seriously, I don't know why I still try. I played blue and silver then didn't touch a pokemon game until black. black was amazing, I skipped black 2, then the series gone downhill, x, sapphire remake, moon sucked, I forced myself through sapphire and moon. I stopped shield after the 4. badge, not sure if I will continue it. although I think it's better than the former 2 games. I think I might get diamond instead and enjoy a more old school pokemon game.

Never this easy though, the game treats you like you're stupid. Always giving you hints and tips about what pokemon is weak against what, way to much hand holding. In older Pokemons if i rocked into a gym with the wrong Pokemon, I had to go train and return when i was strong enough. Here all your Pokemon auto level up with you, takes the fun right out of it. Not once did I ever feel like I wasn't strong enough. That's something I've only experienced with this Pokemon. I've played nearly every single generation, Sun/Moon is the only gen I skipped. 

This is the first Pokemon game I've actually put hours into. Usually I'll play a few hours and then get bored. Shield is legit fun

They're terrible. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone.

Care to elaborate? I've been playing games since the 80's and playing Pokemon since Gen I and I just don't get this idea that gamefreak is anti-consumer. Generation 1 had a LOT more content and quality than pretty much anything else on Game Boy. Gen II was a huge improvement AND had all of Gen I in it as post game. they didn't have to make all 250 pokemon available, but they did. Gens III through VI all made small improvements on the gameplay and continued to make it so you could trade forward all the pokemon from the previous games, switching things out and making minor alterations as time went on. 

You know, like Sequels are supposed to do. 

Like, this is the opposite of anti-consumer. They didn't have to make it so that the Pokemon kept coming back, but they did. they could have coasted on the exact same gameplay and graphics of the first few gens, but they updated..you know, like Sequels are supposed to do. They always sacrificed graphics and other elements to ensure that all the pokemon were there and it was clearly the right decision for decades becuase these games have always and will always sell very well. 

The only 'anti-consumer' thing they did was stick to the 'you need two versions of the game to get all the pokemon' gimmick (Which people clearly are fine with since they keep buying it in record numbers and it's become a staple of the series so why change it out if people like it AND it makes them extra money; win-win all around), until Dexit. And you know what? Dexit is only 'anti-consumer' because we as gamers got so used to having it all, becuase GameFreak kept overdelivering on returning content and returning pokemon. They're not perfect, but to call them anti-consumer might be the single most unfair statement I've heard in all of gaming...and this is in a world where people still defend EA and Activision. 

Why are gamers such entitled brats all the time. You're not entitled to have every pokemon and every returning feature in a game any more than you deserve to have every fighter return in smash bros or Street fighter. You're no more entitled to it than you are to have retro games bundled as in-game bonuses on newer iterations of games. You're not entitled to any of it, but some developers give it to you anyway becuase that's awesome and people like it. Gamefreak, from what I can tell and my experiences over the last 20+ years, has always overdelivered; the one time they genuinely took away with Sword and Shield, people lost their goddamn minds. 

If you don't think the game is worth it by not having all the old Pokemon returning, that's fine. You're free to spend or not spend your money the way you want; don't push this narrative that GameFreak is somehow anti-consumer becuase you and other entitled internet brats don't get your way 100% of the time...only like 87% of the time. 

Personally, I felt the game was a huge leap forward in every other way. I loved the raid battles, I love the dens, I love the open world exploration, I liked the story (even if it was barebones), I felt the gyms/stadium battles and gigantimaxing really made the game pop for me, I liked the customization options and how it was streamlined for competitive play, I liked all the little stuff and the endgame content, even if there wasn't much. 

I got over 200 hours of play out of these games, making the 80 dollar (Canadian) Asking price more than fair. While it sucks that some features and many pokemon were cut, IF elt it just eliminated a lot of the redundancy and made the rest of the game more fun as a result. I do wish it had more endgame content and more side quests/legendaries, but a game not being a perfect encapsulation of all that came before it doesn't make it bad. It could be better - GameFreak and Nintendo have the resources to do so and probably could since they know it's going to continue to sell very well - but it's still really good. I have this one just behind gens V (My overall favorite) and I (For nostalgia). with the new DLC expansion coming out, I could see myself easily putting more time and love into this generation than any before it. I absolutely love this game, I think GameFreak made the right choice by sacrificing 'mon redundancy to make the game look and feel so much better, and I think you should try playing it one way or another before giving in to the internet hate machine. 

It's not terrible. It's just really streamlined in a way I don't particularly like. The game feels a bit rushed. 7/10

They should have waited a year and put out something special.

8/10 is my vote. I can see a 7/10 rating. Maybe a 6/10. Anybody putting it below a 6/10 is a whiny itch. The game is nowhere near as bad as some people make it out to be. It also isn't a 10/10 either. Good game, not great, far from bad.

Well that may be true if they had announced a third version, but given that the question here is whether to buy S&S, the DLC is still the better option. Also I would rather them (and everyone, for that matter) do what is good for all as opposed to what is good for me.

If I put my game critic hat on, is not much worse or better than every other Pokemon game, a 7-8/10.

It's not even remotely bad, thought it was a great game.