It's both better and worse than I expected. Allow me to separate The Bad and The Good.
THE BAD
. The catching mechanic. Good God, do I hate this mechanic. It is the number one most annoying thing about this game. What annoys me specifically is the fact that you can miss. In normal Pokemon, when you throw a ball it has a chance to catch or not. Even if the Pokemon breaks out it still had a chance to be caught. In Lrt's Go if your aim isn't true you will miss, and you'll waste those pokeballs.
Now, because i'm crap at this mechanic, i've missed a lot of pokeballs. That's a ton of wasted resources! I can't believe this replaced Wild Battles! Others may not feel the same way, but this annoys me to no end. Especially when the Pokemon start jumping around. I can't stand this mechanic and I hope it never returns, though unfortunately it probably will...
. The difficulty. Pokemon was never truly difficult, but it has gotten easier. A few months ago I replayed Platinum and Cynthia still gave me trouble, but this game is laughably easy. If you're over the age of seven and you have trouble in this game I will honestly be shocked. The candies especially make this ridiculously easy, I beat the Pokemon league with a Squirtle who one-shot everything. That's how OP candies are. And your Partner is a killing machine. I know this is meant to be the most casual of casual experiences, but it still left a bad taste in my mouth.
. How generic it is. In my opinion, this is the safest, blandest, most generic Pokemon game of all time. The only change is how you encounter Wild Pokemon. With most Pokemon games, even USUM, I feel this sense of wonder that I can't really describe. I didn't get that here. We're in the most overplayed region, with the blandest Pokemon, with the most plain imagery. I didn't feel involved in this game sometimes. I didn't feel like I was traveling through a living, breathing world, I was just going through the motions. The graphics are beautiful but the landscapes are very bland. It's a lot of green fields and cities, that's mostly it. I know this is all anecdotal but this is how I feel.
Now for, THE GOOD.
. As I said, the graphics are beautiful. This is the best Pokemon has ever looked. The world itself is gorgeous, but the Pokemon themselves sometimes look a little off to me. In general they look amazing too. It would've been nice to see my favorite Pokemon (Noivern) on the Switch, but I guess that's not gonna happen.
.The cuteness. I was determined to hate my Pikachu. Every trailer I saw the starters act all cutesy wutesy and it sickened me. But alas, I fell in love with her. Her name is Star and she's stupid and my daughter. She's my stupid daughter Pikachu and I love her.
.The Overworld encounters. I do like Random Encounters, I really do. but Overworld Pokemon are just as great! It makes avoiding them easier, and I can immediately just go to what I want to catch!
. The music. It's really good. That's all I can say really, the remixes are good. I really like the music that plays when you're doing online stuff.
. The redesigns. The Characters and the Gyms, specifically. Sabrina's one of my favorite Gym Leaders and she looks fabulous, her Gym is beautiful too. I love the city look. However, Blaine's Gym has to be my favorite. it's so ridiculous, I loved it.
. The references. A few times here and there a reference to another region or even another piece of Pokemon media will happen, and it's really cool! I thought this game was determined to pretend that only Kanto existed.
. There are some moments that are genuinely cool. Like with Bill, or Lavender Tower. Just really cool moments.
That's all i've got for now. All in all, i'd say it's OK. Nothing terrible, nothing amazing.
It looks beautiful but as a seasoned Pokemon player it was a bit too safe for me. Ignoring the abysmal catching mechanic. I enjoyed Sun and Moon more, simply because it tried to be more different.
Ditching the Gyms and focusing more on story was a big change at the time, and I really enjoyed it! the region was also a bit more varied. With all that said, I did enjoy my time with Let's Go.
Not a lot, but certainly more than I thought I would. I probably won't return to it (especially with Smash on the horizon), but I don't regret playing it.
However, I really wish we got a new generation. My favorite pert of new Pokemon games are the new Pokemon. Discovering them, training them, etc. This game had none of that for me.
It's a shame a new generation on the Switch probably isn't happening any time soon.