Following the launch of Pokémon Sword & Shield final yr, Game Freak introduced the Expansion Pass, promising two new story-driven expansions for the primary all-new Pokémon RPGs on the Switch. The first growth, The Isle of Armor, was a enjoyable addition to the mainline story, however had loads of issues that made it much less memorable than the bottom game. With the second a part of the Expansion Pass, The Crown Tundra, Game Freak and The Pokémon Company hope to ship the extra thrilling content material gamers crave. I used to be given the prospect to observe greater than 30 minutes of footage and study in regards to the soon-to-be-released second growth.
One of my principal criticisms of the Isle of Armor was that it felt virtually aimless in the way it delivered the story. You got a free narrative when you launched into a collection of fetch quests, however in the end, the story felt tenuous at greatest, solely serving to push you thru the mundane missions on the way in which to the ultimate encounters. In distinction, the Crown Tundra is extra story-centric than the Isle of Armor, and provides you a couple of totally different quests to embark on. You begin out on an journey with Peony, a former Galar gymnasium chief, as you find out about Dynamax Adventures and work to uncover the mysteries of the brand new Legendary Pokémon Calyrex and its affect on the realm. On prime of these storylines, you even have the mission of studying extra about and battling the Galarian variations of the Legendary hen trio from the first-gen games: Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres.
Players can entry the Crown Tundra as quickly as they attain Wedgehurst in Sword & Shield’s principal story. Once you journey to the Crown Tundra, your Pokédex updates with the extra creatures discovered within the space and also you meet the eccentric Peony, who’s gearing up for an expedition into Pokémon dens to search out the Legendary Pokémon hidden within the Galar area. You journey to the city of Freezington, situated within the west of the Crown Tundra. There, you encounter Calyrex. The footage cuts out, however Peony comes operating out, saying he heard a battle. Calyrex wastes little time, possessing Peony and talking by means of him and setting the participant up for the hunt surrounding the brand new Legendary monster.
From there, the footage I’m watching leaps to the second journey, which focuses on the Galarian types of the Legendary birds. This quest, known as A Legendary Tree of a Legendary Three, begins with a cutscene round a large, pink tree. Moltres and Zapdos escape right into a struggle, earlier than Articuno crashes the occasion. However, earlier than lengthy, they understand you are watching, and so they disperse to totally different elements of the Crown Tundra. The Pokémon Company likens the strategies of encountering the Legendary trio to the way you encountered the Legendary canines within the Johto area.
Picking up on the path of the Legendary trio, I watch as a participant makes an attempt to trace down the Galarian Zapdos, which appears impressed by an ostrich, within the Rolling Hills. The participant makes an attempt to come back at it from behind, however every time, the Zapdos notices the participant and flees. There’s no method the participant can sustain with the pace of the Zapdos on foot, so that they bounce on their bike and try to chop the Legendary hen off, however it’s simpler mentioned than accomplished, since its pace combines with craftiness. Once the participant lastly catches as much as the fleet-of-foot hen, a battle ensues.
Similar to the Isle of Armor, the Crown Tundra is structured like one big Wild Area, with Pokémon roaming free throughout a number of biomes, together with snowy mountainsides, huge fields, and winding caverns, by which you are free to discover. Because of this, you may camp all throughout the realm. In the video, I get to see the energetic persona of Galarian Slowking as he trots round camp, taking part in fetch. Galarian Slowking can show precious in battle, because the Poison/Psychic-type Pokémon can have a capability known as Curious Medicine, which removes stat modifications from all allies when it enters the battlefield.
Next, I’m given a have a look at one of the anticipated new options: Dynamax Adventures. As it seems, the Crown Tundra is residence to a ton of Legendary Pokémon from throughout your complete collection’ historical past. The catch? You must enterprise deep into mysterious Pokémon dens and battle by means of hordes of Dynamaxed Pokémon with the intention to discover and catch them. In Dynamax Adventures, you workforce up with three different trainers as you’re employed by means of branching paths of Max Raid Battles utilizing a Pokémon you borrow from the expedition workforce; sadly you can not convey your individual Pokémon into these dens.
After you win a Max Raid Battle, you select whether or not you wish to swap your borrowed Pokémon out for the one you simply caught, or keep it up. You must be strategic together with your choices, not solely should you bear in mind what sorts are on the highway forward (you may pan up on the map for planning functions), however HP and standing results carry over into subsequent battles. In the Dynamax Adventure I watch, the trainers battle by means of a gauntlet of Haunter, Cramorant, and Tauros earlier than reaching the ultimate battle in opposition to Uxie.
Some paths provide you with encounters with different characters, like this Scientist, who can swap out your drained Pokémon for a contemporary one
If 4 Pokémon are knocked out over the course of the Dynamax Adventure, the trainers are kicked out and should begin over once more. If you are profitable in your expedition, you may select one Pokémon from the journey to maintain. You additionally purchase a number of gadgets, such because the Ability Patch, a brand new merchandise that modifications a Pokémon’s current potential to a uncommon potential.
Once you full the story of the Pokémon Sword & Shield, The Isle of Armor, and The Crown Tundra, a brand new post-game problem unlocks in the principle game of Pokémon Sword & Shield. Leon points a problem to all gymnasium leaders within the Galar area to mix their powers to change into much more formidable foes for would-be champions, and the Galarian Star Tournament is born. The Pokémon Company claims that is the toughest problem in Sword & Shield up to now, as gamers workforce up with different trainers they’ve encountered over the course of their journey to tackle gymnasium chief duos, in addition to different expert trainers they’ve encountered on their journey together with Hop and Mustard. In the demo I noticed, I watched the participant coach workforce up with Hop to battle a workforce of Milo and Nessa, adopted by a workforce of Gordie and Bea. I’m undecided what different challenges await on the finish, or if there’s an final reward to conquering these challenges, however I’m excited to as soon as once more take a look at my coach abilities in opposition to the robust forged of leaders from the Galar area.
Pokémon Sword & Shield: The Crown Tundra is on the market tomorrow as part of the Expansion Pass. For extra on the primary a part of the Expansion Pass, The Isle of Armor, head here. For extra on Pokémon Sword & Shield, take a look at our review. To study all in regards to the behind-the-scenes particulars that went into making Sword & Shield, take a look at our exclusive coverage hub.
