Pokémon Sword & Shield include plenty of new features that move the series forward. The Wild Area is a great open-world addition to the franchise, most of the Gen 8 Pokémon are wonderfully designed, and the youthful exuberance that started with Red & Blue is on clear display. However, the games are not perfect — these features in Sword & Shield move the series in the wrong direction.
No Voice Acting
Maybe this one isn’t a step backwards so much as it is a side-step. Not a single game in the series history has featured voice acting, and the latest installments did nothing to change that. Given the technical limitations of the hardware past games were built for, leaving out vocals was a logical choice. But on the Switch? This is a wild omission and one that needs to be included moving forward.
Wait, That’s An Animation?
By now you’ve probably seen some of the horrid animations present during Pokémon Battles. Granted, trying to animate hundreds of Pocket Monsters can’t be an easy task, but Game Freak had years to work on it. Watching a Pokémon stiffly jump into the air to perform every attack isn’t going to cut it anymore. Sword & Shield has some of the worst animations we’ve ever seen on the Switch.
A Terribly Traditional Story
Another Pokémon game, another Gym Challenge. While the formula is still entertaining, Game Freak needs to do something before it becomes stale. Considering Sword & Shield had intriguing side stories, it’s a shame we didn’t get a chance to fully explore them. The Galar region offered players a world with great history — why not let us tag along with Sonia as she conducts her research?
Not only was the story boring, it also fell prey to pacing issues. Early on in the game, the narrative seems to be much more involved than it is after players knock out a few gym leaders. Interjections from characters become more spread out, the story becomes thin, and then it just ends. Of course, as a game targeted primarily at a younger audience it doesn’t have to rival the scope of, say, The Witcher 3. But that doesn’t give it a free pass for lazy storytelling. It’s time to go back to the drawing board and come up with a new narrative structure.
Dynamax Gimmick
While it’s cool to see our favorite Pokémon blown up to a size that rivals Godzilla, it’s nothing more than a shallow gimmick. In reality, it simply unlocks a few powerful moves — ones that aren’t included in the base moveset for our Pokémon. I’d much rather see a rework to the long-standing battle system that makes it a bit more dynamic than a weird game mechanic.
Give Us Something New
As fun as Sword & Shield are, they don’t do much to revolutionize the series. They were just typical Pokémon games with better graphics. Players still traverse hallway-like environments as they move from gym to gym, they still catch and level fascinating creatures, and they still try to become best there ever was. For better and for worse, Pokémon doesn’t have to evolve in order to be fun or break sales records. All Game Freak has to do is play it safe. While it would be nice to see a large overhaul to this formula, don’t expect to see it anytime soon.