Got the game yesterday, a few hours in. Graphics really aren't that big of a deal. It doesn't affect the enjoyment of the game at all. Are the graphics lazy? Yes. But it's not like they are so bad that it is hard to look at. Sure there is no reason for a Pokemon game that is going to make tons of money to have subpar graphics, and it is right to complain about the laziness of Game Freak when it comes to the graphics, but the game is perfectly fine.
Things look good from far away, though you don't see the details of the landscape like trees and stuff from far away so it just looks like rolling hills off in the distance, it's very pretty though, you just don't see the details. There are pop-in issues, the things you can't see far away phase in, and for some objects you can see you notice things jumping to greater details as you start to get closer to them. Water looks pretty unremarkable. And the textures on the game are crap but it's only noticeable up close, and because it is a cartoon art style and not a hyper-realistic art style it doesn't pull you out of the experience of anything to see crappy textures. The pokemon and characters all look fine.
So yeah graphics are real lazy and there's no reason for that, either just bad graphic artists or laziness on the part of Game Freak, but in general for the most part it looks fine or even pretty when you're looking over the landscape (and the sky is gorgeous). If you're obsessed with graphics you may have a problem, but if you're fine with just ok graphics especially considering it doesn't hurt gameplay at all, then this is a fresh take on Pokemon that livens up what had become a stale formula. The world is split up into several huge areas so there is plenty of world to roam around and catch and battle pokemon. Is it the perfect Pokemon game of our imaginations? No. But it is a first good step toward the dream of a huge rich open world Pokemon game. Definitely worth picking up.
Any pokemon fan would enjoy this and for anyone who hasn't tried pokemon, this is a great first taste of what is hopefully the start of a new gameplay formula for the franchise.
If you're unsure on getting the game, don't let the graphics haters stop you, yes you'll notice the laziness of the graphics but it doesn't affect the game and of any pokemon game that has come out so far on the Switch this is probably the one to get.
Essay Pro