Reviews have started dropping for Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl on the Nintendo Switch and it sounds like the remakes are a resounding meh. For players hoping for a bit more of a shakeup of the 2007 DS games, that’s a big disappointment. For hardcore fans who will play any new release The Pokémon Company puts in front of them it probably doesn’t matter.
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Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are apparently so familiar that both VG247 and VGC used nearly identical headlines, calling them “faithful remakes, for better or worse.” According to VG247, the remakes are “workmanlike,” “simplistic,” and “the same game with a handsome new coat of paint.”
VGC was more positive, lauding the controversial new XP share feature, a now-common mechanic in more modern games, as well as the Grand Underground area, a more fleshed out version of the original game’s tunnels where different Pokémon can be caught early on. The outlet still considered the new additions not “expansive enough to transform your experience in any meaningful way.” Both sites said the Chibi art style works, but criticized the beginning of the game still unfolding at a snail’s pace.
Most of the early reviews are split on whether the remakes are too conservative and easy, or are refreshing returns to a classic, cozy formula for the earlier generations of Pokémon games. Here’s what some of the others are saying:
Several big review sites have yet to weigh in on the new games because Nintendo didn’t send code until late last Friday. As a result, IGN, Eurogamer, and others won’t have reviews up until later in the week. It seems clear at this point that Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl development came down to the wire, as evidenced in part by the fact that the games received massive “day-one” patches to fix placeholder music and missing animations a full week before release.
