Gameplay is one of the two things I think is the most important in Pokémon games, so I have a lot to say here. What do I consider under "gameplay"? Almost everything. I think the thing gameplay measures is how fun the game is to play. A game with good gameplay is fun to play, while a game with bad gameplay is not fun to play. A lot of it is very subjective though.
To start with, I don't like how the Exp. Share is now mandatory as opposed to optional. Or to be specific, it isn't really an "Exp. Share" anymore since it isn't even an item. It is just there, giving Exp. to your entire party at all times, like it or not. I really don't understand why it couldn't have stayed optional like in Gen 6/7. As mentioned earlier, this made my team overleveled quite early in the game. I think it should have been optional like in Gen 6/7.
The level curve in the games was good on the whole. There weren't several sudden jumps like in the Gen 7 games, it progressed smoothly throughout the game. The only real jump was at the end of the game, first from the Finals tournament to Eternatus, and then to Leon. It might have been better for me if I had played with just one team, now it became a bit of a sudden jump. But on the whole, I found it way better than in Gen 7. The wild area is another exception I guess, but that's also okay since it was mostly optional.
I mostly played the game in docked mode (like I do with all my Switch games), and I am very happy that the game has support for the Pro Controller since I mostly use it while playing. And for the first time ever, I can play a main series Pokémon game on my TV! I didn't think this would ever happen, but here we are. I'm happy about it.
I also like how there are no mandatory touch or motion controls in the game. While those can be good if they are well executed, they do not need to be in every game. That said, I don't like the "minigame" in Pokémon Camp where you have to rotate the stick as quickly as possible, that feels too much like a thing from the past. I know that it can be avoided by using the joy-con instead, but I never got to do that since I mostly play with the Pro Controller.
It was a bit weird at first to play with just one screen as opposed to two. I had gotten used to having two screens after playing Pokémon games on the DS and 3DS ever since D/P were released in 2007. And after playing S/M and US/UM, I had gotten very used to having the map on the bottom screen and having it visible at all times when the Rotom Dex wasn't babbling endlessly. So it was a bit unusual to play with just one screen and to not see the map at all times. But I got used to it after a while.
I like the new encounter system. It is a huge step up from previous generations. Thanks to this new system, it is mostly up to the player when to encounter a Pokémon, not the game like it was in past generations. There is also a bit of surprise as you can encounter a wild Pokémon without knowing what you'll get, which is great if you want a surprise. That said, there's still room for improvement. I ran into wild Pokémon by accident many times, and sometimes they have ran into me. Though I suppose that can be avoided by using Repels. I have an idea for how to make the encounter system perfect, but I won't go into details since I guess that would count as wishlisting. I also like how some (usually stronger) Pokemon are roaming around in the overworld (outside of the grass), that's a really cool feature. Overall, I like the new encounter system. If they just improve it a little, it will be perfect. I hope they never bring back random encounters again because those were pretty bad in comparison, and they are very much a thing of the past.
I like how there is a Move deleter/relearner and nickname giver in every Pokémon Center. This is much better than having these in just one certain. And how you can access the ID-loto at the PC in every Pokémon Center as well, that was a great change since it meant it could be done at many places instead of just one like in previous generations. This actually made me use the Loto-ID almost every day compared to in previous generations where I rarely used it because it was limited to just one place. I also like how you can access the PC boxes at any place (with some exceptions). This feels like something they should have done long ago, but better late than never.
The games have no HMs which I think is great. Looking back, HMs were honestly a pretty awful feature and I'm very happy that they seem to be a thing of the past. The games don't have a Poké Ride either, and there are very few puzzles in the games. That's a bit of a disappointment, but I don't really mind since I don't really play Pokémon for the puzzles. It has also been very annoying in some previous generations when you have had to do certain puzzles over and over just to reach certain areas or specific spots again. I liked how "surfing" was tied to the bike this time, allowing you to just continue right over the water instead of having to use a HM or a Poké Ride to continue. I also like how they have removed the Dowsing Machine and instead made "hidden" items visible in the overworld.
I thought the way they set up the Gyms and the Gym Challenges were pretty fun. At first, it seemed like the Gym Challenges were a combination of Trials and Gyms, then I realized that they were just a somewhat more glorified version of the Gym puzzles from previous generations. But that's okay. I think several of the challenges were cool, such as catching wild Pokémon in the Fire Gym or playing a minigame in the Fighting Gym. I also liked the 8th gym a lot. The challengers and the leader all battled in Double battles and they used weather-based strategies. That's really cool. And it is the second time since the Hoenn games where a Gym Leader fights in Double battles in their initial battle. I also like how the leader used a Sandstorm-themed team rather than a mono-type team.
I like the way they set up the final battles. While I think the Elite Four has always been a cool concept, I like how they tried something new for once. First battling the rivals, then taking part in a tournament with all the Gym Leaders, and then getting to fight the Champion, that was really cool.
Regarding the difficulty of the game, it was the same as all previous Pokémon games bar Gen 7 with Exp. Share turned off. Mostly easy but a little tough here and there. As mentioned, I had to train more than 6 Pokémon in order to not get overleveled, but I was still overleveled throughout most of the game despite using 15 Pokémon that I switched around. The only time I got underleveled was during the last parts of the game. First against Eternatus, and then against Leon. I still beat Leon on my first attempt thanks to type advantages and using the best strategies I could think of. But that was one of the tougher Champion battles I have had in a while.
I also liked how you can't catch Pokémon above a certain level tied to how many badges you have, preventing you from catching something ridiculously strong and then just breaking the rest of the game with it. And it seems like after you beat the game, everything in the wild area is suddenly at level 60 or 65?. That was weird but I don't really mind, it just means that training is going to be pretty easy, at least up to level 70 or a little bit higher.
I think Dynamax is a pretty cool feature, and it was quite well handled throughout the game. They don't really explain it, but using it on your own makes it simple enough. It feels like it is both Mega Evolution and Z-moves at once, and while that's okay, I still miss those two features. I like how Dynamax is mostly restricted to certain areas, which prevents you from using it whenever you want for an unfair advantage against opponents who can't use it. I also think it looks really cool when you make one of your Pokémon bigger than usual. I tried a few battles in the wild area dens, but not that many. I get the feeling that they are more enjoyable if you are playing together with others since the AI partners you get can be very bad and unreliable. I don't really like how it creates more unfair battles since the wild Pokémon can get shields as well as attack several times in a single turn. But I guess it is a unfair for both sides, so maybe it is fair in the end? The three-turn limit for Dynamax is a little annoying but I guess it's okay since it might have been too overpowered otherwise. And this can be used as a strategy as well, waiting for the opponent's Dynamax to wear off. So that's fine.
I think Gigantamaxing wasn't very well handled though. As far as I remember, the games never explain what it is or how to achieve it. Other trainers just start using it all of a sudden without any backstory or explanation. I never got to use it during the main story and I still don't know how to use it, guess I'll try to find out now that I have beaten the game. I know that the Pokémon that can Gigantamax get a different form when they do so, but I haven't looked into their new forms that much so I'm not sure which ones are my favorites. And I'm not sure if there are any real advantages to Gigantamax. Apart from the form difference, it seems like the Gigantamaxed Pokémon also get a unique Max Move? I guess that's cool.
Regarding the multiplayer features, I can't say anything about them since I don't have Nintendo Switch Online and I don't know anyone who lives close to me who also has a Switch and one of the games, so I haven't had the chance to give them a try.
I was rather surprised to see that the game doesn't have a capture tutorial. I thought they would since all past games have had one. I don't mind this since it makes no difference for me, but I was very surprised. If I were to guess, the game makes some kind of check early on, and if you have already caught at least one Pokémon at that point, they skip the capture tutorial. At least that's my guess. I also remember that at some point early in the game, you were given Poké Balls without anyone telling you. That was a little annoying.
One other thing that I like is how they have added an option to skip cutscenes this time around. While that's not something I utilized myself, I think it is really good since there were a lot of complaints about the unskippable cutscenes in the Gen 7 games, so it is good that they have listened to the criticism and made them optional this time around. The games also have the option to auto-save, but it is fortunately optional. It would have been rather bad otherwise if you are soft-resetting for legendaries or something and the game auto-saves immediately after the capture.
Next up, the Galar region. I think it's pretty good on the whole. Not the best region in the series, but not the worst either. I like how it has many different and varied environments, that is one thing I think is very important for Pokémon regions and Galar delivers here. Regarding the region map, I find it to be very inefficient and not very helpful compared to the great maps we got in the Alola games. It is definitely a step down. Though I guess it isn't quite as important this time around since there isn't a second screen to see it on all the time, and the map isn't all that necessary in these games either.
I find Galar to be very linear on the whole (apart from the wild area). I was unexpectedly surprised by this. While I am in the minority that doesn't really mind linearity in the Pokémon games, I think it felt weird compared to the other Switch games I have played as they are all a bit more open (but in different ways). Sword felt very linear in comparison. And it doesn't have a lot of optional areas along the way (again, apart from the wild area), which is a shame.
Unfortunately, most areas and cities in the game feel really small. There are also so many buildings that you can't enter, and several buildings and things in the background that you can't even reach! I can't help but compare the areas and cities of S/S to the cities and areas of BOTW and XC2, which are much larger. Even the largest cities in S/S like Wyndon and Motostoke feel rather small. However, S/S do have more cities and towns compared to BOTW at least, so that's something. Several of the later routes also felt bigger than the earlier ones. But I feel that there is potential for bigger areas and cities. I guess they focused so much on the wild area that the other areas in the games got left out here. I wanted to compare the biggest city of Galar to London after my short trip to London earlier this year, but there isn't really much to compare it too. Wyndon feels so small. The only really notable thing I noticed is that Battle/Rose Tower is based on The Shard (at least I think so), that was unexpected but very cool.
Then there's the wild area. I think it as pretty good on the whole. I didn't like it the first time I went into it since I ran into several Pokémon that were at 10-15 levels higher than my team, I couldn't really do anything against them but run (by using Poké Dolls). It was more enjoyable the second time I entered it though. Having a stronger team and the bike made the whole thing much better. I liked exploring the wild area, finding so many new Pokémon at every corner. As well as hidden items. I think the wild area could have been even better if it had been a bit more linear and if it had been more clear that even random grass Pokémon could be at considerably higher levels than you, but it was still quite good on the whole. I wish it had had more trainers to fight though, and the same goes for the game on the whole. It feels like several routes had very few trainers to battle. I also think the game should have had a free camera everywhere, not just in the wild area. It felt weird to not have a free camera everywhere, mostly because I am so used to it from the other Switch games I have played. This did allow them to hide some items that would have been easy to spot with a free-moving camera, but I don't really care much for that. A free camera everywhere would have been better.
The Watt system is quite good too, farming Watts was easy enough. And it seems like the amount you receive from the dens increase by quite a bit after you have beaten the game, which is good. I don't really like the TM and TR system though. It feels like most good moves are TRs while the bad or mediocre ones are TMs (especially early on), and the TRs can only be used once. While this arguably makes the games more balanced, I miss having an infinite use for all moves. Technically you still have that, but now you have to obtain the TR in question over and over if you want to use it multiple times. That would be okay if it wasn't for the fact that which TRs you get seem to be extremely random and there's nothing you can do to affect it (unless you can in some way that I haven't found out about yet). So in my opinion, that was a bit of a step back. However, I do like several of the moves that have been made into TM and TR moves that weren't TM or MT moves in previous generations. The most notable ones are the Terrain moves, Nasty Plot, Dragon Dance, Close Combat, Aura Sphere, Power Gem and Play Rough. And maybe others that I'm missing.
Next, Pokémon Camp. I'll admit that I didn't use it that much, but I feel that it is a step down from Pokémon Amie/Refresh. I found those to be more fun on the whole, I liked playing with my Pokemon as well as petting and feeding them. They also had a "progress bar", allowing you to see how high affection you had for each Pokémon, something that Camp is lacking (at least I haven't been able to find it anywhere). The interactions in Camp feels a bit limited compared to how you could interact with your Pokémon in Amie/Refresh. The cooking is also okay, but as said earlier, I dislike having to spin the control stick. And the name of the food... curry. It feels a bit weird. While I appreciate that they gave it a special name instead of just generically naming it "food", I think it should have been named something else. In the end, Camp is okay but it feels like a step down.
The Pokedex is also a bit of a step down compared to the previous games. In gen 7, there were separate buttons for "action" and "cry", but in S/S they have been lumped together into one. I don't like that, I think they should have stayed separate. Gen 7 also had the option to zoom in on the Pokémon models in the Pokédex, something that S/S are lacking. I also wish the Pokedex had been separated into sub-categories like the Kalos and Alola dexes were. It feels like that is necessary to get a somewhat better overview when you have a regional dex that contains 400 Pokémon. So the Pokedex is also a bit of a step down.
I get the impression that the games takes a fair bit of inspiration from Pokémon Go, which I can't say I'm very happy about. The Dynamax Dens feel like they are inspired by raids, and S/S have these new Exp. Candies which feel like they have been inspired by Go and the endless amount of candies found in that game.
There are also the Poké Jobs, which I think are similar to the Merc Missions from XC2 (but also different). I tried them a little and some of them give a ton of Exp if you go for a whole day. That's cool, but I don't think I'll focus that much on them.
I like how the games don't have a lot of focus on Gen 1, unlike way too many other recent main series games. While Gen 1 gets a bit of references (and probably more than any of the other old generations), it isn't anywhere near as ridiculous as it was in Gen 7, and the word "Kanto" isn't mentioned a hundred times during the main story. There are also a much better mix of Pokémon from the older generations, Gen 1 doesn't even have the highest representation in the regional dex! It feels a bit more similar to X/Y, which had several Gen 1 references but they were never as absurd as Gen 7 was. S/S are even better than X/Y in some ways regarding this. And Galarian forms are not limited to just Gen 1. So I'm very happy about that. I really hope that LGP/LGE were the last time they went all out to have such extreme focus on Gen 1.
One returning feature that I like is character customization. Always a good thing to have, even if I didn't use it that much this time around. One thing I think has improved from Gen 6/7 is the haircut feature. Now, you get to see a preview of how your character will look before you make the choice, something that didn't happen in Gen 6/7. Then they tied the eye colors to this as well, which is okay. So that's an improvement. I also like how the player character has a lot more facial expressions during the story here compared to the blank smile they almost always had in Gen 7.
I got a bit confused by how the day/night system in the game works. It seemed to be limited to just the wild area (in terms of visuals at least) during the main story. What you did and where you were during the story seemed to affect it more than the actual time did. It seems like it affects all areas regularly after you have beaten the game though. I don't really mind this, but since the visuals for the day/night system have been following the console clock since Gen 4, I was surprised to see that it didn't during the main story this time around.
Regarding version differences, it seems like I made the right decision in getting Sword since it has more Pokémon I like over their Shield counterparts. The main ones are Galarian Farfetch'd, Sirfetch'd, Mawile, Gothitelle, Scrafty, Braviary, Galarian Darumaka/Darmanitan, Hydreigon, Kommo-o and Zacian. From Shield, the only ones I like better or equal to their Sword counterparts are Galarian Ponyta/Rapidash and Ludicolo. So I definitely made the right choice here. It also seems like some of the Gym Leaders differ depending on which game you play, that's really cool. I got to face Bea and Gordie instead of Allister and Melony. Though I can't say which ones I prefer as I have only played Sword and I pretty much need to face them in the game in order to determine which ones I like the best, so no opinion there. That said, I think they could have at least included the Gym Leaders you didn't get to face in both games, have them appear without getting to battle them like they did with Drayden/Iris in B/W. Or maybe just give them small cameos or something. It also seems like some Gigantamax forms are version exclusives, but I haven't looked into that so no opinion there either.
Early after the release, I read that there is some sort of glitch tied to the games which can make them corrupt your SD card (if you have one). That made me a little scared but I have checked and it seems like my SD card is safe. This seems to mostly be an issue for those who has digital copies of the games, and it seems like it is tied to the game saving too often with the auto-save function. I have a physical cartridge, but I turned off auto-save soon after hearing about this just to be safe. Still, it was a bit scary to read about. I really hope they can patch or fix this issue in some way (if they haven't done so already, I haven't really checked). Though it wouldn't have been that much of an issue for me anyway since I don't think I have that much stuff saved on my SD card, I have physical cartridges of all of my big games.
I like most of the music in the game. As usual with music in the Pokémon games, there are some good and some bad tracks, but I think there are way more good than bad. Some of my favorite tracks are the Gym Leader battle theme, Marnie Battle theme, Slumbering Weald and the second theme in the wild area (which also plays at some of the later routes). Another great soundtrack on the whole.
I think some of the sound effects are a bit outdated though. For instance, the sound effect for healing is the same as they have been using since Gen 3! I remember hearing it for the first time when I played R/S in 2003... and it is still being used. There are others that feel old too such as the sound effect for when a super effective move hits, it has also been used since Gen 3. And some moves like Hyper Beam and Psychic are still using the Gen 1 sound effect. While I thought this was okay in Gen 6, they have been doing it for three generations in a row now. That's way more than enough. I think they should take advantage of the Switch's hardware and make a lot of new and advanced sound effects instead of just re-using the old sound effects over and over.
The games have made some changes to older Pokémon and moves. I was very surprised when I used Rapid Spin for the first time in the game and it boosted my Speed. Did not expect that. It also seems like Aegislash got nerfed a bit, which is a bit sad but also understandable since it was really powerful in previous generations. Some Abilities have been changed as well, such as Synchronize now working 100% of the time (except against legendaries, which I learned the hard way when I was catching Zacian) and Moody no longer affecting Accuracy and Evasion. And some moves have been removed completely, such as Hidden Power. That one in particular is something I welcome since I always thought that Hidden Power made past generations unbalanced, giving special attackers access to coverage they weren't meant to have. Return and Frustration has also been removed which I find a little sad but it is also understandable. Two moves that I am not happy about being removed are Signal Beam and Silver Wind. While a stronger alternative exists in Bug Buzz, I think those should have stayed. One other move I miss is Sky Uppercut, that was a move I really liked since I always thought it was pretty cool. I am also surprised that it seems like several signature moves are still in the games (most notably for legendary and mythical Pokémon), despite the Pokémon themselves not being available in the games. I wonder why those weren't removed, why keep the moves in the game if you can't even bring a Pokémon that can use them without using Metronome? For instance, what's the point of Seed Flare being in the games if you can't even get a Shaymin? There are a lot of other changes and removals too, but those are the ones that stood out the most to me. I could write more about this, but I won't. I'll just say that apart from some good removals like Hidden Power and some "useless" moves like Bide and Rototiller, I'm not sure what they were trying to accomplish by getting rid of most moves they removed. They could have done a better job.
Some new moves and items are very welcome. I really like Spirit Break, Fairy finally got another Physical move! Except, it is a signature move for Grimmsnarl... that's not so good (unless you are Grimmsnarl). I also highly approve of the Nature Mints. A "Nature effect changer" is something I have wanted to see for a while now, and I am happy that it is here. Those means that it is less important to get the right Nature on legendaries, it means my Eternatus and Zacian can still be useful despite not getting good Natures.
Unfortunately, there are also removed features and some features that I am missing. I really miss a quick-exit button like the red "X" in Gen 5/6. That was something I missed in Gen 7 as well, and it is still something I want back. I especially miss it after playing XC2 which has just such a feature.
I miss Poké Pelago (or something with a similar function), that was one of my favorite features of Gen 7. While the Poké Jobs here are a bit similar, they feel like a step down in comparison.
I also miss the National Dex. It was one of the things I missed the most in Gen 7, and that still stands here in Gen 8. At this point, I might as well accept that it is never going to make a return to the series. Sword might very well become the first Pokémon game I own where I won't even bother with completing the Regional Dex, but I haven't made a final decision yet.
On to more positive stuff. Things I definitely don't miss and that I'm happy that they removed! First and most obviously, I am very happy that the Rotom Dex isn't babbling endlessly like in US/UM. The Rotom in the Dex here is mostly quiet which is excellent, just like any Rotom should be if you ask me. This was definitely an improvement after the atrocious disaster it was in US/UM.
I am also very happy that they removed the SOS mechanics. Those were one of my least favorite features in the series, and I hope they never return. Though I guess they will in the S/M remakes, but that's far into the future so it is nothing to worry about now. The removal of the SOS mechanics means that I won't have to worry about wild Pokémon randomly making SOS calls for partners, so that's good.
Lastly, I want to say something about Dexit. Even after playing through Sword and enjoying it, I am still unhappy about Dexit. I won't say anything more here though, I'm planning to make a post in the Dexit thread about my thoughts on it as well as which of my favorite Pokémon were excluded and included. I also miss Mega Evolutions and Z-moves, they were two really cool features. I know that Dynamax/Gigantamax is essentially both of them mixed together into one, but I still think they should have been kept.
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