Pokémon Sword and Shield Reviews
Pokemon Sword and Shield are the best games in the series, streamlining its most tedious traditions without losing any of the charm.
Pok'mon Sword and Shield add some brilliant new creatures, but like their gargantuan Dynamax forms, the games feel like a hollow projection.
Gameplay tweaks and attention to detail make Pokemon Sword and Shield the most compelling Pokemon world to date.
The furore over Dexit may be overblown but even without it this is an underwhelming and unambitious attempt to modernise Pokémon and expand its horizons.
The compelling formula of simultaneously building your collections of monsters and gym badges has proven timeless, but the new additions and enhancements show Pokémon isn't done evolving
Pokemon Sword and Shield scale down the bloated elements of the series while improving what really matters, making for the best new generation in years.
The surprise in Sword and Shield is that I’m still finding things that surprise me, even after putting in so many hours. It’s in how Game Freak has made a linear game feel so much less linear.
The magic of Pokémon is that it lets you tap into a sense of wonder that becomes more and more difficult to access as an adult. Sword and Shield do that more successfully than any Pokémon release has in years. It won’t be everything to everyone, and it will not make everyone happy. I’m not sure it needs to. It’s a portal to a new world.
Despite the controversy, Sword and Shield offers a great time.
Pokémon has always literally been give and take since the second generation. Some give more than others, and Sword and Shield has taken away quite a bit. But in the end, I was smiling on most of my journey throughout the Galar region, and 21 years later, I still have a desire to catch them all. "All of the Galar region" will do nicely for the time being, even if it feels more fleeting than past generations.
If you’re not sick of the formula, or if you’re new to the franchise, then it’s easy to forgive the meh story, subpar visual presentation, unchanged battle system, and messy multiplayer. It’s a solid Pokemon game that anyone can enjoy. Nothing more, nothing less.
On one hand, the online is absolutely broken and embarrassing. On the other, anytime I'm not dealing with that nonsense, I'm having fun with the game. Maybe in a couple of months, when I've min-maxed every Pokémon in the Dex and am just focusing on raids, I'll feel more antagonistic toward the game and its woeful online, but right now, when I'm doing literally anything else in it, I'm having a good time.
Pokémon Sword and Shield is a positive step in a new direction, but one that is held back by a fear of the Unown. It's still an incredibly fun new adventure, and the Pokémon selection and variety is the best it's ever been. That said, it would be incredible to see the Wild Area become the new norm for the series, but as it stands, many of the new features feel more like spraying your sofa with Febreeze when really you need to buy a new sofa. Sure, it smells and feels new, but it's not, and you should really just commit to moving on from what was normal, and forge a new path into a new sofa. Look, just go with it.
The new Game Freak game will please both newcomers and more experienced players because, although some sections of this new installment have received less polish, it still has attractive enough content for every trainer to find his place in the new region of Galar.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
With changes both necessary and welcome, along with the usual charm, Pokémon Sword and Shield is convincing. They need a patch on the technical side to shine brighter, but in the Wild Area you can see the future of the franchise.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Performance issues and lazy tropes hold them back from being excellent, but Pokemon Sword and Shield are a strong step in the right direction for franchises latest generation.
Sword and Shield are not the best entries in the series but, despite some hard-to-ignore faults, they're still fun to play.
Review in Italian | Read full review
As a generational premiere, Pokémon Sword and Shield are at a high level. Its attempt to combine different audiences and demands is well received, although we expect much more from future games more revolutionary that would take advantage of the potential of a console like Nintendo Switch.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The short version of this review is that Sword and Shield are fun, good-looking Pokémon games with a solid story mode and some welcome changes to the game’s mechanics.