Review: Pokémon Sword and Shield Expansion Pass
- Timothy Joyce
- Jan 5, 2021
- 8 min read
Updated: Jan 4
Pokémon Sword and Shield Expansion Pass | Principal Platforms: Nintendo Switch | Developer: Game Freak | Publisher: The Pokémon Company | Genre: RPG | Year: 2020
Pokémon's DLC debut is sure to satisfy hardcore fans but offers very little in the way of substance for casual players.
For the first time ever, the mainline Pokémon games received DLC in the form of two premium expansion packs titled The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra. These expansions introduce new open-world environments to explore and reintroduce over 200 Pokémon from the National Pokédex that aren't available in the base game. Also added are the new legendary Pokémon, some of which are Galarian variants of pre-existing legendaries.
After the mild disappointment of the base game, the expansions had the opportunity to see Pokémon Sword and Shield reach its full potential. However, it's an opportunity I feel Game Freak have squandered. I had hoped to receive more story-based content but there's very little of that here.
Aside from some minor interactions, these expansions are self-contained and don't tie into the story of the base game at all. They're essentially two long side quests which indulge the player in shallow stories and repetitive collection tasks.
The main conceit in The Isle of Armor is the concept of growth and is represented in the form of a new legendary Pokémon called Kubfu. After completing a number of dull trials, Kubfu is gifted to the player by Mustard, the former champion and Leon's mentor. It is then the player's task to train Kubfu and visit different locations around the island, deepening the bond between the two (assumedly).
The idea of training and bonding with your Pokémon is something that Pokémon Let's Go! tried to achieve with its Partner Pokémon, although in that game it was done better because of how it was focused on. The Isle of Armor tries to squeeze in a whole game's worth of training into just a few hours, and as a result, doesn't fully realise the concept it's going for.
When the DLC recommended I get Kubfu to level 70 (from level 10) before I proceeded with the story, I immediately opened my item bag and force fed it exp items until it reached the required level. I suspect I bypassed a significant portion of playtime by doing this because the story wrapped up shortly after.
I'm uncertain if Game Freak intended it this way or if they actually expected players to train a Pokémon they've just met all the way up to level 70, either way it isn't good. If it was intentional, then it goes against the whole theme of the DLC but if it was unintentional then it means grind was knowingly added as a feature.
Once Kubfu reaches the recommended level, players can choose to enter one of two different towers, the Tower of Darkness or the Tower of Waters. By completing the gauntlets within, the player can then evolve their Kubfu into Urshifu, which will be a different type depending on which tower they chose. It's surprising that this choice is left up to the player and isn't based on which version of the game they are using.
After acquiring Urshifu, the player can then challenge the final boss Mustard who also uses an Urshifu. This fight is probably the most exciting thing in the DLC as Mustard's team is highly leveled and varied. This also marks the end of the story in The Isle of Armor expansion.
The Isle of Armor is remarkably short and if it wasn't for the 151 collectible Diglets littered around the island, I would have been finished within a couple of hours. I consider The Isle of Armor mediocre at best due to the shortness of its main story and uninspired mission design.
The Crown Tundra expansion is themed around exploration and boasts a larger map than The Isle of Armor. Upon arrival in the snow-covered environment, the player is introduced to Peony, a boisterous, steel type gym leader. Hilarity ensues and eventually the player is conscripted for Peony's "adven-tour", an expedition that will see the player visiting the four corners of the Crown Tundra. With their base set up in the town of Freezington (get it?), Peony gives the player three adventures to complete and also gives hints on where to search for the legendary Pokémon.
In the first adventure, players will encounter Calyrex, a legendary Pokémon who was separated from its loyal steed and is referred to as the King of Bountiful Harvests by the townsfolk. Interestingly, Calyrex can speak to the player through Peony (via mind control) and provides its own backstory. I like how Calyrex is an actual character here because it's much more entertaining to listen to it tell the story, rather than have someone else explain it in some random legend or prophecy.
To help Calyrex regain its steed, the player can choose to grow one of two different types of carrot to lure the Pokémon. If the player grows an Iceroot Carrot then Glastrier will appear, if it was a Shaderoot Carrot then Spectrier will appear. The player can then help Calyrex regain its steed and subsequently battle the fused Calyrex. Like in The Isle of Armor, players get to choose which form of Calyrex they receive.
The adventure with Calyrex is the most interesting story in this expansion and ends all too quickly. If this was the focus of the expansion then I think we could have had something quite special, I would have loved to have known more about this speaking Pokémon but it isn't explored enough. As it is, the focus is spread too thin and there isn't enough room in the DLC to go all-out with Calyrex's story.
The second adventure involves solving riddles and catching the legendary titans Regirock, Regice, and Registeel. Once all three are captured, the player can access the Split-Decision Ruins to catch a brand new legendary Pokémon, either Regieleki or Regidrago. I appreciate that we are given a choice and I don't mind the new Pokémon designs but couldn't they have done something interesting with them?
All of the ruins use the same bland-looking room on the inside and aside from the floor switches, look indistinguishable from each other. Not even the Pokémon models are used in any of them, they could have at least had a door open to reveal the Pokémon waiting inside or something! Even the new rendition of the battle music doesn't sound as good compared to previous iterations.
The third adventure features the Galarian forms of the legendary birds Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. Their gimmick is that they are roaming Pokémon and the player has to chase them down in the open-world environments to catch them. Articuno is found in the Crown Tundra itself, whilst Zapdos and Moltres are found roaming the Wild Area and the Isle of Armor respectively. Again, I don't mind the Galarian designs but when there's no story being told it's hard to care about catching them.
Speaking of which, there is also a side quest which involves Sonia tasking the player with finding footprints left by the Swords of Justice Cobalion, Terrakion and Virizion. There are 150 footprints to find (50 for each Pokémon) and when enough are found, each legendary Pokémon becomes available for capture somewhere in the overworld. When all three are captured, Keldeo then becomes available to catch.
Although it's an optional side quest it does mean that a player who really wants to catch these legendary Pokémon has to put themselves through this repetitive task first. To make matters worse, the Swords of Justice don't get their own battle music and instead use the standard wild Pokémon battle music which doesn't make the encounters feel special. All four of these Pokémon should have been included in Dynamax Adventures and not locked behind these daft collection quests.
Also in a rather cheeky move, Spiritomb is unobtainable unless you've got an Nintendo Online subscription, effectively locking it behind a paywall. Yes, a paywall in a paid expansion. I really hope no-one without a subscription was looking forward to catching one. Poor form Game Freak!
Once all three of the main adventures are completed, a fourth adventure is unlocked and causes Ultra Beasts to appear in the Max Lair.
The Max Lair hosts Dynamax Adventures, a series of Max Raid Battles which see players spelunking in teams of four to reach the legendary Pokémon at the end of the cave. The player can form teams with other players online or NPCs and is forced to use a rental Pokémon from a list of three before the adventure starts.
Initially, I disliked the fact that I couldn't use my own Pokémon, but here each Pokémon feels balanced specifically for these adventures and I found myself trying out a lot of Pokémon I've never used before (imposter Ditto anyone?).
Dynamax Adventures are significantly easier than the usual Max Raids too making it much easier to employ strategy. The NPCs can still make boneheaded decisions of course and in my experience, never seem to Dynamax their own Pokémon.
Upon completing a Dynamax Adventure, the player is awarded an amount of Dynite Ore depending on how well they did which can be traded for special items, albeit with absurd exchange rates.
Although I much prefer Dynamax Adventures over the obnoxious Ultra Warp Ride featured in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, the appeal of catching legendary Pokémon from previous games is seriously diminished for someone who has already caught these Pokémon several times before.
With everything taken into account, I find myself disappointed with The Crown Tundra expansion as it sometimes feels like it's adding content which should have been in the base game. With the exception of the Calyrex adventure, the main stories feel more like post game content rather than full-blown expansion material.
(That Max Lair theme slaps though)
After completing both stories in The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra, The Galarian Star Tournament is unlocked at Wyndon Stadium and is where the expansion pass manages to win back a few points. In this tournament, the player is given the opportunity to participate in Multi Battles with gym leaders and rivals from both the base game and the expansions.
At first, the player has the choice of teaming up with either Hop or Marnie, with more characters gradually unlocking after the player wins more tournaments. These battles are a lot of fun as it takes advantage of the established characters and gives them unique moments with one another.
The battles all feature high level Pokémon too, so it's a good workout for the player's team which won't have seen much action during the expansions. The Galarian Star Tournament is a neat addition to an otherwise disappointing expansion pass.
The base game may have been linear but at least there was a consistent story going on to somewhat keep my interest. These expansions have very little of that and a lot of the exploration is just relentless item finding and catching legendary Pokémon we've already seen.
The genuinely fun moments are few and far between and the stories have no stakes which makes it hard to care about what's happening. Furthermore, there aren't any trainers to battle in the open-world environments so a lot of the time it feels like you're exploring these places by yourself. Sure the environments are large and there's plenty of off-beaten tracks to go down, but what's the point when there's nothing interesting to see?
I expected a lot more from the Pokémon Sword and Shield Expansion Pass and hope that in the future Game Freak focus on telling stories and not just adding content. Pokémon Black and White and their sequels are proof of how much difference good stories can make.
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