The story is way less impactful than in the last couple of games but the adjusted tempo made it more fun to progress. The experience went quickly travelling from gym to gym, which is fun but didn’t leave enough time to give Galar more character.

• It is also frustrating that features such as The Global Trade Center did not make it into the final cut of the game.
• Despite only including a fraction of Pokémon currently in existence, when you’re running around the Galar region, it doesn’t feel like there’s a shortage of Pokémon for you to find.
• It really helps with replay value, since you’ll spend lots of time in the same area and still have the potential to find something new.
• Many gamers have reported being able to finish the main storyline within hours.

The Max Raid battles are a truly new take on the series’ tried and true gameplay and scratch a cooperative multiplayer itch that Pokemon has never been able to prior. It’s also nice that any Pokemon can Dynamax, so it isn’t limited like Mega Evolutions. It is worth noting that a middle ground is found between Dynamaxing and Mega Evolution with Gigantamax forms, which only certain Pokemon can do. If you’ve run into or caught a Pokemon before in Sword and Shield, you can also see information about them at the tap of a button in battle. This is great for newer players who need to get familiar with all of the Pokemon that made it into the game as well as the returning players who haven’t memorized the types of Galar’s new Pokemon yet.

I’m just gonna start off by saying that while I thought $60 was a bit overkill, this game was definitely worth the wait. This game may not have had anywhere near a complete pokedex, but it had plenty of new pokemon of unique designs and movesets and two new legendaries to catch. The character designs and humor in the game was also very well done. The dynamax battles were very fun and engaging and the graphics were very beautiful and polished and definitely not glitchy. After beating this game, I have to say, it was a very enjoyable experience.

I would say that the majority of my time in the game has been spent wandering this area, collecting Pokémon, chatting with the NPCs and buying rewards from them and doing Dynamax raids. Dynamax raids are a fun addition to the wild area and can reap large rewards, including different candies and other game-enhancing benefits. For those that don’t know, the game is composed of two core areas.

One is the more traditional ‘routes’ that you need to follow defeating gyms and gym leaders along the way. The other is the wild area, which is a free-roaming area inhabited by all manner of Pokémon, people and hidden treasures. The sports-esque approach to Pokemon battles is a great take and fits into the British theming well, and it’s all accentuated by a truly amazing soundtrack. Even in more lackluster moments of the game, the music was consistently enough to motivate me.

A personal favorite of mine is the gym theme, which is absolutely exhilarating when it hits its climax. Even though other aspects of Pokemon Sword and Shield’s presentation falter, the soundtrack is one thing that stays stalwart. Obviously, Pokemon Sword doesn’t do anything to shake the typical Pokemon formula to its core; in fact, it even strips some stuff away like Mega Evolutions and Z-Moves. Its replacement for those features being MIA is Dyanmaxing, which also plays an important role in the story and postgame, to mixed results.

Endless Running Game

The latest installments in the Pokémon franchise, Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield released November 15, 2019. Now that the games have been out for two weeks, I feel I have had enough time to play the games to give a proper review of them. Overall, Pokémon Sword and Shield is yet another entertaining Pokémon game.

Mario Tennis Aces (For Nintendo Switch)

While the fact that all Pokemon gain experience after a battle is a bit divisive, it actually makes grinding more palatable and encourages catching Pokemon more so than earlier entries in the series. Pokémon Sword players will earn Grass, Water, Fire, Fighting, Fairy, Rock, Dark, and Dragon badges, in that order. While Shield players will battle for Grass, Water, Fire, Ghost, Fairy, Ice, Dark, and Dragon badges, in that particular order. While this only makes a small difference, it means that big fans have a snip it tool reason to play both games.

The biggest reason why this game is so addictive is that it strays away from the repetitive nature of the previous games, without feeling too different. Sure, I reviewed Pokémon Let’s GO, but that doesn’t really count now does it. I never finished Black and White and I never properly played a Pokémon game after that. I like the games and always look forward to hearing about them, but I don’t have the time to dedicate to them anymore and they’ve increasingly seemed like the same game with a palette swap.