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
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. EvilDAC
    Nov 16, 2019
    8
    Me a encantado, es una nueva experiencia de Pokémon en Switch, hubieron varios recortes y es porque GF es una compañía pequeña y conservadora que siempre se mantuvo en portátiles, pueden hacer más pero necesitan evolucionar, es un paso acertado por ahora pero no aceptado para futuras entregas
  2. Marcocritix
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    Those are not pokemon, they some weird monsters, the design is terrible if compared to the previus games. The story is lazy, the enemies are too easy. Just a bad game and lazy studio.
  3. Nikolaisut
    Nov 16, 2019
    10
    El juego es genial, lo mejor que he visto de Pokémon hasta ahora, Gracias Gane Freak!
  4. BenzSLR722
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    Game is trash. Seriously... $60 with no National Dex, Mega Evolution, Z moves, and most good features from previous Pokemon games. Now I know all the Development funds went to Game reviews
  5. chaispaquichui
    Nov 16, 2019
    5
    Épée et bouclier n'est que l'ombre de ce qu'aurait du être pokémon sur switch... Le scénario est médiocre (même pour du pokémon), plus de la moitié des pokémon sont absents, les méga-evolutions ont disparu et les graphismes sont passables. Un jeu sans ambition qui annonce un futur bien sombre pour les prochaines versions...
  6. The_Wildchild
    Nov 16, 2019
    1
    This game is horrible. Starting at the visuals, bugs and glitches everywhere. There is a savebug that possibly can ruin your entire save stat. Then, the lack of Pokemon. It's bad, it's really bad. Also the lack of difficulty, I mean, okay, Pokemon was never "difficult" but you were at least able to make it difficult yourself with things like turning off the EXP share do so called "Lockes".This game is horrible. Starting at the visuals, bugs and glitches everywhere. There is a savebug that possibly can ruin your entire save stat. Then, the lack of Pokemon. It's bad, it's really bad. Also the lack of difficulty, I mean, okay, Pokemon was never "difficult" but you were at least able to make it difficult yourself with things like turning off the EXP share do so called "Lockes". But since the EXP share is forceably always on, you can't even do that any longer. This game is a **** show and the Devs lied and lied and lied over and over again.… Expand
  7. ZeroArmada
    Nov 16, 2019
    4
    The worst game in the series. I just cannot recommend anyone to buy this game at full price. As a genuine Pokémon fan I still cought myself genuinely enjoying the game, simply because it's Pokémon. However by the time it was over, I was left sad about what it could have been. Since 3D graphics the regions have progressively become shallower and emptier. The illusion of a big region isThe worst game in the series. I just cannot recommend anyone to buy this game at full price. As a genuine Pokémon fan I still cought myself genuinely enjoying the game, simply because it's Pokémon. However by the time it was over, I was left sad about what it could have been. Since 3D graphics the regions have progressively become shallower and emptier. The illusion of a big region is there, however you can't actually properly explore any of it. The fact they put a lot of effort into the new dynamaxing system actually makes me sadder, because aparrently a completely new uneccesary mechanic was higher on the priority list then polishing the overall game, and this while they already had a completely fine mechanic called mega evolution that they just decided to drop. The new trainer customization options are really nice, yet for the truly important battles you're forced into this incredibly ugly football uniform, for just no reason. On top of it all for the firt time in the series I hated every starter design so much I just decided to release my starter at the beginning, and just picked another Pokémon instead. This is on top of all the glaring issues that have already been pointed out by many others. For the first time ever I had a Pokémon game randomly crash on me. Gamefreak just seems incapable of taking steps forward in one area without taking several steps backwards in another. To top it all off, this is the most expensive Pokémon game released to date. With nothing to justify the increased price tag, there is just no way I can recommend this game to anyone at full price. I just hope the amount of negativity and backlash will serve to finally wake gamefreak up.… Expand
  8. Davshunter
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    Why accept a game like this? Pokemon isn't a indie company that should have a pass, this game is everything that is wrong with the game market and it's sad to see such a great franchise fall from grace like this.
  9. Divariomario
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    Very poor game, all the issues seen in the trailers are real and even worse of possibile. 60 bucks thrown in the bin
  10. SirEpicPigeon
    Nov 16, 2019
    6
    Played a couple of hours. I am enjoying the game but man, it has some problems:

    - It feels like an upscaled 3DS game, including the framedrops. Try walking in the wild area when connected to the internet, it will dip a lot. - Trading with friends still uses the old code system from lets go (we have a friends list, use it). I connected to other people with the same code several    Played a couple of hours. I am enjoying the game but man, it has some problems:

    - It feels like an upscaled 3DS game, including the framedrops. Try walking in the wild area when connected to the internet, it will dip a lot.

    - Trading with friends still uses the old code system from lets go (we have a friends list, use it). I connected to other people with the same code several times..

    - It feels like spending time in the wild area will make you overleveled but I still have to see for myself.

    - Beginning was boring to me, but that is a gripe I have with every Pokemon game

    - A lot of pop in, including "online players" because I'm pretty sure the trainers you see aren't real trainers walking around.

    Positives:

    - I LOVE the new Pokemon designs are super cute and awesome.

    - Music is great and energetic.

    - Wild area, while visually unimpressive, is awesome with all of the pokemon wandering around and sometimes chasing you

    Overal enjoying my purchase but could have been so much more. The game should not have been 60 imo. Does the game deserve all of the hate it gets? I think so, because #GameFreakLied is a thing. It does not deserve the current 3.7 userscore but it does deserve some criticism to serve as a wake up call for GameFreak and Nintendo. What is there is fun but the game could have been so much more sadly enough. 6/10 for me, might change my review after beating the game.    … Expand
  11. CaptainCrack1
    Nov 16, 2019
    1
    It's a downgrade from every other mainline pokemon game. Terrible mechanics, very laggy and rushed. Lazy design and not worth 60$. Some pokemon design are cool, thats the only positive.
  12. Gamelegend98
    Nov 16, 2019
    8
    Expected more of gamefreak, this game had the potential to be the best. Graphics and pop ins doesn’t really bother me. The only problem I have is there is little content compared to for example Pokémon heart gold and soul silver
  13. near4422
    Nov 16, 2019
    9
    Even though I have only 12 hours spent with the game I need to say this - I am amazed! And I am so sure the rest of the game is going to be as good or even better than what I saw earlier. Of course game has it's flaws, like everything but In my honest opinion (as a all time big fan of Pokemon who played every single main core game and many side games) this game is a wonder. It repairsEven though I have only 12 hours spent with the game I need to say this - I am amazed! And I am so sure the rest of the game is going to be as good or even better than what I saw earlier. Of course game has it's flaws, like everything but In my honest opinion (as a all time big fan of Pokemon who played every single main core game and many side games) this game is a wonder. It repairs dozens of little issues that the games before had. It is beautiful, the UI is so clean, it contains so many cutscenes, characters have many face impressions and it looks so living and cheering. Never before the world of pokemon was so consistent - there is a reason why those people stay in Gyms for example. Now, I was a little bit nervous when I acknowledged that hundreds of Pokemon are being cut off the game. I'd say I was a little upset at first. But then I realised I just love Pokemon and that should not be a problem to any fan. It gives us oppurtunity to try some new mons in our playthroughs. It allows to balance the meta much more than ever before (who tried to battle in USUM will notice that there aren't like few pokemon that can only be used in order to win fights). There is much easier way now to even prepare such pokemon for competitive purposes. At this point i am not mad at GameFreak for cutting off such many Pokemon. I am sure that those Pokemon will make their return in next games. If it comes to the cons of the game.. well there are few. For example the game drops FPS very frequently - even on every trainer who approaches us on a route. Not even talking about Wild Area on which the game gets down to like 10 FPS sometimes.. it's ridicolous and not pleasing at all. The online features are not polished as they should be. The lag is very sensible and anoying when playing together in a Wild Area. Also the functionality to join some random Raid battles did not work even once for me (I always hosted raids because of that). Speaking of raids - they are far to easy. I expected them to be a challenge but for now I don't even feel like doing so. They are boring. I can solo raids from 1 star to even 3 star no problem and it's not even rewarding. Most of the pokemon found in raids can be caught or trained up in a normal way. The game overall is a bit easy. There is a NPC who heals your pokemon everywhere, before the cave, after reaching the end of cave, inside the cave. There is almost no reason to carry potions. The Pokemon reach lvls pretty fast and if you're consistent you're going to outlvl your opponents really fast. Just because of that i quickly started to play with two parties of pokemon (other reason being that i wanted to play with so many pokemon i couldn't decide which to take with me) and once certain pokemon reached enough lvl to be a little bit above average i switched to the others - this way the game kept being pretty balanced and challenging at times. Also the Dynemaxing seems to be a little slippery. It looks good, animations are brilliant and I love the idea that pokemon can reach such size only in certain situations - it remains fresh and cool. But the damage of Dynemaxed pokemon seems to be so high it's insane. I can like one-hit KO a raid boss or Gym leader's strongest pokemon with Dynemaxing.
    To sum things up - I don't think we have ever had such good main series Pokemon game. This game is a wonder and can be a good place to start a new era of pokemon games on a better and stronger device which a Switch obviously is. The company tries to improve things and I think they are going great. If you consider yourself being a longtime true fan of Pokemon you cannot miss this game.    … Expand
  14. MrKiwaVGC
    Nov 16, 2019
    7
    This version of Pokemon is only fun by the Pokemon formula, if it weren't for that, it would go unnoticed by people. Although it should also be mentioned that the game has enough mechanics without risking anything because they are improvements of old mechanics but well implemented to be very enjoyed. The graphics are better than what they showed in the reviews, but the technical problemsThis version of Pokemon is only fun by the Pokemon formula, if it weren't for that, it would go unnoticed by people. Although it should also be mentioned that the game has enough mechanics without risking anything because they are improvements of old mechanics but well implemented to be very enjoyed. The graphics are better than what they showed in the reviews, but the technical problems are there. The gameplay is the same as always, there is nothing to highlight. The music, is the always classic Pokemon's music but with the regional arrangements. They miss many game mechanics and the Online game options are very complicated the first time (make a raid with friends isnt intuitive). The story and characters, this is the best and the worst, the good thing is that the game has many new and very good characters, your rival are again Hau and Silvio, these characters, and other more, help you develop a story, although it is not at all Interesting, it does the function. The trouble is that all people are Lillie to make your life impossible and stop for a conversation every 5 steps, because the game is a rail progression game, you can only go where they let you go, as in previous installments, it is something that happens a lot, before going you will have to watch a long conversation or cinematics. The difficulty ... It's very easy, in my case I am playing the Let's GO style game, I only capture the wild Pokemon that I have not seen (although I have captured several times for their ability, for the first Gym you would have already passed for the wild area and that's why I had already completed 1 and a half boxes) and I have faced all those who challenge me, the first Gym has its strongest Pokemon at Level 20 and my strongest Pokemon at level 22.… Expand
  15. Derrisa
    Nov 16, 2019
    5
    As always (I’ve always been a devoted fan of the pkmn games since I was a little girl) I’ve purchased the game. Maybe not so eager this time due to the dexit and all (it was really sad for me but I suppose it was so for a lot of people. But I guess this I can forgive... I guess). There’s one thing I cannot forgive and it’s the duration, the length (pardon my English, since it’s not myAs always (I’ve always been a devoted fan of the pkmn games since I was a little girl) I’ve purchased the game. Maybe not so eager this time due to the dexit and all (it was really sad for me but I suppose it was so for a lot of people. But I guess this I can forgive... I guess). There’s one thing I cannot forgive and it’s the duration, the length (pardon my English, since it’s not my first language...) of the game. They should be ashamed. Never has been a Pokémon game this short. I’m serious you can check in sites such as howlongtobeat and compare these to the other. To ALL the other. To say the difference is huge is not to say enough. Graphics and spirit remains cute but as I said, the problem with the duration of the game (along with the lack of more content) is almost unforgivable.… Expand
  16. Just_Critical
    Nov 16, 2019
    4
    the game wasn't as bad as I had expected but the lack of care, time, love and design just gives the game this horrid feeling of "I don't give a **** the only thing that I would say is worthy for a place in Pokémon is the wild area. looking back at Pokémon's history you can prove the fact that they really don't care coz gold and silver for a Gameboy was made in the same amount of timethe game wasn't as bad as I had expected but the lack of care, time, love and design just gives the game this horrid feeling of "I don't give a **** the only thing that I would say is worthy for a place in Pokémon is the wild area. looking back at Pokémon's history you can prove the fact that they really don't care coz gold and silver for a Gameboy was made in the same amount of time looked better for what it was on and only four people made it fitting two regions in it, roaming legendries, a story, shinies for every Pokémon plus the old colours, 12 gyms and more this game is a disappointment and I hate to say it but this game needs to be taken off the shelfs and remade… Expand
  17. Death_ball13
    Nov 16, 2019
    10
    Absolutely love the open world mix between old and new school Pokémon the game mechanics and handling are amazing this has made me fall back in love with Pokémon after the fault of ultra sun and moon. Graphics are great love the camping and the raids as well have been playing this since release hope they keep making the games just like this
  18. mvsmax
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    need remove the multi exp thx, add other pokemon too, it need to be much better
  19. Miniiii
    Nov 16, 2019
    3
    I had very high expectations for Pokémon sword/shield but all what I saw was pure disappointment let me list you the things I hated
    1-no national dex (obviously)
    2-re-used models and animations (and they are really bad) 3-why the hell is the graphics isn’t like botw or even better? You can’t tell me to except bad graphics when they literally have Billions and time no one cares about the    I had very high expectations for Pokémon sword/shield but all what I saw was pure disappointment let me list you the things I hated
    1-no national dex (obviously)
    2-re-used models and animations (and they are really bad)
    3-why the hell is the graphics isn’t like botw or even better? You can’t tell me to except bad graphics when they literally have Billions and time no one cares about the anime you could just delay the game and The anime it is really not that hard
    4-glitches and other stupid thing like the world freezes when you cilmb a ladder 5-why there isn’t any type of voice acting? Or something like Botw?
    6-charizard is cool but that doesn’t mean he must be the champion’s ace and the only starter in the game...
    7-Hop is a worse version of hau he even have the same animations!
    8- The game. Is. So. Easy. Like why is the Exp share always active? And there is no way of turning it off!    … Expand
  20. GatHalo117
    Nov 16, 2019
    7
    Look, I first entered the franchise when platinum came out, and I was excited because I wanted to see what Pokemon had in store as a game. It felt magical especially when I didn’t know all the Pokémon and that there were other Pokemon that I didn’t know that existed. Watching this game on YouTube with that mindset, it’s one of the most stunning of the series but not perfect. I played thisLook, I first entered the franchise when platinum came out, and I was excited because I wanted to see what Pokemon had in store as a game. It felt magical especially when I didn’t know all the Pokémon and that there were other Pokemon that I didn’t know that existed. Watching this game on YouTube with that mindset, it’s one of the most stunning of the series but not perfect. I played this game as a shiny hunter I was bit bummed when I couldn’t bring my Pokémon to the game, but I realized something. Yeah Pokemon games now might not be the same as I remembered as a kid but it’s because they are making a game for new kids to feel the same magic I did as a kid but from a new era. I know I can still love Pokemon at my age but as a passionate fan, I felt that my time ended in the sun and moon era not because of the games themselves but it’s just the natural change that is part of life. I’m happy with my memories and I think (very very) newcomers will feel the same with this game that I once had.… Expand
  21. george066
    Nov 16, 2019
    1
    The game is very short and the post game is a joke. Why can't they do a good post game like in Emerald? We haven't had good post game content since then.
  22. oinutrewas
    Nov 16, 2019
    1
    This is NOT accettable in 2019
    It's the biggest franchise in the world but still we can't get a proper game.

    GF and Nintendo are clearly pointing to the wrong audience with these games, they need to realize that in 2019 most of the people who buys Pokemon are over 18 years old.

    STOP MAKING KIDS GAME
  23. PinguReviews
    Nov 16, 2019
    3
    Expected a ton more from a console Pokemon game. It kicks off with a intro that is alright in animations but kind of jarring with the overall presentation because of the lack of voice acting. I believe the Pokemon phone games now have voice acting so why doesn't this? Continuing on, it's basically what you expect from a handheld Pokemon game. There's a lot of hand holding still and onExpected a ton more from a console Pokemon game. It kicks off with a intro that is alright in animations but kind of jarring with the overall presentation because of the lack of voice acting. I believe the Pokemon phone games now have voice acting so why doesn't this? Continuing on, it's basically what you expect from a handheld Pokemon game. There's a lot of hand holding still and on rails story gameplay. The new Pokemon designs seem good so far. Story seems okay I guess. Nothing special. The game really isn't anything new and is more of the same which is greatly disappointing after playing other Switch titles like BOTW and Mario Odyssey. My excitement of playing this game is the same as revisiting older titles honestly. I am not really happy with the $60 price tag when it should AT LEAST be priced at a DS game. Also I have heard they cut Pokemon and Pokemon moves out of the game.

    I'm going to give it a 3 for lack of innovation and not using anywhere near the Switches potential. This isn't the time to release a DS quality game onto a home console (or ever, unless it's a port). The game is just okay otherwise if you want a handheld Pokemon game that plays the same. Maybe a 5 but I know The Pokemon Company could do better and decided to rush this so I think it deserves a 3.    … Expand
  24. SYWNK
    Nov 16, 2019
    9
    As someone who is a played a fair amount of Pokemon Sword so far and someone who enjoys almost every Pokemon game, I think this game is very good.

    No, I do not think this game is perfect or think its necessarily the best Pokemon game but I do think it is a very solid, nearly great Pokemon game. Pokemon Sword (and likely Pokemon Shield), are in every way, new entrees into the Pokemon    As someone who is a played a fair amount of Pokemon Sword so far and someone who enjoys almost every Pokemon game, I think this game is very good.

    No, I do not think this game is perfect or think its necessarily the best Pokemon game but I do think it is a very solid, nearly great Pokemon game.

    Pokemon Sword (and likely Pokemon Shield), are in every way, new entrees into the Pokemon formula. They perfectly encapsulate everything Pokemon so far - with intriguing new Pokemon, a simple though the enjoyable and satisfying story and plot, interesting new simplifications and additions to the franchise and the overall perfect formation of the fight, catch, fight, improve gameplay loop.

    Also, many of the aesthetic features such as music and the overall character design are well polished and satisfying.

    The game appears to have its share of negatives though, such as a lackluster aftergame - haven't seen it yet however it's quite apparent and overly simplistic region and city structure. I am sure there are also a couple of nitpicks to be made with the story and graphics however both elements are not below average, just average.

    This game will definitely be seen negatively by a lot of people, specifically dedicated Nintendo and Pokemon fans. This is not because the games are bad, more since it doesn't live up to there ideals. A lot of Nintendo fans expect a complete revolution of the Pokemon games, similar to Breath of the Wild or Mario Odyssey, which is honestly a ridiculous notion. The Pokemon Company, particularly Gamefreak have repeatedly stated that the Pokemon Games are handheld games and will always be designed likely handheld games. They will likely always be slightly linear, it's just how they are designed and it is not a particularly bad thing. A lot of people enjoy linear games, not everything needs to be open world and expansive. In contrast, A lot of hardcore Pokemon fans likely desired a return to basics - they wanted a more difficult, less handhold-y and more complex Pokemon Game, similar to something from Gen 4 or 5. This was never going to happen, for better or worse. A substantial section of their audience desires simplicity and less complex features. They want to get it the competitive space without grinding and thinking. Along with these groups with their high expectations, Gamefreak also made multiple errors of judgment, which only mildly affect the actual gameplay experience. The lack of the National Dex and over 50% of the total pokemon's inclusion is quite an aggravating decision, but it would only affect specific circumstances and hardly affect anything but the post-game. I cannot see how much it impacts it since I have not made it that far but still is a potential negative.

    To add my personal perspective to the Gamefreak drama, I believe that the gaming websites misunderstood the reason for the lack of Pokemon inclusion as having to remake models, when what they really had to do was create the Pokemon textures and animations. I believe that from translating Japanese to English, they mistranslated that statement however, I cannot confirm this so take it with a grain of salt.    … Expand
  25. Ccey
    Nov 16, 2019
    10
    Best Pokemon game so far. Many thinks are improving,from saving to pc-box on the go .. love this game
  26. anstrbt
    Nov 16, 2019
    2
    TL;DR: Don't waste your money on an unfinished 3DS game.

    This game reeks of bad development and greed. I used to be able to bring my original Pokemon with me regardless of how weird or quirky they were, now it is a roulette spin to see if your Pokemon is included. If that wasn't bad, the animations in this game are unfinished. Instead of Eevee taking each paw and individually moving like    TL;DR: Don't waste your money on an unfinished 3DS game.

    This game reeks of bad development and greed. I used to be able to bring my original Pokemon with me regardless of how weird or quirky they were, now it is a roulette spin to see if your Pokemon is included. If that wasn't bad, the animations in this game are unfinished. Instead of Eevee taking each paw and individually moving like a normal four-legged in being would, It instead just literally turns around on a dime. But it isn't all bad, this game also has a couple redeeming properties. Those being the amount of detail and the textures and land environments. This has one of the best looking visuals of any 3DS Game. That's the thing though, the level and detail seem on par with a 3DS port, but nothing beyond that. It never really seems to take advantage of the Switch's hardware. Who is this game for, then? People who either care nothing about Pokemon, or people who are super fanboys.    … Expand
  27. Othello91
    Nov 16, 2019
    2
    Non ci siamo.
    Sempre la solita solfa ogni anno, speravo in un doppiaggio almeno in inglese dei personaggi ma niente. Siamo ormai nel 2020 e troviamo ancora pokemon senza un doppiaggio con le scritte su schermo e i png che muovono la bocca, sistema di combattimento uguale come nel 1990, gioco che non accenna a un minimo di sfida, troppo semplice almeno inserite una nuova modalita dove    Non ci siamo.
    Sempre la solita solfa ogni anno, speravo in un doppiaggio almeno in inglese dei personaggi ma niente. Siamo ormai nel 2020 e troviamo ancora pokemon senza un doppiaggio con le scritte su schermo e i png che muovono la bocca, sistema di combattimento uguale come nel 1990, gioco che non accenna a un minimo di sfida, troppo semplice almeno inserite una nuova modalita dove scegliere la difficolta per i veterani.    … Expand
  28. Rebolonhosa
    Nov 16, 2019
    3
    It's a cool game, but, not even close to XY. Wild Area has a lot of frame drops, the history is a bad one, all the cities are beautiful, but very hollow with not so much to do, not have the national dex, the online is terrible to play with friends, has a bug that crashes your sd card, you cant deactivate the xp share, a lot of bad pokemon design, removed moves. Besides that, it's a cool game
  29. Ctarblu
    Nov 16, 2019
    3
    To all you people who enjoy the game: I'm glad that you didn't waste your money and now having fun with smth you like.

    With that out of the way let's talk about SwSh. I want you to abstract from mons and think about this game as a game not a franchise. So what is it? It is an extremely easy game with little to no gameplay. When you are not battling you have to walk a narrow paths.    To all you people who enjoy the game: I'm glad that you didn't waste your money and now having fun with smth you like.

    With that out of the way let's talk about SwSh. I want you to abstract from mons and think about this game as a game not a franchise.
    So what is it? It is an extremely easy game with little to no gameplay. When you are not battling you have to walk a narrow paths. Sometimes there are side ways with some useful items or NPCs but mostly there aren't. Wild area is hollow with pretty much nothing to do in it. When you are in the battle all you have to do is throw the strongest attack to one shot pretty much all your enemies. That makes encounters time wasting grinding. Games can't be entertaining if there's no challenge to them at all.
    What else is it? It is the game with pretty much no story to it. Each and every time stories in Pokemon games are pretty much the same. It doesn't mean it's bad. It just doesn't really evolve into anything. Imagine if TLoZ would repeat A Link To The Past story in every game with some tweaks here and there. It would be just boring. Same as Pokemon games right now.
    Graphics are not good as well. I'm mostly fine with GF reusing models from previous games. I don't care as long as Pokemon themselves does look good. The problem is everything else. Backgrounds are generally bad. Some textures look like they came from PSX/N64 era (hello trees and ground textures). Animations looks like they are from 2001. Ridiculous pop-ins.
    And these are not all the problems. We also have Dexit, lack of post game, moves cut, lies about animations, lies about models, lies about national dex to Japanese fan base, lack of voice acting, reusing room assets etc.
    I really want you to think about it: aside from Pokemons what makes you think that these games are good?    … Expand
  30. OriginalOne
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    Never thought possible, Game Freak has done it yet again. Creating an even MORE disappointing entry after XY! I unfortunately wasted $90 AUSD on this game for a game where you can essentially just 'press A' to win every single encounter.
Page:

Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 87 Critic Reviews

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