>bigger and not always linear routes
I'm tired of the same old super tight and linear routes. This is a home console game, not a handheld exclusive title anymore.
>cave systems that are non-linear, have branching paths
The caves in Pokémon games the past few entries have been a joke. I want big caves or underground systems with maybe resting spots to heal your Pokémon.
>bigger towns, even if you can't enter all houses
This is a no-brainer. There's no excuse for a home console game to not feature towns that have more than 5 buildings, even if they're just in the background.
>boss battles, specifically strong Pokémon encounters in areas that are not routes (Forests, caves, etc)
This is a standard among RPGs and other monster collection games like SMT and Digimon, yet for Pokémon all we have resembling boss battles with wild Pokémon are the legendary, most of which are optional except the story encounter. S/M were kind of on the right track with Totem Pokémon, but they were tied to the trials, which are basically just different gyms.
>overworld wild encounters that actually make sense
Like seeing social Pokémon together in a group, plant Pokémon being around flowers, herd Pokémon having an evolved leader around them. This is something that could easily be in the Wild Area, but it's not and it's baffling. Instead we got Pokémon popping in and out of existence randomly that Pokémon LGPE had.
>rideable Pokémon.
This was in LGPE... So why the FUCK isn't this in SwSh as well? It's just the Pokémon running animation with the MC unmoving on top.

Overall, I have been disappointed with Sword and Shield since the first trailer. It's just the 3DS games but on a home console just like LGPE. I really, really hoped this game will be amazing, I was so hyped to see the trailer... But then... Bleh.
I'm done with the series now. I waited for SO damn long for Pokémon to come on home consoles with a bang and this is what we get. Pathetic.