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. bocles
    Nov 22, 2022
    5
    I enjoyed playing the game but it just felt like it was missing something. Wild areas are cool but nothing special, they can feel empty at times. All the cities and towns were pretty bland, all the main characters were one note and most of the time just empty. Story was a sleeper, generic villain and a bad payoff. But the gameplay wasnt the worst.
  2. camoz
    Nov 19, 2022
    4
    A bare bones experience that strips out all of the story beats from the experience. A shocking lack of animations, and overall an experience stuck in the 1980s
  3. Shamp058
    Nov 21, 2022
    2
    This game has a semi-interesting mechanic, but is just super boring and repetitive. The visuals also suck, even for the switch. This game is boring and just bad, don't buy
  4. LikeFahrenheit
    Apr 30, 2023
    4
    The idea of developing a home console game when you usually developed games for handhelds, is to make the most of the hardware given to you. to push boundaries and explore new avenues for gameplay and content. If there's one glaring fault with this game, it's that it does not look or play like a game for the Switch. It really feels like Sword was meant to be played on the 3DS, and evenThe idea of developing a home console game when you usually developed games for handhelds, is to make the most of the hardware given to you. to push boundaries and explore new avenues for gameplay and content. If there's one glaring fault with this game, it's that it does not look or play like a game for the Switch. It really feels like Sword was meant to be played on the 3DS, and even then, it would be the worst Pokemon game on that system. That's how disappointing and pedestrian this game is. It screams "safe", which is not what a game from Pokemon should be when starting a new generation on the most powerful hardware the developer has ever worked with.

    The Galar region is the worst designed region in Pokemon. no hidden pathways, no height in routes to give new perspectives, no dungeons, no puzzles, no reason to go back to an area other than filling the pokedex. all routes are linear to the point of boredom. The region is bereft of any sense of adventure or mystery. What adds to this novice level of design is that the angle of the camera isn't in top-down like in previous games. they lowered the angle, which means we see more of the region and routes, which means they look smaller than they are. Which begs the question, why did they lower the camera? if the routes are designed in a very similar style to past regions on the game boy and ds games, why not keep the angle as high as possible? because it's now 3D? it's just poor design.

    The Wild Area (the game's selling point) is grossly stale. Going through it once or twice, you'll get bored there too. The only reason to go there is to catch Pokemon, which can be done in every other area in the game. The only incentive to go there is for the raid battles and interact with other players. There is nothing there that is evident of creativity or uniqueness. There's no hidden areas either, no caves, no grottoes, no secret events or surprises. it's basic, it's nothing. it's a waste of potential. which is a lot of this game.    … Expand
  5. AlexMakesToast
    Dec 16, 2022
    6
    Sword = 6/10
    ..............................................................
  6. ReviewdaShopee
    Dec 23, 2022
    6
    "Pokémon Sword & Shield" marcaram a estreia da franquia Pokémon no Nintendo Switch com problemas de performance e gráficos aquém do esperado. Apesar dos modelos dos Pokémons serem muito bem feitos e atmosfera da região de Galar tornar as lutas de ginásio épicas, a história extremamente curta e esvaziada não empolga. A promissora Wild Area também deixou a desejar com algumas aberrações"Pokémon Sword & Shield" marcaram a estreia da franquia Pokémon no Nintendo Switch com problemas de performance e gráficos aquém do esperado. Apesar dos modelos dos Pokémons serem muito bem feitos e atmosfera da região de Galar tornar as lutas de ginásio épicas, a história extremamente curta e esvaziada não empolga. A promissora Wild Area também deixou a desejar com algumas aberrações (como Wingulls petrificados enquanto sobrevoavam em algumas localidades). Competitivamente falando, as adições de Galar foram ótimas: a mecânica do Dynamax revolucionou as estratégias de batalha e muitos pokemons adicionados foram extremamente relevantes (como Cinderace, Rillaboom e Dragapult). Apesar disso, Pokémon Sword & Shield representam uma queda na qualidade dos jogos da franquia. É uma pena.… Expand
  7. kristinaformer
    Nov 24, 2022
    7
    I didnt care for the wild area the fun of pokemon is raising them whats the point if you can just randomly catch a super strong one other than that this game is a great open world pokemon game. i loved going to each city and styling my avatars clothes.
  8. EvanatorB
    Nov 23, 2022
    3
    Pokémon is the number one highest grossing media franchise on earth. This does NOT feel like a game from the number one best selling franchise ever. Let me start with the good. One. I love the music. It definitely lives up to the quality of previous Pokémon soundtracks. Two. The Pokémon designs of Gen 8 are wonderful, especially the starter trio. That’s where my praise ends. Now for thePokémon is the number one highest grossing media franchise on earth. This does NOT feel like a game from the number one best selling franchise ever. Let me start with the good. One. I love the music. It definitely lives up to the quality of previous Pokémon soundtracks. Two. The Pokémon designs of Gen 8 are wonderful, especially the starter trio. That’s where my praise ends. Now for the flaws. This game looks like a Nintendo 64 game. The textures are in 2D, the environment looks very low poly, I noticed some frame rate issues, and characters appear lifeless and stiff with really bad animations. Which is a shame as certain NPCs look really good design wise. The story is almost non existent and what is there is so boring it doesn’t even meet the expectations of a Pokémon game. Worst of all the game is WAY too easy. I breezed through it in a single day. I know the game is targeted towards young children but jeez, even as a six year old I wouldn’t have had much trouble. On top of that Game Freak did little to enhance the Pokémon gameplay loop and the main gimmicks of the game, the Wild Area and “Dynamaxing”, Yeah. One is a single small lifeless semi-open world area and the other is a glorified win button. Going beyond that the online multiplayer is a joke. Even battling other players takes forever as you can read a novel with the amount of time the game takes to process moves in between turns. Maybe this is more of a Nintendo Switch Online problem, but it still impacts the game. Overall, this was probably the most disappointing Nintendo Switch release considering it was the first mainline console game in the series. Game Freak screwed up. And you shouldn’t screw up either by saving your $60.… Expand
  9. HungryRamona
    Dec 2, 2022
    4
    This game was a complete disappointment across the board. I really didn't had fun playing this game. The graphics were really a joke even for the switch, especially in the wild areas. After Lets Go Pikachu/Evoli I really had expectations for the next generation because the games looked so nice. Unfortunately you don't see any of that anymore in Sword/Shield. There were only a few placesThis game was a complete disappointment across the board. I really didn't had fun playing this game. The graphics were really a joke even for the switch, especially in the wild areas. After Lets Go Pikachu/Evoli I really had expectations for the next generation because the games looked so nice. Unfortunately you don't see any of that anymore in Sword/Shield. There were only a few places where the game looked "nice". The frame rate also left a lot to be desired. The story was relatively boring and from start to finish you were treated like it was your very first Pokémon game. And it's an absolute no-go that the rival in the FINAL BATTLE is still surprised that I'm familiar with different Pokémon types. Leveling up isn't really difficult thanks to the activated Exp. Share and the Max Raid Battles (but I'm personally grateful for that because leveling up in past Pokémon games was just too slow for me).… Expand
  10. Cloud_cipher
    Nov 29, 2022
    3
    "I've played 110 hours of sword. I wish I could get back atleast 90 of those hours back"

    Complaints 1v1 battles are the most boring way to engage in this series and the fights were just soulless and boring I had to fight sleep with this game Animations are lazy Dlc is stupidly high priced but fun Story was unoriginal and boring and alot of handholding making it just a rush to the finish    "I've played 110 hours of sword. I wish I could get back atleast 90 of those hours back"

    Complaints 1v1 battles are the most boring way to engage in this series and the fights were just soulless and boring I had to fight sleep with this game
    Animations are lazy Dlc is stupidly high priced but fun Story was unoriginal and boring and alot of handholding making it just a rush to the finish so I could just do whatever I wanted
    Dynamax was cool at first but quickly wore off
    Raids were fun at first until you realize that you need online support aka random people online to help you beat a raid and we all know how reliable random online players are. You could get nocs to help you fight a raid but I rather have a random noob who doesn't know what there doing than a npc    … Expand
  11. Luky1996
    Nov 30, 2022
    5
    Tecnicamente arretrato rispetto ai giochi contemporanei, comunque gradevole da giocare.
    I nuovi Pokémon sono molto belli e accattivanti.
  12. Epicmonster5600
    Dec 6, 2022
    2
    Pokemon fans to this day confuse me, they will pay full price for the most lazily made game ever. It makes no sense to me, like wouldn't you rather boycott the game so they realise they need to put more effort in. Yes these games are fun but their quality is awful and gamefreaks should be ashamed.
  13. cHughes
    Dec 7, 2022
    6
    The best looking games Pokémon has ever produced coupled with new Pokémon and regional forms make Pokémon Sword and Shield a pleasant experience during the first play through. This is all let down however by a lazy, predictable and rushed story, following the same old pattern but clogged into the final section of the game. This is very disappointing. The post-game was also horrendous. TheThe best looking games Pokémon has ever produced coupled with new Pokémon and regional forms make Pokémon Sword and Shield a pleasant experience during the first play through. This is all let down however by a lazy, predictable and rushed story, following the same old pattern but clogged into the final section of the game. This is very disappointing. The post-game was also horrendous. The idea that the post-game’s biggest ploy is that you get to catch the heroic legendary which is on the cover of the game is just lazy. The final saving grace of the games were the DLC, which rectified the melancholy state of the game at the time, still however, the games were lazy and overall pretty poor, no matter how enjoyable they may be on first play through.
    Pokémon Sword and Shield are frustratingly generic as Pokémon games. The return of linear route design and typical battle mechanics revert Pokémon to its normal state, which shows no innovation from 3ds titles.    … Expand
  14. Alebernard
    Dec 8, 2022
    0
    Movement stuck for a game on a console that is the Nintendo Switch. I expected more quality as it is the same console generation as PS4, PS5, xboxone, xbox x and s. I expected movement of attacks within battles. A silly mechanic. Shameful, I regret the purchase too much, too bad it is digital media.
  15. JulienK06
    Dec 11, 2022
    5
    Okay Game, graphics may be mid but the game was still fun even tho its easy not counting the final fight
  16. Resoul
    Jun 21, 2023
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. There are parts of the story that could have been great if written well but sadly most of the writing is pretty bad i mean iv read bad hentai and supernatural fanfics that are better written then the post game like for real how weren't those two and the girl from the lab that helped them put in jail right away, they broke well over ten laws and not once did anyone try to put them in jail were the guy who did go to jail didn't really brake any laws and was trying to do the right thing unlike tho two who were just trying to put themselfs on the throne… Expand
  17. TheDarkKnight15
    Feb 2, 2023
    7
    The open world wild area and new Pokémon are a cool addition. But there is too much dialogue and the exp curve is awful.
  18. blasecube
    Feb 8, 2023
    8
    Honestly, I walked into this game expecting it to be bad. And not gonna lie, at first it was. The game feels tedious and it's, in my humble opinion, the easiest the franchise has ever been (taking into account I skipped X/Y and Sun/Moon, being my last one Black 2, which was fairly harder).

    However, it gets progressively good. I loved the concept of the Gym Challenge, the OST is    Honestly, I walked into this game expecting it to be bad. And not gonna lie, at first it was. The game feels tedious and it's, in my humble opinion, the easiest the franchise has ever been (taking into account I skipped X/Y and Sun/Moon, being my last one Black 2, which was fairly harder).

    However, it gets progressively good. I loved the concept of the Gym Challenge, the OST is magnificent, the end game is actually pretty good and entertaining.

    The game biggest sin is being too easy (on an already easy franchise), however, it makes up with a story that goes beyond "guy for some reason becomes champion and defeats a criminal organization while only asked to fill an encyclopedia". Here you have a reason to do everything you do, and it helps to keep the immersion. Everything feels grounded, within the boundaries of the world.    … Expand
  19. AbsoPoy
    Feb 21, 2023
    2
    An absolute embarrassment. Mediocre storyline, characters, gameplay etc. The only redeeming qualities are the soundtrack and the Pokémon themselves (coalossal and corviknight, mainly). A bore from start to finish.
  20. JhonattanGiron
    Feb 23, 2023
    10
    Para mi concepto el mejor juego de pokemon, las mejores animaciones, las mejores personalizaciones, un entrono bonito y buena historia.
  21. Mrpokemon
    Feb 25, 2023
    9
    Incredibly fun! My first nuzlocke the game gets boring and grooky is the worst Pokémon but hop is the best character ever in Pokémon other then the protagonist
  22. Reviewer69420
    Mar 1, 2023
    10
    I don't understand the hat, the pokemon are great its short and replayable the dynamax is sick they put Joltik in it so thats a big win. Overall amazing game love it too much Joltik/Dwebble 10/0.321348321
  23. Amcek
    Mar 23, 2023
    3
    Aburridísimo, lo pase todo sin una sola emoción, 0 dificultad. Si tenés entre 2-6 años y nunca jugaste un Pokémon te lo recomiendo
  24. BadSector
    May 26, 2023
    5
    Extremely disappointing game. Hands down the worst Pokemon game ever. Poor plot and childish puzzles
  25. ScreenS
    Jun 5, 2023
    9
    If you’re a competitive focused player than this is the Pokémon game for you. All of the negativity only matters if you choose never to play online, which is where 99% of the content is.

    The dex cuts brought a breath of fresh air into the series and removed so much needless bloat. Still one of the best looking 3D games in the series. Dynamax is a fantastic mechanic that combines the best    If you’re a competitive focused player than this is the Pokémon game for you. All of the negativity only matters if you choose never to play online, which is where 99% of the content is.

    The dex cuts brought a breath of fresh air into the series and removed so much needless bloat. Still one of the best looking 3D games in the series. Dynamax is a fantastic mechanic that combines the best of both Megas and Z moves and is more than the sum of its parts.

    Only reason for a 9 instead of a 10 is quite frankly this is the worst starter trio in the series and there is little to go back to after the player base moves on. The Crown Tundra greatly alleviates this but that will revive its own score.    … Expand
  26. King187
    May 30, 2023
    10
    The Game was really fun to play and still is. I think that the dex cut was not that a huge problem, because 600 pokemon is a lot.
  27. miguellopez99
    Jun 1, 2023
    6
    60/100 overhated but still not good .
  28. OrangeRood
    Jul 30, 2023
    7
    I love Pokemon but this is just not it. It feels like a cashgrab which is unfortunate.
  29. Mariodeoz
    Jun 11, 2023
    10
    Muy buen juego, excelente historia y muy buenos graficos. Lástima que no hayan incluido toda la pokedex pero aun así no deja de ser un gran juego
  30. Maki89
    Jun 25, 2023
    7
    Not the best pokemon out there but i still enjoyed it. Its always fun to capture and traine your pokemon :).
  31. KawaiiDude
    Jun 30, 2023
    9
    Great game. Love the atmosphere of the game and the Music. Generally a good pokemon game that gives me PokemonXY vibes (good vibes lmao). Better than Sun/Moon and Scarl./Violet. The Characters are also good, but I miss a antiteam/villan and the story is kinda short
    Give it a 9.
  32. voiceofreason69
    Jul 22, 2023
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It ain't THAT bad, just... a bit too packed with non-important trash story that absolutely nobody cares about, its addicting in the wild area, but the story is garbage, and if your going to be trying to progress through it, quit around the 6th badge, its not worth it, only after getting badge 2, badge 6, and beating the game, will the story matter at all/ impact the gameplay. 6/10 meh game overall, story = trash, other= good, game= mixed… Expand
  33. Ihtayt
    Aug 16, 2023
    4
    Summing up some bulletpoints on my thoughts of the game below, for reference this is after beating both ScVi 3 times and going back to SwSh after. I did not get / play the DLC as the base game offered so little there was no incentive to prolong this.

    Game is always on local wireless, this massively hinders connecting to wifi as it will frequently bug out and fail to connect to network    Summing up some bulletpoints on my thoughts of the game below, for reference this is after beating both ScVi 3 times and going back to SwSh after. I did not get / play the DLC as the base game offered so little there was no incentive to prolong this.

    Game is always on local wireless, this massively hinders connecting to wifi as it will frequently bug out and fail to connect to network after the game is open. This feels like a massive oversight for something that the developers forced on the game.

    Gameplay is very linear, moreso than Gen 2 and possibly even more linear than Gen 1 which is a very sad downgrade. The main story only took me roughly 20-24 hours to beat and the postgame did not offer much more; at what I feel was a moderate play pace.

    Postgame- After beating the game, gameplay massively falls off and feels very unmotivating. Farming the battle tower may appeal to some, but its gatekept behind needing to clear the BT for the currency (BP) to get the items that you need to clear the BT; which feels very outdated and counter-intuitive. You can clear all / most of the tower with provided rental teams which further detracts from the experience as by time you can make your own team with your own mons, you already beat everything. You can aim to complete the pokedex, breed, and shiny hunt; but this is nothing new or exciting from previous games really; and aside from team building for the BT it feels pretty pointless to build up mons. The game introduced raid dens, but they didn't feel at all appealing personally.

    Performance - I've encountered more performance issues with SwSh (~40hrs) than I ever did with ScVi (>1000hrs).    … Expand
  34. Eyean
    Aug 5, 2023
    4
    This is what you get when you prioritize game sales over making an actual good game. Cutting the National Dex in exchange for "Improved graphics and animations" was the most egregious lie this company's ever told.
  35. Santa-zero
    Aug 20, 2023
    6
    Nowadays, this game is not that harmful to pick up. But it skip it regardless. It adds nothing to the franchise.
  36. Diogo2008
    Aug 20, 2023
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Fantástico jogo, tem uma bela mecânica e os melhores gráficos que a série de Pokémon poderia ter. A duração do jogo varia se queres completar o modo história ou completar todo o jogo. ...........................,jhdududhhdhduduehgeududhdhjdjdhdhdhdudjndheudidhgshs jhdududhhdhduduehgeududhdhjdjdhdhdhdudjndheudidhgshs jhdududhhdhduduehgeududhdhjdjdhdhdhdudjndheudidhgshs jhdududhhdhduduehgeududhdhjdjdhdhdhdudjndheudidhgshs hdhdhdhhdhd hdhdhdhhdhd hdhdhdhhdhd hdhdhdhhdhdhdhdggfjcdhhdysysyaudjdudusuddusuusjdjdjddjjdjxjxjxjxjxxjjxkx gxjjxjxjxjxjzjzjxudid… Expand
  37. Kirbo1777
    Aug 23, 2023
    3
    The game is pretty easy, not requiring any skill to beat it. The skip cutscenes option doesn't even skip the entirety of the cutscenes.
  38. TreasureOrTrash
    Sep 8, 2023
    0
    Trash!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 87 Critic Reviews

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