>>48126265If you haven't played SM it's the better option even if makes the story a little worse.
Things you should keep in mind is this games slow start that would make regigigas blush, the first island is by far the worst and would most likely be the reason you stop early, the hand holding is very awful, Lillie probably won't be as bad on your first time, but replaying she talks to much.
Second island is better but again does have hand holding, but it loosen up somewhat, still people tend to not shut up for second to really soak in the world around you.
USUM Post game is better then SM which is pretty bare, other then a the little UB extra part which can can be done in like 10 minutes.
You are railroaded a lot, and unlike with other gens you don't have dungeons that break up the pace as much, like B2W2 you could get a early volcorona if you explored, but for your first time it might not be as bad.
Game gets better towards the end really, Totem Pokémon are just boss version of Pokémon, but they can be somewhat of challenge, at least more challenging by Pokémon standards.
You can get totems, I beat the game with Totem Mimikyu my best bro.
Overall I suggest Pirating it if you can, mainly to see if you can get past the slow start, I've seen people drop it just from that alone, which is a shame if game eased up, even if linear could have been way more replayable.
