Pokémon Sword and Shield Reviews
Pokémon Sword and Shield is not only a worthy start for the series on mainline consoles, but is quite possibly the best entry in the series. With the new Pokémon, Dynamax raids, gyms, and the expansive Wild Area, Pokémon Sword and Shield filled me with a joy I rarely feel playing games.
All in all Pokemon Sword and Shield, despite being the first core game on the Nintendo Switch, is a very typical Pokemon game. It innovates a bit, messes stuff that should have been left alone up, and leaves other things alone for better or for worse just like every generation before it.
While not being the best title in the main Pokémon series, Sword and Shield manages to improve what is needed giving us a fun experience where capturing and fighting creatures feels simply great.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Pokemon Sword and Shield is an excellent entry in Game Freak's iconic franchise, pushing the series forward in some exciting ways while never forgetting the roots that made it so loved in the first place. While it underwhelms in its visuals and under-baked use of new ideas, the act of exploring Galar and catching creatures remains as delightfully compelling as it's ever been – and that's what really matters in the end.
Pokémon Sword and Shield is everything that you love about pocket monsters and then some. With an emphasis on sharpening what works and ditching more bloated elements aside to create the best region yet for the franchise, Pokemon Sword and Shield is pocket monster catch 'em all mania at its very best.
In the end, Pokémon Sword and Shield is a decent Pokémon game that will keep you playing until the end. It doesn't deserve all the controversy it's been getting, but it's not a particularly stand out entry in the franchise either.
Game Freak has succeeded in creating a new core entry worthy of being on home consoles, and Pokémon Sword and Shield are a couple of the best games on Nintendo Switch.
Pokémon Sword & Shield is the best game in the series to date thanks to more complex combat and attention to detail.
Review in German | Read full review
Sword and Shield are proof that you can always improve, as happened in the narrative and competitive context of the two games. Now it is time to also adapt the look and feel of Pokémon to its identity: that of the largest and most famous franchise of the contemporary era.
Review in Italian | Read full review
With these new games Pokémon, Game Freak proceeds as usual in the evolution of the series, small touches, all the more welcome this time they seem absolutely necessary today, like the boxes PC accessible everywhere. Without major disruption but with significant improvements, in terms of game comfort mainly, and while some will probably deplore the reduced number of Pokémon referenced base in the Pokédex Galar, new region that enjoys a care of atmosphere and staging undeniable, Pokémon remains faithful to its formula still winning for over twenty years, at the risk of missing the evolutionary step offered and hoped for by its convergence with the so popular Nintendo Switch. That said, the proposal is still effective for those for whom risk taking is secondary and of course the newcomers, especially children, the first public concerned and whose generations succeed and always succumb to the charm of those offered over the years by Pokémon.
Review in French | Read full review
There are some aspects of Pokémon Sword and Shield that feel like they'll reach their full potential in the next generation, but overall the game is fun, pretty and has a universality to its appeal that is genuinely impressive.
There really is something undeniably charming about Pokémon Sword and Shield. While the plot itself is rather short, these games do a decent job of shaking up some of the tried-and-true mechanics in all the right ways. Max Raid battles, the open-world Wild Area, and improved social features make them surprisingly and subtly unique titles that are everything you'd expect from a Pokémon game, and occasionally, just a little bit more than you thought they would be.
Pokemon Sword and Shield are good games that improve on the Pokemon formula, but a rushed late game and cut content keep them from being great.
Pokemon Sword and Shield gives us but a glimpse of what a proper home console Pokemon could look like, and not much more.
As much as I'd like to see the full Pokédex in a Pokémon game, what would be the point? Every Pokémon deserves a detailed treatment, and Sword and Shield don't achieve that. It's nice to hunt Pokémon in a more expansive playfield and I plan to completely fill out the rosters on both games. But its potential remains not entirely realized, as tantalizingly out of reach as our ability to catch 'em all.
Despite a few minor flaws, and an avalanche of controversy, Pokémon Sword and Shield prove themselves to be excellent games, and stellar new Pokémon adventures.
Pokemon Sword and Shield meet expectations, but don't take advantage of the chance to evolve into something special. These games are generally quite fun, though terrible online offerings and a lack of innovation make one wonder if the series is going stagnant.
Pokemon Sword is a good game that demands serious changes. Fights are too easy and the storyline is really dumb – Pokemon needs a dramatic overhaul in terms of mechanics. There has to be more tactics than “water beats fire”. Nostalgia is one thing but being archaic is another and far less enjoyable (even though it is extremely pretty).
Review in Polish | Read full review
Pokemon Sword and Shield represent the best games the series has seen since the start of the 3DS era, and a promising foundation for the franchise to build on with future games.