“Demo Disk” – Pokémon Sword and Shield (2019) [Switch]

Demo Disk is a series of first impressions posts for new releases and quick opinions.

Oh – hey there, mates! Chuffed you could be here; I was just knocking up a cheeky review and having a chip butty and a cuppa. Proper mint.

Turns out that with its latest main release pair, Sword and Shield, Pokémon’s gone a bit Blighty. The newest gotta-catch-em-all-athon takes players to the Galar region, an English-ish land full of mystery and wonder – and lotsa ‘mons.

Just to address the Donphan in the room: yes, there were notable complaints about rumoured or theorised things that might have happened in SwSh‘s development, which led many to outright denounce the games before they’d even released. This is The Well-Red Mage, where we don’t care about that. Go get your coverage somewhere else, if that’s what you’re here for. All we’re interested in is, y’know, the actual games.

So let’s talk about those!

They’re slicey and they’re guardy: the SwoShi family!

I really like Pokémon Shield, which I ordered by accident. (I wanted Sword, but must have clicked the wrong button somewhere. Oh, well!) I’ve played every main Pokémon game to date, plus a lot of Pokémon Pinball on Game Boy Colour as a kid, and I also actually really liked Let’s Go Pikachu. Sure, it did a few things differently from the rest of the franchise, but that’s got no bearing on my ability to enjoy it as its own thing.

Shield feels like a natural progression in the series following the various paths down which recent games have begun to walk. Sun and Moon shook up the typical narrative somewhat by doing away with Gyms and instead introducing a different kind of Pokémon League, one more uniquely suited to the specific culture of those games; Let’s Go tried out a few things from the mobile market, becoming a sometimes odd blend of handheld, console, and mobile game. Then there’s the general move towards greater accessibility over time, which is a trend that continues here.

In Sword and Shield, your journey starts in a familiar fashion: you’re a young kid with dreams of catching them all and becoming the Champion. In Galar, however, the path to the top flight of competitive ‘monfighting is much more of a spectacle than it’s been before; rather than Gyms being little buildings into which one goes and then emerges a bit later with a badge, the Pokémon League is a spectator sport. Everyone knows the Gym Leaders – they’re like celebrities, or top-level athletes – and the Champion; League battles in Galar are seasonal events which fill huge stadiums with cheering fans.

I like this a lot, actually. Sure, it’s a different vibe than the simple charm of old-style Gyms, but I like the introduction of different cultures and practices surrounding each region’s approach to competitive battling. It makes sense.

Galar feels pretty well-realised on the whole, in fact. It’s not quite the Britain I know (I feel personally betrayed that words like ‘mum’ and ‘telly’ are chucked in but they didn’t bother to spell ‘defence’ the English way!), but it’s got an unusually high level of distinctive features which make it feel more interesting than some previous regions (not that there have been many bad regions, but I think it’s fair to say that I’m not likely to confuse Galar with any other locale and that I think that’s a good thing).

It’s nice to look at, too: visually, it’s not Horizon: Zero Dawn or whatever, but it’s not trying to be and it would be weird if it were. The look is right for what it is, which is a fun, chirpy game that can be enjoyed by people of all ages.

Bladed Weapons and Heavy Shields: Fun For Kids

Gameplay-wise, the core functions of the series are mostly unchanged. There are a few tweaks which I think some will find make the games too easy; I don’t think it’s actually a question of difficulty, since Pokémon’s always been designed for young kids to be able to play through, but of accessibility. You can now add captured Pokémon straight into your party rather than having to backtrack to a Box, for example: it just takes out some of the less-fun bits that get in the way of doing the more-fun bits.

Speaking of not-fun bits, though, I do really dislike SwSh‘s rival, Hop. He’s of the ‘we’re buddies in a friendly competition’ variety rather than the (I think) more interesting breed of rivals who were properly antagonistic, and he really insists on holding your hand in what I think are unnecessary ways for the first few hours. Like, even if I’m six, I don’t think I need Hop to repeatedly guide me to places which are in sight.

This does feel like a different journey in some ways; the balance between roads, dungeons, and cities has been rejigged somewhat with the addition of the Wild Area, big open spaces with a few special features. In beautiful keeping with the English theme, you reach the first Wild Area by boarding a train which first gets delayed and then is forced to stop early due to sheep on the tracks. Still, it feels very much like a Pokémon adventure at heart.

One final point is that I’m still kinda bummed that SwSh are Switch-exclusive. For the last three or four generations of Pokémon games, my other half and I have been each getting one of each pair of new releases for handheld. We get to play through the adventures for ourselves, but also talk about how our journeys are different or similar and maybe help each other out. Since we can’t afford two Switches, though, we’re sharing a game this time. It’s… kinda nice, in some ways, to be doing this one together – but I still wish we’d been able to each play one.

Just tell me whether it’s worth playing, you numpty.

I mean, I think so.

If you’re the sort of person who can enjoy something for what it is – when what it is is a solid and enjoyable experience – without being mad about what it isn’t or what you think it ought to have been, then I think you may well end up really enjoying Pokémon Sword and Shield.

I like it.

Though he’s been known by many names across the vast and peculiar landscape of the Internet, every iteration of The Sometimes Vaguely Philosophical Mage has shared an urge to look far too closely at tiny details and extrapolate huge, important-seeming conclusions. These days, in addition to Mage duties, he can be found discussing gaming and other pop culture (and occasionally sharing some of his own musical and fictional creations) at the Overthinker Y blog and on Twitter.

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