest pile of nonsense I have ever witnessed from the gaming community. Most of these people haven't even played the game and it shows. I've put over 30 hours in andFantastic game. Definitely in my top 3 and I've been a long time fan since Red n Blue. Easily the best game available on Switch. The easy difficulty is the only thing keeping this from a 10. The hate for these games is the biggest pile of nonsense I have ever witnessed from the gaming community. Most of these people haven't even played the game and it shows. I've put over 30 hours in and I'm not even close to finished with this game. I'll definitely be picking up Shield at Christmas time.… Expand
  35. gab_shk
    Nov 23, 2019
    0
    This game feels like an indie game for $ 5. I can’t imagine how part of the most expensive gaming franchise can be such rubbish.
  36. Darth_Zakr
    Nov 23, 2019
    0
    I don't care about national dex. I'm putting this out there so you don't think my review is because of this. And to be fair a game can only be a 0/10 if it is unplayable. Well, this is somewhat of a subjective definition. For some unplayable means full of glitches and bugs. But for me, well unplayable means unplayable. I am going to go into why this game is unplayable, and why the devsI don't care about national dex. I'm putting this out there so you don't think my review is because of this. And to be fair a game can only be a 0/10 if it is unplayable. Well, this is somewhat of a subjective definition. For some unplayable means full of glitches and bugs. But for me, well unplayable means unplayable. I am going to go into why this game is unplayable, and why the devs did an unbelievably lazy job and why it is NOT worth your money, much LESS your time.

    As soon as the game starts you are forced to watch cutscene after cutscene. And that's generally not a problem. The problem in this game is that cutscenes are unbearably long. Most video game developers allow you to skip the dialogue by the press of a button, but this game forces you to watch the characters open and close their mouths (in silence) on average of 10 seconds after you have finished reading the text. Even at the fastest setting, you still have to wait until the animation is over. That 10 seconds, over hundreds of animation, add up to a significant portion of one's time throughout the entire game.

    Animation in this game is horrible from the start. The animation is like taking 2 toy action figures and making them communicate and act out your imaginations. The limitations of those toy action figures are the same limitations in all of the animations of this game. Every single character is an action figure that moves to the limitation of all action figures. It's sloppy and lazy from any creator to put out content like this.

    The only way to cut through the cutscenes is to ignore them completely, skip them completely. There's no middle ground where you can read the text and skip it as soon as you're done the reading. No, they force you to watch their miserable efforts in animation. I suspect this is done purposefully to make a short game appear longer.

    What makes the animations worse is that it's in complete silence. Meaning no voice acting. Come on are you serious? You're going to force me to watch your horribly lazy attempt in animation and not even provide voice acting?

    At least there's music to accompany that silence? You would be right if you considered that cacophony of sound music. It's like taking nails and scratching a chalkboard while a 3-year-old uses your kitchen pots as a drumset and your angry parrot squawking in the back. The soundtrack is a mess. An amalgamation of what appears to be guitars, drums, cymbals, and trumpets that have no harmony. Every single musical score is horrible (except perhaps the theme of the Weald which I really enjoyed btw).

    What about the art direction? Again a failing score. The characters in this game are some of the ugliest looking characters I've seen. Look at the champion's attire. He's wearing a shirt, with tights, with short shorts on top of the tights, with a cape. What the actual heck is going here GF devs? If the champion looks this ridiculous imagine everything else?

    Then you have the graphical quality. It is horrible. When played on my 4k screen (which is the average screen in today's time), you can see how horribly pixalated the graphics are. There are no smooth lines in this game, even the main characters shirt is jagged. If you ever played games on the playstation 1, you remember how jagged the characters were. Well that is because the ps1 did its best with its hardware limitations. Why am I comparing it to ps1? Seriously the main character has a graphical fidelity of Squall Lionheart from FF8 with an upscaled resolution screen filter applied. Today, on the switch, GF devs have no excuse to mess this up. Then take a look at the trees in the wild, if you made trees on MS Paint it would look better. The skins on the trees are horribly out of focus. You have a game like BOTW where everything is beautiful, and then you have this horrible mess. It's unjust.

    Speaking of the wild, they may have not even included it. GF tries to force you into thinking this is some huge expansive area to explore but in reality its just a glorified route. It's just a plain open field, with the ugliest trees in gaming history, pink rocks with holes (which they call dens), and grass copied and pasted across the entire place. That's all it is.

    Finally, the plot in this game is so ridiculously boring. They try to oversell the plot by making the dull lifeless character. The only character that has any kind of enthusiasm is your rival and a weird robotic enthusiasm. He basically is in every cutscene, and his actions are the same in every cutscene. He boucnes up and down in forced excitement in every single cutscene he is in. GF devs are forcing the hype, but everything about is disdainful, cringeworthy.

    All in all this game looks like someone pulled an all-nighter to complete a project they had a year to do. And this is why it deserves a failing grade. It is the worst waste of time in my years of gaming (since Rascal on the ps1).    … Expand
  37. Montucky
    Nov 23, 2019
    10
    A timeless formula made perfect, Pokemon Sword and Shield satiated my desire for new Pokemon content.
  38. xPakoUchiha
    Nov 23, 2019
    0
    Muchos Pokémons no aparecen y encima graficos reutilizados. Voy solo por la segunda medalla y ya apenas tengo ganas de jugar.
  39. InsaneSeishiro
    Nov 23, 2019
    3
    This game is a rushjob.

    That said, not all things are bad, so lets start with the good: The core combat that has always been very enjoyable in pokemon is there. I like the new minimalist UI during battles. Also, that there are more customizationoptions for your trainer and while the models are reused, there is no denying that the new filter(and that is literally all they did to them    This game is a rushjob.

    That said, not all things are bad, so lets start with the good:
    The core combat that has always been very enjoyable in pokemon is there.
    I like the new minimalist UI during battles. Also, that there are more customizationoptions for your trainer and while the models are reused, there is no denying that the new filter(and that is literally all they did to them in terms of visuals and animations) makes the Pokemon look better than before! Lastly, they gave you more work arounds in terms of natures, EVs and IVs, which are appriciated(getting rid of IVs and Natures all together would be better, but let's be real, that ain't gonna happen in this life).

    Now, for the bad, and holy hell, there is a lot of bad.

    Personally, I don't care too much for the whole Dexit IF we got the promised upgraded visuals, but dataminers have already proven that most of the models and animations are simply ripped from the old game. But since those were blatent LIES, we lost half the Dex, Megaevolutions and Z attacks for NOTHING!

    Then the new pokemon: Most of them look alright, not too fond of the starters, the rest are ok but the legendarys are so lazy, they look like they should be part of the minor legendary trio, not the main cover legendarys!
    Also, let's not forget that they removed 144 attack moves, even some signaturemoves of pokemon that did make the cut.

    The graphics got definitly improved for the pokemon and trainers(even though it is just a filter over the pokemon and slightly more details on the trainers), but they look downright trash for the rest of the game. Also, sooo many battles don't have backgrounds, or backgrounds that are not fitting. You started a battle in a hotel lobby? guess what! you are now in a pure white featureless room!

    Then the difficulty... I deffinitly am not one of the guys, saying that everthing should be hard as nails, but you shouldn't be able to oneshot every pokemon in the first 3 gyms, simply by walking through the game.(at this point, let me also mention that this is one of the shortest pokemon games ever, with barely any post game)

    Gamefreak has been on an almost anual release cycle for years now, and the plattform upgrade is where this really starts to show. They need to take more time with the games and prioritize quality over quantity(nobody would have cared even half as much about the missing Mons if the graphics and animations really were upgraded, I promise you that. Just look at Monster Hunter World, where they cut down the number of Monsters to 1/3 for World, but almost everybody agrees that it was worth it). Cause if this is the way pokemon games are from now on, then this will be the end of 20+ years of beeing fans for a lot of people.    … Expand
  40. josh4fun
    Nov 22, 2019
    8
    Pokemon Sword is a game that never had a chance to live up to its hype. The game has many endearing qualities that are overshadowed by blind expectation.

    The addition of the wild area, an open world type area, is one of the most refreshing things a Pokemon game has ever done. This is sadly overshadowed by poor optimization whether it be pop-in or FPS drops. It wasn't close to    Pokemon Sword is a game that never had a chance to live up to its hype. The game has many endearing qualities that are overshadowed by blind expectation.

    The addition of the wild area, an open world type area, is one of the most refreshing things a Pokemon game has ever done. This is sadly overshadowed by poor optimization whether it be pop-in or FPS drops. It wasn't close to unbearable in my opinion, but it was definitely noticeable.

    The music in this game left me with a nostalgic feeling of 90's RPGs but was also completely Pokemon in the way it sounded. The audio sliders in this game are locked behind receiving an item from an NPC first, which doesn't seem to make a lot of sense.

    The battles were definitely Pokemon battles. Battles are pretty easy and experience share is always on. A new feature to battles in this game is Dynamaxing/Gigantamaxing. Dynamaxing makes your pokemon giant and allows it to use powerful moves with special effects. These Dynamax moves look spectacular. However for every spectacular Dynamax animation, there is at least one awful regular attack animation.

    The game looks very good in motion most of the time with very few notable issues outside the wild area. Some of the camping animations for the Pokemon give them a little extra personality that I haven't notice an prior games in the series.

    At the end of the day, Pokemon Sword and Shield made a lot of improvements and steps in what I believe is the right direction but they will be overshadowed by bad PR and down right dishonesty. I started the game and could not put it down. I beat the game in about 30 hours in 3 days and I'm already going for round 2. Sword and Shield feels incredibly rushed but has a charm that is quite infectious, however this is overshadowed by consistent thoughts of, "I can't wait to see where they take all these cool additions" instead of, "I can't believe this is how far Pokemon has come."    … Expand
  41. snooter
    Nov 22, 2019
    1
    reused models trash animation trash story trash dex and even same trash balance in rating battle. they said they remove lots of pokemons for balance and now that was completely lie at this point. nerf mimikyu again thanks game freak
  42. Sandbond
    Nov 22, 2019
    2
    Don't waste your money for such a shambolic implementation of an iconic game
  43. IHaveManyWaifus
    Nov 22, 2019
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Thing is about Pokemon is that its slowly becoming easier and easier with each new generation. I felt like my hand was held for a good portion of the game and it didn't feel right at all. It was the longest tutorial I ever had essentially. Starting it off with Hop, your rival, is by far the worst rival Pokemon has had. People can talk about the X&Y friend group all they want but Hop is just annoying. Your rival has always been the guy or gal that goes off and experience things on their own only to randomly approach you with a battle. Hop...doesn't do that. I feel like every 5 minutes the dude appears with some dialogue that isn't even that interesting and challenge you after almost no progress into game was made. He also chooses YOUR type advantage. Which is....boring. They kinda make it up a teensy tiny bit with the Champion picking your type disadvantage but it was still whatever.

    No Pokemon League. I thought the tourney would lead into the the Elite Four but it just lead into another bracket against...gym leaders. You know, the same people you beat before. I was super disappointed because the Elite Four is always pretty cool. Different type of Pokemon, may contain Pokemon you rarely see, and no rest time in-between. But in Sword your Pokemon, are healed in-between, which ruins this part of the game for me.

    Some may nor agree. But I missed stopping the evildoers. It was actually pretty cool. Where you worked with the Champion to take them down and in some games it was pretty difficult. And when you solved this huge problem you went on and completed the rest of the gyms and did the Elite Four. And when you encounter the Champion there was a sense of familiarity and respect. But in this there was none of that. The Champion just knows you because you are Hop's friend. That is his relationship with you. That is all. Which is just bland.

    No challenge whatsoever. I didn't grind at all really as its easy to level. I sometimes didn't heal Pokemon cause I really didn't have to. And i didn't even feel as accomplished when I beat the game like the other games. It was more like...yay?

    Good things about this game. Its Pokemon...I really enjoyed battles even though they were easy. Doing raids are pretty fun, I know a lot of people enjoy them a lot but I don't actively seek them but they are fun none the less. I do like some of the gym leaders more in this game than in previous ones. I like the character customization. The Wild Area was pretty fun. Some of the towns are neatly designed.

    I will try and complete the pokedex however. Cause the game was too short for me and I want to keep playing. Shiny hunting is always something I want to do at least once per game.    … Expand
  44. Geralt92
    Nov 20, 2019
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Gioco vecchio di 10 anni tecnicamente, open world imbarazzante, con pop up continuo, npc che sono fermi come statue, i Pokemon che girano su se stessi nella zona selvaggia, solo i fanboy possono difendere questa spazzatura.
    Per giunta il gioco è molto facile anche per gli standard di Pokemon.    … Expand
  45. DoctorZack
    Nov 22, 2019
    3
    Absolute disaster.

    It maintains a basic level of competency with a new idea or two, but that's literally the only thing going for it. Everything else isn't just "bad" its genuinely a painful experience.
  46. Goonga
    Nov 22, 2019
    0
    I'm only rating it 0 just in hopes that GameFreak realise that their laziness is obvious.
  47. Chana85
    Nov 22, 2019
    7
    เป็นภาคหลักที่ได้กลับมาเล่นหลังจากห่างหายไปจากเกมตระกูลไปนาน เพราะส่วนตัวเล่นม่อนโกมากกว่า ข้อดีคือกราฟฟิคและการอนิเมทตัวโปเกม่อนทำได้ค่อนข้างดี ถ้าไม่นับรวมถึงการเอาอนิเมชั่นเก่าๆมาใช้ ความสนุกยังเหมือนเดิม ที่ขัดใจที่สุดคือฉากของ Wild Area ที่ทำออกมาดูชุ่ยๆ และคุณภาพต่ำกว่ามาตรฐานของเกมสมัยนี้, ตัวละครออกแบบได้ดี Interface ในเกมทั้งหน้าจอเมนู ฯลฯ ทำออกมาได้ดูทันสมัย เรียบง่าย ใช้งานง่าย,เป็นภาคหลักที่ได้กลับมาเล่นหลังจากห่างหายไปจากเกมตระกูลไปนาน เพราะส่วนตัวเล่นม่อนโกมากกว่า ข้อดีคือกราฟฟิคและการอนิเมทตัวโปเกม่อนทำได้ค่อนข้างดี ถ้าไม่นับรวมถึงการเอาอนิเมชั่นเก่าๆมาใช้ ความสนุกยังเหมือนเดิม ที่ขัดใจที่สุดคือฉากของ Wild Area ที่ทำออกมาดูชุ่ยๆ และคุณภาพต่ำกว่ามาตรฐานของเกมสมัยนี้, ตัวละครออกแบบได้ดี Interface ในเกมทั้งหน้าจอเมนู ฯลฯ ทำออกมาได้ดูทันสมัย เรียบง่าย ใช้งานง่าย, ผมไม่ค่อยคิดใจเรื่องการตัดม่อนเกือบครึ่งออกจากเกม เพราะไม่ได้เล่นมานานล แต่ในอนาคตยังอยากให้มีการอัพเดทม่อนเข้ามาเพิ่ม, หรืออัพเดทให้กราฟฟิคของ Wild Area ดูดีกว่านี้ รวมๆสนุกดีครับ… Expand
  48. PokmonSwordGood
    Nov 22, 2019
    10
    Why the hate????? The models were updated, it was a huge graphical jump from ultra sun and moon (my favorite Pokémon games), which is why there was no national dex. Also, stop saying Hop is a clone of Hau. They are very different. This is an amazing game and should not receive this much hate.
  49. Eduardobritola
    Nov 22, 2019
    3
    Just lazy world design and mediocre experience and you cant immerse yourself because the game is made for 4 yr olds
  50. dnl168
    Nov 22, 2019
    0
    Habe es jetzt mittlerweile 20 stunden gespielt und dass game ist voll mit Bugs und glitches zudem ist die Steuerung zum teil echt grausig . Bitte beheben
  51. Amirmijo
    Nov 22, 2019
    2
    If Pokémon company only care about money we get it . But this is for sure not a 60 bucks game I feel o got scammed. Before the game came out they said wait until you play it so you judge it now we bought it and I didn’t like it . I feel gamefreak did a lazy work I’m sorry they need to be more creative and stop the non sense dynamax. Keep it simple and add more content more story more sideIf Pokémon company only care about money we get it . But this is for sure not a 60 bucks game I feel o got scammed. Before the game came out they said wait until you play it so you judge it now we bought it and I didn’t like it . I feel gamefreak did a lazy work I’m sorry they need to be more creative and stop the non sense dynamax. Keep it simple and add more content more story more side quests add the option so users become gum leaders and also elite four leaders not only focusing about breeding cus not everyone into that . Please let the fans design the Pokémon some designs are horrible . Thanks… Expand
  52. Andrefelipesrg
    Nov 22, 2019
    1
    Unfortunately, Game Freak messed up with everything. Missing national dex, terrible animations, bugs everywhere, basically it’s a BAD 3ds game in the Switch. Sad.
  53. aoshistark
    Nov 22, 2019
    0
    I purchased my copy of this game at Wal-mart on release. I beat the first gym leader with bare-minimum effort then returned the copy on Monday. Pokemon as a game franchise is in its death throws.

    Playing this game is like putting on a rubber baby helmet in a room full of padding. It is impossible to lose at anything. If you are the kind of person who thinks its a triumph of your ability    I purchased my copy of this game at Wal-mart on release. I beat the first gym leader with bare-minimum effort then returned the copy on Monday. Pokemon as a game franchise is in its death throws.

    Playing this game is like putting on a rubber baby helmet in a room full of padding. It is impossible to lose at anything. If you are the kind of person who thinks its a triumph of your ability to get the participation awards at events, this is the game for you. If you're a seasoned Pokemon Master, this game will make you ill.

    Game Freak had a valuable chance to really change the franchise for the better with this, but they didn't. They stuck to safety, they stuck to what a marketing team probably told them would sell best. I wanted desperately to enjoy this game. There are fleeting glimpses of a good Pokemon game hiding in the mist, but you'd be hard pressed to draw them out.

    Don't buy this title. Don't bother with it. Its not worth your time.    … Expand
  54. casualdoggo
    Nov 22, 2019
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is an unbiased review and my experience with the game. Overall I had a good time in Galar but it suffers from many problems and I was constantly questioning aspects of the game as I was playing.

    The GOOD

    There are many new pokémon with really creative and cool designs.

    Gameplay is still fun.

    The new camping and the way you are able to interacting with your pokémon was honestly amazing. Hopefully this gets improved for the games to come.

    The removal of random encounters was a blessing. The world felt more alive when you can see the pokémon walking around and interacting with the world.

    The gym challenges was really creative and fun.

    Although the graphics are not great there were a few places that were inspiring and unique.

    Character cusomization is great.

    Music is good and at times great (winter town and the first forest near your house)

    Ballonlea city looks amazing, sad you only go to the gym and then you are out of there. Team yells city was also really cool.

    The BAD

    No national dex (didn't bother me but does for a lot of people)

    Most characters were often made to goofy or anoying. Instead of cool characters they often run around with phones and do stupid poses. The 8th gym trainer could have been this mysterious and interesting guy but he really isnt.

    The story was really weak and poorly done. You basically just go around defeating gyms and at the end it picks up a little bit but it is still bad, weird and confusing. Chairman Rose's was a terrible villian and it honestly feels like it was a decision they made 1 month before launch.

    Not much of post gameplay.

    Team Yell doesnt really do much expect block paths and sometimes battle you.

    Wild area is enjoyable but still feels very empty.

    Normal battles almost gave me headaches, from the encounter until you can use any moves there are 4 different cutscenes. When a pokemon uses a move there are also a bunch of cuts. When your opponent throw a new pokeball you dont see them do it it just cuts away from them and then a pokeball comes flying from their direction. It makes the characters feel like robots.

    Many walking animations feels off and it looks weird.

    CONCLUSION

    Good game but maybe not a what I was expecting, does fix a few problems but doesnt really inovate the series that much. Most kids will probably have a good time. You only play the game to catch, battle and train pokemon and explore the region. Not for story or the characters. Dynamax is meh, it works but just barely.

    You will most likely have a nice time but you will notice problems.

    If it wasnt one of the best game series of all time it would have been an 8 or 8.5 but since it is I can only give it a 7.5.

    If rounding off to an 8    … Expand
  55. jojobbb
    Nov 22, 2019
    9
    I adore the game very much. But it also has a certain con. I rated a 9 because I love how the aspects and the coloring including the story line was. I am not a fan of the cut more the re used animations. But I love the wild side of it and the bike rides including the flying taxis. But I still wished they put more time into the game like fix the map
  56. Naruto918
    Nov 22, 2019
    9
    I'm not gonna spoil the game, nor review bomb the game. This is my honest opinion and criticism of this game. I want to dispel the falsehoods of this game first. Framerate is fine and doesn't dip in the wild areas. The graphics don't drop at all and I don't understand where this lie came from at all. I have one major criticism and a few little ones. The big criticism is not all theI'm not gonna spoil the game, nor review bomb the game. This is my honest opinion and criticism of this game. I want to dispel the falsehoods of this game first. Framerate is fine and doesn't dip in the wild areas. The graphics don't drop at all and I don't understand where this lie came from at all. I have one major criticism and a few little ones. The big criticism is not all the pokemon are in the game. The other criticism is the wild area online portion. When other players spawn in the game at the same time the game lags due to internet connection. It's annoying at times and needs to be fixed pronto. The raid battles is my last criticism. Th Ai teammates suck and really brain dead at times. The pokemon they use are completely under leveled and are really bad. I had Ai use a **** Magikarp wtf!? If they fix these three things then we are good. I really enjoyed this game and review bombing ruins actual criticism of the game. I wanted to give a fair review going over the actual problems of the game. Any review below an 8/10 is lying to you. I'm around and 8.5/10, but it doesn't give me that option. I will give it a 9/10 for now.… Expand
  57. Adigael
    Nov 22, 2019
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I tried to remain positive playing this game but so far the experience has not been rewarding. It's a buggy mess. The raid feature, which is supposed to be the huge selling point, doesn't work. The AI is terrible, picks terrible pokemon to help you, and if you can't clear a raid, they won't reset. So you're stuck in a raidless wild area forced to spam wishing pieces just to get 3 star useless pokemon. If people are posting about safe resetting just to do stuff, it just means it's not worth it. The graphics feel lije a 3DS port, I don't care what anyone tries to tell you.… Expand
  58. GusConstantine
    Nov 22, 2019
    6
    Pokémon sword is utterly, thoroughly mediocre. But it's still Pokémon, and that'll be enough to keep your attention.

    Don't be fooled by the hype. The story is bland, almost nonexistent. The characters are one-dimensional. It's a game that is stuck in the past. Sadly, as it sold well, we won't be seeing an evolution (pun intended) of the Pokémon formula any time soon. So buy it. Or don't.    Pokémon sword is utterly, thoroughly mediocre. But it's still Pokémon, and that'll be enough to keep your attention.

    Don't be fooled by the hype. The story is bland, almost nonexistent. The characters are one-dimensional. It's a game that is stuck in the past. Sadly, as it sold well, we won't be seeing an evolution (pun intended) of the Pokémon formula any time soon.

    So buy it. Or don't. It doesn't matter. Gamefreak doesn't care if the game is good so why should you?    … Expand
  59. Fetch
    Nov 22, 2019
    5
    I'm going to start by saying, yes. The national dex removal was dumb, unnecessary, and disheartening.
    But I have to put that aside for this review, because if it factored into my review I'd rate this game a 3. However, I don't think this game is worse than average.
    Lets start with the Gyms. Gym battles feel AMAZING this time around. Not really everything surrounding the fight with the    I'm going to start by saying, yes. The national dex removal was dumb, unnecessary, and disheartening.
    But I have to put that aside for this review, because if it factored into my review I'd rate this game a 3. However, I don't think this game is worse than average.

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

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

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

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

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

    This game just feels average to me. It's the best looking Pokemon game by far, it's great to play on my TV with a controller, and the dynamax/raid battle feature is pretty neat.
    But it has little to no content to it. AND THEY ARE CHARGING YOU $20 MORE. For a product that isn't even close to a 3DS game.    … Expand
  60. TurcoU2
    Nov 22, 2019
    10
    Un excelente juego que no debiera caer en bajas consideraciones por culpa de fan-boys tóxicos y caprichosos.
  61. newjg
    Nov 22, 2019
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Good points:
    1-New pokemons
    2-Methods to increase ivs and change natures
    3-No need pokemons MO
    4-Pokemon dynamax
    5-Addictive raids
    6-Character customization options

    Bad points
    1-Lack of the national pokedex
    2-Lack of mega revolutions
    3-Not being able to breed a gigamax poke
    4-Quality of the little intuitive curry
    5-Greater difficulty for those of us who have been playing pokemon for some time
    6-Unbearable companions (PAUL)
    7-Lack of eeveelutions
    8-Online
    Neutral points
    1-Include the rest of the regions
    2-A better parenting system    … Expand
  62. PokemonCrossing
    Nov 22, 2019
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game has a great UI and some welcome quality of life improvements, but the length of both main story and postgame content, including the dex cut which was not balanced out with the amount of new pokemon as well as being too short and easy (took me around 15-16 hours to beat the main story, plus 1-2 hours for the postgame episode), make it feel like a step back in the main series Pokemon games, where it should be bigger and better on the switch. The story is also mediocre, with no real evil team. Usually, I would get both games but this time I only got sword because of the step back for a more expensive game, 6/10

    Pros: -great UI
    -quality of life improvements

    Cons: -step back on the switch where it's more expensive than 3DS games
    -no National dex, few new Pokemon
    -short and easy content, lack of optional areas
    -surface level story    … Expand
  63. LavenderVix
    Nov 21, 2019
    2
    Here's an Honest review of Pokémon sword as a long time fan:
    The graphics are pretty well, the Pokémon are cute and lovely however I felt some battle animations were lacking. The game suffered from lag and slow down in some areas, especially in the wild area. The wild area was extremely fun, however. It's easy to get distracted and lost for hours exploring and doing max raid battles.    Here's an Honest review of Pokémon sword as a long time fan:
    The graphics are pretty well, the Pokémon are cute and lovely however I felt some battle animations were lacking. The game suffered from lag and slow down in some areas, especially in the wild area. The wild area was extremely fun, however. It's easy to get distracted and lost for hours exploring and doing max raid battles. Dynamax didn't feel overly gimmicky as it was mainly reserved for raids and gym battles. Speaking of gym battles the music was arguably the best part of the game. The story felt lacking. It's suddenly just thrust at you near the end of the game and there's no real explanation as to why the events are happening, the final battle is less of a struggle and more of letting the two cover legendaries do all the work. As for the rest of the game, it's slightly challenging at the start but once you have access to the wild area it's extremely easy to become over leveled and I spent the entire game from that point on 20 to 30 levels ahead of the trainers on the routes and gym leaders. The tournament at the end was a nice change, and some of the characters actually did feel a little more developed than the last few games. There's a small bit of post game story but once that's over the game begins to feel dull and repetitive. Not having the entire Pokédex did not effect the main game however it feels like the post game is lacking and missing something that adding a few more pokémon into the wild to track down could very well fix. Online interaction feels a little bare bones. There is no GTS, and no way to communicate to a person you may be trading with what pokémon you are offering or looking for, making getting specific version exclusives pokémon difficult. Over all, it was a fun experience but the game feels rushed, unpolished, and as if something more was intended but never fully realized.    … Expand
  64. BrianHoge
    Nov 22, 2019
    1
    bonk bonk chonk chonk ..............................................................
  65. DarkGio
    Nov 22, 2019
    6
    Look,this game isn't as bad as some people say.
    However,it could be much better.
    The music,the character design and the trainer customization are great,but I just can't look past the cuts and the absurd excuses they used to justify them. The wild area is a step in the fight direction,but on the other hand many of its textures look unpolished and It also lags at times,especially    Look,this game isn't as bad as some people say.
    However,it could be much better.
    The music,the character design and the trainer customization are great,but I just can't look past the cuts and the absurd excuses they used to justify them.
    The wild area is a step in the fight direction,but on the other hand many of its textures look unpolished and It also lags at times,especially online,where frame drops are very noticeable.
    The animations are mostly reused and Pokémon and people pop in and out of existence depending on how far you are from them.
    The story is...lackluster,It had some potential,but ultimately It wasn't enjoyable.
    The game can be challenging at times (provided you don't overlevel your Pokémon with XP candies) but it's still a pretty easy game overall.
    To conclude,it's a fun experience,but once you stop and look at its flaws you can't help but wonder why Game Freak didn't use all the resources they had in order to make this a better game.    … Expand
  66. Fritzmass
    Nov 22, 2019
    9
    È il mio primo Pokemon.
    Lo adoro. Capisco i veterani della serie, è naturale chiedere di più. Trovo però assurde le valutazioni sotto il 5. Il gioco è ricco di contenuti divertente... Impossibile da non consigliare ad un bambino.
  67. Yourebiasedasfk
    Nov 22, 2019
    5
    The game is mediocre at best. The graphics are lazy and the game lacks conplexity. It lacks the exploration the older games brought to the table.
  68. Batmanondorf
    Nov 22, 2019
    8
    A fantastic Pokemon game: coming from someone whose favorite got culled.
    I love Pokemon collecting. I've filled my Pokedex in generations four and five, and I'm REALLY close in generations six and seven. Discovering that over half the Pokedex was going to be excluded from this generation really shook my enthusiasm for a bit. Hearing Metagross, my beautiful baby boy, was not going to make    A fantastic Pokemon game: coming from someone whose favorite got culled.
    I love Pokemon collecting. I've filled my Pokedex in generations four and five, and I'm REALLY close in generations six and seven. Discovering that over half the Pokedex was going to be excluded from this generation really shook my enthusiasm for a bit. Hearing Metagross, my beautiful baby boy, was not going to make it to this generation shook it even harder. In the end, I decided on getting the game because I asked myself, "Does it look like I could have fun with this game as it is, rather than as I hoped it would be?" And the answer to that was a big yes.    … Expand
  69. ccmoore12
    Nov 22, 2019
    0
    OMG THEY LIED. Enough of that crap. If you're going to have issues with the game, then make them more substantial—the animations are not a problem. No, the biggest problem this game has is the fact that gamefreak did no fully utilize the potential of 3D.

    The gameworld is still almost entirely made up of linear paths interconnecting towns. The feeling of exploration is almost    OMG THEY LIED. Enough of that crap. If you're going to have issues with the game, then make them more substantial—the animations are not a problem. No, the biggest problem this game has is the fact that gamefreak did no fully utilize the potential of 3D.

    The gameworld is still almost entirely made up of linear paths interconnecting towns. The feeling of exploration is almost non-existent. The overworld puzzles of RBY (1st gen games) are long gone and replaced with… nothing. However, there's one major ****tease, and that's called the Wild Area. The Wild Area is a beautifully realized, fully explorable 3D environment. The amount of freedom in this area is beyond refreshing.

    Now if the majority of this games overworld were fully explorable like the Wild Area, that'd be amazing, but alas it's not, which is a major disappointment. It's still a fine game, but it's just another pokemon game in my book and not what a 3D pokemon game could be and should be.    … Expand
  70. 17max08
    Nov 22, 2019
    7
    Not so bad as you all say. It's a neat game that's very fun to play for the majority of the userbase.
  71. peterd07
    Nov 22, 2019
    0
    these games cost $20 more than the 3DS games but has an even shorter campaign then they did, has absolutely no end game, has less than 1/2 the pokemon even though they are literally just reused assets from said 3DS games, it's way more buggy and unpolished unlike the 3DS games, and again COST $20 MORE! its **** embarrassing. Not to mention they straight up lied about the reused assets andthese games cost $20 more than the 3DS games but has an even shorter campaign then they did, has absolutely no end game, has less than 1/2 the pokemon even though they are literally just reused assets from said 3DS games, it's way more buggy and unpolished unlike the 3DS games, and again COST $20 MORE! its **** embarrassing. Not to mention they straight up lied about the reused assets and my god the animations are extremely lazy. They have no excuse for this dumpster fire.… Expand
  72. XSoulbound
    Nov 22, 2019
    1
    This is certainly a low point for the series. Despite being put on a far more powerful console, this game contains fewer features, a weak story, boring characters, a nonexistent post game, barely improved graphics, and of course fewer pokemon. It's a massive disappointment, and isn't worth the new inflated price tag. The pokemon cuts are the biggest issue, as there is no reason for itThis is certainly a low point for the series. Despite being put on a far more powerful console, this game contains fewer features, a weak story, boring characters, a nonexistent post game, barely improved graphics, and of course fewer pokemon. It's a massive disappointment, and isn't worth the new inflated price tag. The pokemon cuts are the biggest issue, as there is no reason for it other than laziness. The graphics and animations are far below standard for a triple A title, and the models are nearly identical to the last generation. It amazes me that the largest media franchise in human history could release a mainline game of such low quality.… Expand
  73. Gagnef
    Nov 22, 2019
    0
    -The game is short.

    -Many Pokémons have been cut to get "better animations", when the combat animations that are there are soulless and bad.

    -The graphics are sometimes worse than a N64 game.

    -No voice acting even though it seems like there was supposed to be there.

    no
  74. sackhkc
    Nov 22, 2019
    8
    The review bombs here are garbage. The game is flawed, but good. It is much better than the 4.1 user average. I get it. No National Dex, price hike, some glitches here and there. New system. New demands. This is a natural evolution for the franchise. The trade system is awesome. The new gym style is refreshing. I enjoy seeing the Pokémon out in the Wild Area and abroad. I have played sinceThe review bombs here are garbage. The game is flawed, but good. It is much better than the 4.1 user average. I get it. No National Dex, price hike, some glitches here and there. New system. New demands. This is a natural evolution for the franchise. The trade system is awesome. The new gym style is refreshing. I enjoy seeing the Pokémon out in the Wild Area and abroad. I have played since Red and Blue, and these are up there with my more fun experiences. Oh, and sales speak volumes over the level of sheer entitlement being displayed her. Thanks.… Expand
  75. Cabi0l
    Nov 22, 2019
    1
    Bugs ohne Ende.
    Auch die Dreistigkeit nicht alle pokemon zu übernehmen. Einfach Geld macherei.
  76. Cinderaceee
    Nov 22, 2019
    6
    Here's my honest review from a player who played since gen 1 and got into competetive over the years. The story of the game is really bad. It was uneeded and pokemon needs to stop trying to have story in their games. We didnt need a story 15 years ago and we dont need one now. The game holds your hand throughout the entire game also stopping you every few seconds to explain something, mostHere's my honest review from a player who played since gen 1 and got into competetive over the years. The story of the game is really bad. It was uneeded and pokemon needs to stop trying to have story in their games. We didnt need a story 15 years ago and we dont need one now. The game holds your hand throughout the entire game also stopping you every few seconds to explain something, most of the time its Hop trying to battle you or talk to you. I dont know what the devs were thinking with this dialog heavy mess since fans have complained since sun and moon we dont like inturuptions that stop gameplay. They really think people want all these different characters and explanations for stuff, we dont. Take it out, and no more annoying rivals. Let's go back to the hoenn days where we see our rival maybe 3 times. That's it. Sonia is hot too but she unfortunetly adds on too this games dialog and inturuption problem.

    Anyway the reason I'm even giving this a decent score is because I liked everything that had to do with gameplay. The new pokemon are exciting and a few or more appear on every route. There dozens of customization options for your character making each one look unique online. Gym battles are revampted and gives you an awe feel as your giant pokemon clashes with theirs. The new mechanic dynamax was weird at first but is really balanced and makes battles more intense then even megas. The saving grace of the game however is raid battles which simply is the pokemon online we all wanted. Fighting raid battles is insanity and very fun. The sheer amount of pokemon living in the wild area is incredible and saves the game from its backlash. The wild area needs to be implanted in every future game no exceptions. To sum up everything when the good clashes with the bad the good prevails. Yes they took out many pokemon which I hope will be added in later, although unforgivable theres alot to play with here and we can only be patient. I believe despite what gf says nintendo will force these lazy devs to make dlc. They have too. So if your ok slogging through constant dialog and inturuptions then you'll rewarded through your efforts with a game rich with new mechanics and gameplay. Enjoy    … Expand
  77. AchillesHerz
    Nov 22, 2019
    10
    This game is a masterpiece and it earned the rights to sit among side famous and inspiring games such as Fallout76 and other games that are just as unforgettable. This game is a lot more than just a Thanos backstory. It's a way of life. All hail game freak. The reason why I am giving this game a 0 is because I just like the color red.
  78. KratosVanDark
    Nov 22, 2019
    4
    Was soll der Mist Gamefreak es ist noch leichter geworden und wo sind über 400 Pokemon hin wenn es doch nur die gleichen Animation sind wie auf den 3ds. Dazu ist das Spie innerhalb von 24 Stunden durch spielbar das ist bis jetzt das schlechteste Pokemon aus der hauptreihe
  79. xXFedericXx
    Nov 22, 2019
    0
    Bad texture, low framerate, no dub, no hard mode, no regional pokedex, bad plot
  80. Mikilike
    Nov 22, 2019
    1
    Graficos anticuados, lineal hasta decir basta, solo 400 pokemon, los nuevos pokemon son cutres, es una basura gigante
  81. FrankyF4Fingers
    Nov 22, 2019
    7
    Very good Pokemon. Some Problems like 2 or 3 rly bad looking pokemon, Multiplayer is not that stable and its a little hard to get a full party for a dyna raid. But the rest of the game is rly fun and well polished. The new arena Theme is awsome and i am exited to finish of the league champs today. The reduced Pokemon Pool is no real Problem because it kind of pushes you to try new once. IfVery good Pokemon. Some Problems like 2 or 3 rly bad looking pokemon, Multiplayer is not that stable and its a little hard to get a full party for a dyna raid. But the rest of the game is rly fun and well polished. The new arena Theme is awsome and i am exited to finish of the league champs today. The reduced Pokemon Pool is no real Problem because it kind of pushes you to try new once. If all would be there i may have not found Riffex and i love that Dude ;-). Oh yea sometimes you get Framdrops while there is a Picture in Picture but that was my only technical Problem.… Expand
  82. DrJos
    Nov 22, 2019
    4
    Pokémon Sword and Shield are just your average standard pokémon games. The story is not a high point in the series but it's also not a low point. There are some quality of life changes that deserve to get praised (easier creation of competitive pokémon through mints and egg-moves changes, escape ropes being a key-item, the bike doubling as surf, trade evolutions can show up in the wilds)Pokémon Sword and Shield are just your average standard pokémon games. The story is not a high point in the series but it's also not a low point. There are some quality of life changes that deserve to get praised (easier creation of competitive pokémon through mints and egg-moves changes, escape ropes being a key-item, the bike doubling as surf, trade evolutions can show up in the wilds) but there are also features that are lacking (either in their execution or as flavor, shinies not visible in the overworld, you can't ride pokémon, camping could have been done different and ofcourse the big elephant in the room the removal of about 50% of the national dex that existed before the game).

    The removal of the pokédex has been an eye-opener for me and has shown/solidified for me that the pokémon games have been going down in quality in almost every gen. It always seems to be 1 step forward and 2 steps back.

    If you don't care at all about the national dex I would give this game a 6/10, it's an adequate pokémon game and you'll have fun. But seeing as I personally do care about the dex I can't but lower it's score for this, which is why I feel a 4/10 is justified for this game.    … Expand
  83. sarahpod
    Nov 21, 2019
    8
    I am enjoying this game. Yes, I know the graphics aren't spectacular, but I am willing to look past that as this is a Pokemon game after all . The gameplay is fun, the new Pokemon are great, and when it all comes down to it, it's a game that I want to keep playing. My one complaint would be that the game does hold your hand on the main campaign a little bit too much. All in all, II am enjoying this game. Yes, I know the graphics aren't spectacular, but I am willing to look past that as this is a Pokemon game after all . The gameplay is fun, the new Pokemon are great, and when it all comes down to it, it's a game that I want to keep playing. My one complaint would be that the game does hold your hand on the main campaign a little bit too much. All in all, I think most of the reviews from fans are too low, and this game deserves better.… Expand
  84. swarthy126
    Nov 21, 2019
    2
    Pokemon will never be bad. Starting a new adventure, catching charming and cool new pokemon, training to defeat the strongest trainers, this is the core gameplay of pokemon that everyone loves. That is why I won't rate this game based on if it does just that, but on how it compares to this era's standard of gaming, and to it's predecessors.

    The animations are below par. You have models    Pokemon will never be bad. Starting a new adventure, catching charming and cool new pokemon, training to defeat the strongest trainers, this is the core gameplay of pokemon that everyone loves. That is why I won't rate this game based on if it does just that, but on how it compares to this era's standard of gaming, and to it's predecessors.

    The animations are below par. You have models of characters doing the same movements in a crowd, Hop repeating the same two poses, poorly done rotations. The standards for graphics are higher each year, but it seemed they regressed in Sword and Shield. There should be nothing that's a triple A, $60, top franchise game that should have graphics or movements similar to N64.

    Some of the main characters are very one dimensional for most of the game. Though I give a few points to having characters with interesting designs. Then again, which pokemon game in the past didn't?

    As for the new mechanics, Dynamax and Gigantamax, they don't add to the competitiveness to battling. They are also not very fun, especially since you're forced to use certain Pokemon to have that function. You could say the same for Mega Evolutions, but Mega Evolutions at least helped much weaker pokemon to be viable to play with, and could've been balanced for some in the future. Z-moves at least were usable on every single pokemon. The raid battles are way to straight forward, there's almost no sense of strategy other than the preparations of choosing the correct type.

    Not a lot of post game events. The new Rocket Team is lack luster; they're not a big organization, nor gangsters, nothing noteworthy. Just a bunch of hooligans and fanatics that aren't even as amusing as Team Skull.

    The Wild area was fun at first, but it became pretty stale after the first hour or so. The area is also not as vast as it seemed in the trailers. That was the biggest selling point for me, and I was a tad bit let down. Great idea that can be improved on in future games.

    Overall the game was too easy. My pokemon were over leveled with ease. Pretty linear as usual.
    When Pokemon was finally hitting the Switch, to the main console, some of us were hoping for that new innovative break through, like Zelda BotW, Mario Odyssey, Smash Ultimate. But with the way things are going, people still rate it high for "being a Pokemon game". And if it sells well, GF doesn't really have a reason to change it direction. Pokemon will be good, but never great, and that's why I refuse to give the review of "Pokemon is fun because of catching charming pokemon is fun", because that is a review for Pokemon as a whole, the Concept and World of Pokemon, and not for Sword and Shield itself, in respect to the standards of this gaming era.    … Expand
  85. Stirnadler
    Nov 21, 2019
    6
    Es macht Spaß ist aber für mich definitiv zu einfach ! Die Grafik stört mich nicht, finde sie vor allem in den Städten sehr stimmungsvoll und hübsch!
  86. Bashbach1
    Nov 21, 2019
    4
    I knew it from the very beginning that game freak was running out of ideas. Most of the Pokémon are just remodeled or remade versions of other Pokémon, giant whatever Max’s are just totem Pokémon and the Breath of The Wild looking graphics turned out to be classic game freak DS graphics. But, with all that being said, it’s not a bad game. The encounters I love especially as a shiny hunter,I knew it from the very beginning that game freak was running out of ideas. Most of the Pokémon are just remodeled or remade versions of other Pokémon, giant whatever Max’s are just totem Pokémon and the Breath of The Wild looking graphics turned out to be classic game freak DS graphics. But, with all that being said, it’s not a bad game. The encounters I love especially as a shiny hunter, the gym battles are great, the NPC design is good except for Hop which is a disgrace to humanity. I didn’t like the story but I loved how vast the wild was and I do admit I had some fun.… Expand
  87. Boujack
    Nov 18, 2019
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Gráficos de una consola de hace dos generaciones, falta de contenido y post game, animaciones reutilizadas, menos de la mitad de los polemons de la pokedex nacional siendo que en entregas pasadas hay muchos más, historia mas corta de lo debido. En conclusión un juego incompleto y hecho sin el tiempo dedicado para su venta, no lo recomiendo.… Expand
  88. Fweb34
    Nov 21, 2019
    0
    The game is fun, but it is fundamentally a handheld game. Not a console game. The online functionality is non-existant. Waiting to find a raid or get people to join yours simply does not work well at all. You can wait for over an hour re-trying to get people in your raid with the 3 minute time limit and you might have one person join, when realistically you NEED 4 real players to completeThe game is fun, but it is fundamentally a handheld game. Not a console game. The online functionality is non-existant. Waiting to find a raid or get people to join yours simply does not work well at all. You can wait for over an hour re-trying to get people in your raid with the 3 minute time limit and you might have one person join, when realistically you NEED 4 real players to complete the high level raids. Its really dissapointing how little effort was put into this game. We took one step forward with the pokemon franchise and 5 backwards. Really disappointed.… Expand
  89. OpARCANINE
    Nov 21, 2019
    1
    The game is way to easy, i dont understand why in the world they dont have an option to have it be for beginners to people who have played the games for years. Basically every game now has it why not pokemon? Story is lacking. Graphics are upsetting.
  90. beettlestew
    Nov 21, 2019
    7
    Ive mostly played with enjoyment , though niche game this time around with what developers did to change gameplay ,it's very easy , but I like this game
  91. Kuniokun
    Nov 21, 2019
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Es aburrido, la innovación es poca y falta actuación de voz, una historia olvidarle y personajes sosos… Expand
  92. IHateFanboys
    Nov 21, 2019
    3
    While you can still catch and battle pokemon, which is always fun, this feels like the most lifeless pokemon yet. Where other franchises transferred to the switch by releasing innovative new takes on their formula, Pokemon sword and Shield cut back on their own content and released a half-baked version of their same old story. Either through mismanagement or malice, Pokemon is no longerWhile you can still catch and battle pokemon, which is always fun, this feels like the most lifeless pokemon yet. Where other franchises transferred to the switch by releasing innovative new takes on their formula, Pokemon sword and Shield cut back on their own content and released a half-baked version of their same old story. Either through mismanagement or malice, Pokemon is no longer about catching them all, but trying to pick through the ones that made the cut.… Expand
  93. IcyLucario
    Nov 21, 2019
    0
    Released with serious SD card formatting bugs, immensely disappointing content cuts, mediocre graphics, poor animation and outright lies to the fanbase.

    I have never been so disappointed with not only Game Freak, Pokémon, but also Nintendo themselves. The only reason this game isn't being treated worse is the favoritism Nintendo and Pokémon gets; and that's coming from a big fan of    Released with serious SD card formatting bugs, immensely disappointing content cuts, mediocre graphics, poor animation and outright lies to the fanbase.

    I have never been so disappointed with not only Game Freak, Pokémon, but also Nintendo themselves.

    The only reason this game isn't being treated worse is the favoritism Nintendo and Pokémon gets; and that's coming from a big fan of both no less.    … Expand
  94. moosbuckel
    Nov 21, 2019
    1
    Played it now 40 hours its just an old game with wii graphics, gameplay was really boring, story was very unimportant. The routes are as well boring and nothing to explore. the game is WAY to easy because of this EXP system and the new naturezone is a laggy piece of crap. More then 500 pokemon are missing. Never trust Gamefreak again
  95. Wedffc
    Nov 21, 2019
    0
    Its just rushed please please Patch this!!! !
  96. Arulz
    Nov 21, 2019
    10
    Best game in the series by far. By no means are they perfect, but they are an absolute blast for casual and competitive players alike. The quality of life improvements are out of this world.

    This is coming from a person who’s played every game multiple times, and has a living Pokédex :) if you’re on the fence, GO FOR IT you will not be disappointed.
  97. Klusterx
    Nov 21, 2019
    0
    Absolutely terrible game, re used animations, terrible graphics, lack of effort, baby's first step kind of difficulty, slashed pokedex, and to top it all off 60 bucks. Truly a shame
  98. Sagerronan
    Nov 21, 2019
    7
    In spite of the removal of many pokemon and the fact that Gamefreak simply reused many assets, Pokemon Sword is still a good, if somewhat easy experience. I had been kind of burnt out on Pokemon for a while since Sun and Moon, but Sword and Shield rekindled my interest of pokemon. It does have some glaring flaws, but I still found it an enjoyable game.
    First, the game is very easy. You    In spite of the removal of many pokemon and the fact that Gamefreak simply reused many assets, Pokemon Sword is still a good, if somewhat easy experience. I had been kind of burnt out on Pokemon for a while since Sun and Moon, but Sword and Shield rekindled my interest of pokemon. It does have some glaring flaws, but I still found it an enjoyable game.
    First, the game is very easy. You get an experience share that gives all of your pokemon in your party experience. You can end up overleveled very easily because you can't turn off the experience share. It's pretty rare I actually get bored with battles because of being over-leveled, but Sword managed that.
    Second, the journey to the pokemon league is far too short, it took me 4 days of play to reach it.
    Third, the wild area can be very confusing and frustrating alongside max raids. Ai is often brainless in higher rank max raids, making it difficult to defeat some of them even with proper strategy. You could just get unlucky and get bad ai teammates that do nothing if you can't find real people to join. I find that anti fun.
    I'm sure there's some more that I missed, but I'm trying to get this review positive, so on to the good.
    I enjoyed the character creation and customization. Characters are a lot more customizable then in previous games.
    Max raids can be fulfilling for working on your pokedex or getting new TR moves for your mons.
    Breeding competitive pokemon is much easier.
    Being able to fly/bike to places freely without having a pokemon that knows Fly is very nice.
    Will old Pokemon players have fun with this game? Probably not. Will newcomers? Maybe. At least give it a chance.    … Expand
  99. Alo27193
    Nov 18, 2019
    9
    Stop giving this game 0 because there's no national dex the people who do it haven't even played the game.Remember this is game freak's first time developing a main line Pokemon game the transition will be rough but it is Still a amazing game.While the story is lacking Pokemon has never been about story it delivered on every other aspect.
  100. Villabong11
    Nov 21, 2019
    1
    I can't give this game a good score not because it lacks of features or is broken or not enjoyable, the Pokemon experience is always enjoyable always to any fan out there.

    But is not secret the way the franchise is handled by gamefreak / TPC. First the cut Pokemon to improve on animations which is false the only improved animations are the dinamax ones and the new ones for the starter    I can't give this game a good score not because it lacks of features or is broken or not enjoyable, the Pokemon experience is always enjoyable always to any fan out there.

    But is not secret the way the franchise is handled by gamefreak / TPC.

    First the cut Pokemon to improve on animations which is false the only improved animations are the dinamax ones and the new ones for the starter Pokemons, the rest is the same reused content from the 3ds.

    Second art direction overall is poorly for the most part it seems like 3ds game upscaled to 1080p and even sometimes is like a N64 game, but yes there are very well crafted areas such as mushroom forest or something like that and some towns looks gorgeous overall but comparing to other IPs suchs as yokai watch 4, Pokemon is behind those games.

    The wild area is a great addition to the franchise but the rest of the games looks like linear corridors with 0 to none exploration, dungeons/caves are almost non-existent and that's really bad.

    The pop ins in this game are horrible it makes lose the immersion which is key to any video game.

    Raid battles are a welcome addition but dinamaxing is just really questionable mechanic, yes the flashy animations looks good but the downsides weight way than the pros, first you can't see anything besides the 2 gigantic Pokemon so is like your other friend doesn't exists, every non dinamax animation becomes a color splahsy effect depending on the type move (fire = red splash effect) no matter the attack (fire blast, surf, etc), then again became less interesting and just becoming mashing buttons til the raid ends.

    Aside from that the scaling of Pokemon is just bad (look at wailord now and look how it was on Pokemon Colloseum and XD game of darkness), I just can't accept that from a group of "professional", I just can't.

    The final point is how the game fail really hard (including the points I mentioned) on features and details that the previous console Pokemon game didn't have and those were 20 years old games...

    This is my review of this game (I got it used), is sad because I pay for 60 dollars Pokemon game 20 years ago that was way more polished than this rushed game with less content.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 87 Critic Reviews

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