"Quarantine honestly changed my mind on sword/shield."

Since I was stuck in quarantine because i came down with the virus that shall not be named, i had an itch to play Pokemon again. But which game to play?Spend money on the new one even though it looks really rough around the edges? Bust out my DS and play soul silver for the umpteenth time? Or maybe, just maybe give another chance to that one game on the switch that i played for 15 hours and forgot about immediately afterwards?The only thing i remembered was that i didn't enjoy it much at all. I bought right on release and was extremely hyped, since I hadn't played a new Pokemon game since gen 4 and was really excited to see how those games improved in the last decade.I was immensely disappointed. I had such high expectations and in the end it didn't feel like they improved the games at all. I thought the story was really boring, most of the new Pokemon looked really weird (why are most pokemon OBJECTS now???) and the game was much too easy with constant exp share and game breaking XP-candies.So, i still finished the game (i paid 60 bucks, I'm gonna get my playtime in) and then immediately forgot about the game. Until that fateful day two weeks ago.I bootet the game up and for the first time, i didn't have any expectations. I finally let go of the idea what pokemon games could be in a perfect world and just appreciated the game for what it is. And i had a blast.Is the story still boring? Sure, sometimes it can get a bit tedious. Is it still too easy? Yeah, but you know what? Since I'm an adult with an adult job, i don't have the time nor the patience to grind for days on end. And with the implementation of a few small nuzlocke rules the game was really enjoyable and i actually STRUGGLED against Leon in the end. Does it hold up against the old classics? Maybe not, but there are so many quality of life improvements that made my experience with the game so much smoother.Furthermore, what i never really appreciated, this game is absolutely gorgeous. So many amazing cities and locations that are honestly designed with such care and attention to detail. The only complaint i have is that the game doesn't give you more reasons to revisit the amazing cities in this game. Also the raid battles were a blast and got to catch some really cool pokemon that I'd never seen before.I guess in the end i just wanna say that I'm so grateful that i can enjoy Pokemon again. Yes the games could be much better and there will always be that idea of "what if they actually made a AAA Pokemon game" but since I've let go those expectations, i can just go and enjoy a really relaxing and fun pokemon adventure, without resenting gamefreak for not giving us the game we "deserve" or expect. And maybe you can too. via /r/pokemon https://ift.tt/300iREk