Pokemon sword took a lot of beatings before it was even out, no national dex, reusing sprites, not using the full potential of the switch etc. With all the faults this game had there is a lot of good as well. Gym challenges were a fun new experience I have to say since the past few games it was pretty much the same thing over and over again, to the point I would do my best to avoid various trainers and try to go straight for the leader. Though that wasn’t the case when playing this game, each gym had a different challenge that was unique and didn’t make the game stale. Also dynamax Pokemon was a great addition, the dynamax Pokemon aren’t game breakers since it only lasts 3 turns so you have to decide carefully when you use it and raids were actually fun until, people realized you could exploit them and PokeJobs. PokeJobs are great too, you can level up pokemon without having to keep them in your party so you don’t have to worry about getting the wrong EVs. This game actually has endgame content, its not just beating the Elite four over and over again, raids are more powerful after the championship and at least doing the championship is slightly different each time. Surprise trade is great in the beginning when trying to fill the dex, but sooner or later you’re going to get 9 Rookidees in a row. If you want to fill your dex, r/pokemontrades is a great community to find pokemon you are looking for, though I suggest breeding a bunch of exclusives to help others as well. I spent about 68 hours in the game now my only goal is getting shinies, or perfect IVs.

Rating: 8/10 inclusion of a national dex would have given it a 9/10