Pokémon Brilliant Diamond Is One of the Best Switch Games of 2021

Before Pokémon Brilliant Diamond came out, I wrote about the best Nintendo Switch games of 2021. I noted at the time that I hadn’t played the game and didn’t know where it fell on the list. Then I reviewed it and now I can say it: Pokémon Brilliant Diamond is one of the best Nintendo Switch games of 2021!

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond belongs on my list of Best Switch games of 2021. In fact, one of the games of that list no longer belongs there.

I put Monster Hunter Stories 2 on that list at number 5 and now I believe that Pokémon Brilliant Diamond belongs there instead. Why?

While Monster Hunter Stories 2 is a great game, I only gave it a 9.0 for gameplay. Meanwhile Pokémon Brilliant Diamond got a 9.5 for gameplay. Yes, they both got a 9.0 overall but Brilliant Diamond scored higher in gameplay!

So why did I like Brilliant Diamond’s gameplay more than Monster Hunter Stories 2?

While both games had very addictive gameplay, Brilliant Diamond gets the edge for several reasons.

Monster Hunter Stories 2 could be pretty tough sometimes, while Brilliant Diamond was mostly easy expect for boss encounters which grew tougher as the game progressed. I enjoyed the easier gameplay mixed with the harder boss fights more than Monster Hunter Stories tougher challenges.

Also, the Grand Underground is super addictive. There is so much to explore there! Brilliant Diamond has better online support too than Monster Hunter Stories: with Pokémon trades, battles, and seeing people in the Grand Underground.

Brilliant Diamond has a much better in-game camera than Monster Hunter Stories too. I noted in the Monster Hunter Stories 2 review that the game’s camera was sometimes uncooperative. Brilliant Diamond, on the other hand, had a static overhead camera that never got in the way.

And finally, for me, Pokémon is just so much more addictive than Monster Hunter Stories. I enjoyed Monster Hunter Stories a lot but after I was done with it, I didn’t think about playing another Monster Hunter game. Brilliant Diamond, however, started a new addiction for me!

I’m getting Pokémon Sword for Christmas and I’m looking forward to Pokémon Legends: Arceus a lot!

Both Monster Hunter Stories 2 and Pokémon Brilliant Diamond are great jrpgs! If you are fan of the genre, you should pick up both if you can. If you can only pick up one though…I’d give the nod to Pokémon Brilliant Diamond.

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond one of the best games of 2021!

What do you think? Is Brilliant Diamond one of your favorite games of 2021?