Customer Ratings & Reviews

Great game for a Pokémon fan. Best present choice !

Shield and sword mark the first mainline Pokemon games onto the switch. The gameplay is more similar to previous games than the let's go series in terms of catch mechanics and provides a hybrid in terms of wild pokemon. I think this is great if you are new as older players may be disappointed by not all pokemon being available. In previous games, after finishing the game, you could bring back pokemon not found in the game from your older games. This one has limited those.

Overall a good edition to the Pokemon franchise. The game is definitely a lot more polished then previous versions as well as the regions do feel a lot different then each other. The Wild area is great for picking up a variety of pokemon and you will be returning back there after each gym as well as a lot after finishing the story of the game and entering postgame. The raids idea is great and allows people to really interact more together which is definitely a plus and the customization of your actual player is nice with the clothing options. However, I don't really like they replaced Mega evolutions for Gigantamax completely and there is no Mega Evolutions whatsoever which basically makes a lot of viable pokemon now not so viable. Rest in Peace Mawile, Sableye, Pinsir, and More. I also am not a huge fan of really having a variety of different pokemon on each game. If you only pick up one version of the game you can never get all the pokemon unless you trade or have a friend playing the opposite version or if you buy the opposite version and replay the ENTIRE game. Although this is not new for pokemon it is just a gripe and wish they would change it. So takeaways the game is beautiful in comparison, good story, good character customization, good online battles/raids, Variety of new pokemon, good post game options. Bads: Need both games or a lot of trading, Graphics in comparison of other games could be better, They took away a big part of the game (mega evolutions) and forced gigantamax on the playerbase (you can't battle online without gigantamax evolutions included). Raids are good but tedious with no guarantee and unless your glitching it, is impossible to predict good pokemon. It is also WAYYY too easy to level up with the EXP candies.

I haven't really played a Pokemon game since Gold and Silver until Pokemon Let's Go but that was just a remake of the first Gen with some other cool features. I liked it enough though to give this one a try and I'm glad I did! It's a really fun game and even though there are new Pokemon to learn, I'm enjoying it.

Very C-tier story writing, but it's my most played Pokemon game to date after having played through 5 other generations. The online is pretty terrible in the wild areas, like an unstable 25 fps most times with tons of frame dips. I will not praise Gamefreak's execution, but I at least got 90 hours out of the game after doing nearly everything there is to do and training up a couple teams.

Good game takes me back to my childhood although they’ve mis it really easy to get all the HM’s

This is one of the best pokemon games ever made. Definitely worth a pick up to add to your collection. Being an adult and playing this i did question if it would be more kid friendly but i enjoyed playing it as much as i did when i was a kid. Definitely add it ro your collection !

This game got so much hate when it first came out, but mostly from people upset at the changes to the formula. Best of all is that the tutorial stages have been reduced with options for skipping whole parts because if you've played one pokemon, you understand the basics. The new coat of paint is charming, as the animations and sprites been kicked up a notch (which is fair given it's no longer in a portable system). There are more design options for your character, loads of postgame content, DLC coming out soon and it shows the pokemon frolicking. The rival is also a step up from sun and moon, being friendly, without being hapless or mediocre. While not reaching the heights of Gary Oak or the rival from Gold/Silver, he's still memorable. The bits of realism, like the pokemon champions having ads over their battle clothes, is a nice touch. This has been a nice addition to the franchise, which takes some risks by changing up the formula while keeping what works and avoids some of the mistakes from Sun/Moon.

Bought this game just before covid19 quarantine and so glad I did. You can explore the wild area and do max raid battles for many hours. The reason for 4 stars is that once you get to 5 star raids, it is nearly impossible to beat with the CPUs. You need to go online and pay a Nintendo Online membership to be able to get allies that can help you actually win. This also opens up more max raids, but it’s just unfortunate that it costs extra.

I really enjoyed playing Pokemon as a kid and sword and shield are pretty good.

I understand why people have their complaints about the game, but let’s be honest: we play for the cool new mons, the new mechanics and other extra features. Story has not been the franchises strong suit, but they did execute the key aspects of this game well. Enjoyed the game!!

The nostalgia hit hard here with this game thinking back to the last games I have played. It's very fun, continues the series well, and is a perfect addition to the Pokemon family of games. As with some other games recently, however, it's a bit too easy.

If you're a Pokemon fan like me, you will like this game. With new enhanced graphics and features, this is definitely worth purchasing. If you're a super fan, I recommend purchasing both the Shield and Sword versions.

Loving everything about the game! The Wild area is excellent and makes for a very different/immersive experience from other Pokemon games. Dynamax is also a very cool feature. I was hesitant at first, but so far, I'm enjoying everything about this game.

the game is just plain fun, although it follows the same formula as the other Pokemon games there's always something about choosing my new starter and taking on the journey in a new region. the wild area is the best part of the game and I am hopeful that moving forward it becomes the way for the whole game in future Pokemon games. my only complaint would be the dexit issue but with over 1000 Pokemon it was bound to happen

To me the story felt kinda weak despite how long it was Its kinda your traditional pokemon game plus raid battles that are the old school turn based, and puzzles before each gym Pokemon finally added autosave...that doesnt work very well it seems ive encountered plenty of events where it was supposed to trigger (leaving a pokenon center) but it didnt hopefully itll be patched Would give 4 and a half stars if i could

It’s hard to explain but I love and dislike this game, I love it for the changes and the wild area but I dislike it cause of the basic story and not real story depth. It’s still a game I would recommend because I think you would still get your money’s worth and it’s still fun

The biggest gripe most people will have with Pokemon Sword and Shield is the lack of the national pokedex. There are only 400 pokemon in total in the games. I think the game is almost too linear. There are no intricate caves or hideouts. The most interesting addition to the game is the wild area which acts as a game lengthening buffer zone akin to Hyrule Field in Ocarina of Time with how vast (and empty) it is.

Many people have given this game a not so warm review but to me this was a fun ride that keeps going after you’re done. I liked the game play and the open map ... I am not a hardcore Pokémon gamer but it grabbed me from the first second till the end

I always been a pokemon fan when I was little. Ever since I played gold and silver when we had game boys. I was happy to see the growing and change in pokemon games through years. I really like this game, this game is really fun and it was better than sun and moon.