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. MasterMike000
    Nov 19, 2020
    2
    Story wise, it's extremely forgettable and unoriginal. This is the most generic and uncreative Pokemon story next to X/Y. The story in this game, brings nothing new to the franchise, it's literally the same boring story that Gamefreak keeps repeating. Compared to the other games that have an interesting story like in Gen 4 and Gen 5...this game brings nothing new or anything interesting toStory wise, it's extremely forgettable and unoriginal. This is the most generic and uncreative Pokemon story next to X/Y. The story in this game, brings nothing new to the franchise, it's literally the same boring story that Gamefreak keeps repeating. Compared to the other games that have an interesting story like in Gen 4 and Gen 5...this game brings nothing new or anything interesting to the Pokemon world or lore. It's literally, and I mean LITERALLY just fight the gym leaders, reach to the tournament, get interrupted by the villain and you need to stop the strong/legendary Pokemon that just popped up out of nowhere. This with maybe 3 scenes of exposition coming from Sonia...that's the story of Pokemon Sword/Shield from what I played. Like, the developers didn't even bother showing us a cutscene of how the strong/legendary Pokemon appeared or came.

    Character wise, none of them really stand out from the rest of the series because of how uncreative or poorly they were written. Your rival Hop is the most annoying rival up to date, who literally stops your path every 5 minutes and wastes your time and repeats the same sentence, “I ShOuLd HaVe KnOwN yOu HaVe MaStErEd TyPiNg”. It doesn't help that is character goes literally everywhere throughout the story, from wanting to be the Champion, to feeling weak after losing to Bede, to wanting to be a professor...BUT still challenges you at the Champion Cup after beating the main game. Rose being the villain of the story is extremely rushed and comes out of nowhere. Yes, we knew he was the villain before the game was released, but his reveal of being a villain LITERALLY comes up in the very last second of the game for no reason what's so ever. Bede was such a disappointment because while he's an actual rude rival like we always wanted, but sadly his team is complete joke because of how pathetic easy they are too beat. The first half of the game, all his Pokemon are ALL Psychic type and the second half of the game, they are ALL Fairy type. Marnie...she's just there in the game for some reason. She literally has no impact to the actual story in the game. Team Yell...give them a medal for being the worst evil organization in the entire Pokemon franchise. You can't take them seriously, they're simply annoying, There's literally nothing interesting or unique about Team Yell.

    Gameplay wise, it's LITERALLY the exact same battle animations from X/Y, except that they introduced Gigantamax and Dynamax which is easily the worst mechanic compared to Mega Evolutions and Z-Moves. Not only is it broken and really unbalanced, but it was poorly designed with how you obtain a Gigantamax Pokemon. Unlike Z-Moves or Mega-Evolutions, where you can simply use the require item on the Pokemon you already have and raised…In Sword/Shield, you need to replace and catch the same Pokemon again when it’s in its Gigantamax form. So that Rookidee that you caught at the beginning of the game and bonded with it till it became a Corviknight…throw it in the PC because it won’t be able to Gigantamax. The Wild Area and the Max Raids battles…oh my God, it’s awful. The Wild Area has ugly textures, terrible pop-in and the fps drops like crazy when online. Coming from the biggest media franchise of all time…the Wild Area simply looks unacceptable. It doesn’t help that the Wild Area is introduced way too early in the game and you have no reason whatsoever to go back to it after the first time. The Max Raids battle on the other hand, when offline, are broken. You might battle and want to catch a 5-star Gigantamax Charizard…but the NPC trainers, that are your teammates, are using a Togepi or a Magikarp. Yup, because that makes sense when you’re battling against a giant Level 60 Charizard.

    Finally, the game lacks content. Not just the National Dex, I’m taking about the extra content that game offers. I mean, the fact that Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver or Pokemon Black 2/White 2 (2 DS games) or even Pokemon Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon (a 3DS game) have more content and have more duration than a Nintendo Switch game (which remember, being charged full price)...is pathetic on Gamefreak. The Post-game shouldn’t even be considered a Post-Game because all you are doing is literally catch the legendary Pokemon from the box art, which from all the previous titles, were in the MAIN game. Even the DLC is not enough because the Isle of Armor expansion is terrible.

    The only good thing that I can say about this game is the Crown Tundra (which has a better and more interesting story btw), the soundtrack and the gym battles actually feel like an exciting event. it felt like something that's actually grand and important like in the anime. But other than that...This is easily one of the worst Pokemon games. I can't argue against people who dislike Pokemon games because this game...is everything that shows why people hate/dislike Pokemon games    … Expand
  2. DarksoulFX
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Its sad to say that fan made based pokemon games have better graphic quality and quality of life changes that actually make the game alot more enjoyable. #gamefreaklied
  3. maiavictor
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Lazy animations, bug-ridden, cut content, flat story, dated mechanics, recycled formula with no innovation. How can this game be rated higher than mediocre? Seems like being a Pokémon game excepts it from being a good game.
  4. Fhvfgv
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Pokemon Sword and Shield are the best games in the series, streamlining its most tedious traditions without losing any of the charm."
  5. Evmodi
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Not a $60 dlls game... It's a game that feels incomplete and as it ts right now, even the nintendo wii could have done something better.
  6. mvsmax
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    need remove the multi exp thx, add other pokemon too, it need to be much better
  7. Tester75
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    Most new Pokémon designs look terrible, the world is open but feels empty simply because there isn’t much to do. The wild area is ok but seems like a missed opportunity. The camping and cooking mechanics are cumbersome and I rarely use either of those features. The story is one dimensional and boring. The dynamax mechanic is just gimic that isn’t that exciting. The exclusion of a nationalMost new Pokémon designs look terrible, the world is open but feels empty simply because there isn’t much to do. The wild area is ok but seems like a missed opportunity. The camping and cooking mechanics are cumbersome and I rarely use either of those features. The story is one dimensional and boring. The dynamax mechanic is just gimic that isn’t that exciting. The exclusion of a national dex would have been bearable had the above issues not been there, but since the game is riddled with all these issues (lack on content and poorly designed Pokémon) I now find it inexcusable. This game had all the potential to be the best Pokémon game yet, but is one of my least favorite in the entire series. Tbh, don’t waste your money on these games. Hope that the next set of games are better… Expand
  8. zanzou
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    Shortest mainline pokemon game ever made, no end game, fewest pokemon since generation 3, automatic EXP share means you are always too high-level, models were imported from a low-fi handheld game, terrible graphics and animation, dynamax is a terrible gimmick to replace mega-evolutions
  9. Therapygame
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    TOTALLY UNFINISHED!!! I completed the game in only 12 hours and there is No post-game content. The graphics look like a PS2 game (and even worse), animations are the worst i've ever seen in the last 15 years, Pokémon cut, moves cut, stupidly Easy (you can't turn off the exp. share so your Pokémons Will Always be overleveled). Dynamax Battles are even worse than megaevolutions, raids areTOTALLY UNFINISHED!!! I completed the game in only 12 hours and there is No post-game content. The graphics look like a PS2 game (and even worse), animations are the worst i've ever seen in the last 15 years, Pokémon cut, moves cut, stupidly Easy (you can't turn off the exp. share so your Pokémons Will Always be overleveled). Dynamax Battles are even worse than megaevolutions, raids are BORING, and the wild area is EMPTY. This game doesn't even deserve to be reviewed.… Expand
  10. GazedUpon
    Nov 16, 2019
    2
    Here's the issue with these games:
    While the basic concept of "Catch monster, Train monster, Fight with monster" will always be fun no matter what, that isn't a trait unique to Sword and Shield.
    The game simply feels... unfinished all around. I got this game day 1, excited like a little child to finally play it. And then the game made me feel like a small child that should have listened    Here's the issue with these games:
    While the basic concept of "Catch monster, Train monster, Fight with monster" will always be fun no matter what, that isn't a trait unique to Sword and Shield.
    The game simply feels... unfinished all around. I got this game day 1, excited like a little child to finally play it. And then the game made me feel like a small child that should have listened to their parents to not spend their money on video games.

    Positives:
    - As mentioned before, the basic concept of "catch, train, fight" just works.
    - Most of the new Pokémon do look appealing, which is subjective, of course.
    - The trainer customization is fantastic! I had a lot of fun dressing my character up.

    Negatives:
    - The game sometimes doesn't load things in properly, which causes things to "pop in".
    - The game often freezes when anything happens, such as talking to an NPC
    - Areas within the game are empty and feel flat.
    - Routes might as well be hallways, since you can't go anywhere except straight forward
    - The Dynamax/Gigantamax feature feels underwhelming. The gym leaders that use them have this build up where they power up their Pokémon, just to have it die to an attack or two anyways.
    - Speaking of Dynamax/Gigantamax, you can pretty much only use it during gym battles, which made me wonder why it's even in the game
    - Some of the newer Pokémon are either ridiculously strong OR weak. There seems to be almost no consistent middle ground.
    - Somehow your own Pokémon always have a WAY higher level than the opponents, which is weird since I avoided quite a few battles. This makes fights often laughably easy.
    - I noticed that a few moves were missing. For example, I caught a Vespiquen and it couldn't learn ANY of it's signature moves. (Heal Order etc.) This was a bit weird to me.
    - The story is... not really existent. It consists of "The champ is so great! Look at him! Did you know how great the champ is?", which really ruined the immersion for me
    - For a console game that tries to look modern graphically, it simply fails

    Other things you should know:
    - This game will not let you trade over most of your Pokémon from Sun and Moon later on
    - There have been a lot of reports of the game damaging or deleting data on the Switch it was played on

    Summed up:
    Sadly, I'm sorely disappointed with Sword and Shield. I could barely bring myself to finishing the game, as I found myself bored out of my mind a lot of the time. If you're a hardcore fan or somebody wanting to try out Pokémon, stick to the previous entries in the series. This game isn't worth your money.    … Expand
  11. billythorton198
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    Just cutting half the pokemon brings it down to a 3, then all of the other features that were available being cut?! This game should have never been sold
  12. Cookie69
    Nov 16, 2019
    2
    Pro+
    +Short Loeading Times
    + creative Caracters Mixed +/- +/- why still 2 Versions and no real Co up Game Modes. +/- Dynamax Pokemon are just Upscaled Versions of normal Pokemon. (Exept for the GymTrainers Special Version that are not available for Players) So why ..just 400 and not 800 Pokemon in the Game? Negativ- -Feels like a HD remake of a 3DS Pokemon Game -Animation    Pro+
    +Short Loeading Times
    + creative Caracters

    Mixed +/-
    +/- why still 2 Versions and no real Co up Game Modes.
    +/- Dynamax Pokemon are just Upscaled Versions of normal Pokemon.
    (Exept for the GymTrainers Special Version that are not available for Players)
    So why ..just 400 and not 800 Pokemon in the Game?

    Negativ-
    -Feels like a HD remake of a 3DS Pokemon Game
    -Animation stiff and outdated
    -Story is Irrelevant and forgetable
    -Online Mode is leggie and Looses regularly Internet connection
    -‘‘New Features‘‘ are not new - like Clothing and Hair Customation
    -Wild Area‘s Free Camera is very limited. 360° horizontal but vertical u cant look more then 10° +/-
    (So u cant look into the Sky or on to the Ground)
    -Pokemon and Characters textures are weak and on Tv even worst. Looking like a mix of 3DS & PS2 Grafic
    -30FPS but it feels like in the Wild Area, it drops even below 30

    For all the Hype ..... S / S did not deliver what was promised.
    It’s just a nother Cookie cuter Pokemon Game that u can forget as soon the next Pokemon Game get announced. ( whether GO, mobile phone, or something else.)    … Expand
  13. ririechan
    Nov 17, 2019
    2
    the games are really disappointing
    as for the first main line game (excluding let's go pikachu and eevee, which are perceived as spin off by the fans) we would expect something incredible and yet it didn't come.
    In favour of a new mechanic completely unbalanced, the game removed mega evolution, z moves half of the pokedex and moves. The pokecamp, feature that replace pokeamie, does not    the games are really disappointing
    as for the first main line game (excluding let's go pikachu and eevee, which are perceived as spin off by the fans) we would expect something incredible and yet it didn't come.
    In favour of a new mechanic completely unbalanced, the game removed mega evolution, z moves half of the pokedex and moves.
    The pokecamp, feature that replace pokeamie, does not work as good as it predecessor, making hard playing with a specific pokemon and lacks the capacity to let you pet it, unlikely pokemon sun and moon and the let's go games.
    the wild areas, strong point of this game, are a not so big place were pokemon suddenly pop ups from the ground.
    the 10 routes present in this game are just long corridors.
    the main story is extremely short and bad, even for pokemon standards.
    graphic are yes better than the one for the 3ds, but for a switch game are just underwhelming.
    exp share is now impossible to turn off and the game is for that reason extremely easy.
    post game is a one hour episode with nerfed sun and moon battle tower.
    you can still have fun from this game, since the core mechanic of pokemon is still there, but that's it
    the game does not implement anything to distinguish itself from previous games if not setting good points for next gen games. But this is happening too frequently in pokemon games, that continue to cut good steps to set new good mechanics, which result unpolished, unfinished and will be removed in the next gen games    … Expand
  14. DJ323
    Nov 18, 2019
    2
    When I saw the first trailer for Sword and Shield I was so excited. I watched each and every trailer up until the release but with every trailer I watched I became less and less hyped.

    When I learned that not all Pokemon would make it and mega evolution was cut, I was disappointed but it was not a deal breaker for me. When I saw the replacement feature (Dynamaxing) and the    When I saw the first trailer for Sword and Shield I was so excited. I watched each and every trailer up until the release but with every trailer I watched I became less and less hyped.

    When I learned that not all Pokemon would make it and mega evolution was cut, I was disappointed but it was not a deal breaker for me. When I saw the replacement feature (Dynamaxing) and the "high-quality" graphics and animations that were apparently the reason for the cut, I was thoroughly underwhelmed. I still had hope for the games but it was dwindling heavily. Now that the games have been released and I can see them first hand, I am fearful.

    The first trailers for Sword and Shield, not only gave me hope for the new games but for potential generation 4 remakes. After Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, I was ready to see Primal Giratina, Palkia, Dialga and maybe even Primal Arceus. Seeing how Sword and Shield turned out, I now fear Game Freak will remake my favourite generation in the series (I know I am biased due to nostalgia) and ruin it with a Gigantamax Arceus. I didn't know the game could be so awful that the thought of my favourite game being remade could fill me with dread. I sincerely hope that Game Freak fixes its mistakes before attempting gen 4 remakes because I don't know if I can stay a fan if they screw up Sinnoh too.

    If you're wondering about the problems I had with the game, they are as follows:
    -The game was too easy (EXP share being mandatory did not help) and quite short
    -The game was very linear with a basic story
    -The game seems rushed and unpolished
    -Graphics in certain areas were very bad quality (not a deal breaker for me though)
    -Models popping into existence was very jarring (*poof* there's an Onix, *poof* its gone)
    -The wild area was mostly empty (and kind of boring)
    -The wild area weather makes no sense (sunshine next to a blizzard is completely normal)
    -Over 400 Pokemon were removed (I expected 100-200 not basically half of the older gens)
    -Dynamaxing and Gigantamaxing are worse gimmicks than mega evolution and Z moves (and they are basically just a combined version of both but lazier)
    -Animations were fine (some were great, some were Yamper's tail whip but the great ones did not justify the cut content)
    -There is less content than the 3DS games but with a $20 markup

    Maybe I had too much hope for this game because I compared it to other Switch games like Breath Of The Wild and Mario Odyssey. Maybe I am not the demographic Game Freak is targeting anymore. All I know is that the game was so disappointing that I knew I had to rate it (even though I don't normally rate things). Overall, the game has some good areas and aspects but it also makes me very worried for the future of the franchise.    … Expand
  15. TaraBaby
    Nov 20, 2019
    2
    It's a Pokemon game. Yep, I said it. It follows the same formula that stopped being fun after Pokemon Black & White. But, that's not all, you get 50% less Pokemon, no Mega Evolutions, etc etc. The graphics look like crap. No seriously, this should be called Pokemon RPG Maker that's how bad the textures look. If you have never played a Pokemon game you might like it but I suggest a REALIt's a Pokemon game. Yep, I said it. It follows the same formula that stopped being fun after Pokemon Black & White. But, that's not all, you get 50% less Pokemon, no Mega Evolutions, etc etc. The graphics look like crap. No seriously, this should be called Pokemon RPG Maker that's how bad the textures look. If you have never played a Pokemon game you might like it but I suggest a REAL Pokemon game Fire Red and Leaf Green or Heart Gold & Soul Silver.

    If they wanted to just make the same game only lazier then coming to the Switch was a mistake. Pokémon Colosseum still remains the best console Pokemon game by a 1000 miles.    … Expand
  16. QuarterLife
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    Imagine making ~40% of a game, and then charging ~120% for it. That's Pokemon right now. This game is rushed, buggy, and overall an insult to anyone that has enjoyed the series before. You might consider it if it's your first Pokemon game, but if you have others in your library just keep playing them -- they're better.
  17. mother2fan1
    Nov 18, 2019
    1
    Sure, it's cute and all, but with removing everything that seemed essential to the series, not having anything to do after beating the game, and reusing everything from the old games, you'd have to ask where 3 years of development time went into. I'd pass.
  18. cmcgee
    Nov 15, 2019
    5
    -Cut over 1/2 the pokemon
    -Linear route/map design
    -Indoor battles are in a boring white void
    -Exp share cannot be turned off
    -Wild area is mostly empty
    -Battle animations are still meh
    +The new Pokemon are cool
    +The upgraded textures are nice
    +Overword encounters
  19. timesteiner
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Dejando de lado la dex nacional y los movimientos eliminados, el juego esta lleno de errores y bugs que hacen que s cierre a cada rato, esperemos que llegue pronto un parte para arreglar esto.
  20. Amida
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Caro, ridículamente fácil, y ademas de todo con una campaña publicitaria fraudulenta
  21. Leopanic1997
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    If you want a game that isn't a pokemon game this is for you-- one of the last great developers of our life times finally decided to give up our best interests for a cash grab. 55 percent of our favorite pokemon are now out of the game, and before you say anything-- yes they are in the game files still. Ironically they also took some moves out, and instead of just getting back to megaIf you want a game that isn't a pokemon game this is for you-- one of the last great developers of our life times finally decided to give up our best interests for a cash grab. 55 percent of our favorite pokemon are now out of the game, and before you say anything-- yes they are in the game files still. Ironically they also took some moves out, and instead of just getting back to mega evolutions or z moves they instead went with a whole new feature. Game freak has stopped caring what the fans want and started caring about keeping the company's wallet fat.… Expand
  22. MaestroPokeFer
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Asco de juegos estúpido gamefreak.
    gamefreak le esta apostando mucho a las nuevas generaciones y bota de lado a los que crecimos con la franquicia,
    Pero han olvidado una cosa, las nuevas generaciones ya no son fieles a nada solo siguen lo que esta de moda y cuando pokemon deje de ser moda adios
  23. poojabehavior
    Nov 16, 2019
    3
    The game itself is fairly mediocre with some good and bad. It fixed many of the series long problems but also doubled down on many of the worst parts. The game also isn't the most pleasing to look at, and I don't mean it has to have the highest poly count or the most advance effects, but the combination of poor textures, texture filtering, world assets and the bunch, it hurts to look atThe game itself is fairly mediocre with some good and bad. It fixed many of the series long problems but also doubled down on many of the worst parts. The game also isn't the most pleasing to look at, and I don't mean it has to have the highest poly count or the most advance effects, but the combination of poor textures, texture filtering, world assets and the bunch, it hurts to look at sometimes and doesn't look like a triple a switch game. The story is bare bones while still having obtrusive and annoying character interactions, but the base gameplay is still fun even if it's abit easy and seeing the new Pokemon did put a smile on my face. Also the challenges and the whole stadium setting was pretty cool to. This game probably would of gotten a 5 or 6 based on the game itself but I have to lower it a few points dou to the lies game freak and the pokemon company had stated about new character modules or improving character animations as reasons for cutting the national dex and other little things they have done as a company.… Expand
  24. poxotaf266
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    The people giving it a 10 can't even give 1 reason why they like the game. It is the worst installment of the franchise:
    - removed 450 pokemon
    - removed 130 moves - removed key features - fewer than 100 new pokemon - linear region - only 10 routes - no dungeons - reused models - reused textures - reused animations - reused music - short playtime - short postgame - boring    The people giving it a 10 can't even give 1 reason why they like the game. It is the worst installment of the franchise:
    - removed 450 pokemon
    - removed 130 moves
    - removed key features
    - fewer than 100 new pokemon
    - linear region
    - only 10 routes
    - no dungeons
    - reused models
    - reused textures
    - reused animations
    - reused music
    - short playtime
    - short postgame
    - boring story
    - handholding
    - low difficulty
    - buggy
    - unpolished
    - lazy
    - rushed
    - no cohesion
    - potentially console-breaking (NAND issues are legit according to experts)    … Expand
  25. ThePuli
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    es un juego de pokemon muy malo, no esperaba nada de ti y aun asi logras decepcionarme, no es la gran cosa deja mucho que desear unos gráficos de generación pasada, en fin un asco.
  26. Shiakuzo
    Nov 16, 2019
    1
    Fails in so many levels, that I cannot believe this is the product of a 20 year franchise..
    As a gamer and Pokémon fan from the beginning I am disapointed and it will take a lot for Gamefreak and The Pokémon Company to have my respect and suport again..
    I am truly sad..
  27. Beans2520
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    #GameFreakLied Why should we buy a 60$ game that has less content the previous entries?
  28. Jeryr
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    Not for True Pokemon fans,

    The Dex cut was an insult to most as their favorite Pokemon were excluded, the animation and model has not change since the previous games, Gamefreak made an attempt to lie to us by saying the Pokemon cut was to improve quality but there models and animations are EXACTLY the same as the previous games. It was a amateur attempt on lying and a amateur attempt    Not for True Pokemon fans,

    The Dex cut was an insult to most as their favorite Pokemon were excluded, the animation and model has not change since the previous games, Gamefreak made an attempt to lie to us by saying the Pokemon cut was to improve quality but there models and animations are EXACTLY the same as the previous games.

    It was a amateur attempt on lying and a amateur attempt of making a new game with no innovation, hope they improve the next game even better.

    Refunding/reselling the game after completing it is a good choice as $60 is unjust price for this beta version.    … Expand
  29. Ampha
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    A disappointment of Wailord proportions.

    Although, Wailord has been reduced to being no larger than your trainer, as Sword and Shield fail to correctly scale each Pokemon. This is just one of the many shortcomings in this new generation of mainline Pokemon games that have left long time fans like myself unsure of the future of Pokemon. The removal of over 50% of much loved Pokemon is a    A disappointment of Wailord proportions.

    Although, Wailord has been reduced to being no larger than your trainer, as Sword and Shield fail to correctly scale each Pokemon.

    This is just one of the many shortcomings in this new generation of mainline Pokemon games that have left long time fans like myself unsure of the future of Pokemon.

    The removal of over 50% of much loved Pokemon is a difficult decision to understand, when it seems that no additional content has been added to compensate for this, with the exact same models being used from the 3DS games. Battles feel as dated as ever, the over world is still confined to corridors and linear routes pathways and fly/surf/riding Pokemon has disappeared completely. Add this to the dismissal of previous game mechanics, a lack of post-game content and graphical issues, sadly all adds to the underwhelming experience.

    The only positive new feature is the addition of the wild area, which finally touches upon the open-world environment that so many fans have dreamed off. It is of course impossible to not compare this to other games with open worlds and unfortunately the novelty quickly wears off. Perhaps the next generation will build upon this and create a truly impressive and fully developed open world Pokemon game.

    Despite my love of Pokemon for over 18 years, I cannot bring myself to rate this as a stand alone game highly and I can only hope that the next generation of Pokemon games will be their very best.    … Expand
  30. Duelz96
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    Words cannot describe how disappointed I was while playing this game. On my 6th gym I decided I couldn’t force myself to finish it. From poor animations to terrible graphics, this completely ruins the atmosphere of the game. Many successful features have been removed. The new content is not the best either.
    This is the worst entry in the Pokémon series by far. Save your money and by a game    Words cannot describe how disappointed I was while playing this game. On my 6th gym I decided I couldn’t force myself to finish it. From poor animations to terrible graphics, this completely ruins the atmosphere of the game. Many successful features have been removed. The new content is not the best either.
    This is the worst entry in the Pokémon series by far. Save your money and by a game that’s been polished and has actually been made with care.
    Pokémon sword was the worst thing that could happen to Pokémon.    … Expand
  31. DavoNZ
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    Can't believe this quality of game was released, despite being for one of the highest grossing franchises ever. Feels like it was made by indie developers. I havnt seen pop-in this bad in over a decade.
  32. Zumabuma
    Nov 16, 2019
    4
    In today’s day and age there are a number of game companies who have proven that they are interested in one thing and one thing only. Money. This is obvious when games are constantly being rushed through their development cycle and are released with cut content, bugs, poor graphics relative to the current hardware, and endless micro transactions. Recently developers who have spent yearsIn today’s day and age there are a number of game companies who have proven that they are interested in one thing and one thing only. Money. This is obvious when games are constantly being rushed through their development cycle and are released with cut content, bugs, poor graphics relative to the current hardware, and endless micro transactions. Recently developers who have spent years cultivating a loyal fan base through thoughtful game design and innovation have turned their backs on the consumers who helped to build them in to powerhouses of the industry. Bethesda, Bioware, and now GameFreak just to name a few. It’s unfortunate that GameFreak has chosen to release an unfinished and unpolished game in order to take advantage of the holiday season.

    With the release of Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee, GameFreak took their first steps towards creating the first open world Pokémon game that many of us have dreamed about. While the game itself was not the mainline Pokémon game everyone was hoping for it did capture a lot of the nostalgia of previous entries. Between the original Pokémon returning, and the ability to have your Pokémon follow behind you while you traveled through a fully rendered Kanto region. The game did a lot of things right even with it’s flaws. Then, with the announcement of Sword and Shield, GameFreak teased the game that we had all been waiting for. The first mainline Pokémon game for the Nintendo Switch. With the experience of 23 years of Pokémon games under their belt and the framework set by Lets go Eevee and Pikachu GameFreak was on their way to creating the game that fans had been asking for. Yet somehow they managed to take a step back in almost every conceivable way. Starting with cutting a majority of Pokémon from the game completely.

    Coined “Dexit” this was a red flag the second the information leaked online. Actually seeing it implemented in game is nothing but heartbreaking. This is a Pokémon game that is missing a huge number of its most popular Pokémon, including a day one favorite in Squirtle (SQUIRTLE!). While including some of the more forgettable ‘mons of previous generations (looking at you ice cream cone and bag of trash). The lack of the National Dex hurts this game in so many ways and severely limits the longevity and creativity of the game. This is a feature that has been included in almost every other mainline Pokémon game. Games with far less storage capabilities than the current generation. On top of this, GameFreak has gone on record as saying that the reason for the lack of a national dex is due to time constraints and their inability to animate the entire library of Pokémon in time. The first problem with this is that GameFreak set the release date. There is no reason why the game could not have been delayed in the same way that Animal Crossing recently was. It has been proven time and time again that consumers and fans would prefer that a studio take their time and ship a complete game rather than rush the game out before it's finished.

    The other issue with GameFreaks explanation is that a ton of the animations in the game are ripped directly from Sun, Moon, X, and Y. This is blatantly obvious in game as many Pokemon’s animations are choppy and not up to the standards one would expect from a current gen game. Especially a title as popular as Pokémon. Not to mention that people who have gone through the games files have confirmed the animations were carried over and in some cases slightly altered. Now, if the studio is going to cut such a large number of Pokémon and copy and paste animations you would at least expect the game to excel in other aspects. But you would be wrong.

    The list of cut content is so long it’s actually difficult to remember. We’re talking minimal post game content, a large number of moves removed, including quite a few used in competitive teams. A main story that last somewhere between 16 and 20 hours which, for a $60 game is unnaceptable. No PSS, contests, riding Pokémon, safari mode, battle frontier, horde battles, rotation battles, triple battles, not a single roaming legendary, no second region, mega evolutions, Z moves, AND no GTS! Although, a version of the GTS may be tied to “Home” which is another paid service on top of Nintendo Online that you’ll need to pay for.

    That’s a TON of cut content with almost no replacements except gigantamaxing which is a ridiculous concept that is not nearly as interesting as mega evolutions. This game lacks content, creativity, and soul. Playing through this game it’s obvious that GameFreak has taken advantage of some of the most loyal fans on the planet. It’s just another example of greed in the industry. GameFreak and Nintendo should be ashamed. If you feel compelled to buy this game and experience these issues first hand buy the game used. Don’t support this cash grab or nothing will ever change. We as consumers have the power.    … Expand
  33. sogeking10
    Nov 16, 2019
    1
    Jogo de 3ds no switch,sem os pokes completos e com animações horríveis. Uma absurdo a maior franquia de jogos do mundo ter um jogo tão mal feito como esse. As animações são dignas de pena.
  34. playedeverypk
    Nov 18, 2019
    0
    Game freak can you see our dissatisfaction? How do you want to celebrate the 30th anniversary? Did you focused on liitle town hero instead of pokemon? Your game is an unfinished project and have terrible graphic, and you are lazy so much!!! This is the worst game of the year!!! You're kidding me?! Did you the fans, who created better textures in one day than you did in a few years?? ThisGame freak can you see our dissatisfaction? How do you want to celebrate the 30th anniversary? Did you focused on liitle town hero instead of pokemon? Your game is an unfinished project and have terrible graphic, and you are lazy so much!!! This is the worst game of the year!!! You're kidding me?! Did you the fans, who created better textures in one day than you did in a few years?? This game is a joke!!!… Expand
  35. Otts
    May 13, 2020
    0
    Unfinished product sold with cut content at a full price. Glitchy and disrespectful with its consumers and fanbase. A loveless cashgrab rushed to the market from the highest grossing media franchise in the planet. Underperforming software for the current generation standards. Shameless and sad.
  36. Ophenix
    Jan 3, 2020
    4
    I’m not a hater, nor a person who truly cares about the PokeDex, I just like RPGs and Pokémon is at heart an RPG I usually enjoy. The games are never a 10/10 but I usually rate them much higher that 4.

    My main issue with SWSH is that I just feels dated and like it wants to waste my time. I just don’t understand why everything around the combat and the UI is so clunky. The combat text    I’m not a hater, nor a person who truly cares about the PokeDex, I just like RPGs and Pokémon is at heart an RPG I usually enjoy. The games are never a 10/10 but I usually rate them much higher that 4.

    My main issue with SWSH is that I just feels dated and like it wants to waste my time. I just don’t understand why everything around the combat and the UI is so clunky. The combat text takes forever to move and is sometimes just downright idiotic. Do I really need to know “the battle field got weird” after killing the enemy’s last Pokémon?
    I know this might seem petty to people but those texts, and the serialized animations (one animation for drain moves, another for the healing after the first ends) add up and while I have clocked over 20 hours on this game at least two of those were spent on animations and texts that are completely redundant.

    Has no one at game freak played a modern RPG? This isn’t the GBA era, games like SMT solved this issue with fluid animations ages ago.

    The rest of the issues I have with the game are pretty much written elsewhere and better by others. While some animations (trainers, gym leaders, etc.) are amazing, most are trash. Most Pokémon have one or two animations, making them look funny as hell when the kick for the magic move but jump up for “Double Kick”. Wild area is a really fun concept but is rather small and empty in practice, and with the exception of a few battles (love the new gym leaders) most of the combat is piss easy, even by Pokémon standards.

    I don’t hate the game or GameFreak, I just want them to sit down, play some Persona 5 and take notes on how to not waste my time on textual padding.    … Expand
  37. Fish-E
    Nov 15, 2019
    5
    It's a fun game, but it's by no means a good game. The game has clearly been rushed to market at least a year too early. More than half the Pokemon are not in the game, despite the models all being ready. The animations & graphics are clearly unfinished, as the game looks comparable to a Nintendo GameCube game. There are a lot of moves which have not been implemented, the game is buggyIt's a fun game, but it's by no means a good game. The game has clearly been rushed to market at least a year too early. More than half the Pokemon are not in the game, despite the models all being ready. The animations & graphics are clearly unfinished, as the game looks comparable to a Nintendo GameCube game. There are a lot of moves which have not been implemented, the game is buggy (e.g. music sometimes doesn't play, the backgrounds in battles fail to load, when you use ladders the entire game just freezes, the game often slows down). They have also removed fan favourites like Mega Evolutions, in favour of more regional forms (something which nobody has been asking for!), making your Pokemon big (a massive gimmick, which, again, nobody was asking for!) a Pokemon camp and a curry dex which together, will provide you with an additional 5-10 minutes of gameplay.

    It's hardly a reinvention of the series like Breath of the Wild or Super Mario Odyssey. I wouldn't recommend it for the current price of £50, but if you see it for £30 I'd buy it. It's on the Switch, but Game Freak have treated it no different to their 3DS games.    … Expand
  38. kranky
    Dec 22, 2019
    0
    Worst main series pokemon game ever.

    It is like previous games but with some nice mechanics removed (Mega-evolutions and minigames)
    And without national dex.
  39. SpinX22
    Nov 18, 2019
    3
    Would have been an 8 but because of they chose to not include all the Pokemon and remove moves I can't give more than a 3.
  40. eKorn
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    Super short game, extremely easy, filled with bugs, no National Pokedex, No HM/TM, reused textured, poor render distances, reused models, no shines, permanent exp share and lots and lots of features removed from the previous games.
  41. Amfibios
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    This could have been the best game ever made but it's a shameless cash grab instead. The graphics are from the PS2 era, the models are copy/pasted from X/Y and the gameplay is the same as the original games that came out in the 90s only without the exploration. For this and all the other reasons you know already, this game is a kick in the nuts to every pokemon fan.

    I was already    This could have been the best game ever made but it's a shameless cash grab instead. The graphics are from the PS2 era, the models are copy/pasted from X/Y and the gameplay is the same as the original games that came out in the 90s only without the exploration. For this and all the other reasons you know already, this game is a kick in the nuts to every pokemon fan.

    I was already disappointed with sun/moon but this is a new low. Pokemon games aren't Gamefreak's first priority anymore, look at "Little town hero".

    I'm not gonna support any of this anymore. The series has gotten as stale as it gets but they think "Oh it's pokemon so no matter how little effort we put into it, it'll sell like hot cakes", i'm gonna let them know this is not the case as i'm not buying any more of their games unless they do something that's worth paying for.

    Just for the record, my first pkmn game was the original RED and i've bought pretty much all games that came out since then. I never thought i'd "outgrow" them but gamefreak found a way to force it. Oh well, now i have more money in my pocket to buy GOOD games, this isn't even worth pirating.    … Expand
  42. OriginalOne
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    Never thought possible, Game Freak has done it yet again. Creating an even MORE disappointing entry after XY! I unfortunately wasted $90 AUSD on this game for a game where you can essentially just 'press A' to win every single encounter.
  43. lemony
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    Lying Devs
    Reused animations
    Reused Models
    No Global Trading
    No National Dex

    0/10
  44. 5kyLegend
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    Less than half the Pokémon than the previous title.
    Glitches and graphical bugs everywhere, with absurd pop-in for models. The Wild Area is incredibly small in size despite having been advertised as a huge step forward, and its graphical quality is easily on par with Wii games.
    Non-existant difficulty, with the forced Exp Share making you always overleveled, even if you skip trainers and    Less than half the Pokémon than the previous title.
    Glitches and graphical bugs everywhere, with absurd pop-in for models. The Wild Area is incredibly small in size despite having been advertised as a huge step forward, and its graphical quality is easily on par with Wii games.
    Non-existant difficulty, with the forced Exp Share making you always overleveled, even if you skip trainers and wild Pokémon.
    And the list could go on. These are unfinished, soulless games that EA, Ubisoft or Bethesda would be condemned for releasing. Game Freak doesn't deserve a free pass, as they even lied to customers about their reasons for the lower quality.
    These games are not recommended. If you played a Pokémon game during the last 10 years, you've played these already.    … Expand
  45. The_Wildchild
    Nov 16, 2019
    1
    This game is horrible. Starting at the visuals, bugs and glitches everywhere. There is a savebug that possibly can ruin your entire save stat. Then, the lack of Pokemon. It's bad, it's really bad. Also the lack of difficulty, I mean, okay, Pokemon was never "difficult" but you were at least able to make it difficult yourself with things like turning off the EXP share do so called "Lockes".This game is horrible. Starting at the visuals, bugs and glitches everywhere. There is a savebug that possibly can ruin your entire save stat. Then, the lack of Pokemon. It's bad, it's really bad. Also the lack of difficulty, I mean, okay, Pokemon was never "difficult" but you were at least able to make it difficult yourself with things like turning off the EXP share do so called "Lockes". But since the EXP share is forceably always on, you can't even do that any longer. This game is a **** show and the Devs lied and lied and lied over and over again.… Expand
  46. PannacottaFugo
    Dec 31, 2019
    0
    I will be completely and utterly honest. I don't think these are bad games. They're unarguably better than garbage that were both Pokemon X and Y and Pokemon Sun and Moon. However this game is undeniably lacking in so much pass content such as minigames, moves, Pokemon that follow you, MORE THAN HALF OF THE NATIONAL DEX, and so much more! Not to mention that there are tons of unpolishedI will be completely and utterly honest. I don't think these are bad games. They're unarguably better than garbage that were both Pokemon X and Y and Pokemon Sun and Moon. However this game is undeniably lacking in so much pass content such as minigames, moves, Pokemon that follow you, MORE THAN HALF OF THE NATIONAL DEX, and so much more! Not to mention that there are tons of unpolished areas and bad graphics AND bad animations. The game itself other than the removed content is very run of the mill and is what we're kinda used to and have gotten used to for over two decades. The gameplay is slightly better than usually I guess, the story is also slightly better, and the characters this time around are way better than usual. I found most of them to be very well written and lovable characters. On a side note I really love the Wild Area and hope they bring it back for future entries but we all know they won't

    This game isn't that bad and more just an okay game. An easy 6/10...however like I said before this game has bad animations, bad graphics, more than half the National Dex removed, and it has nothing to show for all of these problems and missing content we love. I really have no choice but to give this game a 0/10. Hopefully the enhanced versions of these games that will come in a year or so will fix the problems of Pokemon Sword and Shield.    … Expand
  47. DJKrimson
    Feb 19, 2020
    4
    I wouldn't recommend this game to anyone. Instead of repeating everyone elses reviews, I'll just summarize my 2 biggest complaints.

    1. It's way to easy. Exp share is always enabled so if you just spend a little bit of your time catching pokemon in the wild area and do some raids, you'll be OP for the rest of the game. Also the new gen bird pokemon (which I'm sure most people use) have    I wouldn't recommend this game to anyone. Instead of repeating everyone elses reviews, I'll just summarize my 2 biggest complaints.

    1. It's way to easy. Exp share is always enabled so if you just spend a little bit of your time catching pokemon in the wild area and do some raids, you'll be OP for the rest of the game. Also the new gen bird pokemon (which I'm sure most people use) have type advantage in like 5-6 of the gyms.

    2. It's blanc,uninteresting and uninspired. To be completely honest, I didn't even understand the games plot even after I had finished the game. The characters suck, specially your rival, who runs away from you 50 meters and waits for you so he can stop you and explain something obvious and run away 50 meters again (yes, throughout the game and no, not exaggerating). There's so much filler dialogue just because the game would be an 8 hour game without it. Also, this gens "team rocket" is pretty much the same as in sun/moon, they have no cause apart from interrupting you with some very easy fights.

    I had 10 times the fun playing Let's go Eevee, which was supposed to be the "here, have this while we finish the real one"-game.    … Expand
  48. dmolken
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    These games are extremely bare bones and rushed. These games almost look like a direct port of a 3DS game. They cut over 50% of the Pokemon, deleted over 100 old moves, and charge 50% more money ($60 vs $40) than the 3DS Pokemon games. On top of that, Game Freak said that they needed to cut 50% of the Pokemon in order to make high quality models and animations for the Pokemon. I'd be okayThese games are extremely bare bones and rushed. These games almost look like a direct port of a 3DS game. They cut over 50% of the Pokemon, deleted over 100 old moves, and charge 50% more money ($60 vs $40) than the 3DS Pokemon games. On top of that, Game Freak said that they needed to cut 50% of the Pokemon in order to make high quality models and animations for the Pokemon. I'd be okay with that if it wasn't for the fact that they lied, and they actually are using 3DS models and animations. Because they are using the 3DS models, there is no reason why they should be cutting over 50% of the Pokemon. Do not support a developer that lies to you. Boycott this game.… Expand
  49. WeihanZhang
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    My friend I am advise please avoid bad game. Not allow purchase support Game Freak Masuda insect bottom coomer.
  50. shale
    Nov 15, 2019
    5
    Gameplay wise pokemon sword is off to a great start. Tutorials are kept to a minimum, there are several areas to explore and plenty new pokemon to catch.
    The wild area is great for new and pro players alike: new players can get overpowered pokemon from dynamax battles while pro ones can challenge themselves by fighting the strong roaming pokemon.
    By the time you make it to the first gym    Gameplay wise pokemon sword is off to a great start. Tutorials are kept to a minimum, there are several areas to explore and plenty new pokemon to catch.
    The wild area is great for new and pro players alike: new players can get overpowered pokemon from dynamax battles while pro ones can challenge themselves by fighting the strong roaming pokemon.
    By the time you make it to the first gym you really feel like a trainer on an adventure, which can't be said of many pokemon games. Sadly the game completely loses this feeling after this point (about 4 hours into the game), and the remaining 16 hours are a below average cookie cutter pokemon experience.

    Exploration is virtually nonexistent and the experience becomes very predictable with game game following a simple one route->one gym formula. Every other pokemon game at least has an evil team to shake things up, but these games don't. Team yell doesn't evolve beyond being some extra trainer battles you encounter on routes, and the climax to their story is just a gauntlet of battles, no hideout to explore or anything.

    As for side features, character customization is pretty good! It still has the same problem the games have had since X and Y where you can only get outfits in certain colors, so you can't think up an aesthetic and then make your character look like that ingame. There are plenty of options though so you'll probably be satisfied regardless.
    You can also customize your trainer card in these games which is nice. The UI is a bit clunky and I wish you could have a pokemon on the trainer card too, but other than that I don't have any complaints.
    Pokemon camp seemed pretty shallow and wasn't for me, but maybe I just missed something.

    I'll try to keep details to a minimum, but don't buy these games expecting a lot of content either! The game took me 20 hours to complete, with at least 40% of that time spent just messing around with side features like character customization. There is a postgame mission which takes about 2 hours to complete, gym leader rematches, and a battle tree replacement. That's all!

    Pokemon sword and shield are below average pokemon games, but pokemon games nonetheless. If you don't care about the drama and just want a fun pokemon experience you'll probably like this game.
    If you think you'll be angry at the game throughout your entire playthrough please skip this one! For those people I'll also write my thoughts on the games music and graphics below:

    The wild pokemon theme and trainer music is some of the best in the entire series. Gym and league music isn't very listenable outside of the game but works amazingly in context.
    The rival theme is good too, but it's very fun/energetic and gets used regardless of the mood in the current scene.
    The game has several motifs that it reuses constantly throughout the soundtrack, but for some of them there seems to be no reason for their existence. For example, two cities use the same motif while they are completely different aesthetically.
    Despite the game only having 10 routes, lots of routes share the same theme. I only figured this out because I was flying to random routes in search of a specific theme and every route had the exact same music, I think this says something about the memorability of the route music in general.
    The pokecenter theme and heal jingle aren't in the same key, making it sound really jarring instead of soothing.
    When infiltrating the final boss HQ slice of life anime music starts playing for some reason? And it's not just for a little "we can do this!" cutscene, it plays throughout a gauntlet of battles.
    Postgame has some bad guys that just use the regular battle theme, this ruins the mood of the scene.

    The graphics of these games are inexcusable. Not only are they STILL using their lifeless scripting system from the 2013 games pokemon X and Y, the cheap graphics lack any semblance of polish. Routes look like they were texture painted from a top down view and never looked at from a different angle, because all the walls are a complete mess, bloom flickers in and out of existence when walking, some props are so low-poly they're probably straightup reused assets from the 3ds games. It pains me to say it, but I don't think ANYONE on the graphics team had a passion for what they were creating.
    While I don't personally like the UI design it's one of the few things that's actually inoffensive about these games. I wouldn't be complaining at all if the next games in the series had UI of similar quality. I'd like to end things on a positive note so I'll leave it at that.    … Expand
  51. Yonkometabiosis
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    You can take out more than half the dex if you take care of the graphics
    You can take out the good graphics if you take care of the animations
    You can take out the good animations if you take care of the game's content and story You can take out more than half of the content of a normal pokémon game if you give me a balanced game You can take out any amount of difficulty if you give    You can take out more than half the dex if you take care of the graphics
    You can take out the good graphics if you take care of the animations
    You can take out the good animations if you take care of the game's content and story
    You can take out more than half of the content of a normal pokémon game if you give me a balanced game
    You can take out any amount of difficulty if you give me... anything, Gamefreak, seriously.
    But this game is 60$ plus tip for nothing.

    This comes from a desperate fan, I would forgive gamefreak and nintendo for everything they do wrong, as long as they try. But this game screams "let's see how low our effort and quality can go, generating the same amount of money". I love pokémon but I hate being robbed and laughed at.

    Please consider pirating or stealing this game if you wanna play it. If you have hope for a decent future for the franchise, if you love pokémon as much as I do, don't buy this game.    … Expand
  52. BTLOTM
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    Sword and Shield are graphically disappointing, a step back for the franchise, the further simplification of the game mechanics, and the developers lies about why Pokemon were cut are insulting to their fan base. If you buy this game, you are supporting that, and you are being a good German
  53. NicRein
    Nov 15, 2019
    5
    Let me preface this by saying, I've been playing this franchise since the first release of the game, back with Red, Blue and Yellow.

    Casting aside bias from leaks and all the negative media and news following the games release, Gamefreaks general handling of this release, etc, when I first booted up the game I was met with none of the emotions I had when I first played X and Y. X/Y were    Let me preface this by saying, I've been playing this franchise since the first release of the game, back with Red, Blue and Yellow.

    Casting aside bias from leaks and all the negative media and news following the games release, Gamefreaks general handling of this release, etc, when I first booted up the game I was met with none of the emotions I had when I first played X and Y. X/Y were the first "3D" Pokemon games we got, being on a much powerful handheld, with a bombastic opening score and a very good looking Professor to invite us to this new world of Pokemon. It instilled a sense of excitement and wonder that, this would be an experience unmatched by previous games. X and Y may not have, by the end, been top-tier Pokemon games, but there is no doubt they set a precedent for getting you excited for what was to come.

    Fast forward to now and, a lackluster opening theme, long pauses in dialogue to let a voiceless NPC get through its lines, and a reminder that Charizard is a special case that got through the picket fence surrounding Galar, helped set an expectation for sure. That this game wasn't going to be another impressive leap. I do not want to draw comparisons to other titles on the Switch, since Gamefreak handles things very differently that Nintendo (evidently, Nintendo at least has the courage to delay titles like Metroid and Animal Crossing.) But there is no denying that every new title that has come to the system has blown us away, showing us just what to expect from a late 2010's Nintendo. Now at the turn of the decade, we get Sword and Shield. A game full of compromises to give us small quality of life improvements that could've been in the games since the DS era, while trying to paint them as revolutionary and "exciting."

    We traded over 50% of the National Dex of Pokemon for skipping short tutorials. We traded global weather and seasons for empty open-world-esque areas that have pop in reminiscent of Playstation 1 titles. We traded expansive routes and towns for a free moving, albeit limited, camera. And yet this are all incredible revolutions that should provide pats on the backs of Gamefreak developers. On top of all of this you get a game that is easy to blow through, allowing you to skip unwanted encounters while easily grinding your team to overleveled territory thanks to an always-on EXP share, and a catching system that allowed me to basically catch 90% of my Pokemon with first-throw Pokeballs with no fail.

    The first gym leader sums up this entire game. On the outside, a flashy, over hyped stadium, claiming the challenge of your life. On the inside, a lackluster "run straight to win" challenge, and then a Gym Leader that carries six balls but only uses two, with the first ever dynamax you encounter dying in two hits.

    With blinders set to maximum, you can enjoy this game. But at the end of the day that enjoyment is nothing more than you giving into the fact that "Well, it's a new Pokemon game, I've already beat the others twice, nuzlocked, randomized and blindfolded, may as well have fun with this one!"    … Expand
  54. BurbleBoy
    Nov 15, 2019
    5
    This entire game has been a meltdown. I was optimistic for the games after their reveal in February of this year. But when E3 rolled around, everything went downhill. More than half of returning Pokémon were cut, supposedly because a) they wanted to make each individual Pokémon more expressive, b) they wanted to balance the competitive meta game, and c) they remade the individual modelsThis entire game has been a meltdown. I was optimistic for the games after their reveal in February of this year. But when E3 rolled around, everything went downhill. More than half of returning Pokémon were cut, supposedly because a) they wanted to make each individual Pokémon more expressive, b) they wanted to balance the competitive meta game, and c) they remade the individual models from scratch and didn’t have the time to include every Pokémon. This supposed “more expressive” is laughable, Wingull hovers around with its wings stuck out, Pokémon just appear out of the ground, water Pokémon swim without moving and don’t create any ripple effects, and other embarrassing examples can be found in games. Data miners have found that the models are the SAME, so they weren’t redone. And any competitive meta game is cut through BALANCING, not removing options. There are other graphical issues, too. Slow down, pop-in, and stiff animation plague the game, and the textures on the environment look like they were made for the GameCube. Previous fan-favorite features such as Mega Evolution and the GTS were cut in exchange for Dynamax and Gigantamax, which have significantly less positive reception, and...nothing to replace the GTS. The shortest adventure in the series, a joke of an evil team, the same plot blockades from the previous generation, and arguably the worst soundtrack across the entire series. On top of all that, a forced EXP share that gets you overleveled compares to every trainer around you, and the game ends up being a cakewalk. The game is the most disappointing and infuriating game I have ever experienced, and I can only hope they learn to better the experience in the future. The only reason I can’t rate it lower than a 5 is because, at the end of the day, it’s Pokémon, and there can never be a time Pokémon battling itself isn’t enjoyable. But this is by far the weakest installment in the series.… Expand
  55. zeromaru
    Nov 16, 2019
    4
    el juego es demasiado mediocre es en el apartado gráfico y jugable el modelado 3d es horrible muy reciclado la animación es muy limitada los npc son muy repetitivo ,el modo historia es demasiado sencillo puede llegar a ser entretenido pero se ve muy simple pero lo compensa con los personajes carismático lo poco imaginativo es la propuesta del gigantamax no se siente lo explote muy bienel juego es demasiado mediocre es en el apartado gráfico y jugable el modelado 3d es horrible muy reciclado la animación es muy limitada los npc son muy repetitivo ,el modo historia es demasiado sencillo puede llegar a ser entretenido pero se ve muy simple pero lo compensa con los personajes carismático lo poco imaginativo es la propuesta del gigantamax no se siente lo explote muy bien para ser juego 60 dolares dejar mucho que desear para ser de una franquicia multimillonaria gamefreak o pokemon company se tiene que poner las pilas o estará perdida… Expand
  56. oinutrewas
    Nov 16, 2019
    1
    This is NOT accettable in 2019
    It's the biggest franchise in the world but still we can't get a proper game.

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

    STOP MAKING KIDS GAME
  57. george066
    Nov 16, 2019
    1
    The game is very short and the post game is a joke. Why can't they do a good post game like in Emerald? We haven't had good post game content since then.
  58. LemonCandle
    Nov 16, 2019
    2
    The only thing this game has to offer is teaching your three-year-old how to play. It's borderline insulting how it holds your hand throughout the journey. The animations are abysmal at times, full of glitches, no heart or interesting story, incredible features removed, post game doesn't even exist, no challenge available and no way to choose a difficulty level. That is the tip of theThe only thing this game has to offer is teaching your three-year-old how to play. It's borderline insulting how it holds your hand throughout the journey. The animations are abysmal at times, full of glitches, no heart or interesting story, incredible features removed, post game doesn't even exist, no challenge available and no way to choose a difficulty level. That is the tip of the iceberg. One of the most boring games I've ever played, the charm and excitement of Pokemon is completely gone. Would I recommend you buy it? To your young kid just learning to play video games, yes. This is a game for toddlers...… Expand
  59. CaptainCrack1
    Nov 16, 2019
    1
    It's a downgrade from every other mainline pokemon game. Terrible mechanics, very laggy and rushed. Lazy design and not worth 60$. Some pokemon design are cool, thats the only positive.
  60. Divariomario
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    Very poor game, all the issues seen in the trailers are real and even worse of possibile. 60 bucks thrown in the bin
  61. Davshunter
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    Why accept a game like this? Pokemon isn't a indie company that should have a pass, this game is everything that is wrong with the game market and it's sad to see such a great franchise fall from grace like this.
  62. The_Janitor
    Nov 16, 2019
    1
    A truly sad excuse for a modern Pokemon title and also the utterly butched first outing of the dearly beloved series on an actual console.
    As usual the games beginning and first few hours feel great and inviting but with each and every hour the game shows it's unfinished and half baked side. The overall experience with the art department of this game can be broken down to "Pathetic    A truly sad excuse for a modern Pokemon title and also the utterly butched first outing of the dearly beloved series on an actual console.
    As usual the games beginning and first few hours feel great and inviting but with each and every hour the game shows it's unfinished and half baked side. The overall experience with the art department of this game can be broken down to "Pathetic excuses for "high quality animations" and reused assets galore".
    The soundtrack is great and among the new Pokemon are quite a few that are absolutely adorable and easily can be counted as some of the best gamefreak created so far, but all of this is not really helping if Gamefreak is not willing to put in the work to put in some actual work in the other aspects of the game.
    Gamefreak culled over 50% of the pokemon cast and thereby halved the main attraction of the series claiming this to be a decision they will keep for future entries since it would be too much work to prepare unique and high quality animations for more than 1000 critters.
    It is unfortunately very obvious that sword and shield make use of the old "future proofed" models and no new or refined animations were added.
    As if this wasn't bad enough, the work put into the new pokemon is lacking too (especially outside of battles...)
    The game also suffers a lot on the technical site.
    The "open world" stutters quite a lot and even during battles many framedrops and other performance issues can be witnessed. This comes to no surprise since gamefreak has well known problems with updating their programming methods and sticks to already faulty development techniques. While there may be people defending the open world's hiccups with the fact that it is an open world, here is a little reminder that "The legend of zelda - breath of the wild" is a game on the very same console as this trashfire but it is running smoothly.
    I simply can't recommend to buy this game at all, let's just hope that Gen. 9 will be the return to former glory.
    Please gamefreak there is no need to lie, if you need more time to ship a good game join nintendo's recently shown mentality and simply delay the release until it's done.

    TLDR;
    On many levels, pokemon sword and shield feels like the "Mighty no. 9" of pokemon, it feels unfinished and obvious lies new break into the overall rating of the game. Gamefreak seems to have lost it's touch.    … Expand
  63. RODREZA
    Nov 16, 2019
    1
    It lacks all the things that makes the Pokemon saga a good game. So disgusted.
  64. minecrad
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    I ordered this bedside lamp and it did not come in good shape it was broken and too short and bad pls refund me micosoft
  65. maxfif
    Nov 16, 2019
    1
    If all you are looking for is a basic Pokemon experience, this game will scratch that itch.

    With that said, i am not enjoying it. i have been playing Pokemon for 20 years. i have played literally all of the games. i have seen the highs and the lows. this game is not a high, for me at least. Pros: Some improvements to the user experience. things have been added that make doing the    If all you are looking for is a basic Pokemon experience, this game will scratch that itch.

    With that said, i am not enjoying it. i have been playing Pokemon for 20 years. i have played literally all of the games. i have seen the highs and the lows. this game is not a high, for me at least.

    Pros:
    Some improvements to the user experience. things have been added that make doing the grind-heavy things more simple. There's a "quick button" to throw a Pokeball that makes catching Pokemon more efficient. Also, you can easily check the current status of your opponents during battle, including buffs and other new information not included in previous games.

    Nice visuals. There amazing to be honest. On the whole, you won't notice the visual bugs that are being heavily reported.

    Exploring the new world is fun for the first time around, anytime afterwards becomes bland and dull.

    New Pokemon designs are pretty creative and often times comical. I won't spoil any details, there was many instance where I laughed out loud when I first saw a new Pokemon.

    Cons: MANY.

    Stop with the handholding. Previous games are guilty of this as well, it's hard to believe but it has become worse. You are getting stopped every few minutes to watch a cut scene or slog through another tutorial. And what's worse is that you can't skip them! Most of the time the tutorials appear after you have been doing what they teach for much longer.

    This game is EASY. I understand it was made for children in mind but holy mother even children could use a challenge. Most of the game's battle are able to be beaten by just pressing A on an attack. No matter what you do, you will be overleveled, most, if not the entire game.

    Dynamax is just plain BORING. It's a cool visual the first couple times around, but does nothing to alter character stats. You will get 3 boosted attacks, but you can still beat enemy opponents just by pressing A.

    Open world is bland. The hype was too much. Imagine those really wide open areas of BotW with no monsters. This is the same with Sw/SH except with a few Pokemon here and there.

    The rival. Simply put, if I could go back in time, I would not spend my $60 on this game just because he is the most annoying thing I could spend my free-time with.    … Expand
  66. Aurasphere
    Nov 16, 2019
    1
    Bland, shallow and overall lazy attempt to bring one of the most loved game franchise around the world on the home console. Huge disappointment as it could have been so much better than the previous DS games.
  67. Alanmaster
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    Corte de pokedex jogo porco sem mega mega sem pokemons suficientes e qualidade porca tudo nesse jogo é ruin
  68. Victorcm
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Inside the city the game is very pretty, but when we are out of town the Pokemon just jump off the screen ... trees come out of nowhere especially when we are cycling and the graphics very average compared to Zelda breath of the wild or The Witcher.… Expand
  69. XIPaulDarcy
    Nov 18, 2019
    3
    The Pokémon series means something different to everyone.

    To many, it's all about the battling. For others, their entertainment is in the story. And for some, it's about the bonds that have been forged through years of play. Pokémon Sword and Shield, while promising to be a game for the "long time fans", falls short in all of these elements. Long gone are the old days of Pokémon's    The Pokémon series means something different to everyone.

    To many, it's all about the battling.
    For others, their entertainment is in the story.
    And for some, it's about the bonds that have been forged through years of play.

    Pokémon Sword and Shield, while promising to be a game for the "long time fans", falls short in all of these elements.

    Long gone are the old days of Pokémon's difficulty. Where poison could faint your allies in seconds OUTSIDE of battle, and the toughest of trainers, the gym leaders and Elite Four of the region, actually took some strategy or training to beat.

    As for the plot. It was about as much as I expected from a Pokémon game. Protagonist leaves home with rival to finish the "gym challenge" meeting some sort of villainous team along the way, all before saving the world and finally beating the champion of the region. Which isn't a bad thing, but Pokémon games have been sorely lacking on post game content since Heart Gold and Soul Silver. Where's our Battle Frontier? Where's our second region?

    Lastly, we have the removal of the National Pokédex. Why does this matter? I don't believe it's because the ability to "catch 'em all" has been removed, I myself have a living Pokédex in past games, and not being able to transfer each of them to Galar hasn't phased me in the slightest. It matters to those who have had Pokémon with them for years. You're buddy that you've had with you since childhood, has now been declined access to Galar, and that's a heavy blow for some people, which is why my review loses two extra points, because if they've removed some now, who's to say they won't remove others like Gengar, Tyranitar, Mimikyu, Gardevoir ( My personal favorite ) or Umbreon in the future?

    TLDR? Sword and Shield was all it needed to be to appeal to casual and competitive Pokémon players ( a game branded "Pokémon" ) but for long-term fans, falls short when compared to other AAA games out there. With so many elements showing a lack of polish and effort, GameFreak really needs to step it up for the future of the series.

    Thanks for reading!    … Expand
  70. Myouken
    Nov 18, 2019
    1
    Complete laziness from the developer, technically not sufficient for a games of late 2019 on the most powerful nintendo console, the game is worth playing with friends, but it's a masterpiece of laziness by gamefream, which is not able to beat even games came out in 2006 on the wii
  71. Sasa789
    Dec 17, 2019
    0
    Pokemon, make REAL videogames! This is not what we wan't. Evolve like all that other video games have, you of all companies have the funds to make the greatest game EVER.
  72. Ejawesome
    Dec 23, 2019
    0
    Absolute waste of money. Cash grab that was rushed and is extremely flawed in so many ways. Regret all my time spent with it.
  73. Neri
    Dec 25, 2019
    0
    Really bad animations, future titles need too improve really hard if they want to keep the franchise alive
  74. svsidath
    Dec 28, 2019
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Disappoinment can't even begin to describe how it feels to see the state of this franchise. You see other major titles like Zelda, Mario, Fire Emblem, Dragon Quest, Smash Bros, and Animal Crossing make their way to the Switch and they look gorgeous and wonderfully made. Animal crossing isn't even out yet, but they delayed the game to make sure it's the best it could be and meet everyone's expectations. Meanwhile, the pokemon company decided it was a good idea to make a new game every year, so now every new product is extremely rushed and has less content than the previous title.i wasn't a fan of Let's Go in the slightest but after playing these titles, I'm actually surprised to admit it wasn't that bad. With this pattern continuing, soon Sword and shield will look like masterpieces due to future games having even less content and playability. Pros: + Nice music tracks
    + Character customization has many options thankfully

    Cons:
    - Bland story
    - Cut Dex. Even worse reasoning for cutting the dex. "Balancing the competitive meta" is the worst one yet cause it's objectively wrong previous titles made it so early online tournament battles limit the participants to only using "region native" pokemon, which would give a stamp to the pokemon's summary to signify it was caught in-game and not transferred. There is no reason this couldn't have been done again. - "High quality" animations and models. So that was a lie. It was even disproved before the game came out. #GameFreakLied trended worldwide on Twitter since people who got the game early or pirated it found out the models were transferred over from the previous games, disproving the interview claims of "oh uhh porting to the Switch was difficult so we had to make everything from scratch". Furthermore, character animations like Hop are reused from previous games, see the infamous Hau-Hop gif. What's even worse is NPCs running around, coming to a halt, and doing a full 90 degree turn as if they still live on a DS game grid. - Rushed ending. There's not even an evil team in this game, which made the whole game feel like an extremely short gym challenge and then a stop by Rose Tower to fight what should've been a post game legendary. You even catch the middle legend before you can catch the box legend, which was added as a post-game catch instead so you actually have one thing to do later. - No antagonist until the VERY end, and even that was rushed into "leon, cancel the championship match everyone was waiting for right now so we can start an end to climate change today. or else."
    - Bland post game. You do a bunch of battles and then catch the box legend. Then Hop decides to give up on his original dreams cause he realizes he isn't good enough to reach those goals and never will be. Keep in mind he does this after catching a Legendary. He decides to be a lab assistant. With a legendary.
    - Characters built off a single trope/defining feature (ex: Leon, the undefeatable champion who has a bad sense of direction)
    - Extremely small routes. GameFreak now believes kids are essentially braindead and would rather play on their phones than on their switch (they actually stated this claim in interviews), so routes are much smaller and simpler so we can spend less time playing their game. Small routes make it even faster to jump from one gym to the next. I found myself casually adventuring the wild area and then when I finally decided to fight some gyms, I finished 3 within the span of approximately half an hour.
    - Gen 1 pandering. This has always been a problem and it still remains. First we had Kanto, then we had Kanto in Johto's games (which is one of the biggest selling points of it), then we had Kanto remakes in Hoenn, then we got a nice brief break from Kanto in Sinnoh but they popped back up with the Johto remakes, then we got Unova— new gen Kanto (see the tropes repeat in the dex: 3 stage rock monsters that evolve from trade: Geodude/roggenrolla, 2 stage cave bat that you'll always run into: Zubat [crobat didn't exist at the time]/woobat, humanoid fighter duo: hitmonlee-chan/throh-sawk, 2 stage mushroom monster: Paras/foongus, pink healer: Chansey/audino, etc.), Then we got many Kanto megas in Kalos (with Charizard having 2), then we got Kanto only regional forms in Alola, and now we get not only more Kanto regional forms but Gigantamax Charizard as the champion's ace. And depending on your starter choice, a majority of his team isn't even Galar pokemon.
    - Horrible designs. I used to not like certain pokemon cause I wasn't a fan of their designs, but this gen made me believe they are godsends. After seeing garbage like Eiscue, I actually found Aromatisse and Stantler to be creative designs that were probably coined by Socrates or Aristotle. I have James Turner to thank for this revelation. Even the starter evolutions were pure disappointment. When they were first leaked, forums and Twitter couldn't stop talking about how ugly they were.    … Expand
  75. MasterUlysses
    Jan 2, 2020
    4
    You can tell they gave up halfway through development. After the 5th gym, the game hurries you along to the end of the game leaving a trail of trite challenges, underdeveloped and short areas, baffling character motivations and aborted plot arcs in your wake. The Dynamax gimmick is uninspired at best and broken at worst, particularly in regards to Max Raids, which is exacerbated by almostYou can tell they gave up halfway through development. After the 5th gym, the game hurries you along to the end of the game leaving a trail of trite challenges, underdeveloped and short areas, baffling character motivations and aborted plot arcs in your wake. The Dynamax gimmick is uninspired at best and broken at worst, particularly in regards to Max Raids, which is exacerbated by almost nonexistent player matching online. In ever sense of the word, this game is a downgrade; Dynamax is an extremely downgrade from Mega Evolution and Z Moves, Y-Comm is a downgrade from PGL, Galar's mythology is a downgrade from that of every other region, and of course, most infamously, even the amount of available Pokemon is downgraded. This game is of the same franchise-killing caliber as Sonic '06, but unlike Sega, Game Freak refuses to apologize for giving us a subpar product. And that is not an acceptable way to treat the millions of fans who have been loyal for more than 2 decades.… Expand
  76. PeaTearGryfin
    Jan 4, 2020
    1
    Good
    -The music is ok, I guess
    -Some of the new Pokemon are ok -Sonia is best waifu Bad -National Dex gone -Terrible story -Your rival is literally the worst character ever -The graphics are ugly with N64 era textures on trees, buildings, ground, sky, etc. -Bad battle animations -Pokemon are incorrectly scaled -Overpriced for the lack of polish -Frequent frame rate drops    Good
    -The music is ok, I guess
    -Some of the new Pokemon are ok
    -Sonia is best waifu

    Bad
    -National Dex gone
    -Terrible story
    -Your rival is literally the worst character ever
    -The graphics are ugly with N64 era textures on trees, buildings, ground, sky, etc.
    -Bad battle animations
    -Pokemon are incorrectly scaled
    -Overpriced for the lack of polish
    -Frequent frame rate drops
    -Online play causes the frame rate to drop down into the single digits
    -Max Raid Battles don't work as designed
    -Wild Area is a tiny, lifeless field where wild Pokemon just pop up out of the ground in front of you
    -Catching more powerful Pokemon is tied behind story progression
    -Terrible pacing
    -Gym challenges are boring and Gym Leaders are terrible
    -Dynamaxing is the lamest mechanic ever introduced into a video game
    -Way too many hand holding tutorials    … Expand
  77. Neca96
    Jan 11, 2020
    4
    It's just really mediocre. Has a lack of endgame content, there is nothing to explore and overall feels really unpolished.
  78. Makashinga
    Apr 7, 2020
    0
    This is by far the worst game Ive ever played in my entire life. I like nintendo but this is the most blatant cash grab I've ever seen, which is sad considering EA exists. The story is trash, the characters are horrifically terrible, the battle system is like dragon quest but less **** the graphics are HORRIBLE especially from a triple a studio. This was the biggest waste of money i haveThis is by far the worst game Ive ever played in my entire life. I like nintendo but this is the most blatant cash grab I've ever seen, which is sad considering EA exists. The story is trash, the characters are horrifically terrible, the battle system is like dragon quest but less **** the graphics are HORRIBLE especially from a triple a studio. This was the biggest waste of money i have ever spent and the worst part is that I lost my receipt so now I have to keep this **** on my switch. I'm a complete idiot for buying this trash.… Expand
  79. Peacepiperf20
    Oct 7, 2020
    2
    Probably one of the worst pokemon games extremely easy and rushed but pokemon apologists wont agree and will tell you its great just look at the ratings.
  80. SammyDelicious
    Oct 20, 2020
    1
    Pokemon blue, red, yellow, gold, silver and crystal are easily some of my favorite games of all time. I have replayed them countless times. I have waited for 25 years for a 3D pokemon game and this game was an insult to any lifelong, diehard pokemon fans. I don't have enough space to list everything that is wrong with this game so I'll keep it short.

    This Game Is Not Fun. Plain And Simple.
  81. NakedWizard
    Oct 7, 2020
    4
    Pokemon Sword has great new pokemon designs, a few beautiful places and some nice new mechanics. But, overall, this game has so many problems that I simply cannot recomend it to anyone.

    Graphics and animations: It looks and feels exactly like a HD version of a 3DS game. That's not a metaphor, that's not a joke. Pokemon sword and shield are upscaled 3ds games. It is really disapointing    Pokemon Sword has great new pokemon designs, a few beautiful places and some nice new mechanics. But, overall, this game has so many problems that I simply cannot recomend it to anyone.

    Graphics and animations: It looks and feels exactly like a HD version of a 3DS game. That's not a metaphor, that's not a joke. Pokemon sword and shield are upscaled 3ds games. It is really disapointing to see those battles with almost no movement on the TV screen, and the characters animations are robotic and unatural in a way I've never seen in a console game.

    Difficulty is inexistent in this game. This is the easiest entry in the franchise and that says a lot. It is also one of the most handholding entries (comparable with sun & moon) and sometimes it seems like you are only pressing A.

    The wild area was the biggest promise of this game (and for god sake, it's only an open 3D area), but turns out it's only another big disappointment. This part of the game has big performance issues, including heavy pop-in, frame rate drops and terrible textures. Besides that, the area seems empty and there's not really much to do after you try the dinamax raid battles a few times (spoiler: these battles are boring too).

    Overall, the game feels empty, childish and unfinished. Unacceptably bad for a console game, even more if you consider it's one of the biggest and more profitable game franchises.    … Expand
  82. Lady_Scribe
    Nov 26, 2019
    4
    I think if this game had spent a little longer in development, it would have been a truly amazing game. But this wasn’t the case, and I feel sad for those who clearly made an effort to lovingly design a game in a very small amount of time, perhaps being aware that they couldn’t put everything into it. And it really, really shows. Designs are fantastic, but the finished product feels rushedI think if this game had spent a little longer in development, it would have been a truly amazing game. But this wasn’t the case, and I feel sad for those who clearly made an effort to lovingly design a game in a very small amount of time, perhaps being aware that they couldn’t put everything into it. And it really, really shows. Designs are fantastic, but the finished product feels rushed and haphazard, there’s virtually no end-game content, and the asking price of £50 is highly excessive considering that there are other games out there for the same price with much better content.

    Nintendo, GameFreak, by bringing Pokémon to the big consoles, you’re swimming with the big fish. You need to up your game if you want to get better reviews in the future. A disappointing blip on the Pokémon franchise. I hope it improves; Pokémon has gotten me through some challenges in life and it’s sad to see the franchise take a tumble. I’ve humbly learned my lesson and will not pre-order another Pokémon game again.    … Expand
  83. heronz
    Apr 11, 2020
    0
    Game is boring for what it is. that would actually make it a 4/10...BUT you can smell the DLC coming to fluff the cost of this game by splitting up all of the catchable pokemon. Not a fan of the quality or the this business model
  84. califfo93
    Nov 28, 2019
    4
    Tagliare il pokedex del 50% mantenendo una grafica datata e animazioni da ps2: mission complete!
  85. Nightfang1994
    Nov 25, 2019
    3
    Jesus this game was rushed. Shame due to the amazing concepts but here is a brief summary of why its trash

    They finally introduce a proper league championship instead of the elite 4 right? Fantastic! Oh wait it's all the same gym and rivals with the same pathetic teams posing no challenge at all so if anything it's less variety in who you fight against Less pokemon and trash internet for    Jesus this game was rushed. Shame due to the amazing concepts but here is a brief summary of why its trash

    They finally introduce a proper league championship instead of the elite 4 right? Fantastic! Oh wait it's all the same gym and rivals with the same pathetic teams posing no challenge at all so if anything it's less variety in who you fight against

    Less pokemon and trash internet for a more expensive game that charges online

    The rival is the worst one yet. The animations for anything outside the gym leaders is bad. Like at least fix the cutscenes Customization is a bunch of Redskins that sometimes dont even show up during gym fights. Raid battles suck

    Gigantimax sucks. The most is really bad outside of the gym and Marnie's theme No post game whatsoever ...nothing....

    Pros: godlike concepts and they finally made gyms seem like proper immersive challenges in stsdiums.

    The wild area is a must have for all future pokemon games    … Expand
  86. werd10101
    Apr 13, 2020
    4
    Lazy game that needed another year of dev time. For every quality of life improvement came several downgrades
  87. Shaedowhunter
    Jun 6, 2020
    2
    A lot of bugs, immersion breaking due to unreasonable/unnecessary pop-ins, decisions on some parts of the game are baffling and nonsensical, the story-line is terrible, even for a young audience it's too childish. The decisions on dialogue in the middle of battles and "multiple choice" on the dialogues in the story are useless, and serve no meaning to the story or have any consequence. TheA lot of bugs, immersion breaking due to unreasonable/unnecessary pop-ins, decisions on some parts of the game are baffling and nonsensical, the story-line is terrible, even for a young audience it's too childish. The decisions on dialogue in the middle of battles and "multiple choice" on the dialogues in the story are useless, and serve no meaning to the story or have any consequence. The game would've been better without the story-line and dialogues. The only reason I bought this was in hopes the Crown Tundra DLC would be worth it.… Expand
  88. LadySephiroth
    Nov 25, 2019
    4
    I have been a fan of pokemon for over 25 years. And I must say with each game that comes out, they lose more and more of their soul. Although the environments and move animations look great, the Pokemon themselves were reused models. The storyline is lackluster, and you feel nothing for any of the characters. Didn't feel like anything exciting was happening. Even in Pokemon OmegaI have been a fan of pokemon for over 25 years. And I must say with each game that comes out, they lose more and more of their soul. Although the environments and move animations look great, the Pokemon themselves were reused models. The storyline is lackluster, and you feel nothing for any of the characters. Didn't feel like anything exciting was happening. Even in Pokemon Omega Ruby, it felt adventurous cause the need to stop team Magma from unleashing Groudon seemed like an eminent threat, and thus gave the game purpose. I didn't feel any eminent threat in this game, there was ONE battle with the game's antagonist. And that was it. The rest of the game felt like grinding. What's with the World Cup themed gym battles? I like the audience part but changing into a uniform every single time was SO ANNOYING. I'm here to battle Pokemon, not to play soccer... Not to mention , Dynamax is the lamest and dumbest thing I have EVER seen. Dynamax Pokemon look like Pokemon someone designed while under massive drug use which lead to hallucinations. Since when do Pokemon grow to giant sizes? SO WEIRD!!! I couldn't get over it. What ever happened to Mega Evolution?? They introduced something great only to take it away. You cannot Mega Evolve in this game. They dropped that feature like a hot potato. It feels like they just want to create new gimmicks with little effort. No National DEX? Are you kidding me?? I love Lugia and Groudon and Metagross but guess what, can't play with them cause they aren't in Galar dex. What's the point of pokemon when you can't battle others online with the Pokemon you actually care about?? This feels like a dumbed down game meant to try to attract new followers into the world of Pokemon. It's NOT a game for veterans. And to top it off, Ninentdo charges a MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION in order to have ANY online features. That's right, NO pokemon trading or Pokemon battling with others around the world unless you wanna PAY for it. Since when was online features a purchase??? Stop being greedy you guys.

    The Wild Area is boring to me. I'm not here to recapture old Pokemon I've been capturing for the past 20 years already. I am here for new Pokemon. I felt like most of the game, I was encountering Pokemon I've already seen millions of times. Which made me feel like I wasn't REALLY exploring a new area. Instead of creating this huge wild area with Pokemon we've already seen, why not just invest your time and energy into a better story and more environments to explore? The map felt sooo small to me. What happened to the goggles you need to pass the sandstorm in the deserts (pokemon ruby) or the magical song that has to be sung deep in the cavern maze for Lugia to appear (soul silver)? This game was way to simple , POkemon is supposed to be more challenging. Also there is not much to do post- game. Except re capture old pokemon that are now HUGE... so stupid. I feel bad for developers cause I know they put work into here and were trying new things but this time around it didn't work out. I have a better idea. They should just remake soul silver for the switch and use NEW pokemon models this time. They can start there. lol.

    P.S. What's with the ugly final starter evolution? I can thing of a million starters that are better than a monkey (done before) or a rabbit. Honestly, so much of the FAN ART I see of people inventing their own pokemon look SO MUCH cooler than these new official ones. It's not hard to design a cool Pokemon, it really isn't .    … Expand
  89. niccolomusillo
    Dec 19, 2019
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Boring history, inconsistency online multiplayer. Less helps for competitive players. Obtain a competitive gigamax pokémon with the correct method is impossible. No online tournament allowed. Post story inexistent. Only few ideas were good but not enough… Expand
  90. jorgeben292110
    Nov 16, 2019
    5
    Tenían la oportunidad de lanzar el juego definitivo de Pokémon y... , aún así es un "buen" juego si ignoras ciertos apartados (gráficos, etc), en definitiva lo que lo hace ser el peor de todos los Pokémon hasta la fecha es la eliminación masiva de la mayoría de Pokémon.
  91. pm_goulart
    Jan 2, 2020
    0
    The game was first presented in the begging of 2019 and was very well praised by the fan based community. If good improvements and a new 3D game model, the game raised a lot expectations by public. Also, the developers stated in some interviews that they have learned from previous experiences and they were working hard to give fans the game they wanted. However, things turned out to beThe game was first presented in the begging of 2019 and was very well praised by the fan based community. If good improvements and a new 3D game model, the game raised a lot expectations by public. Also, the developers stated in some interviews that they have learned from previous experiences and they were working hard to give fans the game they wanted. However, things turned out to be completely different from what had being said.
    01 – First, the game lacks graphics improvement. It is the first time that Pokémon hits the tv consoles. For sure it had more power than the previous handheld consoles, but yet, the graphics did not reflect the true power of the Nintendo Switch. We can see that by playing the Legend of Zelda, Mario Odyssey, or Xenoblade Chronicles. The truth is: the graphics improvements were poor and lacks refinement as you can see a lot of pixelate textures throughout the game.
    02 – The cut of National DEX were a very wrong move. The fact that not having all the pokémons in a game is a huge step back in the franchise. They could have worked that part and hired more professionals to do this job. It is not a case of balancing and lack of time. This is a case of misleading in the production and lack of a strong leadership.
    03 – The game does not have any post game adventure. It is the worst ever.
    04 – Along with the Pokémon, the removal of the GTS is another step back as we now have to count on lucky to complete the dex with pokémons we don’t have.
    05 – The game does not stand good frame rates while connect on the internet. There moments of lagging and short freezing if the internet is on.
    06 – Despite all the improvements, the game main story is poorly developed. It grows in the background, which makes the main character be apart of it. This is a shift if you just look back in the other games where the main characters take part of the story and help to build the storyline.
    07 – Mega evolutions, z moves, abilities, deleted items and moves does make a difference. Mega evolutions were a great move. It makes no sense removing it.
    08 – The soundtrack is one greatest things in the game. At least I was not disappointed in this aspect. However, is somehow repetitive as some routes share the same song and some cities have copies of previous ones.
    09 – Differently from Sun and Moon, Pokémon Sword and Shield makes a really [almost absent] referent of other games from the same franchise. They barely mentioned other regions. In consequence, there is not multi plot. The stories do not connect to each other.
    10 – The producers delivered a final product with so much work to be done. And this could be fixed if they either contracted more people or asked for help. They delivered a poorly made game relying on its name to sell millions of copies.    … Expand
  92. fallout7050
    Dec 27, 2019
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. the graphics that both said that they were going to improve did not make the animations of most of the pokemon are poor compared to for example pokemon sun and moon or pokemon ultra sun and ultra moon which percent are of a cosola of the last generation 3ds and this game that came out on a supposedly better console has worse animations even the game that preceded pokemon les go eeve has better animation than this game In addition to having all the pokemon without any limitation that they are only 400 a company like gamefreak that has millions as a company for having the most important franchise as a pokemon, it cannot make a game that is decent and that has all the pokemons as it was pokemon les go eeve and the worst thing will surely be that they will issue an ultra sword and ultra shield edition with the false promise that it will solve all the errors and bring all the pokemones when the latter should have done it at the beginning and as if it was not enough With all the above mentioned, the rendering distance is rubbish, you literally go a bit far and the pokemon are already disappearing and then we have the fact that our rival is simply bad for saying little, he spends half of the blessed game telling you that you know the weakness of elementary types and does nothing to counter his clear disadvantage literally he doesn't feel like he is a rival although they want to paint it as such and as for the story this is bland and predictable from the minute one we already know that the bad guy in the game is chairman rose and although the game tries to hide it he fails prematurely are for all these reasons that I think this game is so bad… Expand
  93. Genji1
    Nov 27, 2019
    1
    Half of all Pokemon missing, the touted "Wild Area" is just a massive open empty world, some Pokemon cant even be caught at first cause they are level gated behind badges, the 'Dynamax gameplay feature is pretty simple and boring. raid battles are just an annoying slog. The story is so basic and forgettable there might as not even be one. Your rival Hop is literally just a Hau clone. TheHalf of all Pokemon missing, the touted "Wild Area" is just a massive open empty world, some Pokemon cant even be caught at first cause they are level gated behind badges, the 'Dynamax gameplay feature is pretty simple and boring. raid battles are just an annoying slog. The story is so basic and forgettable there might as not even be one. Your rival Hop is literally just a Hau clone. The "evil" Team Yell isn't evil at all, they are just a bunch of idiots, like seriously, they are less threatening than Team Skull was. Worse problem for me is there no more GTS. Only good thing i can say about this game is it sees the return of Gym battles and Gym puzzles. Overall this game lacks any kind ambition and is clearly just a copy, paste lazy game from Game Freak , cuz its Pokemon and they know it will print money regardless of how god awful this game is.… Expand
  94. asapas
    May 19, 2020
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. They just DON'T CARE ANYMORE!! It's their first Switch try and they completely messed it up.
    As of now, playing even the Pokemon Yellow version on GameBoy, is a more exciting experience

    There in Gamefreak, they should FIX IT OR LEAVE IT!!!
    Awful!!!!    … Expand
  95. Krossbone
    Jan 30, 2020
    1
    What can I say that hasn't already been said? Could have been so much more, but due to Game Freak's horrible marketing and rushing, the game was churned out with lackluster presentation and exclusion of numerous Pokemon from the Pokedex that are already coded into the game.
  96. DarkVivid
    May 9, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game just wants to **** with me I am at the fairy arena and The questions she is giving me are just a bunch of jokes, it's like the game hates you or something, it's sad that the Pokémon games aren't the same anymore.… Expand
  97. Carny
    Apr 3, 2020
    4
    This is what I'm gonna call a Death Stranding situation. The trailers were more interesting than the game. This game is just flat out not fun. Repetitive lies from the devs and an "open-world" aren't what makes Pokemon fun.
  98. Jl58
    Dec 22, 2019
    5
    Pokemon sword was massively effected by time constraints. You can see a massive lack of polish graphically. When you compare the quality with Dragon Quest and Xenoblade 2 it’s clear that it was pushed out asap. Lots of animations are below par but the worst thing has to be the game speed. Raid battles are pointlessly slow and trainer battles take far too long with loading for animations,Pokemon sword was massively effected by time constraints. You can see a massive lack of polish graphically. When you compare the quality with Dragon Quest and Xenoblade 2 it’s clear that it was pushed out asap. Lots of animations are below par but the worst thing has to be the game speed. Raid battles are pointlessly slow and trainer battles take far too long with loading for animations, weather effects and multi hit moves. The Nintendo servers make the online in this game next to worthless. It has been rushed by creators who I think genuinely love the series but Game Freak need to learn that quality over quantity will please the fans. I’m hoping the next instalment has a half decent story, updated battle mechanics and they completely revamp most of the overdone tropes of Pokemon such as gyms… Expand
  99. gab_shk
    Nov 23, 2019
    0
    This game feels like an indie game for $ 5. I can’t imagine how part of the most expensive gaming franchise can be such rubbish.
  100. Goomenstein
    Nov 15, 2019
    5
    It's a Pokémon game so it's bound to be mildly enjoyable, however, this is the worst entry in the series yet. The difficulty is laughable, the story is simple and the game is relatively short. The lack of features (and Pokemon) from other games is also inexcusable as the quality has not improved as a consequence as they had promised us.
    While the art DIRECTION of this game is pretty, the    It's a Pokémon game so it's bound to be mildly enjoyable, however, this is the worst entry in the series yet. The difficulty is laughable, the story is simple and the game is relatively short. The lack of features (and Pokemon) from other games is also inexcusable as the quality has not improved as a consequence as they had promised us.
    While the art DIRECTION of this game is pretty, the graphics themselves are subpar with muddy textures and less than great animations. (the infamous tree that was picked apart since the E3 treehouse showcase is still in the final game, by the way)

    The cute/cool creatures and characterdesigns are bound to at least tickle your Pokebone a little, and the roster of 400 Pokemon in total isn't bad, allowing you to perhaps enjoy a second playthrough with a completely different team, as the selection of the regional dex is pretty diverse. The question if you're willing to bother after having experienced it for the first time.

    Sadly I believe this is as great as modern Pokemon games will get. Even if you do decide to not buy this game and vote with your wallet, the problem goes beyond Gamefreak having little time to develop and polish these games. The maingames have been a fraction of the total revenue TPCi makes, so they are more likely to be cut completely than to be polished.
    The maingames are ABSOLUTELY ****    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 87 Critic Reviews

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