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. ali2828
    Nov 21, 2019
    8
    Good game with many things to do. Don't understand all the hate reviews. Please give this game a chance it's really fun
  2. nicoshiii
    Nov 21, 2019
    9
    I LOVED the game. It has an interesting story with ties to British mythology, a lot of great characters, which I all love (in exception of maybe 2 people). The soundtrack also isn't "weak" compared to Toby Fox' song and especially the late game music is absolutely great. The graphics also look, maybe not technically, but art style wise really good. It only took me 25 hours to finish theI LOVED the game. It has an interesting story with ties to British mythology, a lot of great characters, which I all love (in exception of maybe 2 people). The soundtrack also isn't "weak" compared to Toby Fox' song and especially the late game music is absolutely great. The graphics also look, maybe not technically, but art style wise really good. It only took me 25 hours to finish the game but that doesn't really matter to me since I pretty much enjoyed every second of it, and I still sink a lot of additional time. The only two things I didn't really like (also why it's not a 10/10) were the wild zone and some Pokemon being shiny locked (legendaries and starters). The wild zone is too empty and really slows down the game if the switch isn't docked. The Dynamax raids are great though and also really good for shiny hunting. I honestly didn't really notice the absence of the National Dex when playing, so I can't really subtract points because of that.… Expand
  3. hamele
    Nov 21, 2019
    8
    Muy buen juego. Con diferencia el juego de pokémon más inmersivo hasta la fecha, el mundo se siente muy vivo y te crees lo que ves
    Un punto muy a favor es que han dejado atrás a algunos pokémon y movimientos, dando importancia a las nuevas incorporaciones y dando un giro de 180º a todo el meta-game casposo vigente en entregas anteriores.
    Efectivamente, gráficamente es mejorable en muchos    Muy buen juego. Con diferencia el juego de pokémon más inmersivo hasta la fecha, el mundo se siente muy vivo y te crees lo que ves
    Un punto muy a favor es que han dejado atrás a algunos pokémon y movimientos, dando importancia a las nuevas incorporaciones y dando un giro de 180º a todo el meta-game casposo vigente en entregas anteriores.
    Efectivamente, gráficamente es mejorable en muchos aspectos, pero el arte está bien conseguido y consigue atenuar este factor.    … Expand
  4. Reaper2187
    Nov 21, 2019
    5
    Awesome game it could have done a few things differently but overall definitely worth playing! I have played every pokemon since red and blue and this did not disappoint. Ignore the low score it's just butthurt fans complaining they didn't get exactly what they wanted.
  5. Madarame
    Nov 21, 2019
    1
    Simply lazy work from GF, the game have many objective shortcomings. The biggest issue is that it simply does not live up to the performance of a switch/home console game. Many of the friend favourite features were cut (whether in general arear, pokemon following/ Mega and z-move/ secret base) and replaced with very little additional content. GF promise the removal of the national dex willSimply lazy work from GF, the game have many objective shortcomings. The biggest issue is that it simply does not live up to the performance of a switch/home console game. Many of the friend favourite features were cut (whether in general arear, pokemon following/ Mega and z-move/ secret base) and replaced with very little additional content. GF promise the removal of the national dex will bring about improvement in other area and that's simply untrue to those that have play the game.… Expand
  6. jojobbb
    Nov 22, 2019
    9
    I adore the game very much. But it also has a certain con. I rated a 9 because I love how the aspects and the coloring including the story line was. I am not a fan of the cut more the re used animations. But I love the wild side of it and the bike rides including the flying taxis. But I still wished they put more time into the game like fix the map
  7. Kjoagamer
    Nov 21, 2019
    7
    É um bom jogo mas tem seus problemas, como a mecânica de gigantamax confusa e mau explicada, pouca variedade de pokemons, sistema on-line confuso e pago, wild áreas com clima sem nexo de geografia e pouca capacidade de modificação de personagem tanto em altura e forma física mas de resto é um jogo bem regular
  8. Sagerronan
    Nov 21, 2019
    7
    In spite of the removal of many pokemon and the fact that Gamefreak simply reused many assets, Pokemon Sword is still a good, if somewhat easy experience. I had been kind of burnt out on Pokemon for a while since Sun and Moon, but Sword and Shield rekindled my interest of pokemon. It does have some glaring flaws, but I still found it an enjoyable game.
    First, the game is very easy. You    In spite of the removal of many pokemon and the fact that Gamefreak simply reused many assets, Pokemon Sword is still a good, if somewhat easy experience. I had been kind of burnt out on Pokemon for a while since Sun and Moon, but Sword and Shield rekindled my interest of pokemon. It does have some glaring flaws, but I still found it an enjoyable game.
    First, the game is very easy. You get an experience share that gives all of your pokemon in your party experience. You can end up overleveled very easily because you can't turn off the experience share. It's pretty rare I actually get bored with battles because of being over-leveled, but Sword managed that.
    Second, the journey to the pokemon league is far too short, it took me 4 days of play to reach it.
    Third, the wild area can be very confusing and frustrating alongside max raids. Ai is often brainless in higher rank max raids, making it difficult to defeat some of them even with proper strategy. You could just get unlucky and get bad ai teammates that do nothing if you can't find real people to join. I find that anti fun.
    I'm sure there's some more that I missed, but I'm trying to get this review positive, so on to the good.
    I enjoyed the character creation and customization. Characters are a lot more customizable then in previous games.
    Max raids can be fulfilling for working on your pokedex or getting new TR moves for your mons.
    Breeding competitive pokemon is much easier.
    Being able to fly/bike to places freely without having a pokemon that knows Fly is very nice.
    Will old Pokemon players have fun with this game? Probably not. Will newcomers? Maybe. At least give it a chance.    … Expand
  9. swarthy126
    Nov 21, 2019
    2
    Pokemon will never be bad. Starting a new adventure, catching charming and cool new pokemon, training to defeat the strongest trainers, this is the core gameplay of pokemon that everyone loves. That is why I won't rate this game based on if it does just that, but on how it compares to this era's standard of gaming, and to it's predecessors.

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Overall the game was too easy. My pokemon were over leveled with ease. Pretty linear as usual.
    When Pokemon was finally hitting the Switch, to the main console, some of us were hoping for that new innovative break through, like Zelda BotW, Mario Odyssey, Smash Ultimate. But with the way things are going, people still rate it high for "being a Pokemon game". And if it sells well, GF doesn't really have a reason to change it direction. Pokemon will be good, but never great, and that's why I refuse to give the review of "Pokemon is fun because of catching charming pokemon is fun", because that is a review for Pokemon as a whole, the Concept and World of Pokemon, and not for Sword and Shield itself, in respect to the standards of this gaming era.    … Expand
  10. sarahpod
    Nov 21, 2019
    8
    I am enjoying this game. Yes, I know the graphics aren't spectacular, but I am willing to look past that as this is a Pokemon game after all . The gameplay is fun, the new Pokemon are great, and when it all comes down to it, it's a game that I want to keep playing. My one complaint would be that the game does hold your hand on the main campaign a little bit too much. All in all, II am enjoying this game. Yes, I know the graphics aren't spectacular, but I am willing to look past that as this is a Pokemon game after all . The gameplay is fun, the new Pokemon are great, and when it all comes down to it, it's a game that I want to keep playing. My one complaint would be that the game does hold your hand on the main campaign a little bit too much. All in all, I think most of the reviews from fans are too low, and this game deserves better.… Expand
  11. FrankyF4Fingers
    Nov 22, 2019
    7
    Very good Pokemon. Some Problems like 2 or 3 rly bad looking pokemon, Multiplayer is not that stable and its a little hard to get a full party for a dyna raid. But the rest of the game is rly fun and well polished. The new arena Theme is awsome and i am exited to finish of the league champs today. The reduced Pokemon Pool is no real Problem because it kind of pushes you to try new once. IfVery good Pokemon. Some Problems like 2 or 3 rly bad looking pokemon, Multiplayer is not that stable and its a little hard to get a full party for a dyna raid. But the rest of the game is rly fun and well polished. The new arena Theme is awsome and i am exited to finish of the league champs today. The reduced Pokemon Pool is no real Problem because it kind of pushes you to try new once. If all would be there i may have not found Riffex and i love that Dude ;-). Oh yea sometimes you get Framdrops while there is a Picture in Picture but that was my only technical Problem.… Expand
  12. Cabi0l
    Nov 22, 2019
    1
    Bugs ohne Ende.
    Auch die Dreistigkeit nicht alle pokemon zu übernehmen. Einfach Geld macherei.
  13. XSoulbound
    Nov 22, 2019
    1
    This is certainly a low point for the series. Despite being put on a far more powerful console, this game contains fewer features, a weak story, boring characters, a nonexistent post game, barely improved graphics, and of course fewer pokemon. It's a massive disappointment, and isn't worth the new inflated price tag. The pokemon cuts are the biggest issue, as there is no reason for itThis is certainly a low point for the series. Despite being put on a far more powerful console, this game contains fewer features, a weak story, boring characters, a nonexistent post game, barely improved graphics, and of course fewer pokemon. It's a massive disappointment, and isn't worth the new inflated price tag. The pokemon cuts are the biggest issue, as there is no reason for it other than laziness. The graphics and animations are far below standard for a triple A title, and the models are nearly identical to the last generation. It amazes me that the largest media franchise in human history could release a mainline game of such low quality.… Expand
  14. PokemonCrossing
    Nov 22, 2019
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The game has a great UI and some welcome quality of life improvements, but the length of both main story and postgame content, including the dex cut which was not balanced out with the amount of new pokemon as well as being too short and easy (took me around 15-16 hours to beat the main story, plus 1-2 hours for the postgame episode), make it feel like a step back in the main series Pokemon games, where it should be bigger and better on the switch. The story is also mediocre, with no real evil team. Usually, I would get both games but this time I only got sword because of the step back for a more expensive game, 6/10

    Pros: -great UI
    -quality of life improvements

    Cons: -step back on the switch where it's more expensive than 3DS games
    -no National dex, few new Pokemon
    -short and easy content, lack of optional areas
    -surface level story    … Expand
  15. Fetch
    Nov 22, 2019
    5
    I'm going to start by saying, yes. The national dex removal was dumb, unnecessary, and disheartening.
    But I have to put that aside for this review, because if it factored into my review I'd rate this game a 3. However, I don't think this game is worse than average.
    Lets start with the Gyms. Gym battles feel AMAZING this time around. Not really everything surrounding the fight with the    I'm going to start by saying, yes. The national dex removal was dumb, unnecessary, and disheartening.
    But I have to put that aside for this review, because if it factored into my review I'd rate this game a 3. However, I don't think this game is worse than average.

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Bad points
    1-Lack of the national pokedex
    2-Lack of mega revolutions
    3-Not being able to breed a gigamax poke
    4-Quality of the little intuitive curry
    5-Greater difficulty for those of us who have been playing pokemon for some time
    6-Unbearable companions (PAUL)
    7-Lack of eeveelutions
    8-Online
    Neutral points
    1-Include the rest of the regions
    2-A better parenting system    … Expand
  17. casualdoggo
    Nov 22, 2019
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is an unbiased review and my experience with the game. Overall I had a good time in Galar but it suffers from many problems and I was constantly questioning aspects of the game as I was playing.

    The GOOD

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

    Gameplay is still fun.

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

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

    The gym challenges was really creative and fun.

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

    Character cusomization is great.

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

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

    The BAD

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

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

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

    Not much of post gameplay.

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

    Wild area is enjoyable but still feels very empty.

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

    Many walking animations feels off and it looks weird.

    CONCLUSION

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

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

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

    If rounding off to an 8    … Expand
  18. Andrefelipesrg
    Nov 22, 2019
    1
    Unfortunately, Game Freak messed up with everything. Missing national dex, terrible animations, bugs everywhere, basically it’s a BAD 3ds game in the Switch. Sad.
  19. Shane88
    Nov 28, 2019
    8
    El juego es entretenido, esperaba muchísimo menos de esta entrega pero al adquirirlo me dejó sorprendida de lo entretenido que es.
    Loa gráficos sí son un salto de la 3ds para mejor ya que en algunas ciudades se ve bastante bien, mas sin embargo para una Switch quedaron cortos.
    La historia pues, Pokémon no suele tener una gran historia nunca, pero la dinámica de las incursiones y al área    El juego es entretenido, esperaba muchísimo menos de esta entrega pero al adquirirlo me dejó sorprendida de lo entretenido que es.
    Loa gráficos sí son un salto de la 3ds para mejor ya que en algunas ciudades se ve bastante bien, mas sin embargo para una Switch quedaron cortos.
    La historia pues, Pokémon no suele tener una gran historia nunca, pero la dinámica de las incursiones y al área salvaje es bastante entretenida.

    Me gustó lejos de lo que oensaba que sería un pésimo juego.    … Expand
  20. Chana85
    Nov 22, 2019
    7
    เป็นภาคหลักที่ได้กลับมาเล่นหลังจากห่างหายไปจากเกมตระกูลไปนาน เพราะส่วนตัวเล่นม่อนโกมากกว่า ข้อดีคือกราฟฟิคและการอนิเมทตัวโปเกม่อนทำได้ค่อนข้างดี ถ้าไม่นับรวมถึงการเอาอนิเมชั่นเก่าๆมาใช้ ความสนุกยังเหมือนเดิม ที่ขัดใจที่สุดคือฉากของ Wild Area ที่ทำออกมาดูชุ่ยๆ และคุณภาพต่ำกว่ามาตรฐานของเกมสมัยนี้, ตัวละครออกแบบได้ดี Interface ในเกมทั้งหน้าจอเมนู ฯลฯ ทำออกมาได้ดูทันสมัย เรียบง่าย ใช้งานง่าย,เป็นภาคหลักที่ได้กลับมาเล่นหลังจากห่างหายไปจากเกมตระกูลไปนาน เพราะส่วนตัวเล่นม่อนโกมากกว่า ข้อดีคือกราฟฟิคและการอนิเมทตัวโปเกม่อนทำได้ค่อนข้างดี ถ้าไม่นับรวมถึงการเอาอนิเมชั่นเก่าๆมาใช้ ความสนุกยังเหมือนเดิม ที่ขัดใจที่สุดคือฉากของ Wild Area ที่ทำออกมาดูชุ่ยๆ และคุณภาพต่ำกว่ามาตรฐานของเกมสมัยนี้, ตัวละครออกแบบได้ดี Interface ในเกมทั้งหน้าจอเมนู ฯลฯ ทำออกมาได้ดูทันสมัย เรียบง่าย ใช้งานง่าย, ผมไม่ค่อยคิดใจเรื่องการตัดม่อนเกือบครึ่งออกจากเกม เพราะไม่ได้เล่นมานานล แต่ในอนาคตยังอยากให้มีการอัพเดทม่อนเข้ามาเพิ่ม, หรืออัพเดทให้กราฟฟิคของ Wild Area ดูดีกว่านี้ รวมๆสนุกดีครับ… Expand
  21. LimitBoZz
    Nov 23, 2019
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Ich bin kein Fanboys und sondern ein Pokènom OG und gebe meine ehrliche Meinung zu dem Spiel ab sowie ich es bei jedem anderen Spiel mache. Zuerst mal Das Spiel macht unglaublich viel Spaß und ist wunderschön.Die sotory ist nicht zu kurz sondern lang genug. Einige Routen sind zu kurz und manche orden kamen auch viel zu schnell hintereinander. Die Story hätte man auch viel besser gestalten können wenn man ein richtiges böses team eingebaut hätte. Es kamen sehr viele pokemon bei Trainern aus der 5. Genrationen zum Einsatz was ein bisschen einseitig vorkam wenn man das Spiel schnell durch gespielt hat. Aber das waren auch schon alle Kritik Punkte von mir und das Spiel macht das auch alles eigentlich wieder weg. Deswegen auch 9 Punkte von mir und keine 8 oder noch weniger. Ich hoffe einige teilen die selbe Meinung wie ich würde mich sehr freuen. Und jeder der sagt oder schreib das spiel hat Bugs oder stürzt ab TOTALE LÜGEN das ist mir in 45 Stunden Spielzeit noch KEIN EINTIGES MAL AUFGEFALLEN und ist noch kein mal.passiert also lässt euch mal nicht verarschen!!!… Expand
  22. JoshuaF
    Nov 23, 2019
    9
    El juego es entretenido y engancha bastante, podría mejorar un poco la parte gráfica pero fuera de eso está bastante bien
  23. Mishtacody
    Nov 23, 2019
    9
    A solid Pokémon game despite whiners complaints. The wild area is a great addition and the game looks and feels phenomenal
  24. KingGoonie1217
    Nov 23, 2019
    9
    This game is awesome! Exactly what I wanted in a console version. I’ve played about 5-6 Pokémon games through the years and this is either my favorite or second favorite behind sun-moon. I don’t notice the lack of national dex or missing Pokémon I guess since I’m not a hardcore kneed to catch them all!!!’ Pokémon player. I enjoy to play the games until beat main quest and that’s it. IThis game is awesome! Exactly what I wanted in a console version. I’ve played about 5-6 Pokémon games through the years and this is either my favorite or second favorite behind sun-moon. I don’t notice the lack of national dex or missing Pokémon I guess since I’m not a hardcore kneed to catch them all!!!’ Pokémon player. I enjoy to play the games until beat main quest and that’s it. I try to catch as many Pokémon as I can and level them up as I progress and that’s as fun as ever in this one!… Expand
  25. HeyImRandom
    Nov 23, 2019
    9
    The game honestly got review bombed pretty hard

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

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

    Although there wasn’t much of a story I will admit, the game overall was still fun. The gameplay was really good and I loved how it was made. It deserves better reviews    … Expand
  26. SKG
    Nov 23, 2019
    8
    Jumping into this Pokemon game has been a bumpy ride. Hearing all the controversy made me concerned. But now that I've actually played it I can finally give my honest opinion of it. First off the graphics. Seeing so many good looking games on the switch it made me look forward to Pokemon. The game has both good and terrible graphics. The Pokemon look fine and some areas look beautiful butJumping into this Pokemon game has been a bumpy ride. Hearing all the controversy made me concerned. But now that I've actually played it I can finally give my honest opinion of it. First off the graphics. Seeing so many good looking games on the switch it made me look forward to Pokemon. The game has both good and terrible graphics. The Pokemon look fine and some areas look beautiful but others are not good, for example the wild area. The wild area really makes this game worthwhile with the Pokemon walking about and an actual movable camera. It's big and fun to walk around in but the graphics are terrible and it has horrible frame rate drops when connected to WiFi. In all with all it's problems it's still fun to play in especially with raid battles which I'll get into later. Next the story is something I have mixed feeling about. Pokemon really tried to mix up how they write there stories with this game but it feels weird. From playing tons of Pokemon games with great story's this game feels rushed and not much thought went into the story. The only really good parts of the story are short and only happen toward the end. The characters are half and half. Your rival is ok his personality grows throughout the story but it's kinda really boring. Other characters are great such as the gym leaders, Bedde, and Marnie. It's just a bummer that they don't really expand on there characters. You want to make a connection to them but can't because the story won't let you. Now with gameplay it's the same old Pokemon game except with a few changes that some will hate and others will love. One exp share does make the game easier which is a little bummer. I was finding myself not finding the game a challenge which made me wonder why gamefreak doesn't add different difficultys to balance out there game. Next are raid battles which at fist I didn't really think would be fun but oh man was I wrong. Raid battles have allowed me to play with my friends unlike any other Pokemon game has. There exillerating and the addition of dinamaxing really makes it fun. The dinamaxing moves look amazing and they remind me old the good old days of mega evolving and Z moves. The basic turn base battle system is the same which is great. It brings back memories of playing my fist Pokemon games. In the end Pokemon Sword/Shield are fun games. Yes there are a lot of things that Gamefreak needs to work on in there next game but it all comes down to if the experience was enjoyable. The things that really stood out and bothered me I eventually ignored and forgot were there. I had a great time playing this game and I don't believe this game deserves a 0 or a perfect 10 but an ok score. I do hope though that Gamefreak learns from there mistakes and the positive and bring out a game on the switch which earns an amazing score in the near future.… Expand
  27. GuessWhat
    Nov 24, 2019
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Yea, the game isnt over 8.0 in my opinion. The graphics look like somebody was likeL "hEy WouLDnt It Be CooL If wE WouLD mAkE UlTra MoOn Hd ANd CaLl iT a NeW GaME?" (and yes i know the story is diffrent af plz dont kill me) the animations are hot garbage and the animations for the *LEGENDERY POKEMON* who are supposed to be the second most important pokemons on the story (right behind you're starters) have one animation. walking. im not kidding instead of having a turn around animation they litterly walk forward and turn around. gamefreak freaked up. yea they have the wild area. but all of the routes are so boring and have nothing special and rememberable. the wild area makes my game run at 2 fps and raids suck alone beacuse you get such bad NPC's one time i was vs a dinamax Mudsdale and i got evee and pikachu as my NPC's and all they did was the evee spammed helping hand and the pikachu did barley anything. The story is really bland and suprise suprise rose the obvious bad guy is a bad guy... who couldve know? the starters (besides scorbunny his ok) evolve into hot garbage and look like the person who designed them was on **** weed or something and it doesnt help that they removed so many pokemons like i know it makes sense but since when does pokemon makes sense? it never made any sense and now when they need an excuse to be lazy they say "it doesnt make sense" or "we need more quality". the game costs 60$ for a game that looks like 20$ game and has a story that a 3 year old probobly wrote before going to nap. with all that its still a ok game, i love the way they made it less grindy by making the exp share always work and buff ur pokebro's. i think that if the game got nintendos quality tag then i dont trust the quality tag anymore. ik i just said so many bad things and only one but for some reason i guess i still like the game...… Expand
  28. AkumaTV
    Nov 24, 2019
    8
    Me parece un muy buen juego por cosas como los nuevos pokemon, la historia, las incursiones y como se han tomado el competitivo pero hay un par de aspectos que no me gustan como que el juego es muy lineal y muy corto (la historia) pero por lo demas me gusta mucho
  29. AsterAether
    Nov 24, 2019
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Looks amazing, runs rather fluently and has the core Pokemon elements. That's more or less what I can say that's good about it.

    The bad stuff:
    It just feels unfinished. Some animations aren't polished, still have clipping in places etc. The story is a joke, only explained vaguely in exhibition in the aftermath. And I still don't fully get the full scope of the story. And adding onto the unfinished part:No animation for the flight quick travel, no puzzles anywhere in the routes, no VMs that would enable puzzles, even your bike is given to you extremely early. I had everything I could hope for by the 4th arena, and breezed through the rest. I can't even remember in which order the arenas 5 to 7 were, so lackluster they felt. There is so much fun potential in the polished elements, but it's heavily downgraded by the unfinished parts.    … Expand
  30. LucasEVille
    Nov 24, 2019
    2
    Stripped back features, Pokédex limited, “pop” distance of objects ruins any realism the wild area tries to bring to the game.

    A lost opportunity to have perhaps made the best game of this console generation.
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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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