(Since the game needed an actual review, and not people using it as a personal message board...) I'm really enjoying it so far albeit with the caveat it ha(s/d) potential to be much better if GameFreak wasn't trying to push a title every single year to capitalize on the Holidays. It has a lot of great ideas and is the first (modern/recent) title of the series to not derail you every few steps to explain some mechanic or plot to you and does not railroad you into a set goal in a predetermined order - you are expected to complete every path afforded to you, but the order in which you do so is up to you.

If the game gets its bugs/optimization issues (lag, crashing, insert twitter thread or video of numerous glitches here) fixed it'll be a passable title worth the money albeit it's currently evidence enough of an overworked development team rushing another title to market before it's ready.

Without the polish it's still doing better than SWSH, which isn't too hard in retrospect, but I'd call it an accomplishment. The bar is low, but they did meet the expectation here.

Would I suggest getting it? If they patch out all the issues, maybe. You're not missing anything terribly adventurous but if you stopped playing Pokemon Games when they started really holding your hand and if you enjoyed Breath of the Wild or Skyrim you'll probably like it well enough.

Am I satisfied with the money I paid? Mmm. No, but I knew I was buying an unfinished buggy mess before I walked into the building, so it's par the course for me.

Am I enjoying the buggy mess? Yes! For what it's worth, I've had a lot of fun running around and adventuring. I've been playing it almost nonstop since release and still haven't beaten it, which is a nice change of pace from previous titles.

Is it good enough for there to be justification for being a completely unfinished game? Oh, absolutely not; I wouldn't recommend anyone spend money on a game that isn't finished. In a few months after they've dumped a few patches into it, maybe. If you have children who won't really notice the quality, sure. If your expectation is to be entertained and you like Pokemon, you'll probably be fine.

Reviewed on Nov 21, 2022


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