In Pokémon SwSh you follow the story of a child on their quest to become PokéBritain-“Galar”'s greatest Currymaster. It’s the first “true” Pokémon game that’s made it onto the switch as Let’s Go didn’t count apparently. I’d initially bought into the anti-hype on the internet so I was going into playing this with very low expectations but I’m happy to report that the hivemind has been almost entirely proved wrong. For me at least, having not played a “mainline” Pokémon game since silver (depending on how you class Let’s Go), it successfully walks the tightrope between feeling like classic Pokémon while introducing new mechanics and new Pokémon.
The first and most striking thing that you’ll notice as a child of ol’ blighty is the setting. It swings wildly between the eerily familiar (I didn’t realise UK living rooms were so distinctive?) and the hilariously (and presumably intentionally) misunderstood:
During the story you’ll wind your way through many locations which manage to hit you right in a centre of the brain that screams ‘home’. Between architectural flourishes like PokéEdinburgh’s blackened sandstone, PokéBrum/Manc/Sheffield/Liverpool/Wherever’s industrial revolution pedigree red brick and PokéBath’s palladian crescent mixed with not-Roman ruins there’s some real soul in the environmental design (along with some beautifully designed diversions more styled after literature than real life). There are some wonderful nods to nichés of UK culture like the new "TR"s, which are single use TMs that get sold out of places that look suspiciously like record stores! This continues with the character design and naming, with some fantastic nods to British folklore and literature (The “proper” rival you go up against is named Bede after the historynerd monk!) although I do balk a bit at the awkward overuse of “mate”. The new cohort of Pokémon introduced this generation also had me double taking over things that I had no idea were distinctly British until they were put on a pedestal. New Poké - Squirrels, Sheep, Clydesdale horses, Angel Delight and Coal all make the cut for Galar themed additions.
The story is utter garbage (but they always are, right?) and there are some valid criticisms to the back seat your character takes throughout, essentially ending up as a rubber duck to be exposited at by other characters, but it’s very easy to ignore in favour of the gameplay – which scratches my old Pokémon itch deep and manages to do so with some wonderful additions (which may or may not be new, I don’t know). Weather dependent spawns, interesting and “hidden” evolution mechanics beyond simple levelling or crunking them upside the head with a power stone, a “wild area” which attempts open world gameplay (I can see why some would be disappointed with its size and detail after playing breath of the wild, but it does ok in my eyes). The camping and currymaking mechanics I enjoy a lot and are better for the lack of direction you’re given (just put some berries and shit in a pot and get a rating. Did your process have any bearing on the outcome? Who knows!) - I love that the camp extends the Let's Go petting interaction to your entire party and gives an alternative training environment to just beating up on wild Pokémon.
It’s not perfect, the animations are famously janky - I’ve seen them described by a review as closer to south park than something you'd expect from a full price videogame and the characters can be pretty grating if I’m honest (except for Bede, I fucking love to hate that guy). The “Raid” mechanics and Gigantamaxing are also nothing to rave about, but the game doesn’t specifically suffer for their presence either and nothing has turned me off playing yet. I'm quite happy they've tried new things, it's ok for some to fall flat.
I’ll wrap this up with one thing I think they’ve absolutely nailed, which is the feel and flow of the Gym battles. The sound design and camera positioning is phenomenal and they’ve managed to somehow capture the essence of a stadium football match (not that I’ve been to one in a long time). My first one got me hyped in a way I can’t quite describe and for that this game gets a strong recommendation from me. The soul of the game is a real love letter to the British psyché and i'm finding it hard to put down for long. I've played 16 hours so far and I doubt i'll be stopping soon.
