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. Reviewk
    Nov 25, 2019
    3
    The game lacks the content that a home console release should have and details Game Freak's incompetence in excessive detail. Whether it be the barren wild area and its robotic pokemon that don't interact with their environment, or the short main game that insults your intelligence by holding your hand the whole way through. This game just goes to show that Game Freak doesn't understandThe game lacks the content that a home console release should have and details Game Freak's incompetence in excessive detail. Whether it be the barren wild area and its robotic pokemon that don't interact with their environment, or the short main game that insults your intelligence by holding your hand the whole way through. This game just goes to show that Game Freak doesn't understand what the fanbase wants in a pokemon game, because this certainly isn't it.… Expand
  2. maxspin
    Nov 15, 2019
    5
    I bought Shield but I'll repost my review here, since they are basically the same games.

    I have just played this game for 5 hours and all I can say is that the rumors were right. Graphics are lackluster (to not say bad) for a Switch game, animations are not detailed like Nintendo promised, routes are boring and most are just straight lines, national dex is nowhere to be seen (I was    I bought Shield but I'll repost my review here, since they are basically the same games.

    I have just played this game for 5 hours and all I can say is that the rumors were right. Graphics are lackluster (to not say bad) for a Switch game, animations are not detailed like Nintendo promised, routes are boring and most are just straight lines, national dex is nowhere to be seen (I was expecting this but whatever), and tons of other small issues that end up causing a snowball effect. I really did expect it to be a bit better, but as a long time fan, I'm just disappointed.    … Expand
  3. Gibus_Mann
    Nov 18, 2019
    5
    The Good:
    - Some move animations are well done, such as Brave Bird, Boom Burst, and all G-max moves
    - The Wild Area gives a feeling of adventure and challenge - The human models look well done and there is a significant amount of customization for the player model The Meh - The majority of the new Pokemon designs don't seem very 'Pokemon-like' - Most of the music doesn't have the    The Good:
    - Some move animations are well done, such as Brave Bird, Boom Burst, and all G-max moves
    - The Wild Area gives a feeling of adventure and challenge
    - The human models look well done and there is a significant amount of customization for the player model

    The Meh
    - The majority of the new Pokemon designs don't seem very 'Pokemon-like'
    - Most of the music doesn't have the same memorable feel like prior Pokemon games
    - There is little, to no, improvement in Pokemon animations for Gen 1-7 Pokemon

    The Bad
    - There is no National Dex
    - The story, and some parts of the game, seem rushed and incomplete
    - The post-game is weak or non-existent

    Conclusion:
    Despite some improvements, overall, Pokemon Sword and Shield failed to live up to the expectations of a mainline game on the Nintendo Switch. If it were a 3DS game, it would be considered an improvement over the main lines series. But because it is on the Switch, it will be compared with, arguably unfairly, with other Nintendo titles such as Zelda: BOTW and Mario Odyssey. In that comparison, it simply falls flat.    … Expand
  4. ShinyOtter
    Nov 18, 2019
    1
    For being the first games on the Switch, they're complete and utter disappointments. I bought this game thinking like the previous gen it would be a wonderful and incredible experience, but the game feels so hollow and lifeless compared to Generation 7. Your rival interrupts you every time something meaningful happens in the game, the animations are buggy and just clip onto your screenFor being the first games on the Switch, they're complete and utter disappointments. I bought this game thinking like the previous gen it would be a wonderful and incredible experience, but the game feels so hollow and lifeless compared to Generation 7. Your rival interrupts you every time something meaningful happens in the game, the animations are buggy and just clip onto your screen like they were teleported into existence (such as when interacting with a Gyarados in a lake and how it goes right through your trainer model), and worst of all, the lack of Pokemon makes for a boring and uninteresting journey. I missed a lot of my favorites and the new designs just didn't appeal to me.

    GF said this would appeal to longtime fans but as someone who's played it since Ruby and Sapphire I have to say this felt like more of a spinoff or a fangame than an actual new generation of Pokemon, and they cut out a lot of the things that made it enjoyable, the Pokemon themselves. The online is now a paid subscription and the GTS has been removed, so you can't trade with strangers for starters or other Pokemon to complete your National Dex unless you have friends and can trade locally.

    I hope GF can improve these games because I really wanted to see them succeed, but as they are right now I don't want to spend $60 just for one or two designs I enjoy in exchange for sacrificing the beloved Pokemon I've come to know and train over the years.    … Expand
  5. GSC_Dusk
    Nov 18, 2019
    4
    Pokemon Sword and Shield feel more like a 3DS game than a Switch game. There's a few decent improvements, from being able to access the PC anywhere, to having a huge "Wild Area" that feels like what a route in Pokemon should have always been. But comparing Sword and Shield to other Switch games, the graphics and music are clearly below average. The removal of the EXP Share's toggle rendersPokemon Sword and Shield feel more like a 3DS game than a Switch game. There's a few decent improvements, from being able to access the PC anywhere, to having a huge "Wild Area" that feels like what a route in Pokemon should have always been. But comparing Sword and Shield to other Switch games, the graphics and music are clearly below average. The removal of the EXP Share's toggle renders the game hilariously impossible to fail, while arbitrary catching level limits in certain areas make the game frustrating in a bad way. Most of the NPCs are unnecessarily shallow (not you Marnie, you're awesome… Expand
  6. LoneBro
    Nov 18, 2019
    2
    Even by Pokemon standards this game is extremely mediocre. After I started playing I was pleasantly surprised... for about the first two hours. There are some interesting environments and I do like how it has been made easier to get into the competitive scene, but the game's flaws catch up to it really quickly. By the time I got to the first gym I was already bored. Almost no thought isEven by Pokemon standards this game is extremely mediocre. After I started playing I was pleasantly surprised... for about the first two hours. There are some interesting environments and I do like how it has been made easier to get into the competitive scene, but the game's flaws catch up to it really quickly. By the time I got to the first gym I was already bored. Almost no thought is required in building a ream. Regardless of what Pokemon you are using the forced experience share keeps you so overlevelled you will almost never run into a real challenge. The two main gimmicks this time around are extremely underwhelming. The wild area is cool at first, but after about 20 minutes you realize you have seen it all and really have no reason to go back except to fill out the pokedex and farm items. For such a large selling point of the game I expected much more to do. Dyna/gigantamaxing are just a lackluster gimmick. I am a little more than halfway through the game and have almost never found a need to dynamax. I did it once just to try it out, but after that I just predicted the dynamax and wiped the floor with them thanks to type advantages. There are a few new additions/improvements, but the things we lost in return far outweigh anything we gained from this entry to the series. Pokemon Sword and Shield are a tragic waste of potential in the jump from 3DS to Nintendo Switch. Other Switch games have proved time and time again what the Switch is truly capable of, and these games don't even come close to the bar. Coming from the highest-grossing intellectual property on the planet we should have received a lot more than we did. A clear attempt to bank off the Pokemon namesake and definitely NOT worth the $60 price point.… Expand
  7. Visaith31
    Nov 18, 2019
    2
    While the core game is average they cut too many corners and lied about it. They know they have a monopoly and it shows.
  8. Knuckdafaq
    Nov 18, 2019
    0
    Animations are bad. The dynamax and gigantimax is stupid since they can only be using on raids and gym battles. They missed to opportunity to add the z moves and mega evolutions. Hop is basically a Hau clone with the same animations. The trees’ texture look as if they belong to a Nintendo 64 game. Especially cutting certain Pokémon out for “better” animations. I really love the series butAnimations are bad. The dynamax and gigantimax is stupid since they can only be using on raids and gym battles. They missed to opportunity to add the z moves and mega evolutions. Hop is basically a Hau clone with the same animations. The trees’ texture look as if they belong to a Nintendo 64 game. Especially cutting certain Pokémon out for “better” animations. I really love the series but GameFreak messed up real hard.… Expand
  9. sonikah
    Nov 18, 2019
    0
    For a $20 price increase from previous games, you would expect more features to be added. Instead, far more content was removed from previous games than actually added in this one. The supposed reason for the cut content and price increase was the increase in graphics quality, but the game runs poorly and the animations are limited. Online services are locked behind Nintendo Online'sFor a $20 price increase from previous games, you would expect more features to be added. Instead, far more content was removed from previous games than actually added in this one. The supposed reason for the cut content and price increase was the increase in graphics quality, but the game runs poorly and the animations are limited. Online services are locked behind Nintendo Online's paywall. You can't bring over all of your Pokemon from previous games, and you have to pay for another service to import the few that were included.… Expand
  10. Sweetpair
    Nov 19, 2019
    0
    This is a disaster! All content is cuted away! No Pokemon from previous gens! No National pokedex! It' terrible!
  11. Insejnar
    Nov 19, 2019
    2
    Where do i begin... I was really hopeful for these games thinking how cool it would be to play a mainline pokémon game on a console and how it will look way better, It didn’t look better. Framerate dropping during cutscenes and battles felt reasonable on the 3ds sun and moon era but now it baffles me how the games can look so cheap with such terrible animations when walking or when usingWhere do i begin... I was really hopeful for these games thinking how cool it would be to play a mainline pokémon game on a console and how it will look way better, It didn’t look better. Framerate dropping during cutscenes and battles felt reasonable on the 3ds sun and moon era but now it baffles me how the games can look so cheap with such terrible animations when walking or when using some attacks. This could’ve been amazing but gamefreak messed it up. Still no character customisation apart from choosing skin colour and clothes/hair. I was really hyped to get a mantle like leon but that seems impossible.

    And then we get to the pokemon and the ones they chose to bring over. When they announced the end of national dex i said fine, they will be able to pick the right pokemon from each generation. But now that I’ve played through both games it feels like a huge troll. I saw maractus, throh and sawk, diggersby, pelliper, vanillite line, delibird, baltoy, seismitoad, BASCULIN!?, barbaracle, elgyem and beheeyem, shiinotic and just dumb **** Sure there’s some good choices like machamp, lucario, gyarados and excadrill but overall it’s a huge disappointment. Also charizard gets sucked off again and i hear people are not happy about that. It has some good ideas like the wild area and dynamaxing but it feels tedious that the Gigantamax form raids are Impossible to find if you aren’t the luckiest person alive. The online raidsystem does not work it’s impossible to get into a good raid and if you are connected online while in the wild area the game starts lagging and people and pokemon can appear out of the blue because the game’s rushed.

    It feels bad to say that the franchise I’ve always loved and respected has let me down so much.
    2/10    … Expand
  12. sojasonk
    Nov 20, 2019
    1
    Lazy writing, bad graphics, an absolute mediocre and underwhelming introduction to Mainline Games for the Nintendo Switch. GameFreak has done the community a disservice by removing integral parts to long time loyal fans such as the National Dex. They do this because they feel they can get away with coasting simply on the name of Pokemon alone
  13. YungProto
    Nov 20, 2019
    0
    Feels like EA made this title. Unfinished game. They cut over half the roster to focus on other stuff to improve but There is nothing but lags and framedrops everywhere from wildarea to dynamaxing . Upscaled 3DS title in my opinion. First big pokemon titles on the powerful hardware and they failed miserably. Almost non existant post game battle tower has less features than the one fromFeels like EA made this title. Unfinished game. They cut over half the roster to focus on other stuff to improve but There is nothing but lags and framedrops everywhere from wildarea to dynamaxing . Upscaled 3DS title in my opinion. First big pokemon titles on the powerful hardware and they failed miserably. Almost non existant post game battle tower has less features than the one from ruby and sapphire wtf GF. 10/10 cashgrab.… Expand
  14. sakurai
    Nov 21, 2019
    6
    The game is fairly mediocre in all regards. The music stands out as pretty good and is the only outlier. Besides that, this feels like the most stripped down the series has ever gotten, and that's after the infamously bare bones Let's Go games. Yikes.
  15. snooter
    Nov 22, 2019
    1
    reused models trash animation trash story trash dex and even same trash balance in rating battle. they said they remove lots of pokemons for balance and now that was completely lie at this point. nerf mimikyu again thanks game freak
  16. Nathanga
    Nov 24, 2019
    5
    Out of all the mainline Pokemon games I've played Sword in particular was a chore to complete. I enjoyed my first 10 or so hours with the game, given that the core pokemon gameplay loop is still fun and intact. However I noticed overtime that the game kept getting more and more boring for a number of reasons, such as the dull story/characters and very easy difficulty. I appreciate theOut of all the mainline Pokemon games I've played Sword in particular was a chore to complete. I enjoyed my first 10 or so hours with the game, given that the core pokemon gameplay loop is still fun and intact. However I noticed overtime that the game kept getting more and more boring for a number of reasons, such as the dull story/characters and very easy difficulty. I appreciate the graphical improvement Gamefreak has given us here but it is negated by the cuts to the National Dex and the simplicity of the game.

    Simply put i expected more from a $80 Pokemon game and am disapointed with my purchase.    … Expand
  17. shimaoaishimiao
    Nov 25, 2019
    0
    Dear Masuda,well done,what the job you did was fascinating!
    Especially the Dexit job,however,that's an absolutely great job! Let me see, which Pokemon were culled by your great job? Okay I found Mew-two was out, why is him(maybe her)? maybe this model was too hard to handle, Am I right? So, go hell, damn it!
    Love from China.
  18. pokepals
    Nov 25, 2019
    0
    Honestly, this game feels incomplete. GF took half of the pokemon out of the game and there is no way they could be obtained. Not only that but, they recycled animations, which they claimed that they'd be recreating from scratch. The quality of the game is meant for a 3ds, not a Nintendo switch, Save your money people, because this game was purposefully rushed for Christmas time. Very VERYHonestly, this game feels incomplete. GF took half of the pokemon out of the game and there is no way they could be obtained. Not only that but, they recycled animations, which they claimed that they'd be recreating from scratch. The quality of the game is meant for a 3ds, not a Nintendo switch, Save your money people, because this game was purposefully rushed for Christmas time. Very VERY disappointed.… Expand
  19. Rcav
    Nov 25, 2019
    3
    While the game isn't that bad and in general quite enjoyable, it also carries over a lot of problems from last games and doesn't live up to the expectations set for a home console Pokemon game. The ganeplay is too easy, story is uninteresting, graphics aren't as great as other switch games and the wild area is overall underwhelming. Not to mention the vast amount of Pokemon that got cutWhile the game isn't that bad and in general quite enjoyable, it also carries over a lot of problems from last games and doesn't live up to the expectations set for a home console Pokemon game. The ganeplay is too easy, story is uninteresting, graphics aren't as great as other switch games and the wild area is overall underwhelming. Not to mention the vast amount of Pokemon that got cut due to the game being rushed. The Pokemon games have a lot of potential but sadly most of it is wasted since GF likes to stick to their formula. Therefore, I can't and don't want to give this game a high rating.… Expand
  20. newet
    Nov 25, 2019
    0
    The story was horrible and you don't really feel like a hero in it - just some random.
  21. Zerobillion
    Nov 25, 2019
    3
    Horrendous graphical issues, extreme lack of content with no post game and base game beatable in under 20 hours. Story is nonexistent, basically comes down to "oh no stuff is happening, don't worry kids the adults will take care of it" and then that's it, nothing else happens. Wild area is a joke, it isn't the amazing over world experience they tried to make it sound like it is.
  22. Fish2405
    Dec 20, 2019
    0
    Too short a process. Boring plot. There was only time to burun. Let me down to the end of the pokemon series
  23. Martin998
    Nov 26, 2019
    5
    Cut corners and a rushed/unfinished game. It was still somewhat fun but not anywhere near worth $60. Post game is laughable and having only 2 legendarys you could catch with the version you bought is god awful. No dungeons or much of anything to explore in the game. The wild area could've been great and it feels empty even with all the pokemon there. Textures, animation and models are allCut corners and a rushed/unfinished game. It was still somewhat fun but not anywhere near worth $60. Post game is laughable and having only 2 legendarys you could catch with the version you bought is god awful. No dungeons or much of anything to explore in the game. The wild area could've been great and it feels empty even with all the pokemon there. Textures, animation and models are all lazy and terrible.… Expand
  24. BIGDATALOVE
    Nov 28, 2019
    0
    unfinished. After the main story which is done very quickly the only thing left is the boring postgame. Not worth the buy. Let Game-freak burn so they finally stop releasing uncompleted trash and stop scamming their community.
  25. Mateorock
    Nov 28, 2019
    3
    Just more of the same. Entretaining but not exciting. Sadly it feels rush, they should add some things to the pokemon saga in adition to keep old stuff like mega evolutions.
  26. henriwb
    Nov 28, 2019
    0
    For the first time in my life will be skipping a pokemon game gen.
    Sun/Moon left a bitter taste and that proves how Game Freak/Pokemon Company only cares about money.
    Even if I had no money when X/Y was released I bought a 3DS to play it. Now, I'm not helping this mess of a game anymore. This is a 3DS game that was ported and rushed to sell. No excuses can be made.
  27. OldOpossum59251
    Dec 2, 2019
    0
    Let me play the game. I bought it to play and not sit through hours worth of forced text and scenes. Plus the render distance for Pokemon and npc's doesn't make sense -.- They screwed up such a good franchise with this one
  28. pseudo_gamer
    Dec 8, 2019
    4
    Its so obvious they rushed the game for the release date. There is nothing really new, its all the same! Its ok i guess, but mostly is just boring. I feel like they could have done SO much more with the Switch its hardly any better than a DS game.
  29. AllenF
    Dec 13, 2019
    0
    Nothing more that I can add. It's a downgrade and is several steps backward in many ways. Empty buildings, terrible online functionality, easy difficulty even for a Pokemon game, no HA hunting outside of max raids, Gigantamax/Dynamax is just Z move x3 turns with Uber HP, the wild is vast and boring after the initial viewing, there is 0 endgame outside of boring and impossible-to-soloNothing more that I can add. It's a downgrade and is several steps backward in many ways. Empty buildings, terrible online functionality, easy difficulty even for a Pokemon game, no HA hunting outside of max raids, Gigantamax/Dynamax is just Z move x3 turns with Uber HP, the wild is vast and boring after the initial viewing, there is 0 endgame outside of boring and impossible-to-solo raids, berry farming sucks and is all random. Nothing to love about this game. If it were the first in a Pokemon series, it would be an OK game at best. This half-baked game is shameful. Here's to hoping for gen 9. This hurts me so much as someone who grew up with Pokemon… Expand
  30. Ayresbrun
    Dec 11, 2019
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Game seems unfinished in a lot of aspects.
    It is the worst pkm game i ever played. I have all of them and this is the only one i stopped at 35 hours of gameplay. Can’t even bring myself to take online battles in this format. My pkm are staying in USUM.

    Pros:
    - a lot of character customization
    - good menus
    - pkm league with random trainers
    - the stadium vibration in battles is awesome. U feel like it is a match to watch.
    - wild pkm on screen
    - internet connection similar to PSS

    Cons:
    - only 10 routes
    - wild area is a mashup of areas that don’t fit together
    - supersized pkm feels like a flawed gimmick near z moves and mega evos.
    - the games takes nearly 15 - 20 hours to finish
    - no post game content. I mean, not a thing... the battle tower is garbage.
    - exp share turned on forever makes your party overleveled entire game (the champion was 7 lvls below my pkm without grind).
    - graphics glitches in matches
    - poor visuals in a lot of cities, itens and cutscenes
    - Removal of GTS. U can’t post what pkm u want on the internet
    - U can’t catch pokemon above your badge lvl. So if u see a pkm u want but its overleveled, come back other time.
    - Mediocre legendaries
    - Mediocre story
    - More cutscenes than Sun and Moon
    - a rival as annoying as Hau
    - Kanto pandering. (Charizard lover here, but even i think it needs to stop)    … Expand
  31. fishfarter400
    Dec 11, 2019
    1
    Everyone is complaining about the National Dex being left out of the game, but the issue with this game is far deeper. I think majority of us are upset with the end product because we all were expecting much more from the first core Pokemon game in the series on a next gen console that isn't just a handheld. Seeing screenshots online of a Pokemon game done in the style of Breath Of TheEveryone is complaining about the National Dex being left out of the game, but the issue with this game is far deeper. I think majority of us are upset with the end product because we all were expecting much more from the first core Pokemon game in the series on a next gen console that isn't just a handheld. Seeing screenshots online of a Pokemon game done in the style of Breath Of The Wild makes your imagination run wild on what a Pokemon could and should be. Instead we were all left with another regurgitated Pokemon game, that has been dumbed down to the point where there is no challenge to the game at all. There are so many missed opportunities with this game and it's not just the national dex. The game as a whole isn't a terrible game, but it's an extremely disappointing Pokemon game that leaves us wondering what could actually be, and it's left me feeling that I am done with the series, and I won't be bothered to play another Pokemon game unless we see a new game with some real wow factor.… Expand
  32. marvalarv
    Dec 13, 2019
    4
    You can't keep rebranding the same gimmick button from five generations ago and call it an innovation
  33. Silaf
    Aug 18, 2020
    3
    How can this game possibly be on a sistem that can run skyrim? Confront the wild area with skyrim... it's absurd.
    Online services are terrible and you need to pay for it. It was way better in x y with the gts. The game is getting worse instead of improving.
    Masuda lied and resold us old models instead of improving te game.
  34. Yosik
    Dec 14, 2019
    4
    I grew up with the pokémon franchise and have played through every official generation pokémon game alongside some spin off titles. Pokémon Sword has its moments of wonder when running into new pokémon you haven't seen before & that nostalgic feeling returns reminding you what you love about the franchise. But then outside the boundaries of new pokémon & extremely linear exploration,I grew up with the pokémon franchise and have played through every official generation pokémon game alongside some spin off titles. Pokémon Sword has its moments of wonder when running into new pokémon you haven't seen before & that nostalgic feeling returns reminding you what you love about the franchise. But then outside the boundaries of new pokémon & extremely linear exploration, you're met with what feels like a rushed game skinned with extra polygons for Nintendo Switch.

    Despite the controversy surrounding the game, as a game itself it felt quite poor in quality ranging from the boring & useless dialogue which seemed to go on for the entirety of the game to your rival or some other character stopping you in nearly every new area. At the time of writing this, the games score is 80 but this score to me should be more like 40. That may appear harsh but given the tools & resources this game had in development, it's mind boggling how it was able to be so boring. Animations are akin to nintendo 3DS versions of previous pokémon games & despite being on a more powerful system, the graphics & animation appear to be sub-par. I would compare the ageing of the pokémon franchise to that of Dragon Quest. Both franchises are roughly the same age & both franchises also have similar mechanics in regards to turn based play, monsters which evolved from random encounters in their older games to appearing on screen in their latest counterparts. Dragon Quest did its sequel & that franchise justice with its amazing story & incredible graphics in Dragon Quest XI Definitive Edition. Where the latter is concerned, Pokémon Sword, in my opinion has been released in an uncompleted form with the potential to be so much greater but instead is an underbaked cake that falls apart when you cut into it. Poor dialogue, useless side quests that prolong progression & for no other purpose. The pokémon community is full of all ages from children to mature adults & unfortunately the Pokémon company alongside ganefreak have failed to grow with their community. This revelation is clearly justified by Pokémon Sword & Pokémon Shield.    … Expand
  35. IGNisaFraud
    Dec 15, 2019
    1
    Many people who defend this game will often say things like "the main story never really matters" or "I play for the postgame anyway." The postgame is shallower than Sun/Moon's. What postgame is there? Why would you pay $60-80 and not have any care about a main campaign (what is this, Call of Duty?)?

    There are surprisingly many exploits, bugs, etc. that affect both the main and postgame    Many people who defend this game will often say things like "the main story never really matters" or "I play for the postgame anyway." The postgame is shallower than Sun/Moon's. What postgame is there? Why would you pay $60-80 and not have any care about a main campaign (what is this, Call of Duty?)?

    There are surprisingly many exploits, bugs, etc. that affect both the main and postgame in annoying, sometimes harsh ways. The positives of this game which you may have heard about from the likes of corporate reviewers like IGN, NintendoLife and others are blown out of proportion. Quality of life changes are really all there is to enjoy, because who doesn't appreciate convenience? Everything else, from the Wild Area to side quests and activities are not 9/10 worthy.

    Game Freak unfortunately couldn't use their time and massive wealth to make Pokemon new AND better, a task which isn't that difficult to achieve.    … Expand
  36. KANATA
    Dec 15, 2019
    0
    I was very disappointed and IGN was a joke，GameFreak is lLazy and arrogant。
  37. KingofLions
    Dec 17, 2019
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Este es el fin, de todos nosotros, hemos vivido el auge, el amanecer de un imperio mundial, en donde los compradores ya no exigirán lo más de sus productos y cada vez, chistes como los Fifas, Cod y este juego llegarán a cubrir la tierra entera, he seguido la saga desde pequeño y admira a mis heroes, que eran capaces de en un juego en una videoconsola que cabía en mi bolsillo, dos regiones enteras, y la misma cantidad de pokemons que hay en este juego, no tengo nada personal en contra de este juego, me lo he pasado todo e incluso lo he llegado a disfrutar por momentos, pero lo que me enferma son los tóxicos resultadistas que creen que de la vida hay que aceptar esto, es que esto no hay por donde cogerlo, no fue hecho con amor, cómo es posible que este juego comparte catálogos con obras maestras en Switch como el Odyssey, el BOTW, Three Houses o Ultimate, cuando dicen que es el mejor juego de la saga, los considero locos, pero decir que este es el mejor juego de la consola, es una vergüenza, los personajes son un copia y pega de los personajes en Sol y Luna, la historia es más sencilla, aunque no ha estado del todo mal, el roster estuvo bien, aunque pudo ser un poco más grande, lo que me vuelve loco fueron las mentiras que se atrevieron a decirnos a la cara, que lo de las animaciones ultra detalladas, que lo del pasto, que lo de las horas de juego, vendiendolo como Dios en forma de cartucho de 36 gb que cuesta lo mismo que BOTW, un juego infinito con un mundo abierto que es probablemente el mejor juego de la historia, cada cosa a su tiempo, y los enfermitos que le ponen 10 a este juego, no siendo objetivos, se me pueden ir a jugar Fifa 20 Champions Edition y ver The Last Jedi, porque esto no queremos en una comunidad de Switch, espero que Game Freak reflexione y se tome su tiempo para desarrollar un juego mejor que este de aquí y que si va a hacer cagadas, que digan la verdad, ya estuvo, joder.

    ENGLISH TRANSCRIPTION
    This is the end, of all of us, we have lived the boom, the dawn of a world empire, where buyers will no longer demand the most of their products and each time, jokes like the Fifas, Cod and this game will come to cover the whole earth, I have followed the saga since I was little and admires my heroes, who were capable of in a game on a console that fit in my pocket, two entire regions, and the same amount of pokemons that there are in this game, I have nothing personal against this game, I've been through it all and I've even come to enjoy it at times, but what makes me sick are the toxic who believe that life is to accept this, this is not where to take it, it was not done with love, how is it possible that this game shares catalogs with masterpieces in Switch as the Odyssey, the BOTW, Three Houses or Ultimate, when they say it is the best game in the series, I consider them crazy, but say that this is the best game on the console, is a shame, the characters are a copy and paste of the characters in Sun and Moon, the story is simpler, although it has not been entirely wrong, the roster was good, although it could have been a little bigger, what drives me crazy were the lies that dared to tell us to the face, that of the ultra-detailed animations, that of the grass, that of the hours of play, selling it as God in the form of a 36 gb cartridge that costs the same as BOTW, an infinite game with an open world that is probably the best game in history, everything at its time, and the sick people who put 10 to this game, not being objective, I can go to play Fifa 20 Champions Edition and see The Last Jedi, because this we do not want in a community of Switch, I hope Game Freak reflects and takes his time to develop a game better than this here and that if you're going to do **** tell the truth, it's already been.    … Expand
  38. Anonijm21
    Dec 18, 2019
    0
    Cutet Pokedex ,Gigantamax Suck,same animations as 6th and 7th Gen Gamefreaks sues Leakers,Leakers which tried to warn us
  39. Pidabyte
    Dec 18, 2019
    3
    They promised us a veteran game, but is just a casual pokemon (again). Its too easy, simpe graphics, cutdex, poor animations and shorty.
  40. aar12567
    Dec 20, 2019
    5
    Gamefreak presents... A Pokemon game in which the annoying rival picks the starter that is weak against whichever of the 3 Pokemon you pick. Annoyingly though, no hedgehog pokemon? that's a British animal that could have been a good idea for a new start, but no, instead we get a monkey -insert video of British toddler saying "F*** off monkey" here-

    If you loved fun stuff like navigating    Gamefreak presents... A Pokemon game in which the annoying rival picks the starter that is weak against whichever of the 3 Pokemon you pick. Annoyingly though, no hedgehog pokemon? that's a British animal that could have been a good idea for a new start, but no, instead we get a monkey -insert video of British toddler saying "F*** off monkey" here-

    If you loved fun stuff like navigating around large oceans on the original pokemon, or exploring mt. Moon and the large dark tunnel, well forget that, because you won't be doing that here. Instead, we have very short linear tunnels with no exploration, a team that turn out to not be so bad, and well... a small 10 minute snowy area of ocean that pokes fun of British Weather, and if you love the 4 seasons, Pokemon has you covered because the field you go out exploring in has 4 seasons that never stop changing, which makes catching pokemon very boring and tedious. As for gyms, you'll really love seeing that Gamefreak (a company that probably has all the money in the world) Gamefreak got really bored towards the end of making this game, or ran out of ideas. You play through 4/5 gyms, and the last few have you play a guessing game on a stage before battling, another one where you walk through a town which you're unable to explore, to reach one of the leaders. And then a final where you stand in a room and fight 3 people (seriously? one of these doesn't even have a gym)

    I feel like Pokemon is a dying franchise, running out of ideas, poor animations that are at EA level (instead of seeing gyarados snaking through the water, he rotates on the same axis to turn around, it looks dumb) I expect better from a developer with so much money, there's really no excuse for it.    … Expand
  41. Zequila
    Oct 10, 2020
    2
    An incredibly boring and repeatitive game. Unbalanced and with ton of cut contents, short and with a very poor graphic. Worst level design of the series and and very little areas to exploring. It's enough?
  42. Mitchie22
    Dec 22, 2019
    4
    I enjoy the game but some part of me really wishes I bought Let's go Eevee or pikatchu instead, by comparison lets go is more beautiful graphically, allows with better interactivity with pokemon including riding.
    I bought sword and im disappointed, i was hoping that with the more open landscape of the wild area it'd be a perfect place to ride and spend time with my pokemon, the camp    I enjoy the game but some part of me really wishes I bought Let's go Eevee or pikatchu instead, by comparison lets go is more beautiful graphically, allows with better interactivity with pokemon including riding.
    I bought sword and im disappointed, i was hoping that with the more open landscape of the wild area it'd be a perfect place to ride and spend time with my pokemon, the camp feature is Okay but gets boring fast since you only have two toys to play with and the talk feature, I was really hoping pokemon would be able to follow you around which is seriously a feature game freak needs to stop being indecisive about having in their games, get rid of the bike and let players ride pokemon, more interactivity with pokemon is what makes a good pokemon game, we want to be trainers who actually spend time and enjoy our travels with our partners, that's how every pokemon should become and stay for the future. The bike outfit is ugly, nuff said about that, I honestly dislike the raids, they're fun to play with other players but the for solo play the ai is a hot mess that is perfectly incapable of making good decisions, who sold those people pokeball anyways? The shield that dynamaxed raid mons get is annoying, mostly because it's scripted to come up at certain HP points preventing you from just one shouting raid mons, don't get me started on the pokedex cut, i was saddened by the fact i could get a dragonight one of my favorite pokemon, along with many others, thank go i can at least get Arcanine, but still, i feel Game freak took waaay to many lazy decisions with this game, the pokedex cut being the most glaring along with graphic quality as compared to the let's go games.    … Expand
  43. Drizzyt10
    Dec 25, 2019
    0
    Game freak... really? Creatures inc... really? The Pokémon company.. really? Trash
  44. Missiletainn
    Dec 27, 2019
    4
    The overall Experience feels rushed, they took all the wrong criticisms from Sun and Moon, with a serious downgrade in story and characters, but kept the horrible pacing, terrible route and town designs where everything is basically one street, with the occasional side road. The Music is cheap and uninteresting, being played on dollar store MIDIs, the graphics of the game are sub-par evenThe overall Experience feels rushed, they took all the wrong criticisms from Sun and Moon, with a serious downgrade in story and characters, but kept the horrible pacing, terrible route and town designs where everything is basically one street, with the occasional side road. The Music is cheap and uninteresting, being played on dollar store MIDIs, the graphics of the game are sub-par even for the switch, though the aesthetics for the character designs are really good, and the overall world aesthetics are nice, the new pokemon designs on the other hand are probably the most decisive and overall worst since generation one, the ratio of sheer misses compared to big hits is about 5:1 for the new pokemon, compared to the last two generations lovely quality over quantity, Galar has neither. It does 2 things well, the integration of Gyms into the culture, and the wild area, but neither are done perfectly, the linear progression of the gyms ruins some of the experience as there is no real reason you have to face them in such a strict order, and the wild area is ugliest part of the game, as well as one with lots of missed potential, it feels small, and it should've had access to every city, and been there to remove most of the worthless nothing routes. it could've been hub where you could then go to each city with a gym to challenge them in any order you see fit, but right now, while being the best part of the game, the wild area is certainly lacking.

    Overall, the game feels rushed, GameFreak NEED to hire help if they want to continue doing Pokemon games at the scale and size they are trying, they cannot handle the workload, and hiring teams to optimise, transfer, and update data from old games would not get in the way of their creative team, they don't know how to optimise and it shows, especially with the draw distance.    … Expand
  45. jz_paris
    Dec 31, 2019
    1
    Very bad experiences with version sword. A lot of Pokémon is banned and the shield limited Pokémon can not be collected. Very bad YY communication system, you can NOT get the real time info from it and possible to connect to anyone else when your try to exchange Pokémon with your friends. One point for the music, and the others are 0, it is a proper score.
  46. Vmac19
    Jan 1, 2020
    6
    It's okay. I just bought it because it's pokemon. The game was kind of lame though however it did have alot of potential to be the best pokemon game so far however it was only okay I guess
  47. Xevius
    Jan 3, 2020
    4
    The worst main Pokemon Game so far.
    Still good Games but not for Hardcore Fans.
  48. JoePapaReviews
    Jan 7, 2020
    5
    My team of 6 magikarps couldn't beat this game I thought magikarp was the best pokemon!!!!
  49. Dudebro420
    Jan 9, 2020
    1
    Was waiting to see if there would be any patches/dlc. Well, there is now and I can safely say I’m out of the franchise. The main points of contention about the main game have been made countless times so I’m not going to make them again. To add a $30 charge to a broken and unfinished game is greed. There’s no other way to describe it. You’re still not getting all of the Pokèmon, theWas waiting to see if there would be any patches/dlc. Well, there is now and I can safely say I’m out of the franchise. The main points of contention about the main game have been made countless times so I’m not going to make them again. To add a $30 charge to a broken and unfinished game is greed. There’s no other way to describe it. You’re still not getting all of the Pokèmon, the animations are still garbage, the graphics are still quality of an iOS 7 game. If the dlc was being made available for free, this would probably be a 3-4, but the announcement of the dlc put such a bad taste in my mouth that I’m going be trading in my copy tomorrow. Nintendo needs to step it up. The practice of getting every cent out of its customers (who else charges $60 for a port of a last console release) is getting out of hand and old. Much like this franchise.… Expand
  50. GabFire
    Aug 9, 2020
    2
    Tutorial de como estragar uma franquia super conhecida e aclamada por todos, segunda parte:
    Passo número 1: Chame a Nintendo!
    Parabéns!!! Você concluiu seu tutorial.
  51. Chores
    Oct 10, 2020
    2
    The core mechanic is broken, the game is too easy. There is no challenge in battles at all, you need to set your own rules to have fun. It is possible to beat the game without any Pokémon deceased.
  52. LongHappyFrog
    Sep 3, 2020
    0
    Worst pokemon game i have ever played. Didn't even feel like pokemon and it go to the point the story felt like a chore to play though. You could pay me and even then i dread to play though this game again.
  53. Ludcario
    Apr 3, 2020
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It's a Nice try, but so was alola and they keep triying and triying selling us demos with boring underdeveloped characters diguised as deep with a couple lines about how they Will surpase You when they obviously won't, also worst villain ver, could have been Best villain ever, with such fame amd limitless resources, just a moneygrab, it's so sad to seer the love they puto no Mario and Zelda… Expand
  54. GAMESMAN-T
    Apr 13, 2020
    2
    It is embarrassing that pokemon is such a huge and profitable franchise and all they can come up with is this mediocre and completely forgettable game.
  55. danoreviewsbro
    May 3, 2020
    0
    disgusting, boring as f*ck, awful and crap graphics, no excuses since pokemon is the highest grossing franchise of all time
  56. Teosas
    Jun 8, 2020
    1
    This game is just incomplete, it isn't funny and the cut of the roster is one of the worst things in the world, it isn't make sense, the graphics is decent but is not up to the hardware.
    (The switch can run Zelda BoTW)
  57. Joeymeca
    Jun 12, 2020
    2
    juego por debajo de mediocre, llevo 20 años jugando a la saga y apoyando el juego en sus altas y bajas pero este es el colmo del minimo esfuerzo. graficos pesimos para una switch, historia inexistente, contenido imperdonable retirado (60% de la pokedex) va a 10 fps en el area salvaje, falta de contenido propio como una gts interna y todo con el fin de vender DLC para completar un juego quejuego por debajo de mediocre, llevo 20 años jugando a la saga y apoyando el juego en sus altas y bajas pero este es el colmo del minimo esfuerzo. graficos pesimos para una switch, historia inexistente, contenido imperdonable retirado (60% de la pokedex) va a 10 fps en el area salvaje, falta de contenido propio como una gts interna y todo con el fin de vender DLC para completar un juego que vino fraccionado de manera intencional. como fan de esta saga fue mi mayor decepcion en cuanto a videojuego se refiere en toda mi vida, lamento que una empresa como gamefreak y nintendo hayan caido tan bajo teniendo las herramientas para hacerlo infinitamente mejor.… Expand
  58. julian20
    Jun 25, 2020
    1
    I loved past Pokemon games and seeing sword and shield being so bad is heartbreaking. As a nintendo game I never wanted the highest resolution and stuff, but Pokemon Sword and Shield are so underwhelming it's an incredible achievement for gamefreak. Too much to cover it here.
    Besides that, the overworld design was disappointing, the giganto mechanic is dumb, the wild area is bs and I    I loved past Pokemon games and seeing sword and shield being so bad is heartbreaking. As a nintendo game I never wanted the highest resolution and stuff, but Pokemon Sword and Shield are so underwhelming it's an incredible achievement for gamefreak. Too much to cover it here.
    Besides that, the overworld design was disappointing, the giganto mechanic is dumb, the wild area is bs and I don't like the the designs of the starters AT ALL... Also earlier pokemons are missing (lookup gamefreak lied). And the gameplay felt bland. You are better of playing the gba/ds/3ds games...
    Maybe they don't mess up the next switch games, though I don't have my hopes high.    … Expand
  59. mtkf
    Dec 9, 2020
    3
    A very very disappointing cash grab from Game Freak and Nintendo. There is no reason this game couldn't have been on the 3ds as a $40 game. It looks horrible compared to most games on the switch, is a buggy mess, has massive pop-in issues and no post game content whatsoever unless you shell out another $30 for the dlc, which is also half assed. Worst mainline pokemon to date, which is sadA very very disappointing cash grab from Game Freak and Nintendo. There is no reason this game couldn't have been on the 3ds as a $40 game. It looks horrible compared to most games on the switch, is a buggy mess, has massive pop-in issues and no post game content whatsoever unless you shell out another $30 for the dlc, which is also half assed. Worst mainline pokemon to date, which is sad because it could have been stellar if some actual love and care went into the development of the game.… Expand
  60. Lehefir
    Aug 7, 2020
    2
    Desapointing, bad optimized. Playing since red/blue, I give up the franchise. Wild area its not interesting to play, the frame rate goes way down, giving headache. Bad interaction with your friends, compared to XY gen.
  61. Mr_retro7000
    Aug 7, 2020
    0
    Just spent 60 **** dollars on a half finished game. If you want to play a pokemon game then just download an emulator. You are better off that way.
  62. frdifrna
    Aug 8, 2020
    3
    A very shallow pokemon experience, with a story and lore where everything happens under the player's nose, and cities that, no matter how big a populous, you only have access to a few houses, besides the extremely short routes. All this for a very badly executed open world that is the Wild Area, where it relies mostly of the online services that are very primitive in Y-Comm. InterestingA very shallow pokemon experience, with a story and lore where everything happens under the player's nose, and cities that, no matter how big a populous, you only have access to a few houses, besides the extremely short routes. All this for a very badly executed open world that is the Wild Area, where it relies mostly of the online services that are very primitive in Y-Comm. Interesting characters but extremely bad exploited in the game itself. It simply could be a better game with the developers weren't so greedy.… Expand
  63. Xverr
    Aug 11, 2020
    0
    As a pokemon player, this game is a complete disapointments. Graphics are an insult, wild area is bad imolemented, the game is ridiculously easy, no all pokemonas,caves and dungeons are so linear, the history is awfull, to sum up, game is very incompleted.
  64. Nmzdcb
    Aug 17, 2020
    4
    So forget the graphics, forget the lack of a full pokedex and the mostly bad animation whatever, that's all fluff. This game is just fundamentally bad. Take away the online capabilities and the open(ish) world, this can easily have been made on the DS and maybe even the game boy advance (of course not with the same graphical fidelity). Believe me the the old school formula is fine but theSo forget the graphics, forget the lack of a full pokedex and the mostly bad animation whatever, that's all fluff. This game is just fundamentally bad. Take away the online capabilities and the open(ish) world, this can easily have been made on the DS and maybe even the game boy advance (of course not with the same graphical fidelity). Believe me the the old school formula is fine but the as its first real console outing this game could have been amazing and instead it reeks of laziness. Way too short, way too shallow and no end game what so ever. Game Freak should be ashamed of themselves to release this in the state that they did. Someone new to the pokemon games may find this to be a decent game but as a pokemon bet this is literally the same game we have been getting since Red and Blue (once again, save the openish world environment and online features). This game is an utter disgrace and any long-time pokemon fan should stay far away from it… Expand
  65. NuiHarime
    Aug 27, 2020
    0
    juego incompleto, una mierda en toda regla, no importa si tiene los mejores personajes, el juego es una basura
  66. Azraelfx
    Aug 31, 2020
    1
    It's really disappointing, not at all what people expected...........
  67. ZeroBacon
    Sep 5, 2020
    3
    I have been a Pokémon fan for 7 years. I have played all generations except 5, and I can say with certainty that although gen’s 3,4, and the rest had really repetitive gameplay, they still had some charm to them. Good music, great graphics, everything. Sword and Shield were a big disappointment. They had recycled animation, a Pokédex being cut down after spending twenty years of working onI have been a Pokémon fan for 7 years. I have played all generations except 5, and I can say with certainty that although gen’s 3,4, and the rest had really repetitive gameplay, they still had some charm to them. Good music, great graphics, everything. Sword and Shield were a big disappointment. They had recycled animation, a Pokédex being cut down after spending twenty years of working on it, and a bad story with terrible dialogue, and just okay characters. The series since gen 6-7 has been really underwhelming, and has lost everything that made Pokemon pokemon. They think they can just make whatever the heck they want because they know the fans will buy it, and they are correct. Us fans need to step up and tell GameFreak and the Pokémon company itself and tell them in their faces that this is not what we want. Know I am worried if the inevitable Sinnoh remakes will end up the same. Boring and repetitive with a cut Pokédex and recycled animations, just as Sword and Shield was.… Expand
  68. Lochoupp
    Sep 7, 2020
    3
    Étant novice de la série des jeux Pokémon mais friand des Jrpg, je me suis dit que jouer à Pokémon Épée serait plutôt sympathique ou tout au moins divertissant. Hélas, ce jeu n'est honnêtement pas un bon jeu. Gameplay très limité même avec une multitude de Pokémon, animations vraiment pas terribles, peu diversifiées et très saccadées, graphismes honteux pour une switch et clipping abusif àÉtant novice de la série des jeux Pokémon mais friand des Jrpg, je me suis dit que jouer à Pokémon Épée serait plutôt sympathique ou tout au moins divertissant. Hélas, ce jeu n'est honnêtement pas un bon jeu. Gameplay très limité même avec une multitude de Pokémon, animations vraiment pas terribles, peu diversifiées et très saccadées, graphismes honteux pour une switch et clipping abusif à souhait. De plus les modèles des personnages sont recyclés absolument partout dans le jeu (il se peu que plusieurs personnages aient exactement le même skin côte à côte), l'environnement n'est pas du tout diversifié dans un open world triste avec une musique oubliable.
    Pour donner quelques bons points au jeu, je trouve que l'ambiance dans les arènes est plutôt bien reproduite et on sent vraiment une importance au combat avec le dynamax malgré la facilité déconcertante que l'on a à battre les membres de la ligue.
    Malheureusement j'aurais aimé dire que ce jeu était bien, mais c'est pas parce que c'est Pokémon que tous les défauts doivent passer à la trappe parce que c'est Pokémon et que c'est comme ça depuis longtemps... Non, ces défauts sont inexcusables aujourd'hui quelque soit la licence.
    Je n'ai pas passé un bon moment avec ce jeu, mais j'espère que le contenu additionnel saura ajouter du contenu en quantité importante pour rattraper le vide qu'il y a et pas seulement un ajout bête de Pokémon.    … Expand
  69. Kijuger
    Sep 29, 2020
    1
    A shame, millions and millions of dollars available to make this product and we find ourselves with a disastrous technical sector, and as has already been pointed out by many other users, they must begin to understand that the main fanbase of the game is not children and therefore to stop with ridiculous and cringe dialogues, scenes and characterizations etc, it's time to give us someA shame, millions and millions of dollars available to make this product and we find ourselves with a disastrous technical sector, and as has already been pointed out by many other users, they must begin to understand that the main fanbase of the game is not children and therefore to stop with ridiculous and cringe dialogues, scenes and characterizations etc, it's time to give us some well-made and mature character models, because for several generations now, especially male models are ridiculous and too childish. $ 60 At day one for very few new pokemon and recycled assets (ALREADY RIDICULOUS IN THE PREVIOUS), and someone justify them with the addition of dlc($$$$$$), as if $ 60 for a product with zero commitment were not 'already' too much. The end that pokemon has made is one of the many demonstrations of how the video game industry has become today: games comparable to the most lousy pizzas to be put in the microwave, in short, products without a soul and respect for those who pay and give the possibility developers to bring bread home.… Expand
  70. Ge0rge_097
    Sep 30, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Cuando me compré el juego pensaba que lo iba a disfrutar como los anteriores, grave error. La historia es el mayor aberración de aborto que jamás había visto en mi vida, es super aburrida, y ademas las nuevas mecánicas no son nada originales, por favor ¿enserio me vas a quitar a las mega-evoluciones con esta estupidez de volver a los pokemones grandes? Ademas las físicas son malisimas, voy en la bici y de la nada me salta un snorlax a nivel 60 cuando apenas voy a nivel 35. Lo peor de todo son los dlc, perfectamente pudieron poner a la isla de la armadura en el juego principal en ves de ese horrible post-game tan repetitivo. Que no hayan puesto a todos los pokemon no me parecía la gran cosa, pero después de anunciar que los volverían a poner después fue una pésima jugada ya que ya se había establecido un competitivo sin necesidad de poner a los otros pokemones, yo de verdad pienso que es el peor pokemon de la saga principal.
    HORRIBLE    … Expand
  71. BakaShinji
    Oct 5, 2020
    6
    While Sun and Moon generation pushed the boundaries of the 3DS, this game looks lazy. Cool new Pokémon and new mechanics, but it lacks some challenge. It's so easy that it looks like a joke.
    SM had a deep, interesting and capvitating story, this game have no story at all (or it is so bad that it would be better not to have one).
    In the end, it's still fun to play, but it feels like    While Sun and Moon generation pushed the boundaries of the 3DS, this game looks lazy. Cool new Pokémon and new mechanics, but it lacks some challenge. It's so easy that it looks like a joke.
    SM had a deep, interesting and capvitating story, this game have no story at all (or it is so bad that it would be better not to have one).
    In the end, it's still fun to play, but it feels like Gamefreak took a step back.    … Expand
  72. DolphinReviews
    Jul 20, 2022
    4
    This game is no worse than any other Pokémon game. The problem is consumers are done with constant mediocre mush. I did enjoy my time with the game but it was a very bland experience.
  73. GuruJoeyy
    Nov 27, 2020
    3
    I can't recommend enough that you skip this generation. It isn't worth it, there is nothing about this title that makes it worth purchasing. It is literally a 3DS game ported to switch yet charging a higher price and taking away many of the positives of even the worst of the old generations. Lack of pokemon variety, lack of interesting systems, you're better off replaying any olderI can't recommend enough that you skip this generation. It isn't worth it, there is nothing about this title that makes it worth purchasing. It is literally a 3DS game ported to switch yet charging a higher price and taking away many of the positives of even the worst of the old generations. Lack of pokemon variety, lack of interesting systems, you're better off replaying any older generation pokemon and guaranteed to have more fun. I would have written this review on launch but it didn't quite occur to me.… Expand
  74. Mandulum
    Mar 14, 2022
    5
    After 5 hours, I'm bored. It has been a good reminder of why I stopped buying Nintendo consoles decades ago. Graphics that indie games put to shame, generic audio, no voice acting, and a boring, bordering on non-existent, story.

    Date Dropped: 2022-03-14
    Playtime: 5h
    Enjoyment: 5/10
    Recommendation: I'm sure the Nintendo fanboys love it. It's far too repetitive for me.
  75. saulmaza
    Dec 2, 2019
    3
    The game is the same as any other Pokemon game but disappoints on many of the promises that the higher end hardware a switch runs can deliver. The game is barely 'open-world' with dated if not completely missing animations for Pokemon. The new Pokemon are unimaginative and uninspired and could be easily named things like electric dog and sheep. The crit hit system makes the game way tooThe game is the same as any other Pokemon game but disappoints on many of the promises that the higher end hardware a switch runs can deliver. The game is barely 'open-world' with dated if not completely missing animations for Pokemon. The new Pokemon are unimaginative and uninspired and could be easily named things like electric dog and sheep. The crit hit system makes the game way too easy and thoughtless, button-mashing 'A' hoping that the fight can end sooner. The characters are uninspired and boring, showing 0 emotion.
    3/10 for nostalgia.    … Expand
  76. TheFredinator
    Jan 6, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Imagine being 6 years old. You just got Pokemon Diamond Version. It's your first Pokemon game EVER! You love it and can't wait until the next installment. You buy Platinum, HeartGold, and White version. Still, you cannot wait for when Pokemon finally makes that leap to home console. You know it's going to be a decade before then.

    Fast forward to 2019 and we finally have that home console game. The home console experience that we all dreamed of as a kid while playing on our handheld devices. Pokemon Sword had ridiculously high expectations due to it being the first true home console Pokemon Game. Gamefreak had years to prepare for this, so we were all very excited. So did they deliver?

    No. Not at all.

    Pokemon Sword and Shield is the perfect example of a lazy game and how lazy GAMEFREAK is in general. Every single thing in this game is done to cut corners and development time so that they can work on next years game.

    The first thing I am going to talk about are the animations. WOW DO THESE SUCK! GAMEFREAK actually cut out more then half of the Pokemon because "They wanted to improve animations." And it turns out, most of the animations are just recycled from the 3DS Titles that they made six years ago. They didn't just make up a fake excuse for cutting out half the Pokemon, they also lied about not importing animations! And WOW are these bad. At some points, I swear that I forgot that I was playing a full $60 Switch Game.

    The second thing that I am going to talk about is how this is the most generic Pokemon Game to date. There is absolutely nothing special about this game. 8 gyms, a friendly rival, evil team, champion battle. There are also no side areas to explore unlike in previous titles. Even Let's Go had more exploration to be done then this **** show.

    The final thing that I wanna touch on is the STORY... If that's what you call a story. This has to be the worst story in a Pokemon Game to date. Throughout 75% of the game, you're left wondering if there really is a story or if you're just collecting Gym Badges. Finally, when you get the 7th Badge, you get a "Story." There is NO build up to this story either. It's just there. The saddest part for me is that some of the characters, such as Hop, are actually very well written.

    Now, the two things I'd say that I liked about the game are the Raids and the Competitive aspect of battling. This is the most user friendly game to get into wifi battling in Pokemon. If you want to compete, Sword and Shield makes it nice and Easy. Also, the raids are very fun to do with friends and give lots of rewards to players.

    But these two reasons are NOT enough to buy a $60 cashgrab. They needed to be worked on for at least another year.

    I can go on and on about how this game is ugly and more examples of laziness, but I'd rather go to bed.

    Pokemon Sword & Shield get a solid 2/10.

    Do not go anywhere near this games and let's hope that GAMEFREAK decides to finally put the same passion that they put into Black & White into the next installment in the franchise.    … Expand
  77. CptTitforce
    Apr 12, 2020
    4
    Obviously released uncompleted, without all the other pokemon and replaced with new ones that are mostly bad designs apart from few like the starters, Wooloo and Sirfetch'd. The graphics outside the main character models are terrible, taking in consideration how large this franchise is. The animations are terrible and seem reused from the other games, though there are some new animationsObviously released uncompleted, without all the other pokemon and replaced with new ones that are mostly bad designs apart from few like the starters, Wooloo and Sirfetch'd. The graphics outside the main character models are terrible, taking in consideration how large this franchise is. The animations are terrible and seem reused from the other games, though there are some new animations atleast, but not enough to justify the amount of cut content. The new dynamax/gigantamax are totally uselesss since once you use yours, the opponent will surely use their own or vice versa, making the whole transformation conpletely pointless since the stats are again balanced out. There are still weird mechanics like having to wait for an key item to get the ability to change sound settings from the menu. The wild area looks terrible and it even discourages trying to find any special pokemon there, because even if you have the stats to get it on low hp, you can not catch it until you have progressed far enough in the game. There is still no voice acting even when we are now at the switch generation where most big nintendo games have gotten a huge do-over like Super Mario Odyssey and Breath Of The Wild. This ks just a sorry excuse to try and milk some money from a huge fanbase, and also selling it to you in parts with the approaching DLC and the outrageous pricing for pokemon bank/home which are basically cloud drives that take only about 3 megabytes IF you even have all the pokemon in there, and when services like google and microsoft offer you gigabytes of free space, there is no excuse for this in addition to the nintendo switch online membership. The only thing I can give props to, are some cool character designs, but that's about it. I would give points for the amount of customization, but even that is really a standard in most rpgs... I bought this game as a used copy for half the price and still regretted it...… Expand
  78. drosan
    Nov 21, 2019
    4
    Game feels like being made while severely rushed - lots of basic gamedesign mistakes, UI flaws, lots of low-res "temporary" assets and textures. Lots of reused models from the same game - you can have 100% identical NPCs down to clothes. Understandably GameFreak tried to keep their annual pace and release the game before Christmas but they clearly didn't care about quality that much.Game feels like being made while severely rushed - lots of basic gamedesign mistakes, UI flaws, lots of low-res "temporary" assets and textures. Lots of reused models from the same game - you can have 100% identical NPCs down to clothes. Understandably GameFreak tried to keep their annual pace and release the game before Christmas but they clearly didn't care about quality that much.
    Delayed game will eventually be good, rushed one - won't ever be good.    … Expand
  79. Kchewz
    Jan 6, 2021
    4
    $80 price tag, $20/year pokemon home subscription, two $30 DLCs. Yet the quality and functionality from the 3DS pokemon games are equal, and these games costed $40... Both Sword and Shield have its pros such as cool new pokemon, incredible music and DLCs were more memorable and enjoyable than the base game. But poor graphics, boring dynamax mechanics and dynamax raids, the mobile camp etc.$80 price tag, $20/year pokemon home subscription, two $30 DLCs. Yet the quality and functionality from the 3DS pokemon games are equal, and these games costed $40... Both Sword and Shield have its pros such as cool new pokemon, incredible music and DLCs were more memorable and enjoyable than the base game. But poor graphics, boring dynamax mechanics and dynamax raids, the mobile camp etc. were all lacklustre. For the largest franchise in the world, expectations were much higher. For someone who grew up playing Pokemon Battle Revolution in 2006, I was expecting this type of quality at the very least.… Expand
  80. Seyta
    Jan 25, 2022
    0
    Really bad game, way too easy, the wild areas are completely empty, it's just bad overall.
  81. DoctorZack
    Nov 22, 2019
    3
    Absolute disaster.

    It maintains a basic level of competency with a new idea or two, but that's literally the only thing going for it. Everything else isn't just "bad" its genuinely a painful experience.
  82. Cosmozerk
    Apr 19, 2020
    6
    As far as the typical Pokémon formula goes, the game doesn't break new ground, after all, Pokémon's formula is one of those things that just works well all on its own, it's fun catching Pokémon, raising them, building your team, taking advantage of type weaknesses, visiting towns, challenging your rival, defeating the evil team, winning gym badges and completing the Pokédex, as it's alwaysAs far as the typical Pokémon formula goes, the game doesn't break new ground, after all, Pokémon's formula is one of those things that just works well all on its own, it's fun catching Pokémon, raising them, building your team, taking advantage of type weaknesses, visiting towns, challenging your rival, defeating the evil team, winning gym badges and completing the Pokédex, as it's always been. It's a tried and true approach that remains as fun as ever so that all checks out. But of course, that's what we take for granted at this point, it's what makes this series what it is. It's everything that surrounds that winning formula that makes these games feel so underwhelming.

    See, I'm not a stickler for visuals, but this game certainly doesn't really take advantage of it being on a home console, this is a running trend as you'll see. The animations are serviceable, some look pretty good, like the Dynamax attacks, some look decent and others look unfinished. I understand that animating every single Pokémon in the way Stadium did it is out of the question, and cutting down the Pokédex is a sensible move from that perspective, but even putting the animations aside, the overall game doesn't feel like it belongs on a home console. Some environments look nice, and other times you're looking at Ocarina of Time trees and low-res textures. For the most part, the game looks just fine, but it's inconsistent and doesn't feel like that big of a step up from what we were shown on the 3DS.

    However, to give credit where it's due, the soundtrack is phenomenal. One of my favorite in series, the gym leader music, specifically, never fails to get my hyped. All of the rival theme's are great, the pieces that play in different areas, and of course, the track done by Toby Fox is a big highlight, it's so Deltarune it hurts, I love it.

    Wish I could say the same about the story tho. Pokémon games have never had an outstanding narrative (except for Gen 5), but most of them still managed to be captivating, with fun characters, a good villain and intriguing plot... for the most part. Unfortunately, this story might just be the worst one yet, it has tons of miss potential, an antagonist with laughable motivations, setups that almost never get good payoffs, a super basic and predictable structure, the list goes on. That's not to say it's all bad, in fact, I like how the journey is set up, with this being like a competition between lots of trainers. Really makes ya feel like... I guess a football player? But with Pokémon. And I think the main rival, Hop, is way more than just Hau 2.0, he actually has a pretty compelling character arc, a nice personality, and a good resolution. The best "friend" rival, without a doubt, and one of the best rivals in the series for me, and that's a hill I'm willing to die on. Outside of those few points tho, nothing in the story is anything to write home about, it's by the numbers, and really undercooked.

    Which also holds true for the gameplay, unfortunately. As I said, Pokémon's formula is fun on its own, but with this being the first mainline game on a home console, you'd figure they'd add something more to really make the experience feel like a logical next step. And it sorta does, the Wild Area is a step in the right direction. It's an open area where you can catch Pokémon, get fruit, set up camps, and join raid battles. But it doesn't amount to anything else beyond that. Eventually, it loses its magic and becomes less of an open world, and more of a bunch of empty space where you try to search for specific Pokémon.

    Pokémon camp is cool the first few times, but there's barely anything to do. You can watch Pokémon interact, give them curry, play with them, and that's basically it. It feels like a worse version of what we had in Gen 7, where we could also clean our Pokémon, pet them and feed em' personally, which really helped me bond with the Pokémon I had. If Camp also had this, it would be great, no doubt, but that just isn't the case.

    And if ya wanna talk about concepts that feel like worse versions of what we had before, just look at Dynamax, which you only use on very specific situations, only really amounts to making the Pokémon bigger, with few getting cool redesigns, and on the whole, it just feels like a less inspired version of the Mega Evolution, only now they've added less impressive looking Z moves for every time you use a move when the Pokémon gets bigger. It's such an underdeveloped gimmick.

    Look, guys, Pokémon Sword and Shield aren't *that* bad, ok? They're enjoyable games, and if all you're looking for is for yet another solid enough Pokémon game, then they fill the quota no problem. But for what was this franchise's big jump into a home console, especially one like the Switch, which has some of the most ambitious titles in Nintendo's history, they just didn't stick the landing. They should've been so much more.    … Expand
  83. GongHawkeye
    Dec 2, 2019
    2
    Mediocre as far as you can see: except for the bso, everything else feels not polished/finished such as endgame, graphics,list of pokemons,etc. There's no excuse for Game Freak/ The Pokémon Company
  84. Federx
    Jan 30, 2022
    2
    the only good thing that can be said about this game is that it's not set in unova.
  85. jacksondawg25
    Jan 31, 2020
    1
    Game Freak has gotten either incredibly lazy or incredibly cheap. There's no other way to put it. They spared as many expenses as possible while making this game. They left out a bunch of Pokemon from previous games. The story mode is shorter than any previous game in the series. There is less post-game content than any previous game in the series. The animation quality is the worst it'sGame Freak has gotten either incredibly lazy or incredibly cheap. There's no other way to put it. They spared as many expenses as possible while making this game. They left out a bunch of Pokemon from previous games. The story mode is shorter than any previous game in the series. There is less post-game content than any previous game in the series. The animation quality is the worst it's ever been. The GTS has been removed. And the reason for all these problems? Laziness and/or greediness. Game Freak put minimal effort and resources into the making of this game and it shows. The worst part is that not only did this game disappoint me, it also got me thinking critically to the point that I realized that ever since Pokemon Black and White, this series has become just... lesser in every category. In addition to the problems listed above, anyone could look at the actual plot of recent games and see that the stories are becoming less inspired and overall more boring. Rivals seem like regular trainers that don't matter anymore, villains don't seem to be worth any concern at all, there is nothing motivating the player aside from the same old gym challenge plot. The soundtracks have also begun sounding more generic over time. Save for one or two decent songs per game, nothing has measured up to the fantastic soundtrack Black and White had.

    To add insult to injury, Game Freak's response to all this criticism was horrible. They didn't update the game to add Pokemon or fix animations, or return the GTS, or add post-game content. They did however decide to add PAID DLC. Their solution to a game almost void of content was to add some, but make players pay 30 more dollars (more for me because I'm Canadian) to turn an unfinished game into what might be a full game.

    In conclusion, don't get this game. Don't get the DLC, and don't buying anything to do with Game Freak until they get their **** together.    … Expand
  86. obi12323
    Jun 25, 2020
    4
    There is not an aspect of this game that could be considered great. The story is practically non-existent, the evil team, "Team Yell", is easily the worst of the series (which is hard to accomplish). The characters are unlikable and are just shells of characters seen in past games.

    The game is also rushed, despite the 2 previous main-line entries being Ultra Sun + Moon (same as previous    There is not an aspect of this game that could be considered great. The story is practically non-existent, the evil team, "Team Yell", is easily the worst of the series (which is hard to accomplish). The characters are unlikable and are just shells of characters seen in past games.

    The game is also rushed, despite the 2 previous main-line entries being Ultra Sun + Moon (same as previous games) and Pokemon Lets Go (remake with no content). The graphics and animations are far below average compared to other popular games on the switch (BOTW). The game also severely reduces the number of playable pokemon, which was one of the best features of previous entries.

    The music is ok, and is likely the best aspect of this game. As for the gameplay, it is extremely repetitive and has no difficulty other than very specific parts of the postgame. Speaking of postgame, it literally lasts for 1 hour.

    Do not buy this game. If you compare this game to any of the GEN 4 or GEN 5 pokemon games, it looks awful in comparison. There is absolutely no excuse for such laziness when it comes to one of the main IP's of Nintendo. Do yourself a favour and play past games or spinoffs, such as the Mystery Dungeon series.    … Expand
  87. AngryShark92
    Nov 29, 2019
    4
    It absolutely sucks to have to write this review, but the community has this spot on. 4 or 5 out of 10 is where I landed for this game as well. I have played since Pokemon Red, and I have stuck with the mainline series, picking up every game up to now, as well as TCG back on colour. I do not care about or like Pokémon GO or Let's Go because I do not believe they are truly part of theIt absolutely sucks to have to write this review, but the community has this spot on. 4 or 5 out of 10 is where I landed for this game as well. I have played since Pokemon Red, and I have stuck with the mainline series, picking up every game up to now, as well as TCG back on colour. I do not care about or like Pokémon GO or Let's Go because I do not believe they are truly part of the mainline series.

    Pokémon Sword and shield is a bit of a catastrophe, it seems as though Gamefreak has decided that people like me exist in droves and will buy every game they release regardless of innovation or consistency. They are obviously correct as shown by the sales figures, but there really is no excuse for releasing such a poorly made entry.

    This game is incredibly easy, not even remotely challenging, my team was over-powered for the entire game up to the absolute final battle with the champion where one of my six team members finally fainted. The balance between tough battles and the rewards you get from the wild area are nowhere near fair. While I did enjoy raid battles, it honestly seemed like a lazy extra mechanic to grind with.

    While we are in the area of lazy mechanics and/or gimmicks... Dynamaxing and Gigantamaxing is utterly pointless. It is the same battle, but you're Pokémon are taller and have all their type-moves narrowed down to one type of "special" move that does more damage than normal... To me, this is no different from Mega Evolution, and basically functions the same way... Didn't like it then, don't like it now.

    The plot is one probably one of the worst of the series and is barely "evil", especially if you compare to what Ghetsis & Cyrus were trying to do. I had no interest in the narrative or the lore of the legendaries which is a huge disappointment. Speaking of Ghetsis, this game may very well rival Gen 5 for the ugliest new Pokémon award... at least Black/White had a great narrative.

    Also, I don't really know who my rival was, really there was nobody because the game was too easy, but in the game there was 3 of them, and they were all awful. Hop is annoying version of Barry from Platinum who has no personality and blocks your path with annoying dialogue at every turn, Marnie is an emo who runs around with an antifa fan club screaming and ree-ing with no personality, and Bede, who I really thought was an old lady for 80% of the game is actually a boy who seemed to be the only one trying to block your progress and fight you at every turn. My true rival was my will to continue playing the game.

    Difficulty-wise, this game simply has way too much hand-holding, if I want to run off an explore in a certain direction, I can't the game points you towards the current objective by blocking off pathways with Pokémon or your annoying rival Hop. It also tells you which Pokémon are weak to what if you have battled them and type information during battles, gone are the days of experimenting against new Pokémon to discover their types.

    I don't want to go on a long rant, but there are so many things that made this game a chore to complete, which I have only felt with Sun/Moon (Not ultra, I enjoyed those two) & Let's Go. As for the national dex not having every single Pokémon available, I don't really think that is a bad thing, as there would be so many similarly typed Pokémon which would just be a waste. Having said that, if their excuse for not doing so was to improve animations and details, that was a complete lie. This game could have been played on DS with the amount of graphical detail that is lacking, not to mention shameful pop-in and fps drops. Yikes.

    + City design is exceptional
    + Soundtrack is great
    + Some (emphasis on some) new Pokémon look great [Corviknight]
    + Big fan of Zacian & Zazamenta, and the starters are very cute.

    - Way too easy
    - Too much hand-holding
    - Annoying characters
    - Lazy game mechanics (Dynamax & raid battles)
    - Wild area is a barren wasteland
    - Lazy animation design
    - Awful pop-ins
    - Graphics overall are bad
    - Most of the new Pokémon are ugly (Rivals Gen 5 imo)
    - No post game content after champion and legendaries

    This is the 3rd time I have been disappointed with Pokémon in the last 4 entries, which tells me that this series is becoming stagnant and being aimed at newer players from the GO & Let's Go group. I will not be rushing out to buy the next one for sure. They even said it was aimed at the hardcore/seasoned fans, and it really isn't. This game is barely a 4/10 for me. I am afraid this series will lose its seasoned fans after these recent entries.    … Expand
  88. zasham
    Feb 2, 2020
    5
    For me the biggest negative thing about the new Pokémon games are the difficulty. They are likely the MOST easiest/casual Pokémon ever. No puzzles, no real dungeons, experience points for all Pokémon, exchange Pokémon directly without going to the center, way too easy trainers ect. ect. ect. There are so many flaws in difficulty, it seriously hurts!
    If those were the first games in the    For me the biggest negative thing about the new Pokémon games are the difficulty. They are likely the MOST easiest/casual Pokémon ever. No puzzles, no real dungeons, experience points for all Pokémon, exchange Pokémon directly without going to the center, way too easy trainers ect. ect. ect. There are so many flaws in difficulty, it seriously hurts!
    If those were the first games in the whole series, Pokémon wouldn't have been such a big success as it is today. Hope they learn the next time! If not, it will be my last one forever.    … Expand
  89. Miguel22
    Jun 27, 2020
    4
    Es sin duda una de las mayores decepciones que me he llevado con un videojuego:

    -Novedades: El área salvaje, idea muy buena, pero muy desaprovechada, está todo super vacío, popping excesivo, gráficos muy cutres, etc. Y la otra novedad importante es el dinamax/gigamax, que en mi punto de vista es muy inferior a las mega evoluciones/Ataques Z -Gráficos: Respecto a las rutas y a las    Es sin duda una de las mayores decepciones que me he llevado con un videojuego:

    -Novedades: El área salvaje, idea muy buena, pero muy desaprovechada, está todo super vacío, popping excesivo, gráficos muy cutres, etc. Y la otra novedad importante es el dinamax/gigamax, que en mi punto de vista es muy inferior a las mega evoluciones/Ataques Z

    -Gráficos: Respecto a las rutas y a las ciudades, está bien, sobre todo por el apartado artístico, pero los gráficos de la zona salvaje son HORRIBLES. Es embarazoso compararlo con otros juegos como Xenoblade Chronicles 2, juego más antiguo, con una empresa con menos presupuesto, e incluso con menos resolución se ve MIL veces mejor.

    -Historia y villanos: Inexistentes hasta el campeonato de Galar, el Team Yell es una porquería que solo sirve de relleno, por eso ni los cuento. El villano real del juego, el presidente Rose, es sin duda el peor villano de la saga, no hace nada interesante hasta el final del juego, su plan es estúpido, su combate es el más fácil entre todos los villanos(Usa un monotype acero, usas un Pokémon de fuego con lanzallamas y se acabó)

    -Dificultad: Excesivamente fácil, el único combate interesante es el campeón(Único combate donde hay un reto interesante, pero no llega al nivel de otros campeones como Cynthia o Iris) el resto del juego es ridículamente fácil.

    -Postgame: Basura, el Postgame real lo venden en un Dlc.

    -Puntos positivos: La música y los líderes de gimnasio(No por su dificultad, solo por su personalidad)

    -Otros datos: Las rutas son pasillos sin ningún tipo de interés. Siempre hay dos caminos, uno te lleva para una MT o un objeto, el otro sirve para continuar. El rival Paul es un Tilo 2.0, aunque se note un poco más de interés(Mejor desarrollo de personaje) resulta ser excesivamente fácil de vencer y solo molesta, los otros dos rivales están de relleno y combates pocas veces contra ellos(Igual muy baja dificultad), respecto al recorte de la Pokedex, a mi sinceramente no me importa, pero eso no quita que sea inferior a otros juegos, lo peor de todo es que dijeron que no iban a meter a los que quedaran, pero fijaos, ahora los venden en un DLC. Respecto al competitivo, está bien, pero no gastaría 60 euros para jugar con una pokedex inferior cuando lo puedes hacer en Pokemon Showdown

    -En fin, la saga de Pokémon va por el mal camino, ojalá mejore en la novena generación, pero lo dudo muchísimo con lo bien que ha vendido el juego, si no mejora de forma drástica, no volveré a comprar otro juego de la saga.    … Expand
  90. SurgeOfDurge
    Mar 24, 2020
    0
    Extremely repetitive. Lacking in customization. Pokémon don't follow you like in other games! Way too much text reading that can't be skipped/ read fast unless you keep tapping continue. Also the classic old school annoyance of having to select yes or no when doing the smallest thing. No co-op unless you pay for online. Then even it's not what could have been. A big pain when you fail, yetExtremely repetitive. Lacking in customization. Pokémon don't follow you like in other games! Way too much text reading that can't be skipped/ read fast unless you keep tapping continue. Also the classic old school annoyance of having to select yes or no when doing the smallest thing. No co-op unless you pay for online. Then even it's not what could have been. A big pain when you fail, yet way too easy most of the time. Can't have multiple save files. They want players to buy one console and copy each! I swear Nintendo is the greediest of all companies in at least the videogame industry. Every game is over normal maximum price. I'd say wait for sale on this one if you can handle the tedious mechanics and elements. No good options and customization worthy. You can't turn up/down music until you "unlock" it as a feature. The spawns are incredibly sad, as there will be many of the same, but many mons you'll miss unless hoarding/grinding. Don't get me started on shinies. The system to rarely get to fight a gigantamax and hope to catch it is a pain. Then you can't find the ones that have the special look unless you're lucky or read online. In 2030 the Pokémon game of that year will look like it came from 2012 if it keeps going like this.… Expand
  91. picnick
    Nov 19, 2019
    0
    This game has too many problems to recommend.
    No national dex, Bad Performance, Bad textures & WAY TOO MANY UNSKIPPABLE CUTSCENES. all of this could've been fixed but pokemon is too lazy. I will wait until they release a good game before I buy another pokemon game.
  92. JayDarbz
    Nov 27, 2019
    5
    This game isn't actually that bad I kinda liked it! The gyms are fun. My only issue however from being a pokemaniac ever since yellow! These new Pokémon are the ugliest most disgusting looking thing's I've ever seen I wish they just stop creating new ones there is enough! And the post game is non existent and the game is very Short with a pathetic storyline
  93. kelvinice
    Nov 26, 2019
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Can't Play on PC.
    I think thats enough...
    ......
    ....................................................    … Expand
  94. SennaTheSenna
    Nov 20, 2019
    0
    I don't think the game is really worth a zero (I would say a 5 at best), but I'm just trying to compensate for that big green 82. If you want my honest opinion, user ChocolateCrane describes the problems I have with the game very well. If you want to read their review, which is a very good review tbh, sort by "Most helpful".
  95. Advy87
    Dec 5, 2019
    3
    Simply, this is the worst pokemon game in history. Very, very few mechanics are worthy in this game, the rest is just an insult to the world of gaming. Let's talk about the idiotic difficulty and AI, mostly in solo raids, let's talk about the framerate, graphics,, questionable pokemon design, a horrible catch rate which sometime seems totally random, pokedex cut, etc.. . Not even theSimply, this is the worst pokemon game in history. Very, very few mechanics are worthy in this game, the rest is just an insult to the world of gaming. Let's talk about the idiotic difficulty and AI, mostly in solo raids, let's talk about the framerate, graphics,, questionable pokemon design, a horrible catch rate which sometime seems totally random, pokedex cut, etc.. . Not even the story is savable, what in the world they had in mind? even a kid would find it really stupid and annoying. And they raised the price with less content, in a Switch game.… Expand
  96. KrolMyruh
    Apr 18, 2020
    0
    I'm genuinely shocked people are giving this game a 10. Everything about this game just screams lazy. There has been no innovation in this franchise at all and there are much better games on the switch you should play first. Skip this and go play a good game.
  97. Goonga
    Nov 22, 2019
    0
    I'm only rating it 0 just in hopes that GameFreak realise that their laziness is obvious.
  98. Sandbond
    Nov 22, 2019
    2
    Don't waste your money for such a shambolic implementation of an iconic game
  99. Shayneros
    Nov 21, 2019
    4
    Perspective from someone who's been playing since OG Red.
    A lot of potential but lazily wasted. First off the Wild area is a great idea and practically the only area of this game that's fun. Even then though it's super bare bones. Nothing to explore, a bland landscape, and the trees. My god the trees are ugly. Also any time it rains or snows be prepared for your FPS to drop below 20.    Perspective from someone who's been playing since OG Red.
    A lot of potential but lazily wasted. First off the Wild area is a great idea and practically the only area of this game that's fun. Even then though it's super bare bones. Nothing to explore, a bland landscape, and the trees. My god the trees are ugly. Also any time it rains or snows be prepared for your FPS to drop below 20.
    -Raids are fun but incredibly broken. They provide such a ridiculous amount of XP that if you do a couple when they introduce you to them at the beginning of the game you're going to be vastly over leveled for the whole game ruining the already bland experience.
    -XP share being non-toggleable is flat out ridiculous. Game Freak was really too lazy to spend 15 minutes coding an option to turn it off
    -Story. There is no story. Literally EVERY TIME something significant happens the "adults" take care of it and tell you to go get gym badges. That's the whole game. There literally is no story until the very end. The whole game is literally just walking gym to gym, nothing inbetween. There's nothing to do even in the routes. The routes are the worst they have EVER been in Pokemon. They're insanely short and there is absolutely NOTHING to explore. It's just a 20 second walk down a single path. The writing is atrocious and "cut scenes" feel like they're never ending. Also Hop, your rival is the worst rival yet. He's ridiculously annoying and just doesn't shut up. Be prepared to hate him with a passion.
    -No dungeons/caves which are usually the most challenging part of the games. The only cave you go through in the game only has 1 alternate path that only takes you about 5 seconds off course. No multiple dead ends. No various caverns with hidden secrets, nothing.
    -Overworld Pokemon is still great. It's grown on me and I do like it better than the OG random encounters    … Expand
  100. ChrisV89
    Feb 10, 2020
    3
    + Graphics
    + Nature Zone
    + Number of different Pokemon

    - Poor Animations
    - BORING Story
    - Far too easy
    - No Puzzles
    - Leveling is too fast
    - Appears loveless, no creativity in this
    - Stupid, long dialogues
    - Starter Pokemon are lame

    Playing Pokemon since day 1, but there are no real improvements in this series. Will be the last Pokemon I've played. Safe your money and play old ones!
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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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