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. chronogaming8
    Dec 15, 2019
    7
    Pokémon Sword is a good game, nothing more. It has everything that any player expects to find in a Pokémon game: a lot of creatures to catch and train, beautiful graphics but not spectacular, an acceptable story, many different environments to go, a soundtrack quite good but not spectacular ...

    And that is the big problem of this game. Being the first Pokémon game on Nintendo Switch,    Pokémon Sword is a good game, nothing more. It has everything that any player expects to find in a Pokémon game: a lot of creatures to catch and train, beautiful graphics but not spectacular, an acceptable story, many different environments to go, a soundtrack quite good but not spectacular ...

    And that is the big problem of this game. Being the first Pokémon game on Nintendo Switch, developers should have risked a little more. Playing Pokémon Sword feels like a good experience, but nothing innovative. The Dynamax Pokémon are an interesting addition, but they do not compensate for the things that have been left behind: the Mega-evolutions, the Z-Moves, about 500 Pokémon that do not appear in the game, the simplification of many mechanics ...

    I spent hundreds of hours playing each of the previous games in this franchise, including Sun and Moon. In 35 hours I have finished Pokémon Sword, post-game included, and I am not hooked enough to continue dedicating hours.    … Expand
  2. FlyingPiloswine
    Nov 17, 2019
    3
    Its Death by a Thousand Cuts in this entry. That is to say, although I do feel the original magic of Pokemon in this entry, it is marred by an endless slog of annoying and downirght insulting design choices. I am going to just cut right to the chase:
    -If your pokemon are even 1 level lower than the wild pokemon, it's catch rate artificially plummets. It will cost you 8-10 pokeballs to    Its Death by a Thousand Cuts in this entry. That is to say, although I do feel the original magic of Pokemon in this entry, it is marred by an endless slog of annoying and downirght insulting design choices. I am going to just cut right to the chase:
    -If your pokemon are even 1 level lower than the wild pokemon, it's catch rate artificially plummets. It will cost you 8-10 pokeballs to catch a level 18 with red HP and a status condition if all your pokemon are level 17. If that same pokemon was level 16, it would take 1-2 pokeballs. This has been confirmed by a few online news outlets, as well as my own experience.
    -The route design is absolute garbage. Its just straight alleyways with some scenery. There is no exploration. Even fan-made games have more complex and interesting level design (*cough* Prism *cough*).
    -EXP Share is impossible to turn off. You can use one pokemon the whole time, and all your pokemon will level up at practically the same rate. There is no incentive to train any of them individually.
    -Dynamax offers no strategic value. Your pokemon becomes so OP that it basically guarantees you 3 KO's on the enemy team. (one for each turn of Dynamax)
    -There is no GTS. The online trading functionality is utterly broken. The only way to trade is to: know someone personally; contact them through call or text; somehow decide which pokemon to trade without being able to share your collections or your intentions in-game;schedule an exact time to trade;share a 4 digit password with eachother, which someone could accidentally use as well because its only 4 digits long.
    -The characters and story is a total bore. I was excited at first because it has some My Hero Academia vibes, but there is no depth. The rival has two lines that he repeats ad nauseum: "I want to be the best, and type matchups."
    -Your rival picks the TYPE DISADVANTAGE POKEMON. Which means you will just steam roll him without even trying. I picked Grass, he picked Water. What an absolute joke.
    -The wild area has multiple forms of "invisible walls". You just literally are not allowed to throw a pokeball at certain levels of pokemon, and you are not allowed to cross a bridge until you have X number of badges.
    -There is no fast travel cutscene. You don't need HMs anymore, but the replacement for "fly" doesn't even have the courtesy of showing you a tiny cutscene like literally every pokemon game since the dawn of time.
    -You are still wearing ridiculous safety gear when you ride a bike even though thousands of games rated E for Everyone never do this.
    -You can't wear hats with certain haristyles, even though there are only about 10 hairstyles in the entire game. I am a game developer. I know how easy and simple this is to do. Its just a mesh variant. Completely asinine how I can't wear a hat with medium length hair.

    There are plenty other small gripes and things that made me sad throughout my time. I played about 10 hours until all of this together made enjoying the game too difficult. Its a dang shame because the world is awesome, and so are most of the pokemon designs. Its just all of these things that come together to show that Gamefreak doesnt really care about players who want even the tiniest fraction of challenge in their experience.    … Expand
  3. Cafe_8bits
    Dec 26, 2019
    5
    Pokémon SwSh really did surprised me. I thought it would be another forgetful and unpolished adventure, like every title since XY. But hey, they really tried to put some nice things at the table here. Many new mechanics are very nice, and the plot and themes of the game are the best ones in the series so far, but... The game is really unbalanced, and inconsistent. Many gym battles werePokémon SwSh really did surprised me. I thought it would be another forgetful and unpolished adventure, like every title since XY. But hey, they really tried to put some nice things at the table here. Many new mechanics are very nice, and the plot and themes of the game are the best ones in the series so far, but... The game is really unbalanced, and inconsistent. Many gym battles were challenging, but other important fights were a piece of cake by nature. Galar its a nice region, ton of mons to catch and places to explore, but the wild area kinda sucks. But in the end its surely better than its 2 predecessors, i think if they had just ONE more year to finish this games, they could be oneof the best Pokémon games. Too bad Masuda´s team can´t do it because they are busy with next year´s game, because that´s what Pokémon became.
    This game made me sad, because my once favorite franchise is stuck in a cycle of mediocrity in its main line games, and it does not seems that will stop soon. But yeah, kinda fun game. I made nice memories with it, but don´t buy it, your money deserves better.    … Expand
  4. Litten92
    Nov 16, 2019
    6
    This is what you get when you develop something in a hurry. There are problems and limitations in this game that are unacceptable from GameFreak. This game is mediocre in many different ways that are already well known. I really hope GameFreak will change its current strategy and fix things out.
  5. Shaydows
    Mar 2, 2020
    0
    Even though this was a rushed mess, I would have given this at most a 2/10. However, Gamefreak lied to the entire fanbase about why it's so bad and not a complete game. That combined with my original score makes this a easy 0/10, I wish it could be lower.
  6. kannalo
    Nov 15, 2019
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Good
    - Still has the standard pokemon feel
    - Cutscenes are not as annoying as in sumo
    - Bede as a character is a good rival
    - Some of the new pokemon are designed well
    - Customization
    The customization is really good I like the variety of clothes and haircuts you can get for your character
    Bad
    -Animations
    Some of the new animations do look really good but they are overshadowed by other animations which dont fit right like still using the static jump animation for moves. This is confusing for cinderace especially he uses the jump anims for double kick but has a kick animation
    - bad pacing
    - exp share
    I wish they would have kept the toggle to turn exp share on/off or give it to a single pokemon as it would be the equivalent of being able to select a difficulty. It causes over levelling which makes the game easy. I found the 1st and 2nd gym extremely easy because i was levelled quite a lot higher than the trainers and leaders so after that I skipped a lot of the trainer battles and wild pokemon battles I was only a few levels under in the rest of the game but it added a bit of challenge. I'm sure if i went around catching all the mon and doing every single battle like i would normally do the game would have been too easy

    -Plot
    I know the pokemon games have never really had extremely in depth plots but this game doesn't really have one you get vague hints of the legendary pokemon and then not much else happens until near the end of the game when the chairmans plan happens. Team yell add nothing story wise other than a bit of back story for marnie. It makes the game feel a bit aimless like yes you have the gyms as your opbjective but you dont have another objective like with the bad team coming in and messing things up in places/ doing bad things every once in a while where you need to go and stop them. There isn't really any buildup to the chairmans plan and it just happens.

    Overall it is still enjoyable but it feels like a huge step back in a lot of places. I was expecting a lot more from this game and I think many others were to
    - Wild area/raid battles
    while a big area is good I cant help but feel like it was just pushed into the game as a marketing tactic to make sales. It feels like they needed them to make up for a lack of content in the rest of the game

    - Dex cut

    - Hop
    He is hau

    -Maps/Routes
    The routes in this game are extremely short    … Expand
  7. Mikilike
    Nov 22, 2019
    1
    Graficos anticuados, lineal hasta decir basta, solo 400 pokemon, los nuevos pokemon son cutres, es una basura gigante
  8. Swordt
    Nov 17, 2019
    0
    Very disappointing game for a home console. Pokemon have so much potential, but Gamefreak is overwhelmed. Thats it for me. X and Y were not bad, but then the games are getting worse and worse. For me its only a RIP Off. :(
  9. ssammyblue
    Nov 16, 2019
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I've played over 50 hours. IMO the game overall does not FEEL like a $60 console game: maybe it could be a considered 10/10 if it was a launch title for the Dreamcast back in 1999, but not in 2019, when compared to other more fleshed out titles like the Witcher 3 running on the same hardware.

    I had fun and enjoyed the QOL improvements like the air taxis, XP system, and being able to change pokemon anytime from the menu, but the game felt rushed towards the end ( Spikemuth City just felt like a long hallway with nothing to see or do and I always expected there would be more places to catch pokemon; there area handful of routes, but only two large expanses of wild areas where you're expected to catch 75% of all pokemon (the one between wedgehurst and motostoke, and the one between motostoke and hammerlocke). I love pokemon so I could have bumped my score up all the way to 8/10 if there was a second Island, but overall the game feels lazy and past games have offered more content    … Expand
  10. Matiija
    Nov 16, 2019
    5
    This game is a very mixed generation for me, I've been a Pokemon Fan for as long as I can remember. Pokemon Sword and Shield was a very exciting game for me at first, but as I learned more about the game I discovered flaw after flaw. There is good in this game, but I feel like a lot that has been taken out such as more than half of the total pokedex is not something I wanted to happen to aThis game is a very mixed generation for me, I've been a Pokemon Fan for as long as I can remember. Pokemon Sword and Shield was a very exciting game for me at first, but as I learned more about the game I discovered flaw after flaw. There is good in this game, but I feel like a lot that has been taken out such as more than half of the total pokedex is not something I wanted to happen to a Pokemon game. This game also comes with lies, stating that they removed all those Pokemon for better, improved animations when in the end they only copy and pasted from the previous generation on the 3DS. The game feels pretty empty, not sure if its due to the lack of FOV but it certainly doesn't feel lively enough. It feels a lot was rushed, and doesn't feel like a complete Pokemon game to me, once again there are positives in this game, but the bad just out weighs it for me.… Expand
  11. Sunmellows
    Nov 16, 2019
    5
    I really wanted to like this game. But the piss poor optimization with the constant slowdown, frame drops, and pop in absolutely kill the immersion constantly. The game is even more hand holdy than the first part of Sun and moon, and Hop won't ever leave you the hell alone. The routes are extremely linear,and the game is extremely short, being beatable within 16ish hours. Not helping isI really wanted to like this game. But the piss poor optimization with the constant slowdown, frame drops, and pop in absolutely kill the immersion constantly. The game is even more hand holdy than the first part of Sun and moon, and Hop won't ever leave you the hell alone. The routes are extremely linear,and the game is extremely short, being beatable within 16ish hours. Not helping is the fact that the game is insultingly easy. I never once lost a battle, and my team was constantly around 5 levels over most trainers. I wasn't too big on the music either. I despise the gym leader theme, and everything else besides Marnies theme is meh to me. Overall, this game definitely is not worth $60 in the slightest. I like some of the new Pokemon but the amount of things holding it back is too much to bare. I was willing to go softer on XY since it was the series first true jump to 3d and at least tried some new things, but this game is absolutely bare bones, and I find that inexcusable after Sun and Moon… Expand
  12. Ekkonick
    Nov 17, 2019
    4
    Bad animations,bad modeling,bad starter evolution,bad legendery pokemon,bad textures and lier gamefreak
  13. Silvallymadeit
    Nov 17, 2019
    3
    My copy of Sword and Shield came in the mail a bit early yesterday, and while Sword and Shield are pretty cute games, I have to admit there are some glaring problems that make this game feels like it was needed to bake in the oven a tad bit longer. For starters, I just want to say I never cared for the controversy surrounding these games about not being able to transfer all of yourMy copy of Sword and Shield came in the mail a bit early yesterday, and while Sword and Shield are pretty cute games, I have to admit there are some glaring problems that make this game feels like it was needed to bake in the oven a tad bit longer. For starters, I just want to say I never cared for the controversy surrounding these games about not being able to transfer all of your pokemon, so this review is in no way biased towards that. There are, however, other issues that did drag down the experience for me. I often ran into performance issues. Frame drops, trees or objects randomly popping up in view; and while at times the game does seem beautiful and comfy, at other points the game almost seemed sloppily put together.
    The games are far too easy to the point of boredom, even for a Pokemon game. I felt myself being overleveled very quickly. I was often taking down opponents only in one singular attack, despite not going out of my way to fight many monsters. The new EXP share, which spreads experience across your whole party, seems to amplify this problem. It seems as if the game was not balanced with this feature in mind, as my entire team were several levels ahead of our opponents for most of- if not, the entire game. The adventure lasted roughly about 12 hours for me to complete, which is awfully short for an RPG, and there isn't much you can do after the journey is over. Might I add this game only has 10 routes, previous entries having about 30ish.    … Expand
  14. DimasC21
    Nov 17, 2019
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. honest opinion, this game was great if you playing it as an innocent child who love pokemon, but as a fan from red and blue, and i go trough every main line pokemon games
    this game is really disappointing...

    positive about this game

    - Character Design: Although the character developments was shallow, but i really love this game character design, they just feels like came out of the fairytale, and the detail in the design is so good, they look hilarious and Great

    -Customization: okay, you can custom your main character from the early town you reach, with bunch of selections that you can use
    and dont forget now our character have an expressions lol

    Music: the music was badass man, i can play it over an over, and keep feels the excitement


    Now the Negative

    Dynamax & Gigantmax: they feels off, maybe some people will like it, but not me, the design was so-so (except toxitricity, and garbodor) they feels ridiculous, better than a z-move but worse than a mega evolution

    Gameplay: its was too easy, the game give so much confidence to the player, and that bad for me, we got no difficulties in beating this game, and the mintz? exp share? cmon i need more challenge

    pokemon: not about the dexit, but 60% of the pokemon dont feels like a pokemon, okay when i said this, lets talk about what should pokemon look like "pokemon can be cute, or can be scary, or cool but they must look like a monster that you can befriends with" i hear it from some interview, and look at the design, who want to befriend with eternatus?? or orbettle?? or the five ball thing??
    they didnt looj friendly to me...

    Story: Meh, i dont feels like playing pokemon

    4/10
    Great games yet very disappointing

    i hope they can make a greater pokemon games next time    … Expand
  15. newgamessuck
    Nov 17, 2019
    4
    As a father who's seen many people make bad life choices based on pop culture advice, I take away one point for the old guy on Route 3 telling kids to "live how you want" I have known a lot of people who would still be here or would be much happier if they hadn't listened to bad advice like that. As a gamer I take away one point for Hop, the most obnoxious game character since Cait Sith.As a father who's seen many people make bad life choices based on pop culture advice, I take away one point for the old guy on Route 3 telling kids to "live how you want" I have known a lot of people who would still be here or would be much happier if they hadn't listened to bad advice like that. As a gamer I take away one point for Hop, the most obnoxious game character since Cait Sith. Minus one point for atrocious and clunky pacing and all around bad storytelling. Minus one point for hideous art-design choices, in particular, the weird, solid yet bouncy gelatin hair. I have to take one more point for hiding the earbuds on a random N.P.C. in Motostoke rather than being allowed to turn off Pokemon voices in options from the beginning. I would like to take a point for choosing the skip movies option not skipping completely unnecessary in game exposition sequences that tell people thing even younger kids could tell through inference but I won't because I don't know if skipping in-game sequences was possible.
    I do like the max raid battles in the wild area, even though I would have liked to have seen another wild area in a different sort of environment I can understand technical limitations preventing that from happening, considering how bad the draw distances are and and how confusing the layout of just one area is(minus another point). While I don't particularly like or even remember any of it after playing(other than one riff from Hop's theme which reminds me strongly of "Kaze Wo Tsukinukete" and Michael Jackson's famous "Black or White") it isn't bad enough to lose any points from me.
    On the good side; in addition to having a nice local co-op endgame, in the form of Max Raid Battles that I can enjoy with my whole family, I do also appreciate the option to change clothes and hairstyles to make our character appearances more tolerable than they could have been.
    I also like the camping and curry making.
    In conclusion (T.L.D.R:):
    The game is too bad to recommend buying or opening, if still unopened, but not so bad that, having opened it, I would trade it in for what little I would get for it versus doing the max raid battles whenever a new Pokemon shows up on the schedule.    … Expand
  16. palhum
    Nov 17, 2019
    3
    This is a 3DS game up-scaled, yet it has less content than the 3DS games. It offers way less content than its predecessors, and it's generally a downgrade to everything this franchise ever contained. The game has a short length, a minimum amount of content to do, a dumbed down nonadjustable difficulty, and poor graphics for what the console can do. It cuts off mechanics to dumb down theThis is a 3DS game up-scaled, yet it has less content than the 3DS games. It offers way less content than its predecessors, and it's generally a downgrade to everything this franchise ever contained. The game has a short length, a minimum amount of content to do, a dumbed down nonadjustable difficulty, and poor graphics for what the console can do. It cuts off mechanics to dumb down the already simple game play, offering little to no variety in competitive play.… Expand
  17. JIN2344
    Nov 17, 2019
    0
    Really? Waiting for 3 years? Nintendo you just blow my mind:( that might be the worst Pokemon series ever.
  18. Speedwagon55
    Nov 17, 2019
    3
    Playing Pokemon Sword and Shield was a refreshing experience tbh. I liked the region, the new pokemon, the refreshing arena challenge system, the idea behind the wild area and the new characters. And u also dont even notice the dex being cut. Nonetheless, this doesnt change the fact that this game is a technical MESS. I won't complain about the underwhelming graphics, but running throughPlaying Pokemon Sword and Shield was a refreshing experience tbh. I liked the region, the new pokemon, the refreshing arena challenge system, the idea behind the wild area and the new characters. And u also dont even notice the dex being cut. Nonetheless, this doesnt change the fact that this game is a technical MESS. I won't complain about the underwhelming graphics, but running through the wild areas with stormy or snowy weather feels like watching a power point presentation, thanks to permanent lags and short freezes. Its so bad, that it literally HURTS MY EYES after a while. Permanent input lags and bugs make the controlls really annoying, exspecially after leaving the loading screen or fights. (i tried it out with multiple controllers) Those thing will be exspecially annoying after you finished the game. I really try to keep having fun completing the pokedex, but those technical issues make it impossible. I simply have no motivation to keep searching for the left pokemon, because running through the wild areas for hours is simply a simply unbearable experience. And completing the dex by trading pokemons online is NOT an option. The online functionalitys are partially unuseable, exspecially the like trading funtion. You'll just get matched with a random stranger and have no way of communicating with each other. You cant even express which pokemon you would like to have. You'll simply randomly offer pokemon that aren't even equal in rarity or strenght until someone quits the process. And if you are lucky enough to find someone who is actually willing to trade pokemon that are beyond lvl 5, you'll never be able to trade od fight with him ever again. Simply because you cant add strangers as a friend. There is no option to add friends ingame or to your nintendo account.

    I don't like the hate this game is getting, because its mostly directed towards the #dexit or the graphics and not towards the ACTUAL problems the game has.
    Nonetheless, this game is trash, a disgrace for the whole franchise and an insult towards the fanbase. That's simply my unbiased opinion.    … Expand
  19. rob778899
    Nov 17, 2019
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Game Freak needs to get their act together. The sheer lack of effort that was inputted into these games is absurdly palpable. Pokemon Sword and Shield in no way amount to the quality expected of a true home console Pokemon game. Us Pokemon fans deserve better than this. I sincerely hope Pokemon Sword and Shield flop, and that Game Freak learns their lesson from this whole debacle. The Pokemon community will not tolerate laziness on behalf of Game Freak. We demand quality. Otherwise, Pokemon may as well have no future.… Expand
  20. ZacharyMe
    Nov 17, 2019
    3
    As a lifelong Pokemon fan, I can not say I am fan of where this series is going. The #1 highest grossing multimedia franchise shouldn't have to lie to their consumers based on important details. The cutting of over half of the current pokedex is a big deal, no other way to spin that.
  21. Commiekiller
    Nov 17, 2019
    0
    Half-assed game with below 3DS graphics, awful in-game campaign, no post-game content, the animations are so bad not even a beginner would commit such gaffes. The national Dex was wrongfully cut in more than half of what it should be in the name of "quality" and "balance", but the game lacks either of them. This deserves a nice 0.
  22. Trey1616
    Nov 17, 2019
    3
    Honestly disappointing.
    Here’s to hoping they listen to their community for the next game....though I doubt it.
  23. Caim-Horus
    Nov 17, 2019
    4
    Too little game content for $ 60 2019.
    Graphics even for the switch is outdated. Online chips do not work correctly, and in fact battles and raids that are essentially not really needed.
  24. Theco
    Nov 17, 2019
    1
    Jogo inacabado, cortaram metade da dex, modelos de Sun and moon, animações horríveis
  25. mightgal
    Nov 17, 2019
    4
    This game is completely mediocre. There are a lot of bugs and the price is very high. The good parts do not outweigh the bad parts. You might even have fun with it, but you will still be throwing your money in the trash, and next year GF releases a full version of this game for the same amount. By the way, no cuts you made for this game are justifiable.
  26. rykuo
    Nov 17, 2019
    0
    PURE GARBAGE.

    Please HELP POKEMON: DO NOT BUY THIS GAME!

    SHORTEST POKEMON GAME EVER and $60!! DISASTER!!
  27. Franlord1500
    Nov 17, 2019
    4
    Tengo el Pokemon Sol y luna en mi repisa y no se porque disfrute mal este, quizá porque ese fue hecho con amor, con pasion, se esforzaron (quiza) en lograr que este videojuego sea uno de mis favoritos, no se porque tengo que tolerar las mentiras, no me importa los recortes (aunque me duelan que existan en una consola como la Switch con SMB Ultimate y Breath of The Wild), a mi me molestaTengo el Pokemon Sol y luna en mi repisa y no se porque disfrute mal este, quizá porque ese fue hecho con amor, con pasion, se esforzaron (quiza) en lograr que este videojuego sea uno de mis favoritos, no se porque tengo que tolerar las mentiras, no me importa los recortes (aunque me duelan que existan en una consola como la Switch con SMB Ultimate y Breath of The Wild), a mi me molesta que se me mienta, que se me diga que este videojuego sea la hostia y se me llame toxico, porque este juego cuesta lo mismo que SMB Ultimate, Mario Odyssey, TLOZ BOTW y Three Houses, videojuegos que fueron hechos con amor… Expand
  28. Maynardewm
    Nov 17, 2019
    0
    I’ve never rated a game before, but for this I had to. I couldn’t get past the first 10 minutes the game was so bad. I started to worry with the first step, where my character flew across the screen at lightning speed inside a tiny house. I could seriously move from one side of the house to the other in less than a second. It’s like they set the character run speed for a much much largerI’ve never rated a game before, but for this I had to. I couldn’t get past the first 10 minutes the game was so bad. I started to worry with the first step, where my character flew across the screen at lightning speed inside a tiny house. I could seriously move from one side of the house to the other in less than a second. It’s like they set the character run speed for a much much larger and open environment, and kept it the same for the indoor spaces. The dialogue had so many grammar mistakes and was so childish. I had to keep reading sentences over and over, and often I was just like “this sentence is so poorly worded it doesn’t make any sense”.

    The constant blank loading screens!!! You take three steps and it’s another loading screen. One dialogue scene and another loading screen. What the heck???

    The music is horrendous... I couldn’t believe it. It is like terrible MIDI music from the 90s. The menus and UI are jittery and insanely poorly animated. The characters are poorly animated. What is this mega gigantic Pokémon form? Huh??? Why... how... for what purpose? I literally yelled out loud in laughter when your rival says to the sheep to stop tackling the gate, says “that’s better”, and then the sheep keeps just tackling the gate. “I thought it was done!” I yelled. If within the first ten minutes of the game you present to the user poor graphics, poor character movement, bad grammar, bad music, bugs, half of the time you’re in a loading screen, and a completely nonsensical storyline, all I wanted to do was return it.    … Expand
  29. Aniki-rin
    Nov 17, 2019
    0
    This is a unfinished, unpolished game for the full price. Lies were told about removing mechanics and Pokémon for the sake of game quality and yet the final product is worst than the handheld games. Not worth the price or the critic bought reviews.
  30. Lucashomem
    Nov 17, 2019
    4
    Lazy design, feels like a port from the 3DS, story is boring and rushed, characters are not charismatic.
  31. DaveyJones2142
    Nov 17, 2019
    4
    Pokemon Sword is not a bad game. There are great moments within the game, and some parts can be very fun. However, the main attraction of the game, catching and battling with Pokemon, is severely lacking in terms of difficulty and aesthetic. The game is laughably easy. I was able to beat the entire game with little struggle, often being several levels above my rival and gym leaders. IPokemon Sword is not a bad game. There are great moments within the game, and some parts can be very fun. However, the main attraction of the game, catching and battling with Pokemon, is severely lacking in terms of difficulty and aesthetic. The game is laughably easy. I was able to beat the entire game with little struggle, often being several levels above my rival and gym leaders. I often rarely used multiple Pokemon, only using them in main battles (gym leaders and such) because they leveled automatically due to the automatic exp share. As a game supposedly designed for long-time fans (of which I count myself as one), this game does not live up to what I came to expect. The animations were extremely disappointing. While the Pokemon themselves were very nice to look at and had very nice shading, the attack and battle animations felt very familiar after playing the 3D games. There were rarely any actual animations, with most moves either being a physical attack animation, a special attack animation, or, to my disappointment, a simple turning of the model accompanied by a paltry move effect. This already felt stale in XY and Sun and Moon, and I had hoped a game on the Switch would be more expressive, especially on such a crucial and major part of the game. The main gimmick, Dynamaxing, is fair enough on its own merits, and it is very entertaining and adds a great effect to the battle. However, when comparing this to Z-moves, and especially Mega-evolution, it seems lacking, especially when most of the Dynamaxing is simply a Pokemon becoming larger than usual. The writing is still sub-par, unsurprising, yet the story became somehow worse than previous titles. Since XY, the main story has became somewhat... odd, but not lacking. All in all, the games were not designed from the ground up to be on the Switch, and would seem much more at home on the 3DS. Framerate issues and simply awful PR by Game Freak has left an extremely bad taste in my mouth, and despite what good moments the game had it is simply not up to standards with what a Pokemon game should, and could, be.… Expand
  32. ji-0
    Nov 17, 2019
    0
    Delete the most terrible this life story, Pokemon 60 percent compared to a hell of a quality such as graphics and motion, and even motion by a rehash. Pokémon and things that appears unnatural, a terrible design of the new Pokemon.
  33. MQ116
    Nov 17, 2019
    0
    Cutting the National Dex, so that they could completely remake new models, was a disappointment already. When it turns out that it was all a lie anyway, we are left with bad/reused animations, absolutely identical models, and distrust in a developer who has consistently been lazy and unimaginative for years. That alone, the lie about the models, is enough for me to rate this game asCutting the National Dex, so that they could completely remake new models, was a disappointment already. When it turns out that it was all a lie anyway, we are left with bad/reused animations, absolutely identical models, and distrust in a developer who has consistently been lazy and unimaginative for years. That alone, the lie about the models, is enough for me to rate this game as terribly as I can.
    However, the one thing that I will say about this game in the positive side is that if they hadn't lied, I would've been content with it as it is. The Wild Area is fresh, tho definitely feels buggy and could've looked MUCH better. Online features are so far incredibly limited and also buggy. This game plays like every other pokemon game does, so it's base gameplay is still decent, but for the move to Switch absolutely nothing is improved from previous titles.
    This game is ridiculously easy so far, in that the forced EXP share makes all of your pokemon almost ten lvls higher than any trainer you face, and you will constantly get free items and healed. This would be fine, as SW/SH are supposed to be accessible to the people who played Let's GO and mix traditional gameplay with that, except that this was marketed as a game for longtime fans.

    All in all, if you truly love pokemon, it still plays well, but it is hardly a step forward in any way. I truly hope pokemon games will be given to a competent team who actually care (cuz gamefreak seems to care more about Town, which I think we should boycott). This isn't Nintendo's fault, it is Gamefreak for lying and consistently cutting corners, and I am now sick of it. Animating every single Pokémon for every single move would be possible, but we aren't even asking for that, we are asking for mediocre animations, reused models (that were future-proofed? Why lie?), and more than 48% of the pokemon to be included. There is no story btw, just Gyms and a terrible, boring "rival."    … Expand
  34. pennybazinga911
    Nov 17, 2019
    0
    And I thought the 3DS games were the worst in the series...

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

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

    Buy Gen V instead.    … Expand
  35. pia-chu
    Nov 17, 2019
    0
    Odio que no tenga la pokedex nacional y que no pueda transferir los pokemones de mis juegos anteriores, muy enojada por eso. Además, gráficas no dignas de la consola, el juego es caro y se acaba en 30 horas. No lo vale, ya no seguiré comprando más juegos en preventa
  36. Shid
    Nov 17, 2019
    0
    They lied and used 3DS game models and animations and they didn't even include all models in the game.
    Not to mention the innumerous bugs, horrible graphics and lousy finish.
    Do yourself a favor and don't buy it!
  37. 21emertxerofv
    Nov 17, 2019
    0
    Worst mainline Pokemon game in terms of story and in-game content. Definitely not worthy of a $60 console price. Do not buy this game. The developers don't deserve the support.
  38. whitesngamne
    Nov 17, 2019
    0
    This game sucks. Not a good Pokemon game. Hopefully Gamefreak can learn from all of this backlash for the next mainline game.
  39. thesagegreatv
    Nov 17, 2019
    0
    This is VERY EASILY the worst mainline Pokemon game I've ever played. #GameFreakLied
  40. Magicsaber
    Nov 17, 2019
    0
    That is not my expectation of what came next after Let's go!
    No freaking surprises!
    Terrible design of Pokemon!
  41. ScottyWired
    Nov 17, 2019
    3
    It's a Pokemon game. The core mechanics of it are impossible to mess up. But that's it. It's a Pokemon game.
    It has turned into a yearly release franchise like Call of Duty or FIFA and the amount of content shows.
  42. caching12
    Nov 17, 2019
    1
    Pretty much an up-scaled 3DS Pokemon game where GameFreak painfully rushed because of upper management and the holiday season (ngl, this game is going to make Nintendo/TPC bank $$$). Borrowed the game from a friend and finished it over opening weekend, but this is much worse in terms of gameplay difficulty, quality, depth and post-game material compared to Sun/Moon (which that gen alreadyPretty much an up-scaled 3DS Pokemon game where GameFreak painfully rushed because of upper management and the holiday season (ngl, this game is going to make Nintendo/TPC bank $$$). Borrowed the game from a friend and finished it over opening weekend, but this is much worse in terms of gameplay difficulty, quality, depth and post-game material compared to Sun/Moon (which that gen already took a nosedive in difficulty) and the previous generations we've gotten accustomed with.

    Adding to the fact that developers have been pretty dishonest to the fanbase, it's disheartening to put a product out there where it results with the fanbase noticeably and entirely split. Questionable feature omissions from past generations and things you would expect as a triple-A Nintendo game would deliver got lost en-route. As a fan who has played since Gen 1 and who still believes the Pokemon mainline game can still flourish, I'm going to give them a chance, going to wait and see whether GameFreak listens to fixing a few things for the next update in this gen. If the updated version fixes a majority of the complaints, then I will support and purchase the game.

    But right now, Pokemon can do better and this kind of development work/decision-making should be frowned upon. Not going to support by purchasing this "vanilla/rushed" version of the game. Listen to your fans, both the casual and the hardcore, and that'll take this game for generations to come. SSBU is the prime example where listening to both casual and the hardcore fans can go a long way.    … Expand
  43. SuperO
    Dec 10, 2019
    10
    Pokémon Espada y Escudo pueden presumir de contar con unas funciones de lo más interesantes y unas novedades fascinantes, aunque en multitud de momentos hemos tenido la sensación de que los juegos todavía podían aspirar más alto. Esto no tiene por qué ser necesariamente algo negativo, porque los dos juegos nos han parecido excelentes y un primer paso a lo que puede llegar a ser Pokémon dePokémon Espada y Escudo pueden presumir de contar con unas funciones de lo más interesantes y unas novedades fascinantes, aunque en multitud de momentos hemos tenido la sensación de que los juegos todavía podían aspirar más alto. Esto no tiene por qué ser necesariamente algo negativo, porque los dos juegos nos han parecido excelentes y un primer paso a lo que puede llegar a ser Pokémon de cara al futuro. Con un Área Silvestre mejor, una Pokédex más completa y otros detalles, tiene pinta de que a la serie le queda mucha vida por delante y estamos deseando de ver hasta dónde puede llegar.… Expand
  44. DannyDarkness15
    Nov 17, 2019
    0
    Really disappointing, a mediocre game with lots of flaws that could be fixed with a little of care but gf didnt even tried.
  45. Eric3742
    Nov 17, 2019
    0
    It's just insulting the treatment that Gamefreak gave to this game, it was supposed to be the game that would set a path to the future pokemon games but what we got was a game that somehow is more mediocre than XY not only by having an efortless work out on it but even cutting off some of the things it got right, as a a pokémon fan I hope they get it irght the next time because this isIt's just insulting the treatment that Gamefreak gave to this game, it was supposed to be the game that would set a path to the future pokemon games but what we got was a game that somehow is more mediocre than XY not only by having an efortless work out on it but even cutting off some of the things it got right, as a a pokémon fan I hope they get it irght the next time because this is everything except what a game developer company should do.… Expand
  46. MechKatana
    Nov 18, 2019
    7
    Hideo kojima has clearly outdone himself with the latest beyblade game. Sonic makes for an extremely lovable protagonist with intense emotions and ambition to be the greatest Jedi like no one ever was. The game truly makes improvement on the previously loved nemesis system, and shows us why gamefreak is truly the greatest developer currently in existence. Without a doubt, this has beenHideo kojima has clearly outdone himself with the latest beyblade game. Sonic makes for an extremely lovable protagonist with intense emotions and ambition to be the greatest Jedi like no one ever was. The game truly makes improvement on the previously loved nemesis system, and shows us why gamefreak is truly the greatest developer currently in existence. Without a doubt, this has been one of the best stealth horror games to come out for a while ( after all it takes a considerable amount of stealth to lie about animations and get away with them for a while about having made models from scratch and investing time in animations, meanwhile the horror part is realizing the PR disaster you have awoken and not knowing how to make up for them)
    graphics: 7/10
    sound:7/10
    gameplay: 6/10
    content: 7/10
    story: 7/ 10
    verdict : too much water.    … Expand
  47. katttdillehay
    Nov 18, 2019
    1
    Cut pokemon available in previous games. Very glitchy. Bad animations for a jump to a more powerful system. Clear lack of respect for longtime fans. Lots of hand holding. Embarassing.
  48. Miraage31
    Nov 18, 2019
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I disagree mostly with the people defending the game and attacking the game. I consider myself as one of those fans who played the 1st gen games when it was out. Personally, I do not feel like the game deserves a 10 or a 0.

    I will discuss the good things about the game. First is that the wild area is a breath of fresh air and I really like seeing the Pokemons walking around it. What I enjoyed the most about the game was the soundtrack. I really love the music of the game and surprisingly, Toby Fox (creator of Undertale and Deltarune) composed one song for the game. Designs of the new Pokemons are unique in it's own way like Galarian Zigzagoon getting a 3rd evolution or Ponyta becoming a psychic type. Farfetch'd getting it's own evolution (FINALLY!). We also have gyms back and they all have puzzles or challenges we must perform before facing the gym leader which I quite find enjoyable. The characters are likeable which I have to admit. They all look wonderful and are memorable. Last, which some people may not like but I quite like the difficulty, wild Pokemons tend to have higher levels than your Pokemons when you first step in the wild area like that one Onix that is level 28. Now for the things I really dislike about the game, first is the cut Pokemon, this is quite controversial since some people hated it when Gamefreak announced it at e3 and some agreed with Gamefreak. For me I really dislike it because I have a lot of Pokemons who are raised competitively in my old games and I cannot transfer them to my game. Also take note that you are paying 20 dollars more for a game that currently has 400 Pokemons (35 Pokemons have models but they are somehow unobtainable in game) while a 40 dollars game has more than 500 Pokemons in it. Another thing I really disliked were the visuals and animations, they felt lazy and the trees in the wild area looks like one of the trees in a very low graphic setting. They mentioned in the interview about cutting Pokemons for high quality animations but all I get to see is a copy and paste animation from a 40 dollars game. I notice a frame rate drop during the beginning of a battle or when I walk in the wild area and also there are pop ins. The story is predictable, this was my complaint with X and Y which is why I find it disappointing. I was expecting something new and fresh. Funny thing is that almost everyone knew who the antagonist was during his/her reveal. Dynamax as a concept is good on paper but the way it was executed is terrible since it only last for 3 turns. I honestly prefer to have mega evolutions in than having dynamax. Dynamaxing feels like you just mega evolved your Pokemons and you get to use Z-moves for 3 turns. Next is the post game, I find it funny how the director says players have "a lot" to do in the post game which I highly disagree. The post game is lacking compared to the previous entry which had a lot to do. The problem with this game is that much to do except for battling in the battle tower or do raids with other people. This has been a problem with X and Y. The game feels like it was a step back compared to the previous title. I could see myself playing Pokemon Ultra Sun right after I finish the game. The game is not entirely bad or perfect. The appropriate rating I can give for this game is a 7/10 (Ultra Sun is a 8/10). Hopefully the technical issues can be fixed in future patches. I will still look forward to the next game.    … Expand
  49. r1ch4rdbono
    Nov 18, 2019
    4
    Sadly one o the worst games of the franchise. I could spend hours listing what I dislike so i'll point the good aspects that for me are resumed in the new pokemons and cities(but this could be more, they are diferent just by the design, but you found the same thing in every city, nothing unique).
  50. Paladore
    Nov 18, 2019
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Terrible game. Garbage battle animation.. why are we still swiping at the air and not at Pokémon.. garbage dynamax dynamic. Within the first hour I saw 3 reused character models.. game is pretty much on roller coaster tracks.. when are we getting a real Pokémon game. Huge disappointment. Don’t get me started on all the retarded looking new Pokémon and names. Red and blue is the best… Expand
  51. Shadowlandzero
    Nov 18, 2019
    7
    Un juego de pokemon con muchas virtudes pero también carencias, aun queda al debe en el sentido de exploración que tenían anteriores entregas para ser un juego de nintendo switch, las batallas siguen siendo el fuerte de pokemon sin duda pero se esperaba más para un juego triple a d Nintendo como lo han sido luigi's mansion 3 o zelda botw
  52. BobaSkidz
    Nov 18, 2019
    3
    THE MOST RELIABLE REVIEW LACKING MAJOR SPOILERS

    Truly Disappointed with this release, as an avid Pokemon fan it's frustrates me to see such a lack of effort endorsed into this game in comparison to its predecessors. This game was mediocre in the greater sheme of things at best within the view of my eyes aswell as what seems to be the majority outside of Gamestop and IGN. Establishments    THE MOST RELIABLE REVIEW LACKING MAJOR SPOILERS

    Truly Disappointed with this release, as an avid Pokemon fan it's frustrates me to see such a lack of effort endorsed into this game in comparison to its predecessors. This game was mediocre in the greater sheme of things at best within the view of my eyes aswell as what seems to be the majority outside of Gamestop and IGN. Establishments such as IGN claiming that this is the greatest game of the franchise is quite repulsing considering the time and effort Game Freak put into its other titles, in contrast to there modern day ethic which is highly juxtaposed to past titles and as a result this means that Game Freak will continue to construct this level of negative quality continously.

    Objective Praise
    The game is beautiful with some great visuals and locactions and captures the feel of English Culture within the Galar Region. The game also has a flourishing new roster of Pokemon which intertwine eloquently with the shortened roster of the Pokedex. The introduction of the wildlife area and new mechanics such as the Rotom Bike, Dynamax and Crowd Atmosphere enhance the games emersion, and online interaction has became a satisfying new haven for players.

    Subjective Criticism
    This game has the worst overall plot line in Pokemon history lacks any form of integrity in its formula and lacks characters of significance and their personalities remain very one dimensional and bland.
    As there is no Evil Team within the games for the first time in franchise history (with Team Yell working alongside the player and Marline co-operatively) the games story seems disfigured as it seems there is no sideplot beside the Gym Challenge and the pacing of this game seems very confusing and lacking and due to the poor region design its very lackluster.
    The limited Pokedex is also highly damning and lingers in the mind of Pokemon veterans throughout the course of the game that such a vast quantity of Pokemon are inaccessible such as some of the fan favourites in Venasaur and Blastoise aswell as others, irrespective of the fact Game Freak had already designed the models for those Pokemon in the game; aswell as the updated switch character models for the Let's Go Games for the original 151 which they refused to include. Finally there are numerous bugs and glitches which interfere with the games emersion significantly which removes it from its potential experience. Conclusion
    This game feels very rushed and a poor reminder of the significance this developer has to the gaming industry and it almost feels Game Freak is disrespecting its own creation which is frightening for future games in the franchise as the duration of time and commitment declines every single title removing the anticipation for future projects. There is incomplete texture designs, poor writing poor creativity which is highly frustrating as the potential for this game was so high and is ultimately a shame becouse the potential for this game was so high apon release. For long time fans, this game may be deemed inacceptable such as myself, however this game indicates a good outlook on the Pokemon world aided by its visual direction. This game is by no means a terrible game as the is plenty of thrill and enjoyment that can be received remains. However I am happy it is receiving the negative critism outside of IGN that I feel it deserves as hopefully it can act as as a stepping stone to improve on future projects.

    It's establishments like IGN that accept mediocrity and overpower the use of the games visuals and take priority over the other aspects of the game which is ultimately the reason why Game Freak will deem this project a success regardless of the smaller organisations as the larger organisations accept this.    … Expand
  53. oRaGaMi
    Nov 18, 2019
    0
    It's not even fun anymore. Every entry up to sun and moon were great pokemon games.
    The let's go and Go iterations have made the developers lazy. Boo!!! Save your money!!
  54. Deadgar
    Nov 18, 2019
    0
    Gotta catch none of those lame pokemon.

    It's incredible how disappointing it is to have less pokemon than a small handheld like the 3DS can handle, on a console which is capable of running Doom, Zelda BoTW and also The Witcher 3! 1000x better looking than Pokemon SW/SH. On top of that, the game looks and plays as a small 3DS game... These game should've have never existed until they met    Gotta catch none of those lame pokemon.

    It's incredible how disappointing it is to have less pokemon than a small handheld like the 3DS can handle, on a console which is capable of running Doom, Zelda BoTW and also The Witcher 3! 1000x better looking than Pokemon SW/SH.

    On top of that, the game looks and plays as a small 3DS game... These game should've have never existed until they met the optimal quality of the switch.    … Expand
  55. Ibuki_7731
    Jun 1, 2021
    0
    Laziest game ever made. No passion or love given to this game. This is the perfect example of a rushed product all for the sake of making money as fast as possible. Game Freak has no excuse since they're a multi billion dollar company.
  56. Auza
    Nov 19, 2019
    0
    Game is uninspired and doesn't do anything to expand upon the same formula they've been using for 20+ years. Marketing for the game has been dishonest in general. Nicknamed my Garbodor "Gamefreak." So that was fun.
  57. DGonzalez
    Nov 19, 2019
    0
    This game is not horrible, but the game is extremely disappointing. It is not something that should come out of any major company and does not justify a 50 percent increase in price from the previous entries. The game encompasses laziness, with terrible graphics, subpar story, and an unappealing roster of returning and new pokemon. This game is not worth any of your time, especially if youThis game is not horrible, but the game is extremely disappointing. It is not something that should come out of any major company and does not justify a 50 percent increase in price from the previous entries. The game encompasses laziness, with terrible graphics, subpar story, and an unappealing roster of returning and new pokemon. This game is not worth any of your time, especially if you are a hardcore fan.… Expand
  58. RuleNo2
    Nov 19, 2019
    0
    This is a great Pokemon game. They have made plenty of positive changes to the formula and the structure and I'm having a blast playing it, especially as a lifelong Pokemon fan.

    The game isn't too short: yes you can run through it if you want, but why would you? Catch the new guys, make some curries and explore the wild. The game not having the full national pokedex isn't a problem:    This is a great Pokemon game. They have made plenty of positive changes to the formula and the structure and I'm having a blast playing it, especially as a lifelong Pokemon fan.

    The game isn't too short: yes you can run through it if you want, but why would you? Catch the new guys, make some curries and explore the wild.

    The game not having the full national pokedex isn't a problem: I have only just completed the first badge and am struggling to figure out who I want in my team. There are so many cool looking Pokemon to explore and use. I think I have about 60 in my dex already (which is more than most of these 11 hour playthroughs you read about have by the end).

    The graphics aren't bad, the world looks great: I don't even know where these criticisms are coming from, mine looks great in handheld mode (which let's be honest, is how it should be played).

    The game isn't linear: yes there is a linear nature to it, but the wild areas give you the ability to explore and do what you want - raid battle, catch pokemon, look for hidden items, set up camp, etc.

    Overall, I think maybe the competitive Pokemon community is upset by this game, but most typical lovers of Pokemon and the Pokemon games will find Sword and Shield to be the best games since the Gold/Silver/Ruby/Sapphire remakes.

    Highly recommend you buy.    … Expand
  59. Raduq
    Nov 20, 2019
    2
    They lost the change to make a very good game. Clearly a rushed project with development problems that business forced to be release probably months before it should.
    Pros: - New Pokemons,
    - Wild area is pretty fun Cons: - No full pokedex, with the excuse to focus on graphics. - poor graphics: they could be much better, not only because they are cartoonish, but they are a bad    They lost the change to make a very good game. Clearly a rushed project with development problems that business forced to be release probably months before it should.
    Pros: - New Pokemons,
    - Wild area is pretty fun
    Cons: - No full pokedex, with the excuse to focus on graphics.
    - poor graphics: they could be much better, not only because they are cartoonish, but they are a bad cartoonish. In the cities, outside wild area you even can't move the camera.
    - Poor developer and plot choices, very ofter you will see just Pokemon's blocking the path for no reason (you need to go somewhere else first).
    - The game is short, and there's no much pos-game.
    - Removed GTS for no reason (probably trying to force you to buy both games to get all Pokemon's)

    Pokemon games now are yearly releases with very poor quality.    … Expand
  60. RCKatz
    Nov 20, 2019
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Pokemon Sword and Shield are the best Pokemon experiences since generation 4. With the story taking a back seat during the adventure, the player is focused on competing with their rivals to complete the gym challenge earning a spot in the championship series. Each gym offers some pretty interesting challenges that range from herding Wooloo to answering questions and maneuvering around pitfalls. The atmosphere of the battles was quite stimulating as the stands were filled with fans cheering and shouting making it feel like a much bigger deal than past generations. The game gets a lot of grief for not having much of a post game, but between working to complete your Pokedex, raising Pokemon and participating in Raid Battles/Battle Tower, the player will find many more hours of content in the games! The battle tower format has changed and it is now easier to jump into after becoming the champion with the ability to rent teams. This game follows the Pokemon formula well but aside from Dynamaxing, does little to improve upon it.It also offers the easiest version of the Pokemon League in the series history as your team is fully healed between battles. My biggest gripe with the game is the inability to capitalize upon the rare trainer cards in raid battles. Being able to choose a teammate among the group of trainers you journeyed through the game with would only improve the raid experience. Many times you get stuck with first evolution Pokemon against 5 star raid bosses and spam moves that don't benefit the progression of the battle. Of we could change this with trainer cards and recruit members based on the battle we are preparing for, it would cut out a majority of the luck dependency and the player could focus more on actual strategies.… Expand
  61. Mack_thge_Sack
    Nov 21, 2019
    0
    I'm going to state my points and not my emotions, (although, i'm quite unhappy with gamefreak)

    1. People say not having every Pokemon in the game is "reasonable", why? i ask that because previous games on the DS, a solely handheld/portable system. (that I'm willing to bet has far less processing power than the switch) X and Y, OR/AS and Sun and Moon, Contained every pokemon and they are    I'm going to state my points and not my emotions, (although, i'm quite unhappy with gamefreak)

    1. People say not having every Pokemon in the game is "reasonable", why? i ask that because previous games on the DS, a solely handheld/portable system. (that I'm willing to bet has far less processing power than the switch) X and Y, OR/AS and Sun and Moon, Contained every pokemon and they are 3DS games, you're telling me that it was possible to put them all in those games but it was too much work to put them all into a CONSOLE game. i'm gonna call **** especially when there are those of us spending 120$ on both versions.

    2. Gigantamax and Dynamax is stupid(just an opinion(but the right one)), a) mega evolution had Twice as many forms making it much more versatile and meaning more people could have their favorite pokemon become even more powerful. 48 mega evolution, 20 some odd gigantamax.
    b) Sure every pokemon can gigantamax, but, you cant gigantamax whenever wherever like with mega evolution, also having your pokemon simply become giant and lose all of its unique moves (in my opinion) is far less appealing than keeping the moveset that i designed to work a specific way, if i wanted z-moves id play more sun and moon i don't care for your knockoff "dynamax" moves
    c) the ONLY way to get gigantamax is thru luck, in max raid battles, or through possible future events, so if i want to make sure my pokemon has the proper IVs, ability, Nature and characteristic i should probably just forget gigantamax unless i wanna spend every waking moment scouring the wild area, it makes the new staple for battling extremely inaccessible and undesirable

    3) finally the lack of content is absurd, i was waiting for maybe a second wild area(maybe in that snowy region) or something maybe a new post game area like previous games but its nothing its a tiny region(maybe the smallest so far) with short poorly thought out routes, uninteresting caves, Absolutely no Victory Road. and back to the lack of mons in the game, if they didn't put time into the out world, they obviously didn't put any more time and effort into animations than they did with X/Y-US/UM, no work on the plot of the game, then where did the resources go? gamefreak has either a lot of work in updates to do or pokemon is gonna be a thing of the past and ill just keep playing my DS versions where i can keep my longtime companions.    … Expand
  62. Natalka
    Nov 21, 2019
    0
    0 из 10.
    Го6но тупого го6на.
    Где текстуры? Почему всё в мыле? Возможно нужно играть в каких-нибудь Тесла-глассес, где всё выглядит красиво отрисовано? За 60!!!! $ !!!!!!!! Я получила сырое нечто, во что невозможно играть даже после летс го, я уж молчу про какой-нибудь Y. Верните деньги!!!    0 из 10.
    Го6но тупого го6на.
    Где текстуры? Почему всё в мыле?
    Возможно нужно играть в каких-нибудь Тесла-глассес, где всё выглядит красиво отрисовано?
    За 60!!!! $ !!!!!!!! Я получила сырое нечто, во что невозможно играть даже после летс го, я уж молчу про какой-нибудь Y.
    Верните деньги!!!
  63. eikku89
    Nov 21, 2019
    7
    It´s middle of road pokemon game.

    +Pokemons look good +Towns look good +New pokemon looks great +Calm lands are big and great +/- Story is same old pokemon story nothing new +/- Some battle animations looks amazing, but there too little of them -Pokemon looks good but lack animation -You can see rushed/lazy grapichs -too easy - lack of internet optimation in trades and    It´s middle of road pokemon game.

    +Pokemons look good
    +Towns look good
    +New pokemon looks great
    +Calm lands are big and great

    +/- Story is same old pokemon story nothing new
    +/- Some battle animations looks amazing, but there too little of them

    -Pokemon looks good but lack animation
    -You can see rushed/lazy grapichs
    -too easy
    - lack of internet optimation in trades and dynamax battles
    -need more routes and bigger routes especially in the before
    -lags in game when online

    I had fun playing this but it could to more time in devoloping.
    I have no problem with nat dex, but they´re better make colosseum game with all pokemon for competite pleyers.
    I liked how they did league battle, but it really needed more people to battle.
    Exp. candies make game too easy, i wished usage of them were limited somehow and i wished
    i could turn of exp.share. It would better game if it were at least harder to play, enemy trainers lvl were lower than wild pokemons and it annoys me.
    So its playable but not for hardcore pokemon players who wants decent challenge, i hope next one they make is more balanced in diffuculty.    … Expand
  64. Klusterx
    Nov 21, 2019
    0
    Absolutely terrible game, re used animations, terrible graphics, lack of effort, baby's first step kind of difficulty, slashed pokedex, and to top it all off 60 bucks. Truly a shame
  65. Wedffc
    Nov 21, 2019
    0
    Its just rushed please please Patch this!!! !
  66. peterd07
    Nov 22, 2019
    0
    these games cost $20 more than the 3DS games but has an even shorter campaign then they did, has absolutely no end game, has less than 1/2 the pokemon even though they are literally just reused assets from said 3DS games, it's way more buggy and unpolished unlike the 3DS games, and again COST $20 MORE! its **** embarrassing. Not to mention they straight up lied about the reused assets andthese games cost $20 more than the 3DS games but has an even shorter campaign then they did, has absolutely no end game, has less than 1/2 the pokemon even though they are literally just reused assets from said 3DS games, it's way more buggy and unpolished unlike the 3DS games, and again COST $20 MORE! its **** embarrassing. Not to mention they straight up lied about the reused assets and my god the animations are extremely lazy. They have no excuse for this dumpster fire.… Expand
  67. 17max08
    Nov 22, 2019
    7
    Not so bad as you all say. It's a neat game that's very fun to play for the majority of the userbase.
  68. dnl168
    Nov 22, 2019
    0
    Habe es jetzt mittlerweile 20 stunden gespielt und dass game ist voll mit Bugs und glitches zudem ist die Steuerung zum teil echt grausig . Bitte beheben
  69. Shinken
    Nov 23, 2019
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. New map and good design characters, but the animation of Pokemon is very bad. Dynamax doesn't hit the mark, lack of interesting battle system. The main story is quite short and bored. Remove quite a lot of mechanic and stuff, it makes the gameplay too easy and bored.… Expand
  70. Turdnuggz
    Nov 23, 2019
    7
    Pros:
    1. Some surprisingly good new pokemon
    2. Gym battles were fun 3. Brought back the Exp. Gain based on level relevance system 4. Beautiful scenery 5. Replaced Elite Four with a tournament 6. Sonia, Marnie, Bea, and Nessa are all wife material 7. Raid battles and dynamaxing are a decently fun new addition 8. Great soundtrack, as expected of Pokemon. 9. Decent amount of character    Pros:
    1. Some surprisingly good new pokemon
    2. Gym battles were fun
    3. Brought back the Exp. Gain based on level relevance system
    4. Beautiful scenery
    5. Replaced Elite Four with a tournament
    6. Sonia, Marnie, Bea, and Nessa are all wife material
    7. Raid battles and dynamaxing are a decently fun new addition
    8. Great soundtrack, as expected of Pokemon.
    9. Decent amount of character customization.

    Cons:
    1. Small postgame
    2. Less than 100 new pokemon
    3. Some textures were bad
    4. Some animations were reused and/or terrible
    5. Rivals were once again underwhelming. I miss the Gens 1-5 rivals.
    6. Villains were lacking. They weren't that threatening and their story/motivations were poorly explained and very rushed.
    7. Terrible legendary boss battle.

    Summary: The game was actually good overall. It wasn't nearly as good as some of the other core games in Pokemon, and definitely had it's problems, but it was good enough for me to enjoy quite a bit. It does not deserve most of the hate it has received, but Gamefreak could have done alot more and alot better. Still far better than the Let's Go abominations. I give it a solid 7/10.    … Expand
  71. Edumiroku
    Nov 24, 2019
    0
    I enjoyed the Game, however, I don't wanna give 'em a good critic, because they need to update, and we deserve a better quality. Sorry but I'm feeling bad because of buying the game now, so I'm gonna be just with myself. Cada vez que pasa el tiempo lo voy viendo peor y sobre todo con todos los DLC que sacan y piensan que van a arreglar todos los fallos que comete de base. Además que eseI enjoyed the Game, however, I don't wanna give 'em a good critic, because they need to update, and we deserve a better quality. Sorry but I'm feeling bad because of buying the game now, so I'm gonna be just with myself. Cada vez que pasa el tiempo lo voy viendo peor y sobre todo con todos los DLC que sacan y piensan que van a arreglar todos los fallos que comete de base. Además que ese contenido debería ser gratis.… Expand
  72. Kidwild
    Jan 21, 2020
    1
    This is a sad, and Pathetic Generation of Pokemon. If Game-Freak stayed true to their Claims, on why they cut the Pokemon out by more than half. And ACTUALLY made everything else great!. It would of been a 8 out of 10, maybe 9 out of 10 Game. that delivers a quality product. But alas Everything is a lie...

    The Game is pretty much too much hand-holding. (I get for newcomers, but we have    This is a sad, and Pathetic Generation of Pokemon. If Game-Freak stayed true to their Claims, on why they cut the Pokemon out by more than half. And ACTUALLY made everything else great!. It would of been a 8 out of 10, maybe 9 out of 10 Game. that delivers a quality product. But alas Everything is a lie...

    The Game is pretty much too much hand-holding. (I get for newcomers, but we have older Pokemon fans you know. That would want a challenge.) And on top of this. The Visuals are rather mediocre at best. The New Roster of Pokemon for Generation 8 is also pretty poor. Grade D+. While the starter Pokemon, and quite a bit of them are good. A lot of other Pokemon look nothing more than total mistakes, or a concept gone wrong or rushed.

    If this is how Pokemon will be from now on? Then I am no longer a Pokemon fan anymore. As buying this poor excuse of a Pokemon game, would be accepting mediocrity. (I got this used, and sent it back, for a full refund after a few hours of game-play... Not worth it at all.)    … Expand
  73. FizzPixel
    Nov 26, 2019
    1
    The game is lacking behind by a large margin in the technical aspect.
    Badly optimized and badly anymated. The franchise needs a reboot or new developers who can actually develop games for this generation of consoles.

    Artisticly most of the music is forgettable.
  74. Sakoondomla
    Nov 26, 2019
    2
    The lack of content and story line was really upsetting. I bought both sword and shield and was completely disappointed it was over in about 15 hrs. Now all that is left for me to do is linked battles and max raids which are fun at first but not what I wanted out of the game. I can only pray Game Freak will put out some kind of patch or free expansion to make this game what it should haveThe lack of content and story line was really upsetting. I bought both sword and shield and was completely disappointed it was over in about 15 hrs. Now all that is left for me to do is linked battles and max raids which are fun at first but not what I wanted out of the game. I can only pray Game Freak will put out some kind of patch or free expansion to make this game what it should have been in the first place. If your not a mega pokefan and can live without this game you should.… Expand
  75. albinopanda77
    Nov 26, 2019
    4
    While I actually enjoyed the series like the rest of them, I can’t say this game deserves anything higher than a 4. The game was rushed and looked like a direct port from the 3DS. The animations, while some looked nice, were better a decade ago on the GameCube. The graphics were sloppy and rushed. The plot was linear and lacked substance. I had high hopes for the first 1080p mainlineWhile I actually enjoyed the series like the rest of them, I can’t say this game deserves anything higher than a 4. The game was rushed and looked like a direct port from the 3DS. The animations, while some looked nice, were better a decade ago on the GameCube. The graphics were sloppy and rushed. The plot was linear and lacked substance. I had high hopes for the first 1080p mainline Pokémon game, but was quickly let down by the negligence and greed of Gamefreak.… Expand
  76. TCMTORD
    Nov 26, 2019
    1
    Less Pokémon then old 2D ds games. Recycled animations form 3ds games. Bad graphics for a 2019 switch game. Worst Pokémon generation to date
  77. izumi
    Dec 9, 2019
    6
    Pokemon Sword and Shield are difficult games to discuss. There is an established orthodoxy that these games are not worth the time, mostly rooted in recent controversy which require no introduction. I wish to distance myself from the politics of these games, and study them from a neutral viewpoint.

    I've been a fan of the Pokemon franchise since 2007 with the release of Diamond and    Pokemon Sword and Shield are difficult games to discuss. There is an established orthodoxy that these games are not worth the time, mostly rooted in recent controversy which require no introduction. I wish to distance myself from the politics of these games, and study them from a neutral viewpoint.

    I've been a fan of the Pokemon franchise since 2007 with the release of Diamond and Pearl. Since then I have fallen in and out of love with the franchise. Perhaps my low point was Sun and Moon, before falling in love with the franchise again by playing Ultra Sun and Lets Go Pikachu last year. Needless to say, I came into Sword and Shield with perhaps a naive optimism.

    The strongest aspect of these games should come as no surprise, the battles. The Battling System in Sword and Shield feels as refined and polished as it ever has. As someone who was heavily invested in Competitive Battling in the Sixth Generation, I feel as though Sword and Shield continue to make this aspect of the franchise feeling engaging and fun. I particularly enjoyed grinding out Max Raid battles of varying difficulties. Having the chance to score big rewards and powerful Pokemon made grinding feel much more interesting than any other generation of Pokemon. On a more general note, Dynamaxing is quite a fun mechanic. It adds a new layer of strategy to battles different to that of previous Pokemon gimmicks. Yet, I still found myself missing Mega Evolution even though I found Dynamaxing to be a fun replacement.

    Sword and Shield are also particularly strong when it comes to their character designs. There was not a single character who stood out to me as having a poor design. All of the character models were well made, with good art direction to follow. The same can be said for the new Pokemon of this generation. There are a few misses (*cough* fossil Pokemon), but more times than not I found myself really enjoying using the new Pokemon of Galar. I especially enjoyed the new evolutions to Galar forms. I do hope that this is something they look into more in the future, as my only complaint with these evolutions is that there are not a great many of them.

    However, Sword and Shield are far from perfect games. The story is particularly lacking in my opinion. Sword and Shield seem to act as though they are telling a story on the level of Generation 5, Generation 7, or the Delta Episode. Flashy cutscenes and the such makes it seem as though Sword and Shield want you to believe it is telling a meaningful story. Yet, I found this to be its most lacking area. I failed to connect with most of the events taking place. Sometimes I was left confused, both wondering why certain events had happened or why certain events were even in the game to begin with. This is not Pokemon story telling at its peak. In fact, I'd argue that this is one of the worst story telling Pokemon games since the 3D transition 6 years ago. For 3D Pokemon games, it feels as though we should have been given more. And yet, I must also acknowledge that story telling has never truly been the focus of any past Pokemon game, at least from my perspective.

    It is hard for me to put into words my next criticism, but perhaps it links to the lacking nature of the story. Sword and Shield have a feeling of barebonesness (if that's a word?). The world feels small, the story is small, characters are not developed to an extent they deserve to be. It almost feels as though Game Freak were on the verge of something special, but they simply weren't able to flesh it out enough to make it feel whole. There are towns and cities which feel smaller in scope than Sun and Moon, almost similar to the scope given in Generation 4 games. I don't know why this is the case, but it takes away from the special feeling often found in Pokemon games.

    My feelings on these games are mixed. I found myself truly enjoying my 37 hour play-through of Sword (along side an incomplete 20 hour play-through on Shield). But something felt missing from these games. I do hope that these issues are addressed in a sequel or definitive version game. Galar is a region I enjoyed exploring, the Pokemon were great and I wanted to know more about the game's cast. But ultimately Sword and Shield left me wanting more in perhaps the most unfulfilling way possible. I will watch the future of Pokemon with caution, and optimism.

    EDIT 09/12/19 - After reflecting on my review and the games more generally, along with some added playtime, I have decided to amend my original score (from 7 to 6 for those who are wondering). I feel as though this more accurately reflects how I feel about these games after putting more thought into them.    … Expand
  78. DracoToon
    Dec 5, 2019
    1
    Juego horrible, va a -30 fps en modo online, la camara va de culo y @Aprexdator no me quiere transferir sus legendarios de Shield, no seeas mamon y prestamelo >:v
  79. moretrashgames
    Dec 6, 2019
    0
    this game is vary bad its not even funny i cancelled my pre order when i was told they removed pokemon then when it came out i saw others play and it looked bad and i even got a friend to let me play there pokemon sword its way to easy there is no challenge it game holds your hand way to much its really dumb that you cant even turn of exp share making you 60steps steps a head of every onethis game is vary bad its not even funny i cancelled my pre order when i was told they removed pokemon then when it came out i saw others play and it looked bad and i even got a friend to let me play there pokemon sword its way to easy there is no challenge it game holds your hand way to much its really dumb that you cant even turn of exp share making you 60steps steps a head of every one else and on top of it every thing being vary limited even team building this also leads to people using the same pokemon and when people hivemind then you can go online and battle 30 people and about 25 have the samebuild you really cant explore like the old games ontop of that there is not much to do in end game you beat it and your like then what removing wild pokemon just took the fun out of pokemon there is nothing more i hate then dynamaxing this is the worst idea they ever had just stick with megas going back to them holding your hand were is the true test of knowledge of these games any more they tell you what is super effective or not effective just take this out we dont need it they need to step back and bring the difficulty back like how emerald and make a good story like black and white and black and white2 team yell good god there bad they dont even do anything unlike some teams who try to kill you like team plasma or do anything like team rocket the only bad thing team yell dose is taking up game files what they could of used for the missing pokemon oh wait thats right they are lazy i just wanted to point out how lazy they were i want you to take a look at what pokemon there missing from lets go eevee and pikachu remember they said they did not have the time to remake the pokemon but if i remember lets go was out before sword and shield hmm this is odd… Expand
  80. Pomosanto
    Dec 6, 2019
    7
    Good but too similar to old games. Game Freak should find a way to get more people on working on these titles in order to use the Switch at its full potential.
  81. Daitya
    Dec 8, 2019
    10
    Como todo juego de la saga Pokémon es un buen juego. Nuevas criaturas, batallas, la magia de empezar de nuevo en una nueva región, una nueva cultura regional y personajes, una banda sonora impresionante... Pero también nos encontraremos con numerosos fallos como... Ciudades un poco monótonas, el recorte de Pokémon(que espero que metan un DLC para compensar), la falta de libertad delComo todo juego de la saga Pokémon es un buen juego. Nuevas criaturas, batallas, la magia de empezar de nuevo en una nueva región, una nueva cultura regional y personajes, una banda sonora impresionante... Pero también nos encontraremos con numerosos fallos como... Ciudades un poco monótonas, el recorte de Pokémon(que espero que metan un DLC para compensar), la falta de libertad del principio o la escasez de postgame.

    Lionel, el campeón de Galar se ve más humano y actúa como tal, además de ser querido y conocido por todos los habitantes. Me gusta su expresión al perder(aunque me da un poco de pena combatir contra él XD). Eso sí, este personaje fue el único que me derrotó y me superaba en nivel.

    Para terminar me gustaría destacar la toxicidad de la comunidad de Pokémon. Una comunidad tan tóxica que no puede disfrutar de un juego de su saga favorita y prefieren insultar y amenazar de muerte a Game Freak porque no se sienten satisfechos con el juego(o al menos es lo que dicen). También deberíamos apreciar la otra posición donde se ponen como locos cuando hacen una crítica a su juego favorito.

    Conclusión para ambas opiniones de ardidos y amargados: Disfrutad del juego y pasad de vuestro "Orgullo Pokémon" parecéis una secta. Es un juego y ya está, no han matado a vuestros padres. Como cada juego tiene sus puntos fuertes y sus puntos débiles. Eso sí, estáis en vuestro derecho a decir que el juego está "incompleto" o que podrían haber hecho algo mejor... Pero hacedlo sin insultar y con un punto de vista neutral, que hay cada crítica destructiva que no tiene sentido.    … Expand
  82. AlexTheWise
    Sep 22, 2021
    3
    Took a while to get around to this after seeing a friend play it and be completely unimpressed. Now that I've tried it... I understand his feelings and glad I borrowed it only. What an ugly looking game with weird limitations, pop ins and a world that does not feel lived in. Cannot believe this is a 2021 game from the biggest IP around, looks like it came from a big gamecube project.

    I    Took a while to get around to this after seeing a friend play it and be completely unimpressed. Now that I've tried it... I understand his feelings and glad I borrowed it only. What an ugly looking game with weird limitations, pop ins and a world that does not feel lived in. Cannot believe this is a 2021 game from the biggest IP around, looks like it came from a big gamecube project.

    I hope this smashes the pokemon illusion, it always gets a pass because people love pokemon but a bad game is a bad game. No matter how long term a fan I am of it, there is a point where you have to call it out. The DLC is just gross as well, pokemon behind a pay wall, can easily see this being done on purpose if allowed. It is not even worth full £50, much less another £30...

    P.S This isn't really a criticism but the fire starter pokemon final stage looks like a Digimon, more than pokemon!    … Expand
  83. Sworzen
    Mar 1, 2020
    2
    Huge lack of potential. It's basically HD sun/moon. Garbage plot, garbage region with super short and simple routes. Cities with many copy and paste houses and buildings you can't enter. Notable lack of polish and content in general, this game should have been 1 or 2 years more in development.
  84. JohnCapala
    Jan 2, 2020
    6
    Not as bad as haters say, but still a big step back for the franchise. Story is bad, characters are bad (saying this after coming from the Sun & Moon great characters), routes are bland, region is linear, there's almost no postgame compared to previous games... And a big etc

    On the other hand, gyms are amazing, dynamax is not bad and music is amazing.
  85. B0rk4
    Jan 10, 2020
    6
    Positive:
    + Cousy gameplay
    + Addictive
    + Semi-interesting story
    Negative:
    - Way to easy (made for 7 y old toddlers) - Wild area is vey limited and should have been under development for at least another year.
    - Terrible fps when playing online, and bad online-features in general.
  86. Spagh8tti
    Jan 16, 2020
    4
    Probably the worst game I own for the Switch, I don't much care about the "dexit" because I have never really been too into Pokemon and have only played the GBA games. This is probably the most handheld I have felt while playing a game, every time you enter a new area you're always interrupted by some boring "cutscene" that you don't care about, when you want to explore the city somethingProbably the worst game I own for the Switch, I don't much care about the "dexit" because I have never really been too into Pokemon and have only played the GBA games. This is probably the most handheld I have felt while playing a game, every time you enter a new area you're always interrupted by some boring "cutscene" that you don't care about, when you want to explore the city something is blocking your path because they want you to do certain things first. I've had more fun surprise trading than playing this game, most of my hours are actually me being AFK while surprise trading. The wild area is good but the popups are obnoxious, I saw a video where someone complained about it but I thought it wouldn't be such a big deal but it's actually really bad, this game's graphics are not good either and it still lags on certain areas. I actually don't recommend buying this game, and I'll probably never buy another Pokemon game if they all play like this, GameFreak needs to innovate, I don't have a problem getting interrupted while on route's by other trainers and such but getting interrupted in cities by some characters that you don't care about just so they pretend that the game has a plot, it's a hard pass from me. I'll keep looking forward to new Pokemon games but I will not buy them without watching some reviews first and see if it's any different from this dumpster pile of a game.… Expand
  87. JosuexYrionx
    Jan 21, 2020
    0
    Eto eta mux mal. Sonido roto, pikemonss de la horilla de infierno, jraficos peores q el ET de Atari, sta critica esta esha x un fanatic de pikomons de 90 anos q te descuartizan x completo.

    Mushas gracias, Sony x traer un guego de Kojima
  88. Dre286286
    Feb 1, 2020
    1
    Scam. Do not buy this game. I luckily bought a used copy from gamestop and returned it in the first three days. Terrible that they lied about everything and then purposely did not finish game to sell you expansions.
  89. Flui
    Jan 24, 2020
    4
    Compares badly to pokemon battle revolution or even pokemon colosseum. These games are 10-15 years old.
  90. Ulthos
    Aug 24, 2021
    3
    Cyberpunk of the pokemon games.

    I decided not to buy a Switch because how disappointing this game is. Recently had a chance to play and finish the game and glad I didn't buy a Switch just to play this mediocre game(because it is a pokemon game). All the zones felt like a straight line with no incentive to explore, story was bad and the pokemon were missing. Music was good though.
  91. Ellielove
    Feb 1, 2020
    0
    Game is extremely short, clocking in between 10 and 15 hours for new players, and full of bugs and glitches. Many features such as the trading station have been removed and are now paid features. Models are jagged and rough, like what would be expected in an N64 or original Playstation game, and most of the textures aren't any better. The Wild Area is extremely small and barren, and twoGame is extremely short, clocking in between 10 and 15 hours for new players, and full of bugs and glitches. Many features such as the trading station have been removed and are now paid features. Models are jagged and rough, like what would be expected in an N64 or original Playstation game, and most of the textures aren't any better. The Wild Area is extremely small and barren, and two separate towns are nothing more than long hallways. It's a very ugly game with a very shallow story and characters, clearly rushed out in order to take in money without any effort.… Expand
  92. Warbringer
    Feb 21, 2021
    1
    No story. No Pokedex. Not all Pokemon available. Only handholding. Content locked behind DLC. Content locked behind third party apps like "Pokemon Home" "Pokemon Bank" "Nintendo Switch Online". Gamefreak lied to all of us and they admited it.
  93. DullahansXMark
    Feb 16, 2020
    5
    The game has half of the Pokemon, so I'm giving it half of a perfect score.

    Jokes aside (not that it's really a joke), there's lots of other problems with this game. I don't feel like doing a full review, so I'll just list the problems and leave it at that. -graphically, the game is a joke. You'd never guess this is the highest-grossing media franchise in the world judging by the    The game has half of the Pokemon, so I'm giving it half of a perfect score.

    Jokes aside (not that it's really a joke), there's lots of other problems with this game. I don't feel like doing a full review, so I'll just list the problems and leave it at that.

    -graphically, the game is a joke. You'd never guess this is the highest-grossing media franchise in the world judging by the visuals. I find the more recent Star Wars films questionable in general quality, but I can at least tell a lot went into making them all.
    -h i g h q u a l i t y a n i m a t i o n s
    -the game plays straight out of the PS1 era of JRPGs. It's 2020, why does the game need to slow down and display "It's super effective!" in a separate text box? Go look up some Persona 5 gameplay and see how quickly and cleanly the game tells you that you hit a weak point. It's actually embarrassing that Pokemon can't match that.
    -do I even need to say that Dynamax is stupid?
    -fun fact: a single Pokemon takes up about 136 bytes of data. That means that 10 Pokemon is 1.36 KB, 100 Pokemon is 13.6 KB, and 1000 Pokemon is 136 KB, which makes 10,000 Pokemon fit into 1.36 MB of data. That's three times smaller than your average .mp3 file. Pokemon Home doesn't need to exist and it doesn't need to cost $16 a year.
    -I hope you're not tired of Charizard yet
    -the music is mostly garbage
    -the new Pokemon designs are mostly garbage. Whoever green-lit Arctozolt should be demoted to janitor.
    -those two guys (you know which ones, but I can't "spoil" anything) have stupid hair. Yes, I really felt this needed to be an actual bullet point.
    -the plot literally happens without you. I understand I've made some subjective points, but this isn't one of them.

    I could go on and on about this, but I'm getting bored, so let's just leave it at that. Don't be proud that you bought this nonsense of a game, please. Game Freak scammed the world with this one.    … Expand
  94. Lightning_Chasr
    Mar 1, 2020
    4
    More of the same, with less of what makes the series special to so many. Ugly open world area but beautiful towns. Spotty online. The most cinematic the series has ever been, sadly ruined by a lack of voice acting.
  95. dbbuu
    Feb 21, 2020
    1
    The only redeeming factor this game has is that's it's Pokémon, and I unfortunately like Pokémon a lot.
  96. Persona5Royale
    Feb 22, 2020
    0
    Utterly awful and the characters are unlikable such as one of your rivals Hop. The shield version is much better due to better gym leaders and a better ledgendary.
  97. Adriella01
    Feb 22, 2020
    4
    Not much to say. It is pretty linear. There is not much freedom to do something else than the story besides catching and leveling pokemons while progressing to the next city. I wished there would have been some sidequests or hidden areas to explore for additional items like back then in Pokemon Gold/Silver. 15h gameplay time and you're done. And if you want more you have to pay 25€ for theNot much to say. It is pretty linear. There is not much freedom to do something else than the story besides catching and leveling pokemons while progressing to the next city. I wished there would have been some sidequests or hidden areas to explore for additional items like back then in Pokemon Gold/Silver. 15h gameplay time and you're done. And if you want more you have to pay 25€ for the next small expansion pass.… Expand
  98. geuduen
    Feb 28, 2020
    2
    I didn‘t play the game so much but was before Engine Cuty trying to catch some Pokémon and threw 30 pokeballs( all I had) just to see it allways getting out, the Pokémon was just 2 lvl over my strongest Pokémon but there seems to be no chance to get it. WTF? Why? Why I can‘t catch it and it ignores my commands like in the old titels? What a **** hope I can swallow my anger and play itI didn‘t play the game so much but was before Engine Cuty trying to catch some Pokémon and threw 30 pokeballs( all I had) just to see it allways getting out, the Pokémon was just 2 lvl over my strongest Pokémon but there seems to be no chance to get it. WTF? Why? Why I can‘t catch it and it ignores my commands like in the old titels? What a **** hope I can swallow my anger and play it again at the moment it doesn’t look like it. Thanks for letting me throw 55€ in the garbage!… Expand
  99. Taerared
    Mar 5, 2020
    3
    Unfortunately, the newest entry in the Pokemon series is... confusingly directionless. It doesn't feel like Game Freak made these two games for any reason other than making money. About 60% of Pokemon are gone, and there isn't much to replace them. The game is also incredibly easy, a five year old wouldn't have any trouble beating it. There's also a lack of post-game content. C'est la vie...
  100. byen
    Mar 12, 2020
    1
    I used to be so into this game, but now things that did annoy me that I usually don't let get to me now just make me visibly mad and annoyed. While I will admit this game does some things really well, characters like Hop and Sonia have suddenly started to piss me off. I don't think there has been a single game that has annoyed me to the point where I just don't wanna own the game anymore,I used to be so into this game, but now things that did annoy me that I usually don't let get to me now just make me visibly mad and annoyed. While I will admit this game does some things really well, characters like Hop and Sonia have suddenly started to piss me off. I don't think there has been a single game that has annoyed me to the point where I just don't wanna own the game anymore, don't wanna hear about it, or just straight up don't want to even glance in its direction.… Expand
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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]
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