Customer Ratings & Reviews

Playing this game takes me back to the old days of playing Pokemon on Game Boy. The fame overall is short, in my opinion, but it is worth the time spent playing. I would recommend it to both new and old players.

This game is pretty old but ever since I bought for my son’s 14th birthday he has been playing this or another Pokémon game all the time while traveling.

Great installment into the pokemon franchise as a long time player this experience was a step up in the right direction and with the dlc added tobthe game post game content is better then ever before

Old school fans don't mind gimmicks. But with how mega evolution is completely gone for these raid battles and giant Pokémon. It's a shame that's the direction of gameplay that they want. Gimmicks come and go but other aspects are also showing. Expansions, dlc, and the open world feeling a bit empty. Shiny hunting is still not bad in this game compared to some. Shinies being locked has always turned me off. If you ask a lot of people. The last best Pokémon game is HGSS. It has two regions. A ton of catchable Pokémon. Your Pokémon follow you. You can shiny hunt everything. You can get kanto starters and a ton of legendaries. It also kept its old school charm while taking over the DS generation. That was 13 years ago. I feel the more they add for Pokémon. The less options of things we get to do in game or how it feels to play it.

This latest installment of the Pokemon franchise is absolutely wonderful! It takes me back to my childhood (to the days of Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow) while simultaneously providing an exciting new storyline and visually stunning gameplay. The main storyline is classic Pokemon RPG, but just as you think you’ve finished, the gameplay and story keeps going further. I still pick it up from time to time to see what else is in store. The expansion packs due out in 2020 will revive the excitement of this era, and I look forward to continuing the Sword/Shield story and exploring the Galar region even further! Don’t pass this one up!

Let me just state that I played Violet before picking up Sword, and I know that a lot of people didn’t care for SwSh but I’m finding it highly enjoyable! But I mean I also loved BDSP despite what everyone else says.

Bought this game for my boys. They’ve had a lot of fun playing it!

Pokemon Sword is a fun adventure and welcomed return to consoles. New features including the Wild Area, where Pokemon roam free, and max raid battles, where Pokemon can "dynamax" into a larger version of themselves are neat additions. Bringing back gym leaders is a huge plus to make up for the debacle of trials in Sun/Moon. With DLC being added, there are plenty of Pokemon to collect and train. Hopefully by the end of the year, the entire Pokedex will be available in-game.

If you enjoy the Pokemon games and accept them for what they are you'll enjoy this. Its fantastic seeing the pokemon in full 3d like this now. I will say that compared to previous games Sword & Shield CAN be incredibly easy. If you spam the candies you get from raid dens you will over level and get bored quickly. Simply don't spam the candies and the experience will be close to what it has been aside from the fact that you're pokemon all level up fairly evenly now do to how experience is shared across the board right from the start. The story is very lackluster in my opinion but the core experience is still enjoyable.

This game is everything you’d want from a Pokémon game with many great improvements, especially the Wild Area which lets you explore and play with friends. Many longtime fans made a huge stink about the game, mostly due to the inability to use every single Pokémon that’s ever been introduced, but with 400 Pokémon to catch, I feel like that’s more than enough. I don’t really miss any of my usual favorites that didn’t make the cut. There have also been complaints about graphics being slightly under par for a 2019 game, which is true, but Pokémon games have never looked anywhere near this good before, and I don’t think many kids or fans of the franchise will notice as much.

Bought this along with Pokemon Shield for Christmas a year ago. Games saw a lot of play over the last year.

The game is really fun! It's a classic Pokemon game, meaning you are a trainer that is designated a starter Pokemon and must venture out to defeat several gym leaders to become the champion in the Pokemon league. Instead of random encounters, you will now see Pokemon or a "!" when you are near an encounter, therefore they can now be avoided more easily. Pros: -fun and easy to pick up for all ages -multiplayer options like online battles, dynamax "raid" style battles -camping creates a dynamic where you can heal out in the wild and increase Pokemon stats and levels -portable or docked modes -pokeball plus support (not as controller) -you can play with one hand! Great for injured, Veterans, disabled! Cons: -much too easy. Now all Pokemon gain experience in your party even without experience share. Most trainers encountered only have one Pokemon. I've not been sent back to nearest Pokemon center once! -does not include all Pokemon in the pokedex. No excuses! -cheap Galarian variant Pokemon -DLC. It's $30 for the expansion pass, an extra 50% of the cost of the game, to play about an extra 20% more content, all of which used to be included in the mainline titles as post game content. Not anymore. Pay up! You won't even see all of the new generation Pokemon without the pass! You can't evolve some of the Pokemon you catch in the game without the pass! -Expansion pass is not for both games! You must pay $60 to get both expansion passes! What used to cost you $39 for each game ($120 for all three versions each generation excluding x and y, black and white) about $120 total is now $180! Oh, and you don't get 3 different copies of the game that will grow in value! Eventually they'll close servers and the $60 you spent will disappear and not grow to $300 in value like say Pokemon emerald did. -tiny, linear mainline map. Less open world than gen 3. Sad. Neutral: -no voice acting. Everything must be read, which is great for helping kids learn better reading comprehension, but in 2019 and 2020 seems WAAAAAY outdated. -pokemon still make midi noises. A giant dynamax Pokemon that sounds like a pager/dial up tone is supposed to be intimidating? -clumsy controls. One handed mode will not allow you to rotate camera in wild area. -graphical capabilities could have been much better optimized. This looks way outdated and switch hardware isn't an excuse. Have you seen The Witcher 3 on switch? Doom? BOTW? It can handle higher fidelity. Do they really expect me to shell out $30/$60 for the expansion passes when I've already bought both games? Overall it's just okay, but i hope they learn from these mistakes. If not, this is my last time investing into Pokemon unless it's the old stuff for collection. This same review will be posted for shield, where the only difference is the legendary and some swapped gym leaders and trainers, very very miniscule Pokemon variation.

This is a highly rated Pokémon game and is a must play. It can be great for younger audiences as well. If your child can’t read, they may not enjoy it as much since it’s fairly text- heavy. But, at least they can practice their reading skills

Alright, addressing the Donphan in the room, yes, the dex was cut. And it's perfectly fine if you're not interested in the game because your favorite got cut; quite a few of mine did too. (Pour one out for the starter gang...) Though aside from that, this is the most fun I had with a Pokémon game since X! Omega Ruby and Sun just couldn't grip me, and even now I can't really go back to them to try and finish them... Max Raids and Pokémon Camp are great additions, and the Wild Area in addition to those is why I've managed to play this game for 30+ hours and STILL only gotten to the 5th Gym as I type this. Though, I'd say wait for a bit of a price drop if you're iffy on taking the plunge. Though, that is pretty likely since I've seen the Double Pack discounted already. Also, Dynamaxing is pretty alright, especially if you thought Mega Evolutions were broken in the past games. Also, Hop is a nice rival, some of you guys are just mean.

let's start off with the negative, Pokemon Sword introduces new mechanics like Dynamax that get really old quickly and don't add much to the gameplay it feels really gimmicky and before long you dread those encounters. The world feels substantially smaller and the game severely easier when compared to previous entries in the series. The story is absolute cannon fodder and won't entertain anyone over 5. On to the positive, Pokemon Sword introduces an immense set of improvements to simple things like riding a bicycle, moving around in menus and tons of other things that have been unchanged since the very beginning. These make the experience infinitely better. Catching pokemon is as addictive as ever and very easy it seems this time around. Raids are a nice touch, the wild area is tons of fun to explore and for a pokemon game, visually this is by far the best so far. For any fan of pokemon this is a must have.

My son loves this game. He plays it regularly for long periods of time

The newer Pokemon games lack depth and adventure. This was a beautiful game with well made graphics but overwhelmingly simple. A child could reasonably beat this game in a few days whereas the older games could have taken weeks even for adults. It felt like a waste of money because it was such a short game with little to offer after beating it.

I got this game for myself right after it came out and I play it all the time! My sister in law came over a few weeks ago and decided to create her own profile on our docked switch and we all played my version of sword and had a great time, so for Christmas, my wife and I decided to get my SIL a switch lite and this game as well as Animal Crossing New Horizons and let me just say it is a great experience! There is a lot of backlash from hardcore fans who want Nintendo to go in a completely different route for the new Pokémon games, but as someone who has been playing since 2007, I think it’s one of the best games they’ve put out so far and the DLC really added to it! The main storyline is relatively easy and it’s obvious that it is trying to appeal to a younger and newer audience, which I personally don’t mind and completely understand. I think for those specific reasons, I was able to not only get my wife, but also my SIL interested in the game. It has great new Pokémon for the region and the wild area is such a new and cool thing to explore and they really expand on it even more in the DLCs which I personally think are 100% worth the extra $30! Dynamaxing and Gigantamaxing are two new features in this game as well as opposed to old games and overall I would say it’s just new and fun! It has hints of the old games and some nostalgia, but for the most part, it’s a new story and it has something very new to a Pokémon game and that’s how user friendly it is for online play. To me, it is a fantastic game, I’m probably gonna buy shield for myself soon and I would recommend this to quite literally anyone. You could have never played a Pokémon game in your life and know nothing about it and still have fun with this game or to the opposite side, you could have been playing since red and green came out and still have a blast on this expansive and interactive game on Nintendo’s newest and arguably greatest (thus far) console to date!

Was hesitant since I’m part of the older generations when Pokémon was first released. But playing a few hours just sucks you into the poke world again! Just seeing the new graphics is such an awe struck feeling. Makes me feel like I’m playing yellow all over again for the first time. The only con is that it seems too easy, example. The move deleter, rememberer in all the poke stops. Plus you can buy a revive at the first mart. But I can’t say I haven’t had a wild poke in kick my butt!

If you are a Pokemon fan, both Sword and Shield are no brainers. I own both and played many hours, as well as everybody else in my house. Graphics are nice, it works with my Pokeball+ and has a good storyline that keeps you engaged throughout. Would buy again for sure, as I have in any Pokemon title that comes out. Now if they were only not so expensive...Now, for somebody that have NO IDEA about Pokemon, I would not recommend as an entertaining game for the $$$.