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4.7

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 5909 Ratings

User score distribution:
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  1. Nov 18, 2019
    9
    Amo este juego, la verdad no hagan caso a tanto hate, el juego es bueno, pero sin llegar a la exelencia.
    Tiene un apartado gráfico superior que sus antecesores, pero obviamente que para 2019 no es nada del otro mundo.
    El mappeo del mundo es hermoso, de lo mejor que he visto en pokemon. La banda sonora es épica como siempre, tan solo entrar a un gimnasio pokemon y luchar contra el líder
    Amo este juego, la verdad no hagan caso a tanto hate, el juego es bueno, pero sin llegar a la exelencia.
    Tiene un apartado gráfico superior que sus antecesores, pero obviamente que para 2019 no es nada del otro mundo.
    El mappeo del mundo es hermoso, de lo mejor que he visto en pokemon.
    La banda sonora es épica como siempre, tan solo entrar a un gimnasio pokemon y luchar contra el líder del mismo se te eriza la piel.
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  2. Nov 18, 2019
    8
    I don’t usually write reviews, but considering the controversy around this one I wanted to share my opinion. First of all, let me get the biggest complaint out of the way. Everyone is upset about the lack of National Dex in this generation. I don’t care about it at all. There’s over 1,000 Pokémon at this point and personally, it’s nice to be able to actually finish a Pokédex for once. NotI don’t usually write reviews, but considering the controversy around this one I wanted to share my opinion. First of all, let me get the biggest complaint out of the way. Everyone is upset about the lack of National Dex in this generation. I don’t care about it at all. There’s over 1,000 Pokémon at this point and personally, it’s nice to be able to actually finish a Pokédex for once. Not to mention I think it creates more balance since you can’t just use some of the more op Pokémon from previous games. I understand the desire to carry over all your Pokémon but it’s honestly not that big of a deal. Okay, with that out of the way, let me just say that I thought this game was a lot of fun and to me that’s what matters most. Does it have perfect graphics? No, but the Pokémon series has never been known for it’s graphical prowess. The graphics and animations have been simple since the very beginning of the series. It’s not a surprise to see the same here, and honestly I don’t think the animations are bad by any means. They are a bit outdated, but did not affect my experience at all. The designs of all the new Pokémon are very strong and the old ones continue to look great. The routes are a bit more linear this time around, but they look great and often have a larger variety of Pokémon than past games. Now the wild area is a different story.

    The wild area is honestly kind of rough. I love the idea of it, but playing with the online functionality makes it very choppy and it stutters a lot. Did it ruin my experience? Not at all. But it is definitely a visual and performance downgrade from the rest of the game. I will say though, that I did not experience any frame rate drops or performance issues anywhere outside of the wild area. I loved the max raids. I played a lot of them and enjoyed every minute. However, the online functions are a struggle. You often have to disconnect and then reconnect because it won’t update to show current raids or trade offers. Once again, it didn’t ruin anything for me, but it is very annoying to see a gigantimax raid and then be locked out because it was old. I also found the lack of global trade system absolutely baffling. You cannot search a specific Pokémon you want and are instead at the mercy of strangers or friends. As far as the gameplay goes it’s classic Pokémon. You still leave get a starter Pokémon and travel the region trying to collect gym badges and be the champion. There’s been a number of improvements to the formula this time. You have to use exp share which to some is for some reason a huge foul. I love it. It’s nice to not have to individually level every Pokémon you have and it keeps your whole time at a consistent pace. It’s no different than a Final Fantasy game where your whole party gets exp at the end of a battle. This game also introduces dynamax which is fun to do but can only really be done in raids or gyms. This prevents it from being too op the way mega evolutions and z moves were. Filling out your Pokédex is easier than ever with the introduction of exp candy. You get them for completing raids and can use them to level the Pokémon in your box easily. There’s also now one use TM’s in addition to the infinite TM’s which allows for some strategy in picking moves. Overall I thought the gameplay was great. I thoroughly enjoyed playing it and quite honestly thought it was the most fun game since X and Y.

    Story wise, it’s really no different from passed games. Pokémon has never been about super engaging serious stories. It’s simple and moves you along and that’s what matters. I actually liked the fact that it was less end of the world/region/Pokémon and instead focused a lot on the spectacle of gym battles. I also thought it was interesting that the main “Team” wasn’t necessarily bad this time around and are really just rowdy Pokémon fans. As far as music goes, there are some seriously stand out tracks throughout the adventure. The gym battles as well as the first legendary encounter have killer music. The rest is serviceable and never got on my nerves nor really stood out. Overall, I understand that this game has some problems. Game Freak upset a lot of it’s fans and create ill will. The graphics aren’t perfect and the online functionality is really outdated and hard to work with. But none of that really bothered me. This game is fun. I really loved my time with it and I’m glad I ignored all the hate and went into it with an open mind. And I’m the end isn’t having fun the point of games? These days we spend so much time worrying about graphics and performance and power when the point of a game is enjoyment and this game gave me more than enough of that. I can say with complete honesty that this is my favorite entry since X and Y. Maybe even Black and White.
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  3. Nov 18, 2019
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I disagree mostly with the people defending the game and attacking the game. I consider myself as one of those fans who played the 1st gen games when it was out. Personally, I do not feel like the game deserves a 10 or a 0.

    I will discuss the good things about the game. First is that the wild area is a breath of fresh air and I really like seeing the Pokemons walking around it. What I enjoyed the most about the game was the soundtrack. I really love the music of the game and surprisingly, Toby Fox (creator of Undertale and Deltarune) composed one song for the game. Designs of the new Pokemons are unique in it's own way like Galarian Zigzagoon getting a 3rd evolution or Ponyta becoming a psychic type. Farfetch'd getting it's own evolution (FINALLY!). We also have gyms back and they all have puzzles or challenges we must perform before facing the gym leader which I quite find enjoyable. The characters are likeable which I have to admit. They all look wonderful and are memorable. Last, which some people may not like but I quite like the difficulty, wild Pokemons tend to have higher levels than your Pokemons when you first step in the wild area like that one Onix that is level 28. Now for the things I really dislike about the game, first is the cut Pokemon, this is quite controversial since some people hated it when Gamefreak announced it at e3 and some agreed with Gamefreak. For me I really dislike it because I have a lot of Pokemons who are raised competitively in my old games and I cannot transfer them to my game. Also take note that you are paying 20 dollars more for a game that currently has 400 Pokemons (35 Pokemons have models but they are somehow unobtainable in game) while a 40 dollars game has more than 500 Pokemons in it. Another thing I really disliked were the visuals and animations, they felt lazy and the trees in the wild area looks like one of the trees in a very low graphic setting. They mentioned in the interview about cutting Pokemons for high quality animations but all I get to see is a copy and paste animation from a 40 dollars game. I notice a frame rate drop during the beginning of a battle or when I walk in the wild area and also there are pop ins. The story is predictable, this was my complaint with X and Y which is why I find it disappointing. I was expecting something new and fresh. Funny thing is that almost everyone knew who the antagonist was during his/her reveal. Dynamax as a concept is good on paper but the way it was executed is terrible since it only last for 3 turns. I honestly prefer to have mega evolutions in than having dynamax. Dynamaxing feels like you just mega evolved your Pokemons and you get to use Z-moves for 3 turns. Next is the post game, I find it funny how the director says players have "a lot" to do in the post game which I highly disagree. The post game is lacking compared to the previous entry which had a lot to do. The problem with this game is that much to do except for battling in the battle tower or do raids with other people. This has been a problem with X and Y. The game feels like it was a step back compared to the previous title. I could see myself playing Pokemon Ultra Sun right after I finish the game. The game is not entirely bad or perfect. The appropriate rating I can give for this game is a 7/10 (Ultra Sun is a 8/10). Hopefully the technical issues can be fixed in future patches. I will still look forward to the next game.
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  4. Nov 18, 2019
    2
    I wanted to love this game. And there are GREAT new Pokémon. Dreadnaw, Cramorant and Dragapault come to mind. However, this thing barely seems like a 3DS game. Terribly rendered graphics, a ton of Pokemon being left out, weird system bricking issues, and annoying side characters all combine to make the WORST mainline Pokémon game ever. Buy at your own risk, but don’t expect anI wanted to love this game. And there are GREAT new Pokémon. Dreadnaw, Cramorant and Dragapault come to mind. However, this thing barely seems like a 3DS game. Terribly rendered graphics, a ton of Pokemon being left out, weird system bricking issues, and annoying side characters all combine to make the WORST mainline Pokémon game ever. Buy at your own risk, but don’t expect an experience on the level of Black and White or even X and Y. Expand
  5. Nov 18, 2019
    10
    It is very good, even if we cannot see all pokemons.
  6. Nov 18, 2019
    3
    Would have been an 8 but because of they chose to not include all the Pokemon and remove moves I can't give more than a 3.
  7. Nov 18, 2019
    9
    Despite the fact the game could have been better (in graphics) the other features are pretty funny and adictive.
  8. Nov 17, 2019
    8
    These are top quality pokemon games in terms of the content available, however what's missing brings them down a bit. Raid battles and the wild area are fun but otherwise there isn't too much to do post game. Graphically these games are amazing in some areas but the textures in the wild area are unpolished. Overall these games are good but could be better
  9. Nov 18, 2019
    0
    Game freak can you see our dissatisfaction? How do you want to celebrate the 30th anniversary? Did you focused on liitle town hero instead of pokemon? Your game is an unfinished project and have terrible graphic, and you are lazy so much!!! This is the worst game of the year!!! You're kidding me?! Did you the fans, who created better textures in one day than you did in a few years?? ThisGame freak can you see our dissatisfaction? How do you want to celebrate the 30th anniversary? Did you focused on liitle town hero instead of pokemon? Your game is an unfinished project and have terrible graphic, and you are lazy so much!!! This is the worst game of the year!!! You're kidding me?! Did you the fans, who created better textures in one day than you did in a few years?? This game is a joke!!! Expand
  10. Nov 18, 2019
    10
    The game is very fun and I seriously recommend giving it a second chance.
  11. Nov 18, 2019
    0
    This game is a disaster. A major disappointment in literally every regard. GameFreak clearly doesn't have any love for the franchise what so ever, and should not be allowed to make anymore of these games. Complete waste of 60$ for my part...
  12. Nov 18, 2019
    1
    Sure, it's cute and all, but with removing everything that seemed essential to the series, not having anything to do after beating the game, and reusing everything from the old games, you'd have to ask where 3 years of development time went into. I'd pass.
  13. Nov 18, 2019
    6


    I like this game. I don't LOVE it. But it's not bad. If I had to rank this generation against the rest, I can say it's at least better than every Pokemon game that isn't Heart Gold/Soul Silver, Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, or Black/White/2. I don't really miss any of the old Pokemon, and even though I having a Living Pokedex on my copy of Ultra Sun, I don't mind not being able to


    I like this game. I don't LOVE it. But it's not bad. If I had to rank this generation against the rest, I can say it's at least better than every Pokemon game that isn't Heart Gold/Soul Silver, Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, or Black/White/2.

    I don't really miss any of the old Pokemon, and even though I having a Living Pokedex on my copy of Ultra Sun, I don't mind not being able to bring them all over to this game. That said, I get why people are upset, but also think they're blowing it out of proportion. Anyone with half a brain would realize they couldn't just keep throwing the same 800+ Pokemon into each game forever. You call it "laziness", I call it realizing a lot of the Pokedex is useless filler.

    The story thus far (I've only gotten up to fourth gym as of this review, currently 15 hours in and I'm taking my time exploring the wild area) isn't really much to write home about, sure. But you don't REALLY play these games for story, do you? I don't. I play to catch cute creatures.

    The music is some of the best Masuda had done yet. All the battle themes just might end up being my favorites of the whole series.

    The graphics/art are much improved over the last gen, though I will always miss the sprite art.

    Overall, I'd say this game is worth your time if you're not horribly attached to old Pokemon and don't mind that a bunch of moves were cut as well. It's not bad. It's just not great either. Middle of the road, I guess.
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  14. Nov 18, 2019
    7
    I finished the game in about 20 hours and had fun, the game is obviously rushed but i still think it isn't that bad
  15. Nov 18, 2019
    3
    I am a long time pokemon fan and have been playing every single game even the worse ones such and let's go. This game was a huge let down. Too many things about this game stack up to give a negative taste about this game. First the routes, everything is linear one lane and no cool places to visit and absolutely no caves that you have to find yourself around. Everything is so linear thatI am a long time pokemon fan and have been playing every single game even the worse ones such and let's go. This game was a huge let down. Too many things about this game stack up to give a negative taste about this game. First the routes, everything is linear one lane and no cool places to visit and absolutely no caves that you have to find yourself around. Everything is so linear that you get healed around every corner. Wild area is a good step but graphics are absolutely atrocious for a switch title. Graphics can be good at some place but absolutely terrible in others. All pokemon models and animations are absolutely the same so why cut pokemon... this is laughable. Now modders are taking it upon themselves to make better graphics and put in the pokemon gamefreak has cut out. If next pokemon is gonna be trash then I'm done with pokemon Expand
  16. Nov 18, 2019
    0
    The game feels pretty rushed with lots of errors and glitches. Images cutting out in battle, sprites clipping into each other, models rotating in circles when they are trying to walk... also the sprites are the same from the previous 3DS games.

    Not including all the Pokemon aside, the new Pokemon designs are cool and are the small saving grace for the game.
  17. Nov 18, 2019
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Gamefreak ruined the game. Removed everything that made it perfect and just lazingly put in things that were easy like gaint Pokemons. Removed 52% Pokemons. Removed Megas that were actually cool. Even Arceus the God Alpha Pokemon doesn't even exist. Expand
  18. Nov 18, 2019
    0
    For a Pokemon game that has turned natural progression into a grindy feel and just no consistency to previous games. Size, weight the look and play style of the Pokémon has completely changed and for the worse
  19. Nov 18, 2019
    10
    One of the best Pokemon experiences since the likes of X and Y, at least that's my opinion, they've removed alot of the tedious issues the old games had, added alot of new things to do such as the Wild Area and my personal favorite addition is the decent character arks.

    I'm not gonna give any spoilers but if you could just look past the controversies you'll find a really solid Pokemon
    One of the best Pokemon experiences since the likes of X and Y, at least that's my opinion, they've removed alot of the tedious issues the old games had, added alot of new things to do such as the Wild Area and my personal favorite addition is the decent character arks.

    I'm not gonna give any spoilers but if you could just look past the controversies you'll find a really solid Pokemon game with loads to do.
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  20. Nov 18, 2019
    10
    Jogo so peca em não ter todos os PK de resto esta mil vezes melhor que todos os jogos anteriores.
  21. Nov 18, 2019
    9
    Sin contar con el algunos errores visuales considero que es un muy buen juego de pokemon
  22. Nov 18, 2019
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Its a nice game but the acts that has made ruins the experiency like you miss some pokemon .sorry for the english i am brasilian and i am still learning Expand
  23. Nov 18, 2019
    1
    I've been playing this game since Gen 1. I love pokemon, and own every single game excluding Pearl, because I gave it away to people who never got the chance to play pokemon.

    My biggest gripe: The game is super, super, super short. It's like... probably less than 9 hours. You can watch a streamer beat it in one sitting, and I beat mine in one too. The Pros: There are new
    I've been playing this game since Gen 1. I love pokemon, and own every single game excluding Pearl, because I gave it away to people who never got the chance to play pokemon.

    My biggest gripe:
    The game is super, super, super short. It's like... probably less than 9 hours. You can watch a streamer beat it in one sitting, and I beat mine in one too.

    The Pros:
    There are new animations. All pokemon 'roar' when they appear, this is because Dynamaxing makes them make another cry.

    Competitive battling was made way easier! I love this! I can now do all my work so quickly, and have a competitive perfect pokemon in just an hour.

    Dynamax raids are super fun. I spent 8 hours just running around doing them.

    Your rival actually is a jerk. I actually appreciate a mean rival sometimes, and one of the ones in this one is.

    And that's all!

    The cons:
    The game is *short*. Pathetic! Absolutely pathetically short. On a blind playthrough, it can be beaten in one sitting. For a 60 USD game this is ridiculous! I beat this game in a really short amount of time, and only have a reasonable play time due to Dynamax raids.

    The pokedex removal. This was a stupid excuse. If all the pokemon were given new models, I'd accept it, but they still literally walk animation to turn around, they still don't even following you, they are exactly the same models, just smoothed and updated to fit on the Switch! Still unnacceptable.

    The lack of difficulty.
    The laziness involved with creation - it feels extremely unfinished.
    There's no real character development.
    This game feels *super* unfinished! Horrendously so.
    It takes longer for me to beat Pokemon Let's Go!, and probably even Pokemon Red, which only takes me about 5 hours and 40 minutes to beat. This game is a shameful display of what Pokemon is doing, and as a long time fan, who buys multiple copies of each game that comes out for competitive reasons, I put my foot down.

    You get no more money from me, Game Freak. Pokemon Sword and Shield is by far the biggest disappointment ever created for it's time, and is unreasonably priced.

    Continue to play Pokemon Sun, and Moon, or Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon. It is a much better game.
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  24. Nov 18, 2019
    8
    Llevo 2/3 de la aventura del juego y me esta gustando, por lo menos mas que Sol y Luna. El apartado gráfico esta muy bien (Menos en la zona silvestre) y el diseño de los Pokemon es por mucho, bastante mejor que la generación anterior.
    Espero que hagan algunas actualizaciones del juego para mejorar la calidad del mismo.
  25. Nov 18, 2019
    0
    If I could I would score a 0 for these games.

    -GameFreak lied about the models and cut 400 odd Pokemon for it.
    -Wild area is very lazily done and very bad graphically
    -Games feel very empty in design and in length
    -Almost no post game
    -No mega evolution or Z moves.

    Overall I could write forever on why these games are bad but this should scratch the surface.
  26. Nov 18, 2019
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Finished the whole game in 16 hours. Story was very bland and boring, with no villain until the last hour of the story that was completely obvious and really sucked. 2 legendaries after last gen had a lot of great ones. Of course there's Dexit, which I personally didn't care much about, but it's still worth mentioning. The online is godawful even for Nintendo standards. Characters were handholdy and bland the whole game through, with only Marnie being somewhat interesting. Wild area is neat, but the ever present lag just sucks the fun out of it. Dynamaxing is a dumb mechanic, and Gigantimaxing is even dumber, the Corviknight that I raised from a Rookiedee CAN'T gigantimax because reasons, I have to catch a specific one from a raid battle, what happened to bonding with Pokemon?? Only good thing i can really was is that the music was great as usual.

    Overall, very bland, short and incredibly disappointing. Stop pushing a Pokemon game out every year, it is killing this once great franchise.
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  27. Nov 18, 2019
    5
    The Good:
    - Some move animations are well done, such as Brave Bird, Boom Burst, and all G-max moves
    - The Wild Area gives a feeling of adventure and challenge - The human models look well done and there is a significant amount of customization for the player model The Meh - The majority of the new Pokemon designs don't seem very 'Pokemon-like' - Most of the music doesn't have the
    The Good:
    - Some move animations are well done, such as Brave Bird, Boom Burst, and all G-max moves
    - The Wild Area gives a feeling of adventure and challenge
    - The human models look well done and there is a significant amount of customization for the player model

    The Meh
    - The majority of the new Pokemon designs don't seem very 'Pokemon-like'
    - Most of the music doesn't have the same memorable feel like prior Pokemon games
    - There is little, to no, improvement in Pokemon animations for Gen 1-7 Pokemon

    The Bad
    - There is no National Dex
    - The story, and some parts of the game, seem rushed and incomplete
    - The post-game is weak or non-existent

    Conclusion:
    Despite some improvements, overall, Pokemon Sword and Shield failed to live up to the expectations of a mainline game on the Nintendo Switch. If it were a 3DS game, it would be considered an improvement over the main lines series. But because it is on the Switch, it will be compared with, arguably unfairly, with other Nintendo titles such as Zelda: BOTW and Mario Odyssey. In that comparison, it simply falls flat.
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  28. Nov 18, 2019
    0
    Hilarious. The rating matches the percentage of Pokémon left in the game. RIP
  29. Nov 18, 2019
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Terrible game. Garbage battle animation.. why are we still swiping at the air and not at Pokémon.. garbage dynamax dynamic. Within the first hour I saw 3 reused character models.. game is pretty much on roller coaster tracks.. when are we getting a real Pokémon game. Huge disappointment. Don’t get me started on all the retarded looking new Pokémon and names. Red and blue is the best Expand
  30. Nov 18, 2019
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Tl;Dr: On their own, Sword and Shield aren't bad games. In the context of the other Pokemon games, however, they feel a bit hollow. They feel more like foundations for the future of Pokemon rather than true next-gen Pokemon games.

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

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

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

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

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

    Lots of QoL features added, but also too many taken away for my liking.
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Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 87 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 66 out of 87
  2. 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. 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.
  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]