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. Faildedrum
    Nov 17, 2019
    8
    Para mi, hasta lo que llevo jugado, es un juego de Pokémon que no se merezca las notas tan negativas que está recibiendo. La comunidad de Pokémon es demasiado tóxica. Este juego recupera cierto nivel de dificultad que se había perdido en entregas anteriores desde X Y. Para tener un competitivo “saludable” y equilibrado, veo normal que no estén incluidos todos los Pokémon, además de lo quePara mi, hasta lo que llevo jugado, es un juego de Pokémon que no se merezca las notas tan negativas que está recibiendo. La comunidad de Pokémon es demasiado tóxica. Este juego recupera cierto nivel de dificultad que se había perdido en entregas anteriores desde X Y. Para tener un competitivo “saludable” y equilibrado, veo normal que no estén incluidos todos los Pokémon, además de lo que supondría crear animaciones para todos y que después cupiese en el juego para que todo funcione fluido. Yo a un juego de Pokémon tampoco le pido gráficos Fotorealistas, está claro que cuanto mejores sean, mejor la experiencia de juego, pero no los veo para nada malos. No se pueden juzgar los gráficos acorde a expectativas personales infundadas.… Expand
  2. andersonwide
    Nov 17, 2019
    0
    Never in my entire live, i imagine this, me giving rate 0 to a pokemon game ...

    Don't buy this crap
  3. Pandyman
    Nov 17, 2019
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. There are a few glaring issues with this game that I particularly have an issue with:

    1. With them hyping up the current champion throughout the story, he ends up handling most of the common problems you'd end up handling as the protagonist. While this kinda makes sense, it'd be nice if they occasionally had multiple problems of varying difficulty just to feel like you're doing more than bum rushing the gym challenge. This feels like the primary reason the story is so short, the current champion literally does everything.

    2. Camping and interacting with your pokemon could have been a lot more involved, as it is there isn't much reason to do it many times. As it is, it's kind of a bare bones feature.

    3. Customization options are plentiful in most areas, but the male character has so much less customization in the ways of hair and such. I kept paying 3000 pokedollars just to see if I'd unlock more hair styles, but the hair styles never came. A lot of the npc's walking around had styles i liked more than the in-game options.

    Overall though, the things people have issues with such as 400 pokemon, fewer moves, loss of mega evolutions, and the relative strength of dynamaxing weren't really a huge deal to me. Sure mega's were cool, but i actually like a feature that can empower any pokemon more as it can add power to any pokemon.

    Despite all these negatives, I still really enjoyed the game, the new pokemon were great, and I really enjoyed a lot of the npc's that i met throughout the game. My score is entirely subjective to how much fun I had personally, and I'm a simple person. I liked some of the small story road bumps and twists that felt a little different I also definitely plan on raiding more once i build up my friend's list.    … Expand
  4. Avery5283
    Nov 17, 2019
    7
    Pokemon Sword and Shield is a decent RPG, although slightly lack luster. The gameplay is as fun as it's always been and the new dynamax forms are just as charming as the mega forms and z moves of old. The graphics and animations are where the game is very rough around the edges. The textures can be muddy, and the battle animations can be very stiff. However, if you are going in to battlePokemon Sword and Shield is a decent RPG, although slightly lack luster. The gameplay is as fun as it's always been and the new dynamax forms are just as charming as the mega forms and z moves of old. The graphics and animations are where the game is very rough around the edges. The textures can be muddy, and the battle animations can be very stiff. However, if you are going in to battle pokemon and catch pokemon, you're going to have a decent time.… Expand
  5. poppinfresh
    Nov 17, 2019
    0
    Nintendo was just being lazy and pulling a fast one on the fans. Don't mess with the pokemon gang.
    Pros
    -Better UI
    -New Pokemon

    Cons
    -$60 for a $30 effort
    -Poor graphics for a switch title
    -Poor animations for a modern game
    -Limited Pokémon included
    -Uninspired environments
    -Short playthrough
    -Lack of post-game options
    -Excessive handholding
  6. kaijuking
    Nov 17, 2019
    8
    It's good overall I enjoyed the game but if I have one complaint I don't like that you can't shut off the exp share I accidentally overleveled my Pokemon in the beginning and it made it really easy to beat the first three gyms
  7. Hereforthefood
    Nov 17, 2019
    2
    I had high hopes for this game, but playing it was very uncomfortable. Pokemon are scaled incorrectly in battle (Pokemon Let's go had proper scaling),Pokemon still don't flap their wings, frame-rate issues and the draw distance is pitiful. Mega evolution was cut, the national dex was cut and several moves are no longer usable, shooting competitive players in the foot. The overall gameplayI had high hopes for this game, but playing it was very uncomfortable. Pokemon are scaled incorrectly in battle (Pokemon Let's go had proper scaling),Pokemon still don't flap their wings, frame-rate issues and the draw distance is pitiful. Mega evolution was cut, the national dex was cut and several moves are no longer usable, shooting competitive players in the foot. The overall gameplay itself would be fine if we hadn't had any better before. So many good ideas are present, but all fall short. When Pokemon Camp is more entertaining than the base game, you've definitely messed up. There's a large disconnect between Camping and battling, in Camp the Pokemon are very lively and show that they are alive. In battles, the Pokemon more resemble some sort of action figure. Other than the developers blatant lying about the game, there are a myriad of smaller details missing. Things like Pokemon producing a ripple effect in the water and team Yell being about as interesting as a sack of potatoes.
    This i not a game for dedicated fans, this is a game for people who came from Let's go. The Pokemon series has always been directed toward children, but has always been at least accessible to those who have been dedicated to the series.

    In summary: Players of Let's go and a new generation of kids will find this game acceptable, experienced players dedicated to the franchise shouldn't buy this, you will be disappointed.    … Expand
  8. Theflash2319
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Pokémon games used to so much heart and soul (no pun intended) put into them. They were full of life and to an extent depth where there were tons of secrets to discover within the game, throughout the main story and the post game. The replay ability was high and remakes made the game still feel fresh while retaining what made their original games outstanding. Graphics and animations arePokémon games used to so much heart and soul (no pun intended) put into them. They were full of life and to an extent depth where there were tons of secrets to discover within the game, throughout the main story and the post game. The replay ability was high and remakes made the game still feel fresh while retaining what made their original games outstanding. Graphics and animations are honestly excusable but lately game freaks philosophy of believing they shouldn’t add post game content or even lengthy main campaign due people having short attention spans/ wanting linear one and done games isn’t the right direction to be taking the series. Yes, a lot of younger kids play the games but a lot of younger kids played the originals when they released 20 years ago and they completed the game just fine. In today’s age it honestly should be a reason to increase the challenge and amount of content due to always being able to check a walk through or guide if a player is stuck. The national dex is also a huge disappointment and main turn off for the game as well. Very sad… Expand
  9. pennybazinga911
    Nov 17, 2019
    0
    And I thought the 3DS games were the worst in the series...

    You are paying $60 for... 8 hours of gameplay Frame drops NPC Flickering Boring battle gimmick, make your pokemon BIG. (what) Easy peasy lemon squeezy gameplay Majority of the pokedex cut (I'm not mad because my pokemon didn't get in... cause he did.) Short draw distance Low res textures Reused assets from a game    And I thought the 3DS games were the worst in the series...

    You are paying $60 for...
    8 hours of gameplay
    Frame drops
    NPC Flickering
    Boring battle gimmick, make your pokemon BIG. (what)
    Easy peasy lemon squeezy gameplay
    Majority of the pokedex cut (I'm not mad because my pokemon didn't get in... cause he did.)
    Short draw distance
    Low res textures
    Reused assets from a game that's nearly a decade old
    Time stopping ladders
    Save corruption
    Jesus christ is this a boring game

    Buy Gen V instead.    … Expand
  10. Ambimunch
    Nov 17, 2019
    3
    I'm a big Pokemon fan (bought every game since Ruby/Sapphire) and I noticed the slow deterioration of the Pokemon games' quality over the last 7-years. Each time these shortcomings would be tolerated by us, the fans, because having a new entry in our beloved franchise was reason enough to buy the games, start a new journey and go on an adventure. However, with the disaster that is Sw/Sh, iI'm a big Pokemon fan (bought every game since Ruby/Sapphire) and I noticed the slow deterioration of the Pokemon games' quality over the last 7-years. Each time these shortcomings would be tolerated by us, the fans, because having a new entry in our beloved franchise was reason enough to buy the games, start a new journey and go on an adventure. However, with the disaster that is Sw/Sh, i feel I cannot look past all the issues this time...

    The graphics are mediocre, some of the worst on the Switch compared to other 1st party games. Textures at times rival GameCube games, from 15 years ago. The animations and models are identical to the 3DS games, stiff and not expressive. There is a complete lack of voice acting for the games. The game is full of limitations, like non stop road blocks preventing you to progress without getting a mandatory tutorial forced on you, the inability to turn off exp share (making the game balance wack, you'll always be over-levelled making the game very easy), the post game is non existent, and the Pokemon themselves, the main reason to play the game - have been cut down by over 50% compared to the 3DS games. We can no longer import our collection from our older games, making all those years of collecting event pokemon/legendaries/perfectly trained pokemon/and shiny hunting pointless. What a disaster to have the 1st games on the Switch (nintendo's most powerful console to date) be worse than old DS games from 10+ years ago. Shame on you Game Freak. Never have i had less fun with Pokemon than with these games. If other "bad" entries in this series were "okay" or roughly 6/10, then Sw/Sh are half the games those are, and I cannot give them more than a 3/10. They're bad.    … Expand
  11. Zenol31
    Nov 17, 2019
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Estaba muy entusiasmado con este juego, pero resulta que es menos incluso los juegos 3DS y aún así que te costarán 20 euros adicionales, en comparación con las entregas anteriores de Pokémon...Sufre en gran medida de una historia torpe y de ritmo pobre que no le da suficiente tiempo para que su elenco brille y se desarrolle. La historia en sí misma está reutilizando muchas animaciones de la última entrega, aunque el juego comienza con fuerza, se siente apresurada y superficial hacia el final. Tan superficial como su historia es el mundo del juego, la región de Galar, que presenta solo 10 rutas, bastante cortas que tienen poca o ninguna exploración.El juego no cuenta con mazmorras tradicionales, y casi nunca tienen más de dos caminos de ramificación. La característica más anunciada del juego, Wild Area, es un desastre decepcionante que muestra la mayoría de los problemas técnicos, opciones de diseño de juego cuestionables y textos de baja resolución y velocidad de fotogramas inestable, junto con el mundo del juego estéril, que carece de detalles o contenido. Pero desafortunadamente, los problemas no terminan ahí. Se eliminaron más de 100 movimientos del juego, de pokedex deja fuera más del 50% de los Pokémon de generaciones pasadas, el postjuego es increíblemente decepcionante. El nuevo truco de esta generación, Dynamax, tiene un tema prometedor: luchas Pokémon gigantes inspirados en Kaiju, que, lamentablemente, no está a la altura. Los nuevos diseños y personajes de Pokémon son encantadores y creativos, pero no justifican una compra de 60 Euros… Expand
  12. DarkUA
    Nov 17, 2019
    8
    It's not perfect but it's fun, handheld mode looks much better than on the big screen TV. I have to admit it's easier to catch the Pokemon the first 4 hours than previous games I've played. The twist on it is fun too.
  13. Darkfruit64
    Nov 17, 2019
    1
    This game had huge ambition, but was executed terribly. The animations which were promised to be of a high quality, still consist primarily of hops and a model rotating on it's axis. (including turn animations) The draw distance and pop in of characters and Pokemon is horrendous and was very hard to overlook as it happens constantly. Even during battles! Considering this was the reason forThis game had huge ambition, but was executed terribly. The animations which were promised to be of a high quality, still consist primarily of hops and a model rotating on it's axis. (including turn animations) The draw distance and pop in of characters and Pokemon is horrendous and was very hard to overlook as it happens constantly. Even during battles! Considering this was the reason for numerous cuts in existing Pokemon and features it's inexcusable. I personally would not have minded the cuts if Pokemon actually attacked each other and didn't look like lifeless statues 80% of the time, but unfortunately this failed to come to fruition.

    The game is short and insanely easy. in earlier games each battle was intense and make or break after a long trek through a cave or forest, and it felt like there were actual stakes. in this game that's not a problem due to forced EXP share and being healed very frequently between battles, therefore rendering losing a battle something you'd probably have to go out of your way to achieve. This no doubt assisted in the game's incredibly short play time. The game also holds your hand and won't let it go.

    The world feels small, far smaller than prior entries. For a next gen console game this is very disappointing, as admittedly some of the areas and towns looked great until you immediately realise you can't access any of it. (In one town you can literally only enter the Pokemon centre)

    The Wild Area was bland and where the poor graphics and animations really took centre stage. This feature was fantastic in scope but like many other features, executed poorly.

    Dynamaxing/Gigantamaxing. Feels cool the first few times you do it but then the novelty swiftly wears off when you realise it's just another one off gimmick, which is far less impressive than what came prior.

    As a lifetime fan of the series I'm thoroughly upset and disappointed in what these games turned out to be. I wanted to believe it wasn't as bad as people had been saying and that I'd have a rewarding experience, however this sadly was not the case.

    I'm giving it a 1, which is more than fair in it's current state, as these games could have been true spectacles had gamefreak been allocated more time to work on them. The 1 point stems from the games UI, the new Pokemon designs/regional variants, the streamlined approach to assembling a competitive team and some of the backgrounds and environments and the music is still great.

    I'm hoping that features can be restored in future updates and patches, but due to the current stance that gamefreak have taken, I doubt this will come to pass.

    I hope others don't make the same mistake I did. I was guided along by nostalgia, and blind to the criticism, I assure you it's well founded and accurate. Do yourself a favour and play a past entry, you'll have a much better time.    … Expand
  14. whitenight2013
    Nov 17, 2019
    9
    I'm going to have to take a good look at replayability, but as of right now, this is my favorite Pokemon game. In some ways, this game is just like every other entry. Catch Pokemon, beat the gym leaders, rinse and repeat. The game has a similar art style to Sun and Moon, so the game is taking a more stylized aesthetic rather than anything groundbreaking. You can see some Pokemon appear inI'm going to have to take a good look at replayability, but as of right now, this is my favorite Pokemon game. In some ways, this game is just like every other entry. Catch Pokemon, beat the gym leaders, rinse and repeat. The game has a similar art style to Sun and Moon, so the game is taking a more stylized aesthetic rather than anything groundbreaking. You can see some Pokemon appear in the grass which can cause a little lag, but I've only ever had that happen once in a certain wide open area of the game. It is a little sad that since the Switch gave us fantastical new experiences with Zelda and Mario Odyssey that the same didn't happen with Pokemon, but holding that against this game is a little unfair. There's also no national dex in this game, but that's something that was going to happen eventually no matter what. Overall what this game did was give you a past Pokemon game and then improved on everything you could complain about that game.
    Grinding for instance. This game gave two huge changes for this by making the EXP share on no matter what and making it so that catching Pokemon gives you exp too. As a result, I never once had to stop and grind out any levels. I caught a Pokemon every time I ran into one I didn't have yet, and beat every trainer. Doing that my party stayed at about the same level as the gyms as I fought them. People complain about how short this game is, but I honestly think it's the same length as others without all the grinding bloating up your time. Now this does cause a problem because it means you don't want to search through the grass a lot. Most of the new Pokemon don't appear in the overworld; you have to get on your hands and knees and really look for them which you want to avoid for the most part or else risk leveling up your Pokemon too much and making the game too easy.
    The game also developed a real sports theme for the game, and I love it. Really brings some energy to the game, and it works thematically. Of course Pokemon battles would be this world's main sport. It also makes good sense for why you have to challenge the gyms in a certain order. Most importantly for me is the fact that it gives you actual tension with your rivals. You actually have a reason to compete against them because only one person can challenge the champion. In past games there was never a reason why you and your rivals couldn't challenge the elite four. They just didn't because you beat them. And as for the rivals, they tried making them a little more interesting. They gave your main rival an actual ark which was cool, and another one, Marnie, was an actually endearing character. I think she might be the first rival who wasn't annoying, hot-blooded, a jerk, or some combination of the three.
    The music is fantastic. Every Pokemon game I've played, I've usually played with the volume off. Each game had one ost song in the background I actually liked listening too, but this one went all out. I refuse to go against a gym in this game with the sound off. It has a nice beat to it, and really brings the blood-pumping. It's the same for towns, routes, and regular battles. Also, they finally got rid of the stupid bike music.
    Storywise, there is one. Pokemon has never been known for their great storytelling. Usually it amounts to, bad guy shows up a couple times, you beat them, finally you find their main base, beat them up, and catch a legendary. This game does change things up a bit, and I did enjoy the story, but it's not as enticing as say gen 5 and 7.
    Overall the thing about this Pokemon game is that it's fun, and you get what you put into it. If you purposely grind away levels or play the game as a more complicated game of rock, paper, scissors--then there's not much here for you. It's no longer a game where you can just kill time on without thinking about anything as you spend a couple of hours grinding out levels in preparation for that next gym leader. Whether this game is for you is all down to a question in my opinion. Are you the type of person who has your water Pokemon take down the fire gym on its own, or are you the type of person who sends out their electric Pokemon first to make things a little more interesting.    … Expand
  15. Kafkan
    Nov 17, 2019
    7
    A pesa de todo lo malo que se ha dicho del juego que me voy a ahorrar el repetirlo, es una obra maestra de pokemon? Está claro que no pero es un buen juego de pokemon? Para mi lo es con una base asentada de lo que puede llegar a ser esta saga en Nintendo Switch.
    Personalmente me lo estoy pasando como hace mucho que no me lo pasaba en un pokemon.
  16. Toutong
    Nov 17, 2019
    3
    The Pokemon franchise suffers the same problem as FIFA (verdict at the end).
    The core game will always be a good experience therefor you will ALWAYS have fun with the games and devs knows that therefor they go for the way that makes them the most money, aka releasing a game per year.
    Releasing a game per year comes at the cost of improvement, the problem does not come from Sw&Sh it    The Pokemon franchise suffers the same problem as FIFA (verdict at the end).
    The core game will always be a good experience therefor you will ALWAYS have fun with the games and devs knows that therefor they go for the way that makes them the most money, aka releasing a game per year.
    Releasing a game per year comes at the cost of improvement, the problem does not come from Sw&Sh it comes from every Pokemon games, why did it explode on that game? Because it's a switch to a new console therefor you expect those improvement the most at that moment.
    National dex controversy: It would be ok if they actually did why they said they removed it but they didn't.
    Animations: With a switch game that can handle a ton of things (perf wise) you'd hope for better animations, if an attack uses a Pokemon's feet it should be shown, not asking for a special animation for every move but like 5 standard animations + a few specific animations for iconic moves, I don't think that asking a lot.
    Game optimization: Considering the graphics of the game it should run at 60 fps constantly, it runs at 30 fps drops at 20 FPS in some places in the wild area while offline.
    Online: Complete mess, dropping to 10 fps constantly, some freezes, Nintendo makes people pay an extra for that, it should be way better than that.
    Graphics: Compared to other Switch games it's not up to the standard and it's absolutely should be compared to other Switch games on graphics that's completely fair, it's of course not the only thing that matters.
    Map: Way too linear design with only 10 roads in the game, the wild area is a nice addition but in reality with the capacity of the Switch the game should be a total open world not just one wild area and a smaller map.
    Post game content: Barely anything and what we have is not good, spamming dynamax raid fight at the end is not good content.
    Improvements over main title games: Wild area, Pokemon popups, Fixed some things for competitive.

    Verdict: If the game was the first Pokemon game ever created it would be a 7 or a 8 but it's not and should be judged based on the actual improvements especially at a generational change , the fact that there is not a lot of improvements and actually worse in a lot of things compared to older Pokemon games, it's a 3 for me.    … Expand
  17. Gfsucks
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Gf lied im not buying this game unless they update. Its a buggy overhyped mess and i hope it flops
  18. adversebeast
    Nov 17, 2019
    0
    Creo que este juego nunca va a evolucionar, así como Mario y Zelda se han reinventado siempre, Pokémon sigue siendo lo mismo cada juego, mecánica estática, tuve la primera game boy, jugué cada generación... que mal camino ha tomado esta franquicia. Pensaba que con el salto a consola grande el juego iba a mejorar, pero no, un juego fácil (cada generación mas fácil y aburrida), ni jugarCreo que este juego nunca va a evolucionar, así como Mario y Zelda se han reinventado siempre, Pokémon sigue siendo lo mismo cada juego, mecánica estática, tuve la primera game boy, jugué cada generación... que mal camino ha tomado esta franquicia. Pensaba que con el salto a consola grande el juego iba a mejorar, pero no, un juego fácil (cada generación mas fácil y aburrida), ni jugar nuzlocke es un desafio. Adiós, me voy a jugar Pokémon Esmeralda.… Expand
  19. Populus
    Nov 17, 2019
    10
    Gran salto a la sobremesa, excelente juego. Me lo estoy pasando en grande con este juego. Mi 10.
  20. Dg18reen
    Nov 17, 2019
    8
    Don't play a lot of Pokemon but this game looks good. I think u should give it a try.
  21. scoub
    Nov 17, 2019
    2
    This is the most linear game to date. There is zero room for exploration and no dungeons whatsoever. Aside from an optional area, every single route and town is a small hallway where all you have to do is press forward and the game essentially plays itself until you get interrupted by another cutscene.
    The graphics are also extremely subpar compared to other Switch games. It looks like it    This is the most linear game to date. There is zero room for exploration and no dungeons whatsoever. Aside from an optional area, every single route and town is a small hallway where all you have to do is press forward and the game essentially plays itself until you get interrupted by another cutscene.
    The graphics are also extremely subpar compared to other Switch games. It looks like it was directly ported from the 3DS and most parts of the game look rough or straight up unfinished.
    Do not play this game. It's not worth your time.    … Expand
  22. yumguy
    Nov 17, 2019
    1
    -Pokemon and moves cut -Uneventful, barren routes and landscapes
    -Cities with little to nothing to do, corridors with doors you can’t go in
    -Barren backgrounds during battles (in some areas) -Little to no rewards for exploration -Little to no postgame content -Poor, low quality animation. Everything freezes when you are on ladders. Turning animations do not exist -Poor loading and    -Pokemon and moves cut -Uneventful, barren routes and landscapes
    -Cities with little to nothing to do, corridors with doors you can’t go in
    -Barren backgrounds during battles (in some areas)
    -Little to no rewards for exploration
    -Little to no postgame content
    -Poor, low quality animation. Everything freezes when you are on ladders. Turning animations do not exist
    -Poor loading and rendering of the world. Trees and people (and wild Pokemon that can jump at you) appear and disappear as you run through
    -Linear and handheld story for what little story actually exists
    -Restricted gameplay. Cannot catch wild Pokemon a higher level than you. Cannot catch wild Pokemon that require the next gym badge. EXP share cannot be turned off. These are literal blocks to how you can enjoy the game -Small bugs
    -Game breaking bugs. One due to a specific format in the SD card, which can corrupt other files

    After a year of no new Pokemon games, some may find this fun to play through. In a way, it still is. But finish it (with an incredibly low 15 hour mark to complete it) and you will see just how little the game has to offer. No replay value. No love. There are 9 designs total of the Pokemon that I like. About 2 characters that I like. The medieval theme is always interesting to me. Shame it’s in such a bad game.

    This is a review from watching my friends and videos online. I refuse to support Gamefreak for this and so should you. If it gets the same sales as other games, it will just let Gamefreak confirm that they no longer have to put effort into their games.    … Expand
  23. yukidalemania
    Nov 17, 2019
    5
    Impresionante. Gráficos y diseños preciosos. Una evolución a la altura que como fan de la saga te llena de emoción.
  24. MQ116
    Nov 17, 2019
    0
    Cutting the National Dex, so that they could completely remake new models, was a disappointment already. When it turns out that it was all a lie anyway, we are left with bad/reused animations, absolutely identical models, and distrust in a developer who has consistently been lazy and unimaginative for years. That alone, the lie about the models, is enough for me to rate this game asCutting the National Dex, so that they could completely remake new models, was a disappointment already. When it turns out that it was all a lie anyway, we are left with bad/reused animations, absolutely identical models, and distrust in a developer who has consistently been lazy and unimaginative for years. That alone, the lie about the models, is enough for me to rate this game as terribly as I can.
    However, the one thing that I will say about this game in the positive side is that if they hadn't lied, I would've been content with it as it is. The Wild Area is fresh, tho definitely feels buggy and could've looked MUCH better. Online features are so far incredibly limited and also buggy. This game plays like every other pokemon game does, so it's base gameplay is still decent, but for the move to Switch absolutely nothing is improved from previous titles.
    This game is ridiculously easy so far, in that the forced EXP share makes all of your pokemon almost ten lvls higher than any trainer you face, and you will constantly get free items and healed. This would be fine, as SW/SH are supposed to be accessible to the people who played Let's GO and mix traditional gameplay with that, except that this was marketed as a game for longtime fans.

    All in all, if you truly love pokemon, it still plays well, but it is hardly a step forward in any way. I truly hope pokemon games will be given to a competent team who actually care (cuz gamefreak seems to care more about Town, which I think we should boycott). This isn't Nintendo's fault, it is Gamefreak for lying and consistently cutting corners, and I am now sick of it. Animating every single Pokémon for every single move would be possible, but we aren't even asking for that, we are asking for mediocre animations, reused models (that were future-proofed? Why lie?), and more than 48% of the pokemon to be included. There is no story btw, just Gyms and a terrible, boring "rival."    … Expand
  25. Nerusomen
    Nov 17, 2019
    3
    Habiendo comprado las entregas de ultra luna y el mismo juego de luna, entre ambos cultivé un total de casi 500 horas de juego, este juego me parece una copia por casi todos los lados (exceptuando la historia, añadido de pojemon y actividades cortas) en general es aburrido ver las mismas animaciones desde X&Y y de paso una calidad de gráficos no muy buena llevados de la mano de unaHabiendo comprado las entregas de ultra luna y el mismo juego de luna, entre ambos cultivé un total de casi 500 horas de juego, este juego me parece una copia por casi todos los lados (exceptuando la historia, añadido de pojemon y actividades cortas) en general es aburrido ver las mismas animaciones desde X&Y y de paso una calidad de gráficos no muy buena llevados de la mano de una historia y juego muy cortos, este juego no vale 60 dolares.… Expand
  26. ji-0
    Nov 17, 2019
    0
    Delete the most terrible this life story, Pokemon 60 percent compared to a hell of a quality such as graphics and motion, and even motion by a rehash. Pokémon and things that appears unnatural, a terrible design of the new Pokemon.
  27. Suspect_Danny
    Nov 17, 2019
    8
    Quite good, no where near as bad as most of the reviews suggest. Still fun to play and can be a real time sink
  28. DaveyJones2142
    Nov 17, 2019
    4
    Pokemon Sword is not a bad game. There are great moments within the game, and some parts can be very fun. However, the main attraction of the game, catching and battling with Pokemon, is severely lacking in terms of difficulty and aesthetic. The game is laughably easy. I was able to beat the entire game with little struggle, often being several levels above my rival and gym leaders. IPokemon Sword is not a bad game. There are great moments within the game, and some parts can be very fun. However, the main attraction of the game, catching and battling with Pokemon, is severely lacking in terms of difficulty and aesthetic. The game is laughably easy. I was able to beat the entire game with little struggle, often being several levels above my rival and gym leaders. I often rarely used multiple Pokemon, only using them in main battles (gym leaders and such) because they leveled automatically due to the automatic exp share. As a game supposedly designed for long-time fans (of which I count myself as one), this game does not live up to what I came to expect. The animations were extremely disappointing. While the Pokemon themselves were very nice to look at and had very nice shading, the attack and battle animations felt very familiar after playing the 3D games. There were rarely any actual animations, with most moves either being a physical attack animation, a special attack animation, or, to my disappointment, a simple turning of the model accompanied by a paltry move effect. This already felt stale in XY and Sun and Moon, and I had hoped a game on the Switch would be more expressive, especially on such a crucial and major part of the game. The main gimmick, Dynamaxing, is fair enough on its own merits, and it is very entertaining and adds a great effect to the battle. However, when comparing this to Z-moves, and especially Mega-evolution, it seems lacking, especially when most of the Dynamaxing is simply a Pokemon becoming larger than usual. The writing is still sub-par, unsurprising, yet the story became somehow worse than previous titles. Since XY, the main story has became somewhat... odd, but not lacking. All in all, the games were not designed from the ground up to be on the Switch, and would seem much more at home on the 3DS. Framerate issues and simply awful PR by Game Freak has left an extremely bad taste in my mouth, and despite what good moments the game had it is simply not up to standards with what a Pokemon game should, and could, be.… Expand
  29. Captain_Zoots
    Nov 17, 2019
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'm playing a mainline Pokemon game on my TV, wow! While I'm playing my single player game side by side with my gf playing sword an icon pops up. I jump into a raid battle real quick. Then go immediately back to what I was doing in the single player story. Amazing!!… Expand
  30. IndyGameFan
    Nov 17, 2019
    5
    I felt really let down by this game. This is a really expensive (and highly anticipated) title, and I'm left wondering if I should just trade it in.
    Not sure where exactly pokemon started to go off the rails, but this one is not worth the money. Maybe buy it used or something.
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 87 Critic Reviews

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