Friday, August 06, 2021

August 06, 2021

 Is the Isle of Armor & Crown Tundra as charming as stated in the trailers?

Some info before I start: For those of you who haven’t played the main Pokémon Sword/Shield game, worry not. I’d definitely recommend playing the base game first before deciding to jump in on additional content. If you’re looking to get the game’s downloadable content (DLC), you can access this after first reaching the Wild Area for the first time. You do not have to finish the game to unlock it! In saying this though, I highly suggest you buy and play the original game first before deciding if this is worth the purchase.

It doesn’t feel that long ago since the initial release that was Pokémon Sword and Shield, back in November 2019. The game was a much-welcomed addition to the Nintendo Switch and had wonderful new additions to the series such as the Wild Area and Dynamax Pokemon residing in special dens. The DLC brings a new flair to the series and was clearly designed with hardcore poké-gamers in mind. The Expansion Pass comes with access to two brand new locations to explore: The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra.

Two brand new stories and multiple challenges to face!

Let’s start discussing the first of the two: The Isle of Armor. It’s set on a tropical island to the right of the mainlands of the Galar Region. Depending on which version of the game you have (Sword or Shield), the rival throughout the playthrough will differ. Just like in the original game, some Pokémon you encounter will also be different. Your character will head to a dojo, where you’ll train a cute legendary Pokémon called “Kubfu“. You can choose what form he will evolve and attack in. If you are a competitive player and wish to find out which is best, I’ll recommend you to this website. There are a few additional things you can do on this island. You can hunt down the 101 Digletts hiding across the island, find ingredients for Max Soup, and upgrading the Master Dojo using the Watts you have collated from the game.

Now let’s look into the more recent release: The Crown Tundra. Unlike the Isle of Armor, it’s set to the south of Galar’s mainlands. The climate is harsh and snowy, and absolutely gorgeous. In this part of the DLC, you will encounter a father attempting to rope his daughter into an adventure. She finds a way to worm out of participating by having you join her father instead. The father sets various missions for you to hunt down legendary Pokémons, both new and old. The newest in this collection is none other than Calyrex. Each mission has its own hints, and the game does a brilliant job at not holding your hand. Another huge mechanic added into the DLC was “Dynamax Adventures“. You and your friends can dungeon crawl and track down legendary Pokémon from prior games. Last to be added was the Galarian Star Tournament.

The story itself is kind of short but makes up for it with the additional content added.

I did quite enjoy the content that came with the DLC, despite some of its faults. Just like in the base game, I felt that the story itself was very short and linear which was a little disappointing. In saying that though, there’s more than enough content to make up for the purchase of the DLC. We have new Pokémon to catch, new riddles to solve, and many more tasks to complete. There’s also the addition of new hairstyles and clothing, which offered us some new choices on what to wear. Both DLC’s offer a lot in terms of content, and gameplay too! The open world is absolutely gorgeous, and I’m still finding out things about this game even now. You bet your butt I’ll be having fun playing a whole lot more of the DLC content, and I hope you will too!

You can find the Pokémon Sword / Shield Expansion pass on the Nintendo Switch Store.

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