90-minute preview embargos lifted today (was a play session recently). Most (lke 85% of them, give or take) of the previews are pretty damn positive (more than I thought they would be), the other 15% have some minor worries here and there and/or are simply "meh" on the game as a whole.
Here's some links:
Game Informer: https://www.gameinformer.com/preview/2019/10/16/playing-through-the-beginning-of-the-game
Eurogamer: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2019-10-17-hands-on-with-the-wild-enchanting-first-two-hours-of-pokemon-sword-and-shield
VG24/7: https://www.vg247.com/2019/10/17/pokemon-sword-and-shield-switch-gameplay/
The Verge:
NintendoLife:
–Some little tidbits:
–Slumbering Weald is a foggy forest dungeon beside the Starting Village
–Starting Village is Called Wedgehurst
–A LOT of Pokemon already at the beginning of the game (under NDA, can't talk about them; some are brand new species and some are returning)
–Hop, your "friendly rival" already has 3 Pokemon during your 2nd encounter with him
–Someone run into a couple different types of new Pokémon, which they unfortunately can’t talk about.
–You can also have their nicknames rated, rename them, or even delete moves at the Pokémon Center
–On the way to Magnolia’s location, someone encounter seven different Pokémon in the wild. They can’t say any of the creatures aside from Yamper
–Nearest major city: Motostoke (steampunk / industrial city we've been seeing, the first Gym Leader is here; Milo isn't the first Gym Leader apparently)
–The Wild Area feels large from the very beginning. In this part of Galar, the camera swings behind their character and they can rotate it 360 degrees.
–Wild Area features Pokémon with max IVs and egg moves demarcated by a yellow aura
--Can freely access PC in Wild Area
--Wild Area has its own currency called Watts which you can exchange for "camping gear, items, and ingredients"; some items exclusive to this
--The significant difference with the Wild Area is, if you wander into the wrong part of it, you'll discover that the wild Pokémon can now be drastically overlevelled. It's a series first, and it honestly feels like the bravest thing Game Freak has done for a little while. You could always dip your toe into the odd higher-level route on the other side of a city, say, but never get caught in battle with a level 50, third-stage evolution 'mon with your starter and a level 6 Pidgey. In Sword and Shield it has a striking effect. It reminds me of some of the oldest games in the series where there was a real element of intimidation from some areas. Back then this was because of a fear of the unknown, and a spot of imagination filling in the blanks, but now it's because seeing a whopping great Pokémon five times your level is enough to intrigue and inspire.
–- Update From New Post Merge ---
Also.
--The game has a limited tutorial + you can skip the "how to catch Pokemon" tutorial (no overly long, Sun and Moon-esque tutorial)
--Chairman Rose is the one who introduces the player to the world of Pokemon, not Professor Magnolia
--You CAN NOT disable EXP SHARE apparently (it's like Let's Go Pikachu / Eevee), but apparently the game is more challenging than past installments and accounts for the inability to disable EXP SHARE (guess this comes down to opinion really though)
--Natu and Xatu, Swinub, Piloswine, and Mamoswine have all made it into the game.
--It's sounding like Champion Leon gets the starter strong against your starter, whereas his brother, Hop, gets the weaker one (Leon getting the strong starter against yours wasn't confirmed though, only slightly hinted at).