After much berating and ranting whenever the topic of Pokemon came up, I can't justify giving this game a 4/10 because this game is more than bad. It's flat out insulting.
Nintendo, Gamefreak and The Pokemon Company charging full price (about 40 to 50 depending where you live) for something this poorly optimised is astounding. What's worse is the 3.4 average it has here; what's with all the middle and high ratings? I genuinely can't wrap my head around it. If something else released with this amount of problems it'd be blasted to kingdom come but I guess gamefreak get a pass for some reason? I'm not even trying to start an argument or fight with anyone I'm just generally bamboozled.
Is there redeeming qualities? Only a small handful. The gameplay formula still has the same appeal it always has, the legendaries themselves feel cool, Tera Typing is one of the best mechanics they've added and the story is one of the better ones in recent memory (the gym plot sucks though). I get why people would see the redeeming qualities moreso than I but I'm still baffled by anyone defending it or being oblivious to the glaring problems.
Even if the game became well optimised, you're left with quite possibly the most bland reigon to date. Despite being inspired by Spain, hardly anything about Paldea screams unique or soul, there is legit nothing about it except grassfields, dirt paths, the occasional beach, boring deserts and the token snow area. To better get my point across I reccomend just looking at Paldea's Map before comparing it to any other reigons map: https://www.serebii.net/pokearth/paldea/
You'll be hard pressed to find anything actually interesting. Comparing it to Galar, even the high definition map of Paldea looks void of any distinct expression or clear cultural inspiration, whereas with Galar you can still get the sense it is inspired by British architecture with the countrysides, the chavy and rich prick towns / cities, etc. Speaking of, the towns in Paldea are incredibly forgettable with only one lame gimmick in a sad attempt to make them stand out among the barren wasteland you'll be whooshing about in (this town has a 2fps windmill and... uhhhh... this famous headgemaze!).
This game features awful quality of life features. Pokemon battles take forever as they feel the need to slowly play out the text on screen for every single stat change or status effect. Furthermore, the map feels very sluggish and janky which is awful if you're going to be using it more often than not. And finally, the Pokemon take forever to load as well when trying to view them. As you can see, these minor inconveniences build up to make the game even more frustratingly slow to play.
I could go on forever but the last thing I'll mention is the lack of features from previous games. I remember someone telling me that people complaining about their "favourite feature" not returning is incredibly petty which is untrue. A lot of the features that were added in previous games (i.e. difficulty slider) that improved on what people were wanting got shafted for no apparent reason. Basic options like being able to turn off the EXP share or cancelling move animations are just gone for no reason at all. I can't understand the defence of this decision.
I was going to mention the gym tests or the Team Star raids but what's the point? Pokemon desperately needs to stop with this 1 to 2 year development cycle because it clearly isn't working, however that's likley never going to happen because of the millions of people who still purchase this garbage. I'm thankful I'm a Mystery Dungeon fan more than the main series because my disappointment would be immeasurable if I was (reference not intended).
Small Edit: I got told that the final in this game is worth it that it ups the score of the game by a whole star to which I say it doesn't matter. If the last part of the game is the only good part, I'm not going to trudge through shite just to get to it. I'm better off playing a game that's more fun.
Nintendo, Gamefreak and The Pokemon Company charging full price (about 40 to 50 depending where you live) for something this poorly optimised is astounding. What's worse is the 3.4 average it has here; what's with all the middle and high ratings? I genuinely can't wrap my head around it. If something else released with this amount of problems it'd be blasted to kingdom come but I guess gamefreak get a pass for some reason? I'm not even trying to start an argument or fight with anyone I'm just generally bamboozled.
Is there redeeming qualities? Only a small handful. The gameplay formula still has the same appeal it always has, the legendaries themselves feel cool, Tera Typing is one of the best mechanics they've added and the story is one of the better ones in recent memory (the gym plot sucks though). I get why people would see the redeeming qualities moreso than I but I'm still baffled by anyone defending it or being oblivious to the glaring problems.
Even if the game became well optimised, you're left with quite possibly the most bland reigon to date. Despite being inspired by Spain, hardly anything about Paldea screams unique or soul, there is legit nothing about it except grassfields, dirt paths, the occasional beach, boring deserts and the token snow area. To better get my point across I reccomend just looking at Paldea's Map before comparing it to any other reigons map: https://www.serebii.net/pokearth/paldea/
You'll be hard pressed to find anything actually interesting. Comparing it to Galar, even the high definition map of Paldea looks void of any distinct expression or clear cultural inspiration, whereas with Galar you can still get the sense it is inspired by British architecture with the countrysides, the chavy and rich prick towns / cities, etc. Speaking of, the towns in Paldea are incredibly forgettable with only one lame gimmick in a sad attempt to make them stand out among the barren wasteland you'll be whooshing about in (this town has a 2fps windmill and... uhhhh... this famous headgemaze!).
This game features awful quality of life features. Pokemon battles take forever as they feel the need to slowly play out the text on screen for every single stat change or status effect. Furthermore, the map feels very sluggish and janky which is awful if you're going to be using it more often than not. And finally, the Pokemon take forever to load as well when trying to view them. As you can see, these minor inconveniences build up to make the game even more frustratingly slow to play.
I could go on forever but the last thing I'll mention is the lack of features from previous games. I remember someone telling me that people complaining about their "favourite feature" not returning is incredibly petty which is untrue. A lot of the features that were added in previous games (i.e. difficulty slider) that improved on what people were wanting got shafted for no apparent reason. Basic options like being able to turn off the EXP share or cancelling move animations are just gone for no reason at all. I can't understand the defence of this decision.
I was going to mention the gym tests or the Team Star raids but what's the point? Pokemon desperately needs to stop with this 1 to 2 year development cycle because it clearly isn't working, however that's likley never going to happen because of the millions of people who still purchase this garbage. I'm thankful I'm a Mystery Dungeon fan more than the main series because my disappointment would be immeasurable if I was (reference not intended).
Small Edit: I got told that the final in this game is worth it that it ups the score of the game by a whole star to which I say it doesn't matter. If the last part of the game is the only good part, I'm not going to trudge through shite just to get to it. I'm better off playing a game that's more fun.