Every time I play a Pokemon game as an adult I come in with a critical eye expecting none of it to ever be good, and every time I am luckily proven wrong.
Even though I would still probably consider this a lesser Pokemon game, there were a ton of things about this game and generation that I really liked. All of the new Pokemon I used were really cool and I had a fun time with, and the ones I couldn't fit onto my party for the majority of the game are ones that I will definitely use in the apparently lengthy post-game. The Wild Area is a fantastic addition to the map with many nooks, crannies, and Pokemon to explore. While it may be a minor addition, the implementation of a free-cam mapped to right stick and online capabilities (even if it did drop frames like crazy) in this area specifically added a lot to the wonder and freedom of the game's tone. The character customization was a fun touch and expansion of Sun's and the posable and collectible trainer cards were another neat form of personalization. I think the game in general was paced very well too with not too many annoyances of the big bad evil company or whatever until the end which was handled interestingly with the Gigantamax fight at the end.
I think this is worse than Sun/Moon in general though. For starters the safer Gym to Pokemon League route structure was back, and while it did add some much needed flare with the strange Gym activities, it still felt like a step back from the exploration and challenge that Gen 7 had. I really don't like the mandatory EXP share not only because it messes up my nerd EVs but because it levels up your team way too much. I went through and caught every new Pokemon in every route and by the time I was at the end of the game, I didn't need to do any grinding at all and was 5-7 levels over-leveled for the final fight which, admittedly, was still somewhat difficult. It's weird to say it but I do sorta miss the days of training in weird places for experience, rebattling trainers, and grinding for EVs which is something completely removed from this game. Of course I am not a fan of removing the National Dex and I am even less of a fan of placing certain Gen 8 specific content behind a DLC paywall. They already added this huge, expansive area for exploration and catching a ton of different Pokemon during different times of the day and weather, so I don't understand why this wasn't just in the base game.
Overall I think this game is a step forward from Sun/Moon's online and post-game but a sizeable step back in terms of exploration, challenge, and general creativity. Definitely not the worst Pokemon game but far from the best, meaning I still had a ton of fun with it. I definitely see myself coming back to the post-game after the Brilliant Diamond hype dies down a bit or me.
Even though I would still probably consider this a lesser Pokemon game, there were a ton of things about this game and generation that I really liked. All of the new Pokemon I used were really cool and I had a fun time with, and the ones I couldn't fit onto my party for the majority of the game are ones that I will definitely use in the apparently lengthy post-game. The Wild Area is a fantastic addition to the map with many nooks, crannies, and Pokemon to explore. While it may be a minor addition, the implementation of a free-cam mapped to right stick and online capabilities (even if it did drop frames like crazy) in this area specifically added a lot to the wonder and freedom of the game's tone. The character customization was a fun touch and expansion of Sun's and the posable and collectible trainer cards were another neat form of personalization. I think the game in general was paced very well too with not too many annoyances of the big bad evil company or whatever until the end which was handled interestingly with the Gigantamax fight at the end.
I think this is worse than Sun/Moon in general though. For starters the safer Gym to Pokemon League route structure was back, and while it did add some much needed flare with the strange Gym activities, it still felt like a step back from the exploration and challenge that Gen 7 had. I really don't like the mandatory EXP share not only because it messes up my nerd EVs but because it levels up your team way too much. I went through and caught every new Pokemon in every route and by the time I was at the end of the game, I didn't need to do any grinding at all and was 5-7 levels over-leveled for the final fight which, admittedly, was still somewhat difficult. It's weird to say it but I do sorta miss the days of training in weird places for experience, rebattling trainers, and grinding for EVs which is something completely removed from this game. Of course I am not a fan of removing the National Dex and I am even less of a fan of placing certain Gen 8 specific content behind a DLC paywall. They already added this huge, expansive area for exploration and catching a ton of different Pokemon during different times of the day and weather, so I don't understand why this wasn't just in the base game.
Overall I think this game is a step forward from Sun/Moon's online and post-game but a sizeable step back in terms of exploration, challenge, and general creativity. Definitely not the worst Pokemon game but far from the best, meaning I still had a ton of fun with it. I definitely see myself coming back to the post-game after the Brilliant Diamond hype dies down a bit or me.