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. Nestrooo
    May 5, 2022
    4
    the graphics are bad, the story is bad, dynamax is bad. this game is bad and i STILL spent 1000 hours on it
  2. RocketSimp
    Jun 1, 2022
    1
    Dynamax and group raids were a gem that I wish would stay in the series and the designs were nice in this game but it just feels so empty and lackluster. The 'legendaries' they added are boring and the fact you need to buy DLC for the extra Pokémon because 'there were too many to make' despite Pokémon sun and moon managing just fine is a joke and shows where the company is at with their games
  3. KittyB
    May 18, 2022
    0
    I got this game thinkin “oh this should last me a while for the pandemic” 4 1/2 days later finished the game… wow… just wow.. to easy… frustrated the Den pokemons only works if ur Online (I don’t play to go online)

    This game was to water down to play & I didn’t like the feel of it…
  4. Kenoct
    Jun 8, 2022
    0
    It's a shame for the first entry on switch to be this lazy. The game looks like a wii game in 2019.
  5. DUELMARIO
    Aug 27, 2022
    0
    sin duda alguna aunque no lo he jugado he visto videos walkthrought y me aburrio, las animaciones como tambien los rivales dejan mucho que desear, tiene una historia terribles, misiones repetitivas? no he visto pero si es que tiene seran super aburridas, la iluminación deja mucho que desear, muchos dedos en su día se fueron hacia a the pokemon company y nintendo pero no fue del todo susin duda alguna aunque no lo he jugado he visto videos walkthrought y me aburrio, las animaciones como tambien los rivales dejan mucho que desear, tiene una historia terribles, misiones repetitivas? no he visto pero si es que tiene seran super aburridas, la iluminación deja mucho que desear, muchos dedos en su día se fueron hacia a the pokemon company y nintendo pero no fue del todo su culpa ya este juego salio y fue atacado brutalmente culpando a the pokemon company y nintendo creyendo que el juego estaba falto de pokemones y que no estaban porque querian que se mejorara la calidad, pero eso no lo dijo the pokemon company y nintendo, pues resulta que este desastroso juego fue culpa de game freak, utilizar un motor grafico que sinceramente parece de nintendo 3ds, mentir con las animaciones porque ya sabemos como se ven los juegos, la culpa de the pokemon company y nintendo es en venderlo a precio completo pero la culpa la tiene mas game freak y el juego aun a día de hoy 3 años despues de su lanzamiento sigue siendo horrible, el dlc parece que vieron el juego de bungie destiny como ejemplo a seguir y si fue una estafa de game freak les salio bien la jugada ahora muchos han perdido la confianza en game freak y el futuro de pokemon no se ve nada prometedor ahora con pokemon escarlata y purpura no parece buena señal juego que para colmo va a ser desarrollado con el mismo motor grafico como legends arceus, rivales mediocres etc, quiza esta sea la ultima oportunidad de la franquicia con escarltata y purpura y si falla los fans no van a querer comprarlo asique el odio actual a game freak esta justificado pero las amenzas de muerte no lo estan para nada asique toxicos bajenle un poco porfavor.… Expand
  6. ElVosso
    Jul 31, 2022
    0
    huge fan of the first 6 gens, but these games are so boring, monotone and suuuuuuuuper easy. I played through the entire game with one pokemon and I didnt need to use even one healing item. I know this is a game for children, but I can hardly imagine that even children can have fun with this. just play the older games, they are better.

    sorry for the bad english :)
  7. TKSwiz
    Aug 21, 2022
    3
    Pokémon Sword is not a completely horrible game, it is just a very underwhelming and lifeless. By far the biggest problem in Sword and Shield is that the main part of the gameplay, Pokémon battles, are utterly boring and mindless 99% of the time in this game. For a while, Pokémon games have struggled with ridiculously bad trainer battle design leading to games full of monotonous battles,Pokémon Sword is not a completely horrible game, it is just a very underwhelming and lifeless. By far the biggest problem in Sword and Shield is that the main part of the gameplay, Pokémon battles, are utterly boring and mindless 99% of the time in this game. For a while, Pokémon games have struggled with ridiculously bad trainer battle design leading to games full of monotonous battles, but Sword and Shield might be the worst offender yet. Even without abusing items, over-leveling, or trying to get the best Pokémon possible, the game was so hilariously easy that it was a chore to play most of the time. The only thing that feels somewhat worthwhile gameplay-wise is catching Pokémon and maybe the final few battles which were at least kind of challenging. The wild area was a nice addition that is especially exciting early in the game when you can run into over-leveled and daunting Pokémon, but even it gets stale after a while as you progress in the game. As for presentation and story, Sword and Shield is quite lacking. The story is awful and I never cared about anything happening in it for a single second. All the story dialogue felt like a waste of time and something I wished I could skip entirely. The “twist villain” is incredibly obvious and the postgame villains are terrible and border on being so bad it’s good. The graphics are straight up bad for a modern game. It’s not the ugliest game I’ve ever seen,
    especially compared to older games, but by modern standards it is pitiful that basically the biggest video game franchise ever is so far behind the curve. The music is some of the most underwhelming and forgettable of the series, there are some decent tracks but nothing that even comes close to the level of consistent highs found in earlier generations. Overall, Sword and Shield was a massive dud in the evermore disappointing Pokemon series, and proved this series desperately needed some radical changes.    … Expand
  8. DarthJ
    Aug 28, 2022
    7
    Dynamax mechanics is pretty lame. Lack of national dex is also extremely dissapointing.
  9. zdemigodx
    Nov 15, 2019
    5
    This is an insult of a pokemon game, yet because its still pokemon it is fun to play through.
  10. kuehnau
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    Pokemon Sword and Shield has been here for a bit now and after playing the game, I ask myself how much of a sequel to the legendary franchise are they?

    People are already well too aware that the National Pokedex has been slashed and a number of people's favorite and iconic Pokemon are now missing. This is a even larger slap to the face once news broke that the reasons GameFreak gave    Pokemon Sword and Shield has been here for a bit now and after playing the game, I ask myself how much of a sequel to the legendary franchise are they?

    People are already well too aware that the National Pokedex has been slashed and a number of people's favorite and iconic Pokemon are now missing.

    This is a even larger slap to the face once news broke that the reasons GameFreak gave weren't truthful. Not only are the in models based off of the 3DS version and the battle animations are lack luster, but hackers are quickly proving that it takes little effort putting back in the Pokemon that have been cut. The game feels sluggish in places with framerates sometimes dipping as low as mid 20s. Which is incredibly obvious when the game is locked in at 30FPS. I don't have any specific issues with games that do this as they still manage to look perfectly fine, in my personal opinion. The larger issue for me is, locking a game in at 30FPS shouldn't also include slow downs as if this were a video game from the early 1990s when this was all too common.

    The world in Pokemon Sword and Shield feels mostly empty and while some would like to argue the newest games are "open world", it's painfully apparent that the game is a mostly on rails experience, with small spots here and there where the developers finally allow a bit of free roaming, but once you pass that area, it's right back to the on rails experience.

    Not only that, but some of the games cities are just completely wasted. While each town could have offered unique clothing options and styles there like three cities that offer anything. Making it even more frustrating, some of the towns are literally nothing more than a direct line to a gym. Hop is really annoying, I think he makes my game experience worse with how he shoe horns players in to situations and makes all sorts of demands they have no right in making. The game is worse because of Hop. I hope future games will allow players to completely forego "rivals" if they so chose so. I get that having a rival is a trope in Anime and Video Game culture, but at the very least provide a better one than Hop if GameFreak is going to press the issue.

    There is now a hard cap on what level pokemon you can capture. And while previous games simply had Pokemon that misbehaved in battle, now the game simply refuses to allow the option to even consider trying to catch them. This is incredibly frustrating to me. I was surprised to see they removed global trading, like really? Wonder Trade is still in, but it's disappointing that they haven't put in any sort of better measurements in place to ensure jerks aren't screwing over other players with low level junk. Add to the fact you need to be subscribed to Nintendo's garbage paid online membership program and it's almost completely worthless in my opinion.

    This may be a incredibly biased complaint but I am also very unhappy with a number of the new Pokemon designs. On top of that, while some of them I absolutely love (Like Yamper), their evolved forms are hot garbage, forcing me to choose between either evolving my Pokemon and then dealing with the vile evolution forms, or keeping their better first forms, but putting my Pokemon at a slight disadvantage.

    Gigantamax as a feature isn't worthwhile in any capacity. I'll be very surprised if they continue to use this with any future games. I would have much more preferred that they had just dumped that feature and spent more time on polishing all of the other problems this game has. Even Mega Evolutions would have been better than Gigantamax.

    Team Yell is just some of the worst antagonists in the game. They look and act stupid. At least Team Rocket was run by what was essentially a Mafia boss. I don't know what GameFreak was thinking with Team Yell, but they are some of the dumbest enemies I have ever seen.

    The character customization options just plain sucks. There's a small handful of hair styles that do not change from city to city. Some cities have clothes shops where the styles change, but not nearly enough to be acceptable. Further, why is GameFreak forcing only skinny pants in the game? There's so many character models and designs of clothing. How hard would it have been to add in varying clothing options? As it is your character always looks like some dang hipster because all of their pants options are almost skin tight. I want baggy pants, just let me have that! Jesus..

    At this point if you are still even reading this review, I am sure you have realized I have a lot of complaints about Sword and Shield. But the fact of the matter is, they are still enjoyable games, it just feels rushed and crapped out instead of taking the time, focus and consideration that this franchise deserves.

    It's important for fans of these games to let GameFreak and Nintendo know that a lot of mistakes were made with this latest release, but I also wouldn't discourage anyone from trying the games.    … Expand
  11. Kaseladen
    Nov 15, 2019
    5
    Unfortunately, Exceedingly average.
    Lacking in content compared to previous titles, from post game to pokemon to just the content of routes themselves.
    Its an odd balance, at times I feel the game tries to drive home 'bigger is better' and suffers from large empty areas, such as the wild area. At others, routes are so short its just a few feet to the end. Story-wise, the game is just    Unfortunately, Exceedingly average.
    Lacking in content compared to previous titles, from post game to pokemon to just the content of routes themselves.
    Its an odd balance, at times I feel the game tries to drive home 'bigger is better' and suffers from large empty areas, such as the wild area. At others, routes are so short its just a few feet to the end.
    Story-wise, the game is just as intrusive as Sun and Moon, if not more so, so if that bugged you there you'll feel it here too. The difference, I feel, is that at least Sun and Moon had a plot. Its practically non-existent in Sword and Shield until right at the end. So most of the time you're being led around and interrupted for no real reason (and unfortunately no, that 'skip cutscene' option does not let you bypass most of this).
    Difficulty is nonexistent, between constant heals offered and exp share being forced. Its *incredibly* easy to become overleveled.
    Mechanically, the game suffers from many questionable decisions. Single use TM's are back, now dubbed TRs, in addition to normal TMs. Of course, most of the more sought after moves have been relegated to this single use item. Dynamaxing combines the worse parts of Megas and Z moves, while limiting them to rarely being used (raids and gym leaders for the most part only).
    The other selling points of the game are the Wild Area and raids. Raids are just an easy grind to gather TRs and exp items. The wild area is large, empty, and visibly pretty poor. It has potential, but exists in a very bare bones state.
    I could go on at length, but it boils down to one thing: disappointment. I don't know if Gamefreak is getting burned out or if they're really just that out of touch with fans and inept with console development. Its pokemon, at its barest form, and that's all. Its a shame that pokemon suffered so much in the step from handheld to console.    … Expand
  12. darksideangel
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    feels like i’m watching my childhood get murdered infront of my eyes Gamefreak, stop developing your series with increasingly low effort, checked out cash grabs. Care about your fans. this isn’t cute anymore
  13. Skizor
    Nov 15, 2019
    5
    I have already cleared everything including postgame. This is going to be a spoiler free review, i will only focus on the positive and negative aspects and what needs to be improved.

    Positives: *Some areas in this game look absolutely gorgeous, like the towns Ballonlea and Circhester. *Most of the new Pokemon look pretty good. *IVs and EVs, and by extension Competitive battling,    I have already cleared everything including postgame. This is going to be a spoiler free review, i will only focus on the positive and negative aspects and what needs to be improved.

    Positives:

    *Some areas in this game look absolutely gorgeous, like the towns Ballonlea and Circhester.
    *Most of the new Pokemon look pretty good.
    *IVs and EVs, and by extension Competitive battling, are more accessible than ever.
    *You can change your Pokemon's Nature with Mints.
    *Pokemon Camp, with new features, such as said Currydex.
    *New "Open-World" Wild Area for encountering higher level Pokemon.
    *Most in-depth trainer customization to date.
    *Move Tutor/Remover/Name Raters are now in every Pokemon Center.
    *You can access PC almost anywhere.

    Negatives:

    *Hundreds of Pokemon were cut from the game, such as previous Starters, Legendary Pokemon, and many others.
    *100+ Moves were cut, the most notable being Return/Frustration, Pursuit, and Hidden Power. Signature moves of certain Pokemon were also cut, even though the Pokemon themselves are in the game, like Vespiquen's Heal Order and Woobat's Heart Stamp.
    *There are multiple examples of the game feeling rushed or unfinished, like how the "Corviknight Taxi" Fast-Travel system doesn't have an animation and is just a screen fade, every NPC walking on rails, time stopping when you climb a ladder, and the entire Wild Area feeling empty, with low-resolution textures, pop-ins, and broken shadows.
    *Any battles that are not major battles, such as Wild Battles and most Trainer Battles, have the same generic backgrounds. When you are outside, the battle always takes place on a dirt road with grass, trees, and mountains in the background, and when inside a building, the battle uses a generic white void for a background.
    *Post-Game Content is confirmed to be very short, less than 2 hours to complete, similar to X&Y. It's basically just "catch Box Legendary, go to Battle Tower."
    *Most Pokemon Moves, and the Pokemon themselves, have had no noticeable improvements made to their models or animations. Everything that isn't brand new is recycled, and even some of the brand new stuff, like Hop, uses recycled animation, from Hau.
    *Riding a Bike forces you to wear an ugly biking outfit instead of your custom clothes.
    *Most of the "Story" takes place off screen, and only really makes an appearance near the end of the game. The "Story" itself is also lackluster, in that it's incredibly short and forgettable.
    *The EXP Share is mandatory, and cannot be turned off. This makes the game very easy.
    *Strange changes that don't make much sense logically, like how the sound control settings are locked behind a Key Item you get from a random NPC in Motostoke City.

    Summary:

    IMO this is the most disappointing Pokémon game i played, since i had high expectations about this game being on a console like Switch.
    They really need to add all Pokémon back in the game since there is nothing here to justify the cut of so many Pokémon.
    GameFreak need to hire more devs so they can polish and finish this games better.    … Expand
  14. HonestKyarrii
    Nov 15, 2019
    5
    As a huge Pokemon fan, this was a major disappointment. Most of the negative reviews are justified in my opinion - people have a legitimate reason to be upset.

    Nothing is new, everything is cookie cutter. Same exact gameplay with same corny encounters at every turn. The only positive thing I can say about this game is the new features they added are great (no more EV training, can    As a huge Pokemon fan, this was a major disappointment. Most of the negative reviews are justified in my opinion - people have a legitimate reason to be upset.

    Nothing is new, everything is cookie cutter. Same exact gameplay with same corny encounters at every turn.

    The only positive thing I can say about this game is the new features they added are great (no more EV training, can change natures, access box from anywhere, etc.)

    GameFreak continues to not even come close to their potential or the consumer expectations. Look around you GameFreak, it's time to wake up.    … Expand
  15. Allacar
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    Very disappointing game. Over half the pokemon were cut. Over 140 pokemon moves removed. Reused 3ds models and mediocre graphics. The first main line pokemon game for switch needed more development time and polish.
  16. Daxx7
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. No puedo creer que GF la haya cagado de esta manera, una franquicia que nos acompaña desde pequeños, que es parte de nuestra niñez, diseño de los pokemon muy feos en su mayoría, también quitaron la pokedex, lleno de bugs, gráficos feos, una historia sin lógica y muchas cosas negativas que hacen de este juego el peor de todos los juegos de pokemon y del año.… Expand
  17. gah_amaral
    Nov 15, 2019
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is by far the worst pokemon game yet , and I am so sad about this. Despite all the critics before the launch, I was really hyped for this game, but the lack of polish, the hand-holding "story", the uninspired map design, the bad cutscenes, the easy to catch legendaries ( eternatus is auto-catch and zamazenta you can use masterball), and so many more problems killed the game for me. We need to let GF knows that we are not OK with this.… Expand
  18. Alexalaparrilla
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    This game is such Cash grab These games are honestly insulting and I will be surprised if people will still be playing them in a week, much less in a month.
    They are such a blatant rushed cashgrab, and the postgame is just an empty pile of fake promises
  19. AgusRemastered
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    La verdad que es una decepción esta generación, habiendo terminado el juego debo decir que me costó llegar hasta el final porque encontré al juego demasiado sencillo, la baja curva de dificultad, el sistema de leveleo parecido al de Lets Go, la baja competitividad del modo historia y, obviamente la reducida Pokédex, hacen a este juego verdaderamente insufrible y poco amigable con losLa verdad que es una decepción esta generación, habiendo terminado el juego debo decir que me costó llegar hasta el final porque encontré al juego demasiado sencillo, la baja curva de dificultad, el sistema de leveleo parecido al de Lets Go, la baja competitividad del modo historia y, obviamente la reducida Pokédex, hacen a este juego verdaderamente insufrible y poco amigable con los jugadores veteranos de Pokémon, si en un momento me llegué a ilusionar con esta generación, una vez pasado el juego me terminé de convencer de que esta entrega es un paso en falso para la saga, siendo incluso peor que la sexta y séptima generación.… Expand
  20. DrRedMD
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    The most disappointing Pokemon game ever trying to coast by on its formula alone. It's hard to say that this even meets the minimum expectations for a Pokemon game, because it very much does not. When generation 2 came out, this franchise was pushing the envelope of what could be done on the system. Now, it's a shadow of its former self; A Switch game that looks like it should be on theThe most disappointing Pokemon game ever trying to coast by on its formula alone. It's hard to say that this even meets the minimum expectations for a Pokemon game, because it very much does not. When generation 2 came out, this franchise was pushing the envelope of what could be done on the system. Now, it's a shadow of its former self; A Switch game that looks like it should be on the N64.

    The problems aren't restricted to graphics alone (although they are very much terrible). Delivering less than 100 new Pokemon, the game has the audacity to cut more than half of the full roster of Pokemon, with the developer lying that it was due to making new models. It was quickly discovered they were just importing the old ones, so if they're willing to lie about something like this, why trust them about anything else? They're cutting moves as well, despite reusing animations.

    The new feature called Dynamax is just a 3 turn size boost to your Pokemon. Nothing too exciting, but don't worry, they kept the excitement somewhat by cutting ALL Mega Pokemon and Z-moves. Gone are all those original designs, and instead we now have Gigantimax which is the same thing as Megaevolutions, but only for 3 turns, and this time given to Pokemon like Charizard again.

    I refuse to give this game what would be considered a minimal score of 3 or whatever. This game is an incredible disappointment, and the worst instalment of the Pokemon franchise. Unless something changes with the next iteration, don't feel the need to buy this, or future games.    … Expand
  21. Askwer
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    Weak game, has terrible graphics for the present day. Besides having cut of content.
  22. Caino87
    Nov 15, 2019
    5
    The game seems rushed and poor compared to other games on the same console. Glitches, graphic flaws, Dex cuts, the absence of exploration....it all makes it a very poor game considering that it is the first main game on a new generation console (after the 3DS). Most of the fun requests from the past have not been listened to and the game is more and more orientated to a younger public,The game seems rushed and poor compared to other games on the same console. Glitches, graphic flaws, Dex cuts, the absence of exploration....it all makes it a very poor game considering that it is the first main game on a new generation console (after the 3DS). Most of the fun requests from the past have not been listened to and the game is more and more orientated to a younger public, even though it was advertised as a game for long time fans (that are now in their 30s). On top of that, the very misleading campaign and the very odd looking reviews it’s reviving from “game critiques” makes the whole picture even more odd and suspicious.… Expand
  23. shoUlo
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    This is not Pokemon
    Unfinished product for a whole 60$. Don't waste your time and hopes for it.
  24. MoldyMarshmello
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Too many problems, too many regressions from the previous entries in the franchise. Not worth 60$ or even a cent.

    -Poor animations and frame drops, animations will freeze up in the overworld when climbing a ladder -Over 150 cut moves -Only 400 Pokemon in the national dex -Incredibly short 8 hour main game with absolutely no postgame or replay value -Have to pay 20$ for Pokemon Home    Too many problems, too many regressions from the previous entries in the franchise. Not worth 60$ or even a cent.

    -Poor animations and frame drops, animations will freeze up in the overworld when climbing a ladder
    -Over 150 cut moves
    -Only 400 Pokemon in the national dex
    -Incredibly short 8 hour main game with absolutely no postgame or replay value
    -Have to pay 20$ for Pokemon Home and another 20 for the GTS

    Overall, do not buy this game if you want Pokemon to improve as a franchise    … Expand
  25. Vatar
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Game Freak lied to the fanbase, claiming that Dexit, removing half the existing pokemons and preventing them from being used in the future was for the better good. But everything is a downgrade, the graphics are downright shameful, seemingly on the tier of a 2000 gamecube's game; content were massively cut out, featuring no post-game content aside from a random trainer battle tower. TheGame Freak lied to the fanbase, claiming that Dexit, removing half the existing pokemons and preventing them from being used in the future was for the better good. But everything is a downgrade, the graphics are downright shameful, seemingly on the tier of a 2000 gamecube's game; content were massively cut out, featuring no post-game content aside from a random trainer battle tower. The engine is a buggy mess, constant pop-ins and rendering issues.

    Currently as of 15/11/2019, one common bug is a crash while saving causing the wipe of ALL game saves on your switch, not only pokemon but all games.

    Please consider where your money will go to if you buy the game, to a greedy and lazy corporate, abusing their very loyal fanbase to the bones.    … Expand
  26. JettFueled
    Nov 15, 2019
    2
    Pokemon Sword is a game that gets carried up the ladder with higher scores due to it's merit as a Pokemon game. However, as this stands by itself, it is a very very empty and rushed game. As is tradition with Gamefreak, for some reason, they decide to randomly remove features, (A Full Pokedex, Reusable TMs, now called TRs, togglable EXP share) and add new ones no one asked for (LikePokemon Sword is a game that gets carried up the ladder with higher scores due to it's merit as a Pokemon game. However, as this stands by itself, it is a very very empty and rushed game. As is tradition with Gamefreak, for some reason, they decide to randomly remove features, (A Full Pokedex, Reusable TMs, now called TRs, togglable EXP share) and add new ones no one asked for (Like Pokemon Camp, Galarian forms, Wild Area, Dynamaxing) instead of listening to fan feedback and determining which mechanics work and which ones don't (You know, like a normal Game developer, especially an INDIE company would do? Or what a, well rounded, smart, LARGE game company would do?) because they can afford to. It's the largest grossing franchise in the world in merchandising, period.

    Pros
    I must say, they did add some great GREAT features in this game that I do enjoy. The character customization is phenomenal. The customization options for your character are where the previous games, Sun & Moon and X&Y, fell a little short. Good job to whoever worked on this.
    The accessibility of Pokemon in the wild is higher than ever. You can build a completely new team and raise them relatively quickly in the blink of an eye.
    The graphics of the character models look good. The shading was a little weird to me at first, but it's a nice touch.
    The New Pokemon. Once again, I was a little iffy about some of them at first, but I like most of them. Just like every generation, there are good ones, and there are bad ones, but overall, the designs are alright. Some of the bad designs however, look almost fake, so I'll have to rate the designs a 5/10 at best. Yamper, Scorbunny, Sobble, Grookey, Dottler, Eiscue, and a handful of others look like an clay project from a 2nd grader who doesn't enjoy arts & crafts, but Wooloo, Corviknight, and Nickit are amazing, and I'm glad they exist.

    And now, the Cons.
    Holy sweet jesus, this list is far too long. The Story is almost non existent, yet the cutscenes are just as abhorrent as they were in Sun & Moon. The absolute railroading and bland, uninspiring routes are a total yawn to navigate. Optional routes are extremely obvious, and downright optional to the point at which you look at it and ask yourself "Do they think I'm that stupid?" Yoshi's Crafted World respects my intelligence as a collectathon more than this by actually requiring at least SOME thought to try new things, and that game is legitimately made for a much younger audience.

    The Big One. The Dex Cut. #BringBackNationalDex as it's called on Twitter.
    I get it. There's a lot of Pokemon. We can't keep them all in the game forever. But they cut MORE THAN HALF of the entire National Dex, and that completely destroys the point of the Wild Area and the Pokemon accessibility if trainers can not catch and raise their favorites. They did the cut to balance the meta? Why not just set rules for your online battles and allow those Pokemon to still exist in the game?
    ..........No seriously. I want an answer to that. Are you stupid? I can't have Spheal and Shinx, but Stunky and Klink are A-OK? It makes no sense. Add limitations to the online battles, NOT THE FULL GAME!! You have two versions of the same game! The least you could do is add one half to Sword, and the other half to Shield! That would least raise incentive to tra-
    ......What's that?
    THERE'S NO GTS?? You can't trade online?? Excuse me???? Nope. -9/10 choice right here.

    Next, Recycled assets.
    Yes, all games recycle assets at some point, true. However, this is the Nintendo Switch. It is capable of handling better attack animations than the crappy default ones you've used for years. The TRs and Items that you pick up have what look like terribly compressed JPEGs of the classic pixelated icons used in FR/LG. Really? You couldn't scale up how your items are displayed? That's pathetic.

    #GameFreakLied
    The Public Relations for this game are the absolute worst. Gamefreak has always kept most of what they work on a secret, which was acceptable, because it garnered hype for the games.
    But this time around, they kept secrets because THEY KNEW how badly they messed up.
    Their excuse for cutting the Dex was said to be because they had to redo all of the models from scratch. There is evidence that that is not the case.

    The Wild Area
    What a boring waste of space. You're basically on a glorified Golf Course doing 1 of 3 things: Catching Pokemon, Picking up Items, or doing Dynamax Raids.
    Where are the elevation changes? Where are the trainers? Where are the obstacles? Why bother using the Wild Area when you can just run right through? Why is it there if it can be skipped entirely?

    I could go on forever, but just use your head. Would there have been a backlash this large if there were no problems with these games?

    Save your money. Watch a Youtube tutorial instead.    … Expand
  27. JeanyWong
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    They cut Pokemons, they cut moves, they cut frame rate, they cut graphics, they should of just cut the whole game, lol why bother, really disappointed
  28. darksoulz31
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Game is straight up trash, nothing like paying 60 quid for something that looks the same as the previous 2 generations but has even worse mechanics and an incomplete Pokedex
  29. Gandara2000
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Este juego tiene falta de demasiado contenido, no tiene pokedex nacional, megaevoluciones, movimientos z, las animaciones y modelos de los pokemon son reciclados, escenarios con graficas mediocres, la historia queda en segundo plano, su post game es demasiado corto, y se desaprovechan las unicas novedades como el area silvestre.
  30. Kophice
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Really bad game!! Game Freak is literally making fun of his fans! They think you're going to buy it whatever the crap they make! Don't buy this game! If you want to try yourself, wait a friend who already has the game finish it and borrow from him. Just not give give your money to Game Freak, they don't deserve it! At least they don't deserve for this game! But im warning you, it's not good!
  31. Honestchap
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    When you look at games like battle revolution and even pokemon stadium, the animations are superior to sword and shield. Game feels empty and recycled.
  32. IhSeVe
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    I love the Pokémon series, Pokémon Black 2 is one of my favourite games of all time, but this game have so many problems (animations, grafichs, dex cut, and more importantly the lies said by Game Freak).
    It's a soulless game, done with no efforts by Game Freak.

    P.S Sorry for the probable broken english.
  33. pico901
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    This game is simply not worth 60 not even half the price! GameFreak (Masuda) Lied to us for cutting 60% of the pokedex for ''better animations'' all we seen is some dynamax animations and RE USED battle animations! this is just a quick crashgrab! out of town the graphics are simply laughable unfinished and unpolished! The trees look worse then most ps2 games the rock textures wow! theThis game is simply not worth 60 not even half the price! GameFreak (Masuda) Lied to us for cutting 60% of the pokedex for ''better animations'' all we seen is some dynamax animations and RE USED battle animations! this is just a quick crashgrab! out of town the graphics are simply laughable unfinished and unpolished! The trees look worse then most ps2 games the rock textures wow! the rocktextures! there have been massive framerate issues in dynamax battles i saw a player fishing in a town area then when the battle came the background changed to the wild area! Inhouse battles get backgrounds simply not matching with the enviroment you just battle in a void. The gym missions are so easy to the point you can just walk to the other side without anything stopping you! You get so many potions revives and all that bullcrap u find it everywhere! the game is dumbed down so much with so many missing features. This game is unfinished and unpolished even pokemon lets go pika and evee are better polished and even looking better in alot of aspects. Gamefreak failed and i will never be buying anything pokemon related ever again! ''improved animations'' when my raboot pokemon used the move headbut and it kicked instead of actually headbutting this game is the fallout 76 of pokemon and the casual fanboys will never admit this shame on you! shame on gamefreak and shame on Nintendo for letting this come out! It's all about money these days and you can clearly see it TAKE THIS L gamefreak!… Expand
  34. Edsonfloresl
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    It sucks, everything feels wrong. Gamefreak lied to all the fanbase. Everything is incomplete
  35. Xd36
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    This is the rating it deserves, this was supposed to be the best Pokémon game in the entire series...and it is the worst **** you could play on your switch
  36. ReyGar97
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    A lot of errors and awful animations, really reaaaaaaally short, and when you finish the main story there is almost nothing else to do
  37. idw3i
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    If only they spent more time on creating the game and less on cutting corners. Reused assets, a lack of coherent animations and a whole lot of disappointment.
  38. hisoka-kun
    Nov 15, 2019
    2
    Pokemon Sword and Shield are the biggest disappointment I have encountered in video games. For decades we have dreamed of a mainline Pokemon game on a home console. Leading to the release of the "Let's Go" games, we were ensured that Sword and Shield would be games for true longtime fans. Excitement rose as people prepared for a Pokemon game on Switch with updated models and animations.Pokemon Sword and Shield are the biggest disappointment I have encountered in video games. For decades we have dreamed of a mainline Pokemon game on a home console. Leading to the release of the "Let's Go" games, we were ensured that Sword and Shield would be games for true longtime fans. Excitement rose as people prepared for a Pokemon game on Switch with updated models and animations. And most importantly, people eagerly awaited to opportunity to play with all their favorite Pokemon on a new system.

    These games provide the smallest and most overdue improvements while removing many of the features that make Pokemon games special.

    The ability to use all the Pokemon you've captured and trained over the years? Removed. In fact, over half the Pokemon are unplayable in these games. This is the infamous "Dexit" issue, where GameFreak decided to remove the National Pokedex. The issue is not the lack of National Dex, but the fact that data for over half the Pokemon have been removed from these games. So not only do hundred of classic Pokemon not have Pokedex entries; they cannot even be transferred to these games. It has now been confirmed that models of Pokemon in Sword/Shield are virtually identical to the future-proofed models first created for X/Y two generations ago. There was literally no reason for Game Freak to remove ANY Pokemon, except to ensure that fans will pay for Pokemon Home in a few months.

    GameFreak's excuse for such a blatant omission was that they used the time and resources to focus on animations instead. Anyone with eyes can see that this game has graphics and animations on par with games released for N64 (see the trees in the new wild area) to Wii. The game does not look on par with other current-gen games that were released at the beginning of the Switch life cycle. While series like Zelda and Mario released the best-looking entries on the Switch, Sword/Shield look like slightly upgraded 3DS games.

    The saving grace of Sword and Shield is that they have the name Pokemon in the title. The game plays like any other Pokemon game. You catch and train Pokemon as you progress to beat eight gymleaders and become the Pokemon champion. Some of the new Pokemon designs are pretty cool; but they in no way justify the elimination of over half the previously introduced creatures. This core Pokemon gameplay, which has been unchanged for decades, is the only reason that professional game critics reviewed the game so favorably. It seems a Pokemon game can score a solid "8" just because it plays like any other game in the series. Negative gameplay aspects include a permanent experience share, causing you team to be constantly overleveled with minimal effort, and rendering the game too easy for veteran players. Additionally, a cutscene-heavy and rather short story remains as linear as Sun/Moon with constant handholding which eliminates any sense of freedom or excitement. The new "dynamax" and "gigantamax" mechanics seem cool for about five seconds, until you realize they are just an inferior replacement of mega evolutions Z moves.

    Overall, this game is mediocre at best and insulting at worst. Here was a chance to make a refreshing and revolutionary Pokemon game as a tribute to veteran fans, after the release of the "Let's Go" games that were targeted for a more casual audience. Instead, it is a Switch game with fewer Pokemon than Pokemon Diamond/Pearl (released in 2006 on the DS), and inferior graphics/animations than Pokemon Battle Revolution (released in 2007 on the Wii). Do yourself a favor and skip this generation of Pokemon games -- not only to save yourself disappointment, but also to send a message to Game Freak and the Pokemon Company that yearly, low-effort entries with cut content will no longer yield the cash crop to which they are accustomed.    … Expand
  39. samuelglynnr
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    When considering that this is a Pokémon game for a Nintendo home console, it’s an embarrassment. Pokémon Coliseum and Pokémon Gale of Darkness for GameCube, two games which came out 15 years ago, are on par graphically and have better animations and scaling AND a better story (with a similar amount of Pokémon!). Literally look up an image of Wailord in Pokemon Coliseum and then look upWhen considering that this is a Pokémon game for a Nintendo home console, it’s an embarrassment. Pokémon Coliseum and Pokémon Gale of Darkness for GameCube, two games which came out 15 years ago, are on par graphically and have better animations and scaling AND a better story (with a similar amount of Pokémon!). Literally look up an image of Wailord in Pokemon Coliseum and then look up Wailord in Pokémon Sword / Shield and feast your eyes on the ineptitude.… Expand
  40. sgillan
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    While there are many issues with Pokemon sword and shield, I don't think they warrant giving the game a 1 out of 10. The missing Pokemon, the cut moves, the lack of post game content, the general laziness, and the developer's arrogant attitude are all working together to make sure this game deserves a 0 out of 10. I am a huge fan of previous Pokemon games, and I don't want to see theWhile there are many issues with Pokemon sword and shield, I don't think they warrant giving the game a 1 out of 10. The missing Pokemon, the cut moves, the lack of post game content, the general laziness, and the developer's arrogant attitude are all working together to make sure this game deserves a 0 out of 10. I am a huge fan of previous Pokemon games, and I don't want to see the series fail. I cannot overlook the sloppiness present in this game, however. In the end, it's the worst game ever made.… Expand
  41. Jeod69
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Shame, pure shame

    Ps1 Grafics and poor animations, even de 2d pixel grafics are better. Half pokedex Difficult is a complete joke.. Bugs Short game No postgame This game is complete disaster, only a blind fan can defend Gamefreak One of the biggest videogame companies, with millions and millions, buy new developers gamefreak, do something great, expend time and love, not this    Shame, pure shame

    Ps1 Grafics and poor animations, even de 2d pixel grafics are better.
    Half pokedex
    Difficult is a complete joke..
    Bugs
    Short game
    No postgame

    This game is complete disaster, only a blind fan can defend Gamefreak
    One of the biggest videogame companies, with millions and millions, buy new developers gamefreak, do something great, expend time and love, not this trash.

    Should have graffics like Zelda, should have an adult story, should have all pokemons, live world, all movements, and of course the difficult, my god, if you want, yo can finish the game with 0 loses, is ridiculous, the only way to make it mord hard is play with your own rules, for example, if a pokemon goes down, that pokemon is dead for me, is the only way, without this, the difficult is a joke..    … Expand
  42. Jefflocher
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    I like all the new Pokemon and the new mega evolut.... I mean giantmax forms. Honest to Arceus, I like the new Pokemon. Sword and Shield are rushed bare bones games. Pokemon should be held to the same standards as all of Nintendo's other franchises. Take your time and evolve the franchise. Just like Zelda. Just like Mario. Just like Fire Emblem. Just like Smash. Exactly like every otherI like all the new Pokemon and the new mega evolut.... I mean giantmax forms. Honest to Arceus, I like the new Pokemon. Sword and Shield are rushed bare bones games. Pokemon should be held to the same standards as all of Nintendo's other franchises. Take your time and evolve the franchise. Just like Zelda. Just like Mario. Just like Fire Emblem. Just like Smash. Exactly like every other Nintendo IP.… Expand
  43. Lairo
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    No solo es un juego incompleto y aburrido con gráficos mal hechos y animaciones ultra genericas si no que, además, esta lleno de bugs que incluso pueden borrar todos tus datos de guardado de otros juegos. Muy mal juego estoy muy decepcionado de gamefreak
  44. thezora99
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    Why should I care writing an original review for this game if I can just copy paste what others wrote. I would do the same thing Gamefreak did with this entry. They recycled everything from their 3ds games and told us they need to cut the pokemon because of too much work. After Bethestas lies, this is the biggest s*** that has happened in the gaming industry this year.
  45. zanttila
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    First off, and the most important, there is no end game. You complete the sub par story and you get about 1 hour of running around and the battle tower.

    Second, I would give the graphics a 3/10 at best. The inner cities are nice, but everything outside the city seems bland. Wide open areas with strange textured trees and rocks. I understand Pokemon has never had the greatest graphics,    First off, and the most important, there is no end game. You complete the sub par story and you get about 1 hour of running around and the battle tower.

    Second, I would give the graphics a 3/10 at best. The inner cities are nice, but everything outside the city seems bland. Wide open areas with strange textured trees and rocks. I understand Pokemon has never had the greatest graphics, but when you are pulling trees and rocks from Zelda Ocarina of Time, something isn't right. I sure hope they patch in better animation and graphics and fix the buggy glitches. Pokemon uncontrollably spinning in circles, popping in and out of nowhere, freezing when you talk or go up ladders, etc.

    Some of the new Pokemon are cool, but at the cost of 400+ Pokemon isn't worth it to me. Also finding out that Game Freak lied about starting the models from scratch. They used the same models from x and y with HD textures and shading.

    I would give the game a 0 but some of the Pokemon look cool and it's a Pokemon game.

    Overall, this game is rushed. They needed the game out on a deadline because of the TCG and anime release. Pokemon games may never reach it's full potential at this rate.    … Expand
  46. Alexmira
    Nov 15, 2019
    5
    A lot of potential but lazy execution. Gamefreak had the possibility to develop the best pokemon in the series and the **** up
  47. Parkai
    Nov 15, 2019
    2
    Game feels horrendously unfinished. The starter designs are some of the worst I’ve ever seen. The story of the game feels rushed and inconclusive, with strange plot holes that should have been noticed during development. The animations (barring a few signature moves) are horrific eyesores, with models spinning aimlessly and few dedicated animations. More than half of the Pokémon roster isGame feels horrendously unfinished. The starter designs are some of the worst I’ve ever seen. The story of the game feels rushed and inconclusive, with strange plot holes that should have been noticed during development. The animations (barring a few signature moves) are horrific eyesores, with models spinning aimlessly and few dedicated animations. More than half of the Pokémon roster is also unavailable to be transferred, which has been a series staple since the early 2000’s. However, the trainer customization and card system are very fun, and the QOL changes are excellent as well. I really wanted to enjoy this game, but it left me with an awful taste in my mouth.… Expand
  48. Enima
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    This is everything wrong with the series, a terrible direction that began with X/Y. Graphics of a ps2 tie-in, anonymous soundtrack, awful pokémon design, no content, dex cut in half, more than 100 moves removed...I could sadly keep going, listing a lot of other terrible problems. As a long time fan, this is more than depressing. Disgraceful. How can a sane person give this "game" more thanThis is everything wrong with the series, a terrible direction that began with X/Y. Graphics of a ps2 tie-in, anonymous soundtrack, awful pokémon design, no content, dex cut in half, more than 100 moves removed...I could sadly keep going, listing a lot of other terrible problems. As a long time fan, this is more than depressing. Disgraceful. How can a sane person give this "game" more than 5 is beyond my comprehension. Even the most passionate fan, like me, should see through all the lies and incompetency that filled Pokémon Sword & Shield. i hope that something like this never happens again, this is the Chernobyl of video games. At this point I would prefer if the series ceased to exist, being allowed to finally rest and putting an end to those last episodes that completely and irremediably ruined it forever. R.I.P Pokémon (1996 - 2013)… Expand
  49. WutangDan
    Nov 15, 2019
    5
    A very middle ground game for game freak. Having grown up and played every single pokemon game it is sad to see the national dex dropped and only 400 pokemon kept in the game. That said however the game does keep its charm and the good parts of this game can sometimes make you stop and appreciate how good they are however the bad part (and there is a lot) make you forget the good parts inA very middle ground game for game freak. Having grown up and played every single pokemon game it is sad to see the national dex dropped and only 400 pokemon kept in the game. That said however the game does keep its charm and the good parts of this game can sometimes make you stop and appreciate how good they are however the bad part (and there is a lot) make you forget the good parts in an instant. If you are looking for a average pokemon game with a decent story and good competitive gameplay then I recommend picking this up. However if you are looking for a game like its predecessors then I recommend giving this title a miss… Expand
  50. Gdlr777
    Nov 15, 2019
    3
    After several recent disappointing installments, Pokémon continues on its downhill trajectory with Sword and Shield. With a small batch of new pokemon, with some being admittingly quite charming most come off as strange or weirdly typed. I am sure alot of people will be disappointed when they realize they cannot transfer most of their old pokemon, especially after paying a fee to keep themAfter several recent disappointing installments, Pokémon continues on its downhill trajectory with Sword and Shield. With a small batch of new pokemon, with some being admittingly quite charming most come off as strange or weirdly typed. I am sure alot of people will be disappointed when they realize they cannot transfer most of their old pokemon, especially after paying a fee to keep them in storage. The game is no where near as entertaining as games that are even half the price and it definitely stands apart from the rest of the switch lineup and not in a good way. No matter how you put it, pokemon sword and shield is not a good game, not even a good pokemon game for that matter. Game freak should be held to the same standards as any AAA game developer, especially when they have the power of the largest franchise in history to back them up.… Expand
  51. Kingrock433
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Climbing Ladders freezes the overworld. Dexit, removed moves like Hidden Power and Pursuit ruining the competitive Metagame. This is the most disappointing Pokemon game ever and hopefully will hold this title as I hope this game flops to send a message that the effort put into this game is unacceptable
  52. Criminon
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    As a fan of 20 years, I don't feel like they are even remotely making this game for me anymore. I can't support this game.
  53. The_Shabo
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    It killed my 128gb certified nintendo micro sd, this game is not even finished. Have you heard of the fallout 76 initiave? Well, it seems that Game Freak had
  54. gramefreaklied
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    This game, bruh is a scam, the new director of the game for game freak should be fired, such a liar man, this game was not even a bruh moment
  55. Dayrunner24
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    This is a bad excuse for a Pokemon game. I have played every generation, and this one takes 3 steps back for every 1 step forward. Here are the complaints summed up: 50% price increase, 500 Pokemon cut, over 100 moves cut, lazy and old animations (after this was the excuse for cutting 'Mon), no post game, Pop-in, hallway routes, game can be beaten in about 20 hours on average. Even if itThis is a bad excuse for a Pokemon game. I have played every generation, and this one takes 3 steps back for every 1 step forward. Here are the complaints summed up: 50% price increase, 500 Pokemon cut, over 100 moves cut, lazy and old animations (after this was the excuse for cutting 'Mon), no post game, Pop-in, hallway routes, game can be beaten in about 20 hours on average. Even if it takes someone 40 hours, that's too short for what we were promised. This game was supposed to redefine Pokemon, but it took too many steps back. We 'crybabies' that positive reviewers speak of should have a voice as well.… Expand
  56. Trainercool
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    These games are way too easy. Finished way too quickly and overall not worth $60. The poor quality, consistent hand-holding and lack of freedom is just unacceptable from the largest franchise in the world. Pokémon had a very very very rough jump to home console, here’s to hoping future games in the franchise learn from this.
  57. TerminalClutch
    Nov 15, 2019
    6
    Pokemon Sword and Shield are the titles every Pokemon fan has been waiting for since Pokemon first released: a main-series title on a Nintendo console. A console that can provide an experience unrivaled and far and away better than any handheld could ever imagine.

    In reality, Pokemon Sword and Shield are Pokemon titles for a console that is bested by games released for the GBC, GBA and    Pokemon Sword and Shield are the titles every Pokemon fan has been waiting for since Pokemon first released: a main-series title on a Nintendo console. A console that can provide an experience unrivaled and far and away better than any handheld could ever imagine.

    In reality, Pokemon Sword and Shield are Pokemon titles for a console that is bested by games released for the GBC, GBA and DS. Virtually every Pokemon title released before the 3DS is a more worthy investment than Sword and Shield if you're looking for a more complete Pokemon experience.

    This isn't to say there is no value in Sword and Shield. SwSh offer a beautiful region with many diverse locations and routes. It's an incredibly linear experience, with every area being confined to a simple A to B layout with little deviation, but the areas themselves are very pretty to look at, bar the Wild Area. Each city feels different and interesting, with only one city being the exception (and it's still interesting in its own right).

    The Pokemon you can find throughout the Galar region are also very well varied, each route housing new and interesting Pokemon with select old ones sprinkled around as well. The Wild Area, accessible after about an hour or so of gameplay, is the crown jewel of Pokemon locations. There are so many different kinds of Pokemon available immediately, covering almost every single type in the game. This, unfortunately, has a huge caveat, in that catching Pokemon is locked behind the Gym Badge system. Each new badge allows you to catch higher and higher leveled Pokemon. In the beginning you're limited to Pokemon only up to lvl 15. This makes catching higher level Pokemon, and incidentally more diverse Pokemon, a bit of a chore. The Wild Area and it's large pool of available Pokemon is a brilliant idea hindered by an unnecessary roadblock.

    The story is very standard Pokemon, travel through the region, slowly learn about the Legendary duo on the covers of the games, battle the gyms to advance towards the Champion Cup (the league in these titles), deal with an "evil team" (a group of enthusiastic fans of another Gym Challenger), and then save the world from some evil Pokemon. The only thing that sets this games story apart from past iterations is the Gym Leaders. Each gym leader actually felt like an interesting, fleshed out character with the inclusion of League Cards. Each leader will give you a card about themselves where you can learn about them and their past. This, and the lots of interactions with most of the leaders really helps you understand them more, but more importantly they feel like real people in a real world.

    The sad reality of Sword and Shield is that it's plagued by questionable and unnecessary gameplay decisions made by Game Freak, some of which were explained away by blatant lies, such as removing all Pokeon to focus on redoing all the models and animations, which are datamined and practically confirmed to be identical to the ones present in the 3DS titles, except a couple that received extremely minor touches. I understand if Game Freak wants to make changes, it freshens up the series, but with what we were delivered I seriously question where all the work went into, as it's just not feature heavy enough to believe we lost so many features for this title.

    Overall, if you're a Pokemon fan casually, you'll likely enjoy Sword and Shield. If you're a diehard fan that cares about the missing Pokemon, the removed features or beloved features not returning, this will likely leave a bad taste in your mouth. It's still not a bad experience, but it could have been so much better if the developers hadn't cut so many corners and lied about the work.    … Expand
  58. legofan3225
    Nov 17, 2019
    3
    While it sticks to the general pokemon formula, I found this game very disappointing. The baseline of catching and battling pokemon will always be fun; however, this game as a whole didn't feel worth the $60 price tag. I am ok with the dex cut, but seeing the honestly god awful graphics firsthand really put into perspective what an absolute rip off this game was. It carried over designWhile it sticks to the general pokemon formula, I found this game very disappointing. The baseline of catching and battling pokemon will always be fun; however, this game as a whole didn't feel worth the $60 price tag. I am ok with the dex cut, but seeing the honestly god awful graphics firsthand really put into perspective what an absolute rip off this game was. It carried over design flaws from the 3DS (basic animations, pop in, etc) that are completely unacceptable on a next gen console and a game that is $20 more than it's predecessors. I should have trusted my gut and never bought this game firsthand in the first place. I wish I had waited to buy after a price drop to about $40, which feels much more appropriate for this game.… Expand
  59. Innominat
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    When the Pokemon team lied us telling they put only 400 pokemon because they made new and improved 3D models and animations and you see is only a pseudo-HD port of Sun/Moon you now you deserve this. This is not review bombing, is a lot of people that believed in you and you betrayed them. Screw Masuda, screw Tajiri, and screw Pokemon franchise forever.
  60. tasd00dles
    Dec 3, 2019
    0
    Sword and Shield... Where to even start? These games, while recognizable as Pokemon games, get rid of much of what made the series great. It's pretty well known that Gamefreak cut most of the dex. At first, they claimed it was to give every Pokemon a unique animation and improve the graphics but that's demonstrably false. These are the worst graphics on any first party switch game. To addSword and Shield... Where to even start? These games, while recognizable as Pokemon games, get rid of much of what made the series great. It's pretty well known that Gamefreak cut most of the dex. At first, they claimed it was to give every Pokemon a unique animation and improve the graphics but that's demonstrably false. These are the worst graphics on any first party switch game. To add insult to injury, they claimed that the Switch cannot handle every single Pokemon model. Yeah... Okay. The 3DS, which is a much weaker system, could handle 800+ Pokemon and the Switch can't handle that and some? As if. And why is Dynamax even a thing? We had Megas and we had Z Moves. We didn't need a ridiculous new gimmick. And Galarian forms? Really? We had Alolan forms because Alola was based on a combination of Hawaii and the Galapagos. They were a reference to Darwin's finches! Why the heck do we have Galarian forms. I happily returned my copy after buying it from Walmart for $10 off. I hope this game flops so game freak realizes they can't keep giving us trash.… Expand
  61. blackabe111
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    10/10 minus one point for every of my favorite Pokemon missing from the game. I have to many favorite Pokemon
  62. DanielCarrilho
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Is this really the next generation Pokemon game for the Nintendo Switch? It's somehow worse than the 3DS Pokemon games, lacking all the features with nothing to make up for it.
  63. abaddon169
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    1-. Gotta Catch em alln't
    2-. Cortar la dex a la mitad para crear modelos desde 0 y terminar usando los mismos modelos con animaciones y modelados de escenario bastante pobres
  64. spudarcade123
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Don't take IGN seriously: their review is biased and purchased (by TPC). Here's the truth about Pokemon Sword and Shield.

    Pokemon Sword and Shield are the first ever Mainline games in the franchise to settle down on the Switch. Set in a reimagining of Britain, they fail to create the spark of wonder and excitement of generations 1 to 6, including Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire of    Don't take IGN seriously: their review is biased and purchased (by TPC). Here's the truth about Pokemon Sword and Shield.

    Pokemon Sword and Shield are the first ever Mainline games in the franchise to settle down on the Switch. Set in a reimagining of Britain, they fail to create the spark of wonder and excitement of generations 1 to 6, including Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire of Generation 7 (Sun and Moon are garbage so they are not worthy of mention).

    Pokemon Sword and Shield's world is:

    -Ugly, in every single way.
    -Devoid of the beauty and life that OR/AS brought to us.
    -Lazy.
    -Lacking in innovation and imaginiation.
    -A throwback to Sun and Moon's ugly environment and backdrops for battle scenes.
    -The worst for player character animations I have ever seen in any Pokemon game (and that's saying a lot since the isometric days of Pokemon were beyond basic).
    -Home to a boring gimmick in 'Dynamaxing'.
    -Plagued by a ridiculously LAUGHABLE UI, my God. It is so basic, that it looks like a High School student's first assessable graphic design project that failed.
    -A shameless cash grab.
    -Lacking in passion, which is a damn shame as Gamefreak loved their IP (Pre-Sun and Moon).
    -Too *easy*. A massive mistake was eliminating the Generation 2 EXP Share in favor of leveling the entire party at once, resulting in overpowering early gym leaders and gimping EV spreads and progression for Pokemon who evolve based on specific stats (Lookin at you, Tyrogue).
    -Empty, now, because of the stupid decision to remove the national dex.
    -Lacking in lower level end-game and post-game content, and content in general (the post-game is a total joke)

    As a Pokemon fan who has been raised on the franchise since my childhood days, I am mortified, disgusted and outraged by the filthy greed of TPC, the lack of spine and backbone in Gamefreak and the mutilation of our beloved franchise. Pokemon is dead.

    Tl;dr: Play OR/AS and SS/HG instead of this pathetic excuse for a mainline Pokemon game.    … Expand
  65. Gears2011
    Nov 15, 2019
    1
    No lo compres, mira analisis pero obviamente no de youtuber que solo hablan de nintendo, si no de aquel que habla de todo, porque este juego realmente es una verdadera verguenza, que infantil son los perssonajes , con unicas animaciones toscas y torpes , parecen que ni siquiera en el diseño se han esforzado, No lo compren.
  66. Noraver
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    What can I say that hasn’t already been said?
    Nintendo/The Pokémon Company need to give the rights to another company. Game Freak has grown lazy, complacent, and puts no effort or passion into these games anymore.
    It definitely is sad when a game 20 years old on N64 (Pokémon Stadium 2), or a game on the Wii (Pokémon Battle Revolution) have more character/personality in their Pokémon    What can I say that hasn’t already been said?
    Nintendo/The Pokémon Company need to give the rights to another company. Game Freak has grown lazy, complacent, and puts no effort or passion into these games anymore.
    It definitely is sad when a game 20 years old on N64 (Pokémon Stadium 2), or a game on the Wii (Pokémon Battle Revolution) have more character/personality in their Pokémon than the mainline games do.
    Not to mention, better animations.
    This is no longer the company/game line I used to know and love.
    The highest grossing franchise in the world, and they can't produce a decent game on the newest console hardware?
    Pathetic, absurd, and genuinely disappointing.

    #GameFreakLied    … Expand
  67. papode
    Nov 15, 2019
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Unfortunately, these games are a huge step back in all that the recent games have brought as innovations to the old formula from Pokémon Red/Blue. Again striking their more-than-loyal fanbase, Game Freak shows its laziness and lack of concern for what pleases players the most. The disappointments are numerous: recycled animations, bad Pokémon designs and worst of all, the fact that in this game the ubiquitous motto “gotta catch’em all” never made less sense: only 400 of the more than 800 Pokémon are not coded in the games archives. This all boils down to a mediocre iteration that deserves some criticism.… Expand
  68. manolo0
    Nov 16, 2019
    3
    pokemon deserves more than this. poor graphics for a switch, the story is nonsense and boring,
    the difficulty is a joke and for sure the pokedex cut.
  69. Rebolonhosa
    Nov 16, 2019
    3
    It's a cool game, but, not even close to XY. Wild Area has a lot of frame drops, the history is a bad one, all the cities are beautiful, but very hollow with not so much to do, not have the national dex, the online is terrible to play with friends, has a bug that crashes your sd card, you cant deactivate the xp share, a lot of bad pokemon design, removed moves. Besides that, it's a cool game
  70. Sirasseater
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    Terrible graphics combined with removed Pokémon and bland animations these features combined to create the biggest cash grab Pokémon game of all time.
  71. Aeroxale
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    Cut features overshadow miniscule improvements and overpriced. Game was rushed to development with bugs and glitches so the price hike is unjustified.

    Gamefreak lied continously and kept information hidden.
  72. Reizig
    Nov 15, 2019
    5
    As a longtime Pokémon fan im very disapointed , the game just feels rushed and unfinished Hope gamefreak learns from their mistakes :(
  73. nickdos
    Nov 16, 2019
    1
    Graphically the game is absolutely hideous and it's not just the quality of the assets used but also the amateurish way that mechanics are implemented that cause the stuttering and slowdowns.
    Meanwhile the developer removed hundreds of moves and characters to "improve the quality of everything else" but it turns out nothing is really different, as many animations are terrible, almost    Graphically the game is absolutely hideous and it's not just the quality of the assets used but also the amateurish way that mechanics are implemented that cause the stuttering and slowdowns.
    Meanwhile the developer removed hundreds of moves and characters to "improve the quality of everything else" but it turns out nothing is really different, as many animations are terrible, almost amateur quality, if they exist at all as is the case for some moves that aren't animated.
    It raises many questions why this cut was done because both the hardware is definitely capable, and the assets already exist from past games of the series. The possibility of creating artificial shortage of them only to add them back in the next entries or turned into dlc is surely there.    … Expand
  74. Edgard86
    Nov 15, 2019
    6
    Um jogo de 3ds literalmente, porém sendo vendido como jogo de nova geração e preço cheio.. Gráfico horrível, texturas feias, animações e batalhas sem inovações, mesmice... Um jogo mal feito considerando a potencia do Switch... Feito somente para ganhar dinheiro, não teve carinho nem dedicação na produção. O jogo seria bom, se fosse um game de 3ds.. No Switch é inaceitável.. A mídia maisUm jogo de 3ds literalmente, porém sendo vendido como jogo de nova geração e preço cheio.. Gráfico horrível, texturas feias, animações e batalhas sem inovações, mesmice... Um jogo mal feito considerando a potencia do Switch... Feito somente para ganhar dinheiro, não teve carinho nem dedicação na produção. O jogo seria bom, se fosse um game de 3ds.. No Switch é inaceitável.. A mídia mais uma fazendo um desserviço a comunidade gamer, dando notas altas para jogos ridículos. Midia, vocês sao uma vergonha! Gamefreak, oportunista. Meu ID no Switch: SW5286-6479-2106. Tempo de gameplay até o momento: 10 hrs… Expand
  75. caronte69
    Nov 15, 2019
    5
    de los peores juegos de pokemon que he podido jugar, bugs, menos contenido (pokemons), contenido innecesario (curry) animaciones recicladas. Con la excusa de que este juego es para niños no significa que no podamos exigir algo mejor, soy fan de pokemon desde la 1ra generación jugando con mi game boy color, y no he comprado otro juego de pokemon desde blanco y negro 2, por que sinceramentede los peores juegos de pokemon que he podido jugar, bugs, menos contenido (pokemons), contenido innecesario (curry) animaciones recicladas. Con la excusa de que este juego es para niños no significa que no podamos exigir algo mejor, soy fan de pokemon desde la 1ra generación jugando con mi game boy color, y no he comprado otro juego de pokemon desde blanco y negro 2, por que sinceramente pokemon x y, sol y luna ya no me volvieron a llamar la atención, hasta pokemon go es mas divertido y con mas contenido.… Expand
  76. ElHombre
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    don't be blinded by nostalgia, Pokémon has been dying since long time ago and this is proof of it, Game Freak is running out of ideas, designs and mechanics, sad.
  77. GGSamurai
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Very disappointed in how this game was handled. Would not recommend to those looking to play the game with any of their favorite mons seeing as they will most likely not be in it. Gameplay is as repetitive as ever
  78. Duelz
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Played the game for around 8 hours Before returning it. I was disheartened and very disappointed. I am a long time returning fan of Pokémon and would go as far as to say that the Pokémon games have been some of the best I’ve ever played. Pokémon Soul Silver, Emerald and Platinum were games of pure perfection
  79. Jaeloih1911
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    This game had a lot of potential, but it's fairly lackluster, boring, and choppy, especially when compared to previous games, like Black and White and HeartGold and SoulSilver. I honestly expected more out of a Switch game.
  80. HectorHbo
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Pokemon sword es un juego muy incompleto, la verdad es que esperaba mucho del juego al ser su primera entrega en la consola Nintendo switch, pero me desilusionó rotundamente al ver ciertas cinemáticas o eventos del juego. Se nota de lejos que no se esforzaron en el.
  81. TheLordofChaos
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    It's simply the worst Pokemon game ever. Too many features removed, a cut of about 60% of the Pokedex, a graphic with not much effort, some awful animation, a bad story and a short postgame. Furthermore the game is in general too easy (and boring).
    I didn't expect that from GameFreak and Nintendo. Just a disappointment.
  82. LucioSoliz
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Nothing that this game has to offer can excuse the cut content from old games
    All it has is the bare minimun: "good" graphics, nice visuals, music, character design, new pokemon, and new mechanics, all these are the bare minimun of each game. Yet this game lacks of day cycle, changing only for events or cutscenes. Following pokemon, post game, music in legendary battles. It has too many    Nothing that this game has to offer can excuse the cut content from old games
    All it has is the bare minimun: "good" graphics, nice visuals, music, character design, new pokemon, and new mechanics, all these are the bare minimun of each game. Yet this game lacks of day cycle, changing only for events or cutscenes. Following pokemon, post game, music in legendary battles. It has too many bugs and glitches, its very bad optimized, truly disrespectful for a 60$ games, i would rather use that money to support other games and skip this gen..    … Expand
  83. ronronron69
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    Terrible. So much removed. I wish they'd have just kept all the pokemon in and at least tried to make the graphics look like they bling on switch instead of PS2 era.
  84. thejeffrey32
    Nov 15, 2019
    3
    This game does not follow the trend of every major Switch release before it. Pokemon Sword and Shield does not revolutionize or innovate its core experience on the level of Mario Odyssey or Breath of the Wild. While the Wild Area is a good idea, it's filled with embarrassing graphics and pop ins with every few steps. This is a game that sticks to the formula of the 3DS games, a product onThis game does not follow the trend of every major Switch release before it. Pokemon Sword and Shield does not revolutionize or innovate its core experience on the level of Mario Odyssey or Breath of the Wild. While the Wild Area is a good idea, it's filled with embarrassing graphics and pop ins with every few steps. This is a game that sticks to the formula of the 3DS games, a product on par with Fifa.… Expand
  85. Ferrox
    Dec 29, 2019
    2
    While a lot of people might give this game either a 10 or 0 in the hope to somehow "balance" the score to what they believe it actually is, that leaves reviews as unreliable. This game isn't a mere 0, but it also definitely isn't a 7 to 10. Let's discuss the good and the bad.

    The good: -Streamlining the proccess of making a competitive pokemon: This also has some downsides for the    While a lot of people might give this game either a 10 or 0 in the hope to somehow "balance" the score to what they believe it actually is, that leaves reviews as unreliable. This game isn't a mere 0, but it also definitely isn't a 7 to 10. Let's discuss the good and the bad.

    The good:
    -Streamlining the proccess of making a competitive pokemon: This also has some downsides for the satisfaction of breeding your own but it makes it a lot easier for those unwilling to put in the time, as well as change your beloved in-game capture during a playthrough into a powerful warrior.
    -The Gym Challenge: In previous games, challenging the Gyms was just something you did to progress the story. They were fun, sometimes forcing you to change up your team, but other than a unique sprite with special song it felt like story-wise it was just what kids were supposed to do. Here it feels like an actual choice was made. It is a carreer path in the Pokémon World, and people love seeing it. You are like your favorite sport star, gaining fame and entertaining the masses as you rise in the rankings. The battles in the Stadiums with an audience feels like a big event.
    -The challenges leading up to the Gym Battle: Combining the best of both traditional Gym Battles and the Island Challenge, there is a trial to prove yourself before facing the Gym Leader. And while some are better than others, it is more satisfying to do it this way than to just beat up a few Gym Trainers in normal fights.
    -The new Pokémon: it wouldn't be a Pokémon game without the titular beasts. And while not all are equally great, there are definitely a few that charm or impress you. Just look at Wooloo.
    -Several inovative ideas: GameFreak has finaly tried to join the current scene by experimenting with some new ideas like a small open-world setting with varying levels, a free camera, online multiplayer, but this unfortunately leans more towards, well...

    Unfortunately we come to

    The bad:

    -The graphics: While Pokémon might have never placed itself as a powerhouse graphicswise, it usually had a style uniquely their own with decent graphics. Unfortunately, decent is rather too generous to call this game's graphics. While it has been said many times before, the trees and vegetation call back to the era of N64. Shadows flicker, the water is horrible, and then we have to talk about
    -The pop-in: NPC's, trees, pokémon. When you move it simply jumps into existance. This is a problem that games for years have dealt with in different methods: loading only what is visible on the screen, using lower-res models for those in the distance. And with a camera always angled just the way the develloper wants it should have been easy to recognise just what needs to be loaded when and what could be ignored. Speaking of which
    -The camera: GameFreak was proud to show of the Wild Area, where you could roam free and encounter many pokémon and look all around you. Unfortunately it is still very small with too little to do, and even that is restricted. It's not as beautiful as you'd hope, and the Pokémon hardly move, pop-in jarringly, and even if you're ready to face a challenge
    -Pokemon capture is limited by badges: While it might seem like letting a newbie trainer try their hand at capturing a level 40 pokémon would be unballancing the game, take into account that it is their choice to do so, they have to win that fight and capture them first with their underlevelled pokémon, and even if they trained their Starter up to LV100 through sheer grinding, they'd still be barred by the game. And if it is a Shiny, too bad. Speaking of Shinies
    -Overworld Sprites come in one color only: Even Let's Go showed if you had a Regular Pokémon or the ellusive Shiny before you battled. A simple palette swap should have done that here, but it's not, so you have to engage each pokémon and hope to find them shiny during that encounter. But overworld or in battle,
    -The models are unchanged since X & Y: The root cause of the #GameFreakLied trend, SwSh still use those same models AND animations as the 3DS games, with slightly upscale textures. This might not have been so bad if they hadn't promised (and yes they did) that they HAD to remake them from scratch because they couldn't transfer them over and therefore
    -Not all Pokémon are in: Less that half or all existing Pokémon are in the game, and the rest will never be here. Considering the models and animations are all there waiting, this feels like a big disapointment to long-time fans. Because what else will you do when you finish the game? Because
    -The Game is SHORT: Both in story length and routes, there is very little to do. 10 routes, some with only 2 patches of grass and
    -No post-game: Other than a more limited Battle Tower there is no battle facility or option to transfer in non Galar pokémon to fight or try a new game with.

    Conclusion: Good ideas but bad execution.    … Expand
  86. AGGuy
    Nov 15, 2019
    6
    Want more Pokémon? This is more Pokémon (except with fewer Pokémon). It's the same it's always been - stilted presentation, good music, so-so gameplay comprised of thrilling highs and frustrating lows, a mix of good additions and subtractions and bad additions and subtractions... and the story is not worth mentioning (actually even less so than in past games).

    It's kind of just... more    Want more Pokémon? This is more Pokémon (except with fewer Pokémon). It's the same it's always been - stilted presentation, good music, so-so gameplay comprised of thrilling highs and frustrating lows, a mix of good additions and subtractions and bad additions and subtractions... and the story is not worth mentioning (actually even less so than in past games).

    It's kind of just... more Pokémon.
    Is "kind of just more Pokémon" what you're looking for? Yes? Then this is worth 30 bucks, I'd say.
    Is "kind of just more Pokémon" not what you're looking for? Then don't bother.    … Expand
  87. Ivysaurtrainer6
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    A pokemon game without all the pokemon....yeah 0/10. They could have just used all of the 3DS models and called it good. At least then we would use all of the pokemon.
  88. pahono6888
    Nov 16, 2019
    0
    It is the shortest Pokemon game ever released. It cut too much content compared to previous games. It is the culmination of years of downgrading products. There is no story but somehow it doesn't leave you alone to explore either. There is nothing to explore. No sense of adventure. There is nothing to do after you beat the main "story". That alone makes it a 4/10. But it is also buggy andIt is the shortest Pokemon game ever released. It cut too much content compared to previous games. It is the culmination of years of downgrading products. There is no story but somehow it doesn't leave you alone to explore either. There is nothing to explore. No sense of adventure. There is nothing to do after you beat the main "story". That alone makes it a 4/10. But it is also buggy and unpolished, so it is a legit 1/10… Expand
  89. PkmGBA
    Nov 16, 2019
    3
    El juego es disfrutable, pero se nota, demasiado que no lo an pulido bien, con la transición al Switch, me esperaba algo mas bestia,
  90. Dungeon1103
    Nov 16, 2019
    2
    Rushed Game that depends on nolstalgia.
    So far this is the Pokemon game with the least content, only 10 routes (and most of them are straigth lines). No caves to explore, no secret bases to invade, no dungeons. Just look at the icy mountains, the forests and cities on the map, because you can´t explore none of these places. While other games of the franchine offered a lot of post game    Rushed Game that depends on nolstalgia.
    So far this is the Pokemon game with the least content, only 10 routes (and most of them are straigth lines). No caves to explore, no secret bases to invade, no dungeons. Just look at the icy mountains, the forests and cities on the map, because you can´t explore none of these places. While other games of the franchine offered a lot of post game content, this generation lacks anything.

    Basicaly, it´s the shortest game of the franchine, with the leats content, while also being the most expensive. The only appeal seems to be a nolstalgic factor for a franchine that puts less and less effort,    … Expand
  91. ProudGenwunner
    Nov 15, 2019
    3
    This game is really flawed, and it's really, really hard. Not as hard as I feared, because I thought the difficulty would be way too high for the length of the game, and this is only one game. But it is really, really hard. It's a game about a woman fighting a monster who is just trying to destroy everything she loves. It's about a woman trying to kill her own lover in front of him, andThis game is really flawed, and it's really, really hard. Not as hard as I feared, because I thought the difficulty would be way too high for the length of the game, and this is only one game. But it is really, really hard. It's a game about a woman fighting a monster who is just trying to destroy everything she loves. It's about a woman trying to kill her own lover in front of him, and her lover being very much willing to let her. It's about a woman getting pregnant by the monster she's fighting, and the baby being kidnapped by the monster. And it's about this whole crazy, emotional, slow-motion narrative where you're doing all of these things and then this thing that happens later. And there's a lot of really cool, interesting themes and things happening here, and I'm really glad that they got it down to two hours, because that's what makes this game so good.… Expand
  92. The90sFan
    Nov 15, 2019
    4
    Has everything you would expect from a new Pokemon release, but never does more than the bare minimum. The graphics are mediocre, story uninspired and the game is both extremely linear and very easy. DS Pokemon games from 2006 had more content, freedom and ambition than this. What happened?
  93. Miellon
    Nov 15, 2019
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. These games are simply the worst in the series so far, the dexcut is just one of the huge flaws with this entry.
    Uninspired and reused animations, inexistent routes, repetitive post-game, and few interesting new pokémon designs.
    Oh, not to mention some dumb play choices such as blocking you from catching high-level pokémon if you don't have the right gym badges.
    Anyway, same gameplay as always, same story, not many cool additions but a lot of cut content.
    Bad game 3/60    … Expand
  94. CaptainLongstar
    Nov 15, 2019
    4
    There can be no excuse for such a mediocre product especially when a company claims they put their heart and soul into it. If Nintendo really had over 100 people working on this title it still shouldn’t look or play the way it does. So, what problems does this game have beyond the pokedex and the copy and paste models claims.

    1. Dynamax feature is absurd and took too many resources that    There can be no excuse for such a mediocre product especially when a company claims they put their heart and soul into it. If Nintendo really had over 100 people working on this title it still shouldn’t look or play the way it does. So, what problems does this game have beyond the pokedex and the copy and paste models claims.

    1. Dynamax feature is absurd and took too many resources that could have been put into the gameplay of the pokemon.
    2. Time of game competition is shorter than all previous games
    3. New Pokemon designs are worse than Generation 6
    4. 144 moves have been removed and if you try to transfer a Pokemon with a move that cannot be used in the game they can’t use it.
    5. The visuals and graphics are subpar for such an advanced console
    6. No character personality and move animations
    7. Removing trading with other players in order to force players to pay a subscription fee for it.
    A feature that’s core to the game.
    8. My biggest complaint is that since the franchise release in September 1998 which is about 21 years the Pokemon still have the same mechanical noises instead of their actual anime ones.

    I think gamefreak is either lazy or the reason might be PokemonGO. According to App Annie, Pokémon Go grossed an estimated $950 million in 2016. A report from SuperData Research ranked Pokémon Go as the 9th highest grossing mobile game of 2017, estimating its revenue throughout 2017 to be $890 million.Bloomberg estimated that Pokémon Go generated up to $2 billion in total revenue by late 2017. Two years from its initial launch, analyst firm Sensor Tower estimated the game had grossed over $1.8 billion from in-app purchases, reporting that players around the world continue to spend $2 million each day. SuperData Research estimated that, in May 2018, Pokémon Go grossed $104 million in monthly revenue and had 147 million monthly active players, its highest since Summer 2016. In July 2018, Pokémon Go was the top-grossing mobile app of the month. Since the introduction of trading and friends features, Sensor Tower has reported that players spend an average of $2.5 million per day. Apptopia reported that, by September 2018, the game had grossed over $2 billion from in-app purchases; the top five countries where it has received the most revenue are Japan ($670 million), the United States ($550 million), Germany ($88 million), the United Kingdom ($86 million), and Australia ($52 million). It was the fourth highest-grossing game of 2018, with $1.3 billion, bringing the game's total revenue to over $3 billion.

    This is the main Nintendo is not trying to create a great pokemon game because they know a subpar mobile version makes millions more. So why even try and waste man hours. In addition, Nintendo knows that they could get away with even more because people are sheep and will buy anything they release no matter what’s removed. Just imagine a kid getting this game on Christmas and cant trade with his friend or transfer or catch past pokemon. A warning that these two things should be on a box. Wouldn't you think?

    So if people care about this franchise and desire a great pokemon game you need to tell everyone you know (including yourself) who plays PokemonGo to stop playing it and uninstall it. If not, we are either going to get more of the same or less in the next game.

    The same thing is going to happen with Mario Kart just wait and see. Mobile game is a disease that is ruining the gaming industry and franchises. People need to wake up and stop playing these games.    … Expand
  95. rogene13
    Nov 16, 2019
    4
    The game feels rushed. The story is mediocre and short. There are almost no sidequests. The map feels empty. There are no voice acting even on cut scenes. The music is annoying most of the time. Graphics are outdated and it looks worse in the wild area, Almost half of pokemon and dozens of moves are missing from previous games yet they charge $60 for this.
  96. PinguReviews
    Nov 16, 2019
    3
    Expected a ton more from a console Pokemon game. It kicks off with a intro that is alright in animations but kind of jarring with the overall presentation because of the lack of voice acting. I believe the Pokemon phone games now have voice acting so why doesn't this? Continuing on, it's basically what you expect from a handheld Pokemon game. There's a lot of hand holding still and onExpected a ton more from a console Pokemon game. It kicks off with a intro that is alright in animations but kind of jarring with the overall presentation because of the lack of voice acting. I believe the Pokemon phone games now have voice acting so why doesn't this? Continuing on, it's basically what you expect from a handheld Pokemon game. There's a lot of hand holding still and on rails story gameplay. The new Pokemon designs seem good so far. Story seems okay I guess. Nothing special. The game really isn't anything new and is more of the same which is greatly disappointing after playing other Switch titles like BOTW and Mario Odyssey. My excitement of playing this game is the same as revisiting older titles honestly. I am not really happy with the $60 price tag when it should AT LEAST be priced at a DS game. Also I have heard they cut Pokemon and Pokemon moves out of the game.

    I'm going to give it a 3 for lack of innovation and not using anywhere near the Switches potential. This isn't the time to release a DS quality game onto a home console (or ever, unless it's a port). The game is just okay otherwise if you want a handheld Pokemon game that plays the same. Maybe a 5 but I know The Pokemon Company could do better and decided to rush this so I think it deserves a 3.    … Expand
  97. TsukasaHiiragi
    Nov 15, 2019
    2
    Once again, a typical broken release that clearly displays an utter contempt for the customer especially from the so-called 'professional journos' who clearly skirt around the absolutely horrendous issues Sword and Shield let alone completely ignoring the ethical questions.

    I could write a huge chunk here, but literally everyone else has said the exact same thing and it really isn't    Once again, a typical broken release that clearly displays an utter contempt for the customer especially from the so-called 'professional journos' who clearly skirt around the absolutely horrendous issues Sword and Shield let alone completely ignoring the ethical questions.

    I could write a huge chunk here, but literally everyone else has said the exact same thing and it really isn't worth my time to just repeat everything, so I'll leave with this - don't bother with Sword or Shield, if you haven't got Pokemon Let's Go, then I'd recommend that over this right now, PLG isn't perfect by any means but right now, its a lot better than this.

    Will Sword and Shield get better over time? Most likely, but right now - it needs a lot more work and patches.    … Expand
  98. erion94
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    In 20 years following and loving Pokémon (specially in that times that people bullied who did it), this is the first time I got disgusted with the franchise.

    Theses games are nothing more than a mix of recicled Pokemon, models, animations and scripts, literally just a 3ds Pokemon game upscaled(citra did it better). And even worst, with HALF OF THE CONTENT CUTTED!!! 500 less Pokemon    In 20 years following and loving Pokémon (specially in that times that people bullied who did it), this is the first time I got disgusted with the franchise.

    Theses games are nothing more than a mix of recicled Pokemon, models, animations and scripts, literally just a 3ds Pokemon game upscaled(citra did it better). And even worst, with HALF OF THE CONTENT CUTTED!!!
    500 less Pokemon
    100 less Moves
    No Megas
    No Z Moves
    No Special Pokemon (Cap Pikachu, Cosplay Pikachu)

    And the new stuff S*CKS
    PokeCurry is just a new Pokemon Amie mini game feature.
    Dynamax is just a Mega Pokemon copycat.
    New mechanics made the game even more easier, even if you want to play in a hardcore way.

    Why bothering training, breeding and trading if you can get perfect Pokemon so easily?

    The only old Pokemon that received more attention are the gen 1 ones, again.

    Omori, Masuda LEAVE POKEMON COMPANY RIGHT NOW!    … Expand
  99. 9to10Gaming
    Nov 15, 2019
    2
    The worst Pokemon game I’ve ever played. Graphics are a joke for the Switch and 10-15 years behind. 60% of the Pokédex is missing. The Wild Area is ugly and empty, Pokémon just pop up a few meters in front of you. It’s super easy and linear, you can’t turn off the XP sharer... the Game has way too many flaws. GameFreak should take a break for a couple years and make a Pokémon game weThe worst Pokemon game I’ve ever played. Graphics are a joke for the Switch and 10-15 years behind. 60% of the Pokédex is missing. The Wild Area is ugly and empty, Pokémon just pop up a few meters in front of you. It’s super easy and linear, you can’t turn off the XP sharer... the Game has way too many flaws. GameFreak should take a break for a couple years and make a Pokémon game we deserve… Expand
  100. SpeedEBird
    Nov 15, 2019
    0
    This is a **** kids game with no redeemable qualities. No mega, z move or even **** ditto for God's sake. How could gamefreak **** up this bad? Go play Black 2 or Heart Gold if you want a good Pokemon game
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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.
    Read full review
  3. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Jan 14, 2020
    78
    Pokemon Sword/Shield is uncharacteristically user-friendly: now there’s no need to backtrack half across the world to heal your entire team of pokemon or to get to a particular city, for example. [Issue#242, p.66]
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