Pokémon Sword And Shield Review and Rating [Video]

The G FUEL team is back with yet another epic gamer review! This time around, the team took a swing at the Pokemon franchise’s latest installment by offering a full review and rating of Pokemon Sword and Shield!

Join G FUEL’s Zach and Wes on yet another adventure into the universe that is Pokemon Sword and Shield! 

 

Video Transcription

The latest edition to the Pokemon franchise, Sword and Shield, was released last week and it is being greeted with mixed reviews; quite a few positive but a plethora of negative points by dedicated fans of the franchise who are upset about the national Pokedex not being present in this game and the fact that Pokemon Sword and Shield doesn’t look like a new generational leap in graphics from the previous 3DS games.

Game Freak received so much backlash before the game was even released with multiple trends in #GameFreakLied and #BringBackNationalDex.

Hello, everyone, my name is Zach and today we beg the question of whether or not the new Pokemon Sword and Shield actually lives up to the hype in another G FUEL game review.

So first and foremost let’s talk about the setting. Sword and Shield takes place in the Galar region, which is inspired by Great Britain and features multiple victorian style buildings and steampunk styled cities as well as landmarks that are similar to the British house of parliament and the Cerne Abbas giant hill you see when you reach the grass gym.

Sword and Shield also features a location called the Wild Area that is an open-world shared area that acts as a social hub for other Pokemon trainers to explore, battle, trade, and more.

Nintendo

The wild area also features a brand new mode to the game called Dynamax Raids. These are raids where multiple Pokemon trainers play together to defeat extremely large and powerful Pokemon in a turn-based cooperative raid.

During the raids, your Pokemon start off as normal size, but as you fight and your Dynamax meter gets completed, you can choose to activate the Dynamax which basically turns your Pokemon into a massive tank that will inevitably destroy the Dynamax Pokemon you are fighting.

Nintendo

When you and your friends defeat the Dynamax raid, you will have the option to either run away or catch the Pokemon you were fighting. This is a great new addition that will add much-needed replayability that is not just Nuzlocke challenges or the tortuous shiny hunting.

Next up, let's talk about the most important part: the Pokemon. 

Since this game is located in Great Britain we have a bunch of new mons to go out and discover with names unique to the region, moves, and awesome evolutions. As with every new Pokemon, we have the starter Pokemon: Grass Type Grookey, Fire Type Scorbunny, and Water Type Sobble, and of course the legendary Pokemon Zacian from Pokemon Sword and Zamazenta from Pokemon Shield.

Nintendo

Now I’m personally not a huge fan of these legendaries but I can see why some people like them. I just feel like past games had more memorable legendaries.

Now let’s get into the gyms. I would say Pokemon Sword and Shield has the most unique gyms in the entire Pokemon universe and you can really tell they built upon the trials from sun and moon and took it one step further. In Pokemon Sword and Shield they mix in mini-games before you face gym leaders which makes the experience more fun and not just defeating trainer after trainer.

Nintendo

It truly feels like you the player has to complete these trials that test your intelligence and problem-solving abilities that can’t be easily solved by just throwing a Pokemon to do the job for you.

This game doesn’t take many risks, but I would say it is a solid Pokemon experience. So if you are a fan of the series, I think you will definitely like Sword and Shield.

But it’s undeniable that this game has flaws, for instance, the graphics weren’t a huge improvement, especially for a console generation leap from the 3DS. We know for a fact the Nintendo Switch is capable of running games with much better graphics.

I also don’t think this game is a console seller like Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Odyssey. Obviously, it will sell consoles because at the end of the day its Pokemon, but I don’t think this is a game that would make people want to drop $300 on a new console. 

There is also the fact that Sword and Shield doesn’t include the National Pokedex, so if you want to upgrade, you will be missing out on a big list of Pokemon.

In my opinion, Pokemon Sword and Shield is a great first step to making a definitive Pokemon experience on a console. However, it does fall short of meeting all of our lofty expectations in the series’ venture to console. 

Rating

For my final verdict, I give Pokemon Sword and Shield 4 scoops out of 5. It’s a great Pokemon game and it brings me back to the days of Pokemon Red and Blue, but it could have been so much better with a few more years of development. All in all, it’s a solid Pokemon experience, and if you’re a fan of the series, I think you’ll find a lot to enjoy here.

Disclaimer: The graphic above is a ranking system used to rate video games and video games only. Do not use this as a guide for consumption.

But that’s gonna wrap it up with this G FUEL game review. Let us know your thoughts in the replies and don’t forget to share this on social media. Thanks again for watching, this has been Zach and I will see you guys on the next one.

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Hero image via The Pokemon Company