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. Bruhhh_
    Nov 15, 2019
    3
    Subpar experience littered with issues, disappointing for a AAA title sitting with giants like BOTW or Smash Ultimate. Not the game for hardcore fans, but if you casually play Pokémon, you should find some enjoyment in it somewhere.
  2. Ziop98
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Low quality graphics, Game Freak lied about dexcut connected to new models and better animation, the story is probably the worst for a main line pokemon game, no post game, bad soundtrack, just 3 legendary, new pokemon desgins suck. Probably is worse than LGPE, which was in my opinion the worst pokemon game until this
  3. LucioSoliz
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Nothing that this game has to offer can excuse the cut content from old games
    All it has is the bare minimun: "good" graphics, nice visuals, music, character design, new pokemon, and new mechanics, all these are the bare minimun of each game. Yet this game lacks of day cycle, changing only for events or cutscenes. Following pokemon, post game, music in legendary battles. It has too many    Nothing that this game has to offer can excuse the cut content from old games
    All it has is the bare minimun: "good" graphics, nice visuals, music, character design, new pokemon, and new mechanics, all these are the bare minimun of each game. Yet this game lacks of day cycle, changing only for events or cutscenes. Following pokemon, post game, music in legendary battles. It has too many bugs and glitches, its very bad optimized, truly disrespectful for a 60$ games, i would rather use that money to support other games and skip this gen..    … Expand
  4. papode
    Nov 15, 2019
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Unfortunately, these games are a huge step back in all that the recent games have brought as innovations to the old formula from Pokémon Red/Blue. Again striking their more-than-loyal fanbase, Game Freak shows its laziness and lack of concern for what pleases players the most. The disappointments are numerous: recycled animations, bad Pokémon designs and worst of all, the fact that in this game the ubiquitous motto “gotta catch’em all” never made less sense: only 400 of the more than 800 Pokémon are not coded in the games archives. This all boils down to a mediocre iteration that deserves some criticism.… Expand
  5. GGSamurai
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Very disappointed in how this game was handled. Would not recommend to those looking to play the game with any of their favorite mons seeing as they will most likely not be in it. Gameplay is as repetitive as ever
  6. MrXjinglez
    Nov 15, 2019
    2
    The game is incomplete with a lot of bugs and graphical issues, the story was decent but the post game is almost non-existent, 455 Pokemon were cut from the game because they had to recreate them from scratch even though it was found to be the same old models from the 3ds era, unfortunately if game freak wouldn't have lied about it and fixed the issues stated above this would be a goodThe game is incomplete with a lot of bugs and graphical issues, the story was decent but the post game is almost non-existent, 455 Pokemon were cut from the game because they had to recreate them from scratch even though it was found to be the same old models from the 3ds era, unfortunately if game freak wouldn't have lied about it and fixed the issues stated above this would be a good game, thats why my score is 2/10.… Expand
  7. Orion_
    Nov 15, 2019
    2
    Oh boy, where do I begin. I used to be a fan of Pokemon. I loved the designs, I loved trying to collect every shiny, just collecting as a whole used to be my favorite part of the series. But, that's no longer an option. There's no way to have a "complete" collection, because they have cut the majority of the dex; and for what gain? Surely not the graphics, which are about as good as thatOh boy, where do I begin. I used to be a fan of Pokemon. I loved the designs, I loved trying to collect every shiny, just collecting as a whole used to be my favorite part of the series. But, that's no longer an option. There's no way to have a "complete" collection, because they have cut the majority of the dex; and for what gain? Surely not the graphics, which are about as good as that of the Wii U or earlier consoles. The entire game is the exact same cookie cutter setup we've gotten before. No originality whatsoever. The Pokemon? Basic beyond belief and really just "modernized" versions of older Pokemon. Then, ghere's the matter of the game heaving a rather serious issue of potentially wiping your ENTIRE SD card data - including every other game you may have. I can no longer support a company that has managed to be so out of sync with their fanbase.… Expand
  8. AnthonyDFG
    Nov 15, 2019
    3
    At the beginning of the game, serious performance issues are already notorious. The game lags in certain parts and there are awkward moments where nothing is happening and you're just waiting for a cutscene to resume. The handholding is unbearable and the Kanto-throwbacks are off the charts. Charizard will get praised half a dozen times before you can pick your first Pokémon. Hop is aAt the beginning of the game, serious performance issues are already notorious. The game lags in certain parts and there are awkward moments where nothing is happening and you're just waiting for a cutscene to resume. The handholding is unbearable and the Kanto-throwbacks are off the charts. Charizard will get praised half a dozen times before you can pick your first Pokémon. Hop is a cheap knockoff of Hau and thus the game breaks the long tradition of making every new rival unique in some way.

    As the game goes on, you begin to notice that GameFreak engaged in false advertising. We were promised that the models had been remade from scratch. However, the meshes are the exact same in most cases. The few exceptions are models that got minor updates around the mouth area, presumably to eat curry. Some textures got updated but there are indications that the process might have been automated. Indeed, there isn't even a distinction between, say, the eyes and the fur of a Pokémon. Instead, they look entirely like inflatable balloons. The animations, it can be shown, have been reused too. In that direction, even the game engine was demonstrably forked from Let's Go. It's too hard to see what is made "from scratch" in this game, as even the music is a remix of sample libraries from 2013.

    The Galar region looks gorgeous in pictures but it has serious issues when you actually play it. The routes are small corridors without any intricacy. Even the wild area can be traversed in a few minutes. The forests and caves are not puzzling in any way. There is no sense of exploration or adventure. Many buildings are completely locked. The ones you can enter might look the exact same inside as they didn't even bother to shuffle furniture around. Trees look like they were imported from the Nintendo 64. The berry trees in particular look completely out of place, as if they were from another game entirely; it's really incredible that there was such a massive oversight and nobody raised an objection. There was no effort to make the water look good and the reflections are buggy. The grass and terrain textures are an eyesore. Walls and caves textures are straight out of the Sega Dreamcast. Weather is illogical and poorly implemented. You can "ride" trains but they didn't even bother animating it as it's just a black screen and you have magically teleported: even Gold and Silver had more effort into it. To top it all, time bizarrely freezes when you use stairs.

    Instead of being allowed to ride your Pokémon, you're stuck with a goofy bike that even works on water. Pokémon don't have turn animations and they pop in and out of nowhere which is very awkward and breaks the immersion, defeating the entire point of overworld encounters. Then again, trees and people do it too. You are also not allowed to even throw a Poké Ball at higher level Pokémon so it's hard to see what is the point of including them so early into the game. You can't pet your Pokémon and the Pokémon Camp is an inferior version of Pokémon Amie and Refresh. The option to play with a ball is so poorly programmed that it's hard to believe it passed the testing stages. In battles, big species like Wailord and Tyranitar are butchered by the downscaling algorithm. There are many bugs that are baffling such as trainers disappearing when certain attacks are used. We were promised this would be the game that long time fans had been waiting for but that seems extremely unlikely.

    The story is dull, rushed and boring. Interesting side characters get little screen time. It's obvious the story was not their focus this time. However, the game is not cohesive in any way so it's hard to see what even was their focus this time. Indeed, there is very little content as there's barely any postgame at all while the main story can be leisurely beaten in 12 hours assuming you aren't the kind of player that loses to NPCs. Some towns have interesting themes but they are massively underdeveloped and the "city" surrounding the Battle Tower is peak laziness: it's just a cardboard background. The region feels lifeless in general and the subpar method chosen to spawn people doesn't help. Major features like the GTS were cut and simple features like volume control are locked under key items. The level scaling is very poor as you're massively overleveled early on without any grinding, then there is a sudden spike in difficulty that can't be accounted for, and finally you go back to being overleveled even if you skip optional battles.

    In short, this game is awful for advanced players, mediocre for casual players and it's desirable that this is nobody's first Pokémon game, least they get the wrong impression. It is the worst Pokémon main duo ever released and the only positive aspects are derived from the standard Pokémon formula. Being understaffed isn't even remotely enough to explain the unacceptable low quality of these games; GameFreak has serious leadership issues.    … Expand
  9. 300549248
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    You'd be an absolute retard if you bought this game. Please read all the generally unfavourable reviews, they are all true! Use your money for something else.
  10. ToshiroTakashi
    Nov 15, 2019
    10
    What an amazing game! I'm not a diehard Pokemon fanboy, but I grew up playing Pokemon Yellow on my Game Boy when I was a kid in the late 90s. Now that I have a Switch, it's so great to play this game on on the go and on my tv. I can recommend everybody to play this game. It feels traditional but also very new. It's this mix that makes the game so nice to play.
  11. rockugun
    Nov 15, 2019
    9
    Buen juego, por fin un pokemon de consola, ojala empiecen a meter los antiguos pokemon por que la gente le tiene mucho cariño a alguno de ellos.
  12. shoUlo
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    This is not Pokemon
    Unfinished product for a whole 60$. Don't waste your time and hopes for it.
  13. Caino87
    Nov 15, 2019
    5
    The game seems rushed and poor compared to other games on the same console. Glitches, graphic flaws, Dex cuts, the absence of exploration....it all makes it a very poor game considering that it is the first main game on a new generation console (after the 3DS). Most of the fun requests from the past have not been listened to and the game is more and more orientated to a younger public,The game seems rushed and poor compared to other games on the same console. Glitches, graphic flaws, Dex cuts, the absence of exploration....it all makes it a very poor game considering that it is the first main game on a new generation console (after the 3DS). Most of the fun requests from the past have not been listened to and the game is more and more orientated to a younger public, even though it was advertised as a game for long time fans (that are now in their 30s). On top of that, the very misleading campaign and the very odd looking reviews it’s reviving from “game critiques” makes the whole picture even more odd and suspicious.… Expand
  14. Pepe4k
    Nov 15, 2019
    10
    Es el mejor Pokemon en cuanto a contenido y entretenimiento, eso nadie puede negarlo.
  15. Khan2308
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    una real mierda pero claro los CONFORMISTAS y CASUALS diran lo contrario, 3 años segun ellos desarrollando estos titulos para que? para ver ese asqueroso popping? para ver las animaciones y modelados reciclados? para ver los fallos con los npc? todo mal. gamefreak a caido en la mediocridad.
    quiero un pokemon de calidad y no en estas condiciones, se merece todas las criticas negativas por    una real mierda pero claro los CONFORMISTAS y CASUALS diran lo contrario, 3 años segun ellos desarrollando estos titulos para que? para ver ese asqueroso popping? para ver las animaciones y modelados reciclados? para ver los fallos con los npc? todo mal. gamefreak a caido en la mediocridad.
    quiero un pokemon de calidad y no en estas condiciones, se merece todas las criticas negativas por lo mal echo que esta el juego.    … Expand
  16. ryuraf1
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    The game is just unfinished. It's totally uncleaned, the designs are bad, the graphics are trash, the ost is boring, everything here is wrong. The prior games look better than this. This game could easily be made in Nintendo 64. The gameplay is boring, the story is short, there is not even a single good thing in Pokemon Sword and Shield. It's just a way of the company making money. AThe game is just unfinished. It's totally uncleaned, the designs are bad, the graphics are trash, the ost is boring, everything here is wrong. The prior games look better than this. This game could easily be made in Nintendo 64. The gameplay is boring, the story is short, there is not even a single good thing in Pokemon Sword and Shield. It's just a way of the company making money. A offense for the fans.… Expand
  17. KamiNoKaze
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    У игры огромная куча проблем - с технической точки зрения, игра отстала на лет 15 от своих конкурентов, куча багов визуальных, периодически вылетает, анимация хромает, дизайны новых покемонов напоминают скорее персонажей, вырезанных из фильмов студии Пиксар, нежели чем поков, сюжет еще примитивнее, чем обычно. Музыка буквально вызывает головную боль. В боях поки до сих пор стоят какУ игры огромная куча проблем - с технической точки зрения, игра отстала на лет 15 от своих конкурентов, куча багов визуальных, периодически вылетает, анимация хромает, дизайны новых покемонов напоминают скорее персонажей, вырезанных из фильмов студии Пиксар, нежели чем поков, сюжет еще примитивнее, чем обычно. Музыка буквально вызывает головную боль. В боях поки до сих пор стоят как истуканы на разных концах поля. Те, что по идее должны быть размером с дом, почему-то не выше взрослого человека. Большинства из перечисленных проблем не было в Colosseum, XD и Battle Revolution. Из единственного плюса могу отметить низкую продолжительность игры, хотя бы не придется долго лицезреть это убожество. ГеймФрику стоило лишний год и миллион бакс на игру выделить, вместо того, чтобы врать покупателям, что они якобы что-то там улучшают.… Expand
  18. Allacar
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    Very disappointing game. Over half the pokemon were cut. Over 140 pokemon moves removed. Reused 3ds models and mediocre graphics. The first main line pokemon game for switch needed more development time and polish.
  19. Come_on_son
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    Wow. Absolutely wow. This game is a walking tutorial. Linear and bare bones and empty as ****. I have only played 3 hours and I had to see what the metacritic was. Sure enough, this is the worst rated game i've seen all year. Do not buy this game or any GameFreak game EVER. I can't believe what this is now. I thought Sun and moon were bad. The whole time I knew this thing was going to floo.
  20. Rebelvong
    Nov 15, 2019
    9
    Great new addition to the series and a good start to the home console. I love the new features of convenience like exp candy and nature mints. Really recommend to existing and new fans
  21. Atmoslink
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    A shadow of it’s former self, Game Freak continues to demonstrate that they have no idea what makes a game fun and run well too. Large features were removed from past generations and in return we see a price increase. Everything from the graphics to the gameplay points and Sword and Shield being a lazy port of a terrible 3DS game.
  22. Haolen
    Nov 15, 2019
    5
    The game is totally boring and repetitive as hell, if not for the grass would have a 0
  23. g33b
    Nov 15, 2019
    2
    Pokemon sword and shield are woefully incomplete not only compared to their predecessors but also the developer’s very own claims about this generation’s capabilities.

    The game is not only a glitch filled mess but show a lack of compassion and care for a series that goes back more than two decades. The story itself lasts 20 hours at most when focusing on completing the game and the wild    Pokemon sword and shield are woefully incomplete not only compared to their predecessors but also the developer’s very own claims about this generation’s capabilities.

    The game is not only a glitch filled mess but show a lack of compassion and care for a series that goes back more than two decades. The story itself lasts 20 hours at most when focusing on completing the game and the wild area gets stale faster than you would expect. To give this claim context, I can spend anywhere between 40-70 hours completing any of the generation 3-5 games. Oh and post game? Post game consists of being a glorified errand boy for 3 hours.

    To buy this installment is not only to say you are ok with Gamefreak's shortcomings, but it is to promote Gamefreak cutting corners in the future. To conclude, please don't buy this game as is, it is no where near worth the $60 price tag.    … Expand
  24. Octo
    Nov 15, 2019
    2
    The game’s a buggy mess with a terrible plot, multitude of insane design choices like locking volume controls behind a random npc or evolution methods more complex than arcane summoning rituals, the game also has issues with pop in and lag.
    Even worse is the fact there’s a bug that will nuke your SD card and possibly brick your switch.
  25. fanzocker
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Richtig schlecht programmiert die sollen sich schämen hätte ich es nicht für 4.99 bekommen bei einem gewissen Shop dann hätte ich es mir nicht geholt. Wie kann man ein so dermaßen unfertiges Spiel herausbringen
  26. HectorHbo
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Pokemon sword es un juego muy incompleto, la verdad es que esperaba mucho del juego al ser su primera entrega en la consola Nintendo switch, pero me desilusionó rotundamente al ver ciertas cinemáticas o eventos del juego. Se nota de lejos que no se esforzaron en el.
  27. Vartemis
    Nov 15, 2019
    2
    To see the franchise sink to lying to players and cutting out half the content is beyond disappointing. The quality drop is apparent and I will not be purchasing future titles.
  28. NicoLink91
    Nov 15, 2019
    10
    One of the best Pokémon game ever ! Galar is such a beautiful region, with a lot of new Pokémon (original, new form etc...)
  29. BiggestGuyUUUU
    Nov 15, 2019
    5
    During the marketing period for these games, I was sorely tempted to drop a fat uno when it came time to submit user reviews. This, primarily, was due to the dex cut, but (most) of the consequences of that, are, quite frankly, overblown. And there do exist silver linings to Dexit as well, strangely. It’s not a terrible game. Perfectly playable, but i still have to say that it’s an anemicDuring the marketing period for these games, I was sorely tempted to drop a fat uno when it came time to submit user reviews. This, primarily, was due to the dex cut, but (most) of the consequences of that, are, quite frankly, overblown. And there do exist silver linings to Dexit as well, strangely. It’s not a terrible game. Perfectly playable, but i still have to say that it’s an anemic shadow of what Pokémon once was.
    With this in mind, I’ll go through the positive and negatives.

    CONS:
    -The dex removal screams of a calculated $$$ ploy. It wasn’t long before the infamous announcement of the Dexit that Home was touted as a more comprehensive replacement for Bank. Yes, it probably won’t be much more expensive and more accessible, but forcing thousands more people to pay for services like Bank than before just to have a hope of bringing their “bros” in is a bit sleazy, no?
    -Lack of post-credits content. The fact that facilities have been cut down to the battle tower clones and those only is bad enough. Even worse, there are fewer “modes” than previously. No Triples or Rotations. No Sky Battles. There’s no way to switch up how the traditional 1v1 or 2v2 turn based battle format is played. Even young kids could easily get bored with it. -Graphics and animations look kinda unpolished. There’s tons of stuff that implies last minute reusing of assets and codebase from LGPE. I’m not blaming this on the dev team, despite their convoluted coding methods since the days of GSC. No. Nearly everything unfinished with this title can be laid squarely and exclusively at the feet of the corporate suits in charge of scheduling product release schedules. Delaying the game by 9 months to a year would have resulted in a massive improvement in all aspects.
    -Removal of vital moves from the game. Pursuit, Signal Beam, Toxic, and others are the lynchpin of entire strategies when players duke it out. We’re looking at a serious winnowing of viable play styles on Pokémon that might not have many other options.
    -The story is a paraplegic Frankenstein birthed from the loins of XY and SM. It all got shoved into the last hour before the credits roll and even some characters in the game call out how stupid it is. I won’t spoil it tho. It’s mercifully sparse otherwise.
    -Game gives you way too many good free items. Having lots of free heals dropped into your lap is staple since 2010. But they do it way too often in SWSH. Also, the presence of competitive teambuilding items has a downside in that grabbing more than one or two of each optimizes your team to where no in game foes can hope to mount a serious challenge.
    -Wild Area didn’t really get filled out enough. It’s pretty small and way too packed with Max Raid beacons. Locking encounters behind badges was also inane.
    -God, the sound control mechanics are infuriating. See for yourself.
    -Who authorized the mechanics of D-Max Airstrike? And giving Gyarados Power Whip? PROS:
    -LANDORUS IS GONE! DEFENSIVE ICE TYPES GOT REMOVED AND REPLACED WITH OFFENSIVE ONES! NO MORE TAPUS! Dexit actually has a chance to produce a more balanced metagame so long as they ban Max Airstrike and Gyarados both.
    -James Turner did a good job directing most of the new monster designs. The only truly heinous one IMO is Eiscue.
    -Of all the non-Japan-inspired regions, Galar does the best job at paying homage to its basis, that being the UK. -Competitive teambuilding is easier than ever, and it appears early on that stall is going to be far less workable than before. Entry hazards are now less centralizing.
    -The Gym challenge now feels like an actual sporting event. This is a good thing.
    -Really good character designs. Even the most critical fans online have at least one new face they applaud GF for creating.    … Expand
  30. Capcom_X
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    no hay nada que destacar es un juego muy inferior a sus entregas anteriores es malisismo y con ese pooping es todavia mas malo el juego parece un juego de ps2
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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 »