Pokémon Sword & Shield is a great continuation of the Game Freak hit series, and it was especially fun for a long-absent and returning player.

BY SCUTTLE GAMEZ

The Game:

Pokémon has always had a big audience, both in the hit animation and their handheld games.

For those not in the know, Pokémon is a monster/creature collection game where you find, catch, and battle Pokémon. In each game there is a light story that amuses but doesn’t go very deep, rare catches to find, and strong foes to beat.

Well, I could go on … but I mean, it’s Pokémon. Odds are you’ve at least seen a flash of it somewhere. So let’s jump into the review.

The Good:

I’ve not played a Pokémon game since Pokémon Silver, many years ago. Back then the game was black and white and did not have internet connectivity. A lot has changed.

Now the game has 3D models with complex animations, vibrant colors, and the ability to go online and see and interact with other players. And for the most part, it all simply works. I did not run into any major bugs, and my experience through the game was pain-free.

While I did enjoy the story, I think what I enjoyed most was finding and seeing all the new Pokémon. The first generation game had 150 Pokémon, and that number has only increased. In this release it’s up to 400.

I need to address a bit of online controversy about the Pokémon available in the game. A lot of people were upset on release that a large number of the first-generation critters were not in the game.

From my perspective, I understand being upset that you can’t bring your old team back together. I honestly get that feeling. Pokémon players tend to developer hard favorites, and to not see that Pokémon in the game is disappointing.

That being said, there are 400 Pokémon, even with those cuts. Not only that, but there are ‘shiny’ versions of a ton of them that have different appearances, ‘brilliant’ Pokémon who have special moves, and for the average player 400 to find is more than enough.

One of the main objectives of the game is to catch every Pokémon in the game. What the hardcore players might not get is that this is a pretty big challenge for casual gamers. 400 seems like a large enough number to be challenging while not cutting into the daily life of an aging fanbase, many of which now have kids and careers to balance.

And, on a personal note, I gravitated almost exclusively toward the new Pokémon anyway. It was not an issue for my enjoyment, even if I understand the disappointment some gamers felt.

The Mixed:

In this edition of Pokémon, there is a vibrant end-game system of raids. In an area known as a wild zone, players can find and take part in big group battles against super-strong Pokémon. These Pokémon can then be caught if you beat them, and they are pretty rad sometimes.

But, that’s mostly it as far as online connectivity goes. There are some other little things, like sharing ‘stamps’ of events in the game or trading with other players, but overall the online experience feels a little lacking when compared to other games in 2019.

It’s fine, even good at times, but it could have been better.

That said, a major highlight of the game was how I randomly found myself in a raid group with my brother. We were both playing and just happened to connect that way. It was cool to have such a natural interaction.

The Bad:

Nintendo seems to fundamentally not understand the internet. This is not a new take, but it’s clear in Pokémon. The game costs a whopping $59.99. This is quite a lot for a handheld game. Hell, I remember back in the day Pokémon cost only $30.

Okay, so the cost of creation has gone up. I’ll move on from that. But, what really bothered me is that to take part in anything online in Pokémon Sword & Shield you have to sign up for Nintendo’s online subscription service. This costs money.

I call foul.

Online play of this caliber should not be a pay-to-play mechanic. It should be free as a part of the game’s cost. Nintendo is not being very consumer-friendly with this, and while I understand that times have changed and we’re in the age of microtransactions and live service models, the cost-to-benefit ratio is too low to justify the tacked-on fee here.

The Verdict:

I had a lot of fun with Pokémon Shield. A big part of my fun was seeing all the changes in the decade or so since I last played one of these games though. I don’t know how this gen stacks against more recent releases, but for my part, I’d put this at a buy.

Nintendo’s online monetization concerns me, but it’s by no means the worst offender I’ve seen in the video game industry. Disappointing, but acceptable.

Pokémon Sword & Shield is only available on the Switch, was developed by GameFreak, and published by Nintendo.