It's no secret that Game Freak's Pokémon Sword & Shield have created a polarized community due to the sheer amount of problems, issues, and seeming lack of effort put into them. Aside from the well-known fact that not every Pokémon will make it into the newest region, and that over 100 moves have been removed from Pokémon Sword & Shield, players who managed to get early copies have shared a lot more issues present within the games.
Right now, there are multiple posts on the r/pokemon subreddit discussing some of the leaks. However, the biggest one that is currently generating the most views and interaction is a post that collects all confirmed problems found within Pokémon Sword & Shield.
(Spoilers ahead, obviously)
Currently sitting at 39,800 upvotes and multiple awards, u/Terotu's post details every single problem that was found within the games (with concrete evidence supporting them). It is essentially a compilation that aims to bring attention to the problems, so that players are aware of them. It is also safe to assume that as players who submitted the information continue to progress through the game, the list will grow and expand.
One issue that seems to be getting attention is the one regarding animations and models (aside from battle moves that have been covered before). In the summer, Game Freak reassured fans that Pokémon Sword & Shield would not be reusing models from past games and that the reason for removing Pokémon was because it would be difficult to implement high quality animations for all of them.
On the contrary, players are questioning the decision based on the evidence presented to them through the leaks. For instance, an example that clearly demonstrates a recycled animation shows a new character from Pokémon Sword & Shield performing the same animation as a character from Pokémon Sun & Moon. Another example pertains to the legendary Pokémon gracing the covers of the games. As seen in this clip, it's almost like the Pokémon (and characters) are in an old Pokémon game where everyone stops before turning around. Their movements aren't fluid nor smooth; it's almost like they are stuttering.
The list goes on by pointing out another big problem - Pokémon Sword & Shield has almost no post-game content. According to some of the leaks, once players beat the game, the only thing they can do is fight a few Dynamaxed Pokémon and take on the Battle Tower. However, the Battle Tower isn't the same one as in past Pokémon games. There are no tower bosses, no Super Single Battles, no Super Double Battles, no Triple Battles. There's also no Frontier, nor anything close to that.
There are many more problems outlined in the post that may deter fans from picking up Pokémon Sword & Shield, especially if quality-of-life implementations have been removed along with useful features. Ultimately, the choice comes down to personal preference – if players are okay or don't care about the problems, they can enjoy Pokémon Sword & Shield for what they're worth.
Source: Reddit