>>52939981They're fun games. Not perfect (ignore the earlier bait trying to claim that), but pretty good for 3D pokemon. It will feel slow at the start, but opens up decently by the time you finish the first trial, and the rest of the game is much better.
If it still feels too linear by the end of island 1, I reccomend playing a Nuzlocke (or at least the catching rules) to help with that. When you go to every area to get the encounters, it encourages more exploration that you could otherwise miss.
As far as SM vs USUM, I think either works, but as another person said SM is probably better first, then USUM if you decide to go again.
