Pokémon Sword And Shield Introduces Open World Area, Multiplayer Raids And Dynamax Battles

I'm not too sure about the whole Dynamax thing yet but everything else looks great to me!

Most excited about exploring the wild areas. I'm still iffy on the whole Dynamax mechanic.

Dynamax - I hate it. It's yet another gimmick, and I want nothing to do with it.

Everything else - looking good. Can't wait to get my hands on it. The Wild Area is kind of a silly on-the-nose-name, but I'm most excited to get out into that part of the game.

All I need to know now are what the starter evos are so I can pick mine. The rest I'm happy to discover through play.

Yesss, they took the best feature of Let’s Go, we can finally see the Pokémon outside of battle! I hope this has stuff like caves though, not just one giant open area. And does this mean we can do the gyms in any order???

Are the raid battles in Pokémon Go Dynamax Pokémon then??? I didn’t think that’d be a canon thing! I’m iffy on the whole thing tbh...

@NoxAeturnus do they usually reveal final evos (outside of leaks)? I thought I remember Sun and Moon only revealed the first two stages before release...

@ShadJV The starter's final evos were leaked months in advance, but they were officially announced a few weeks before the games launched. I'm buying the game anyway, so I don't care if I find out tomorrow or the day before launch, but I'm not picking a starter without knowing what type it'll be in its final evolution and whether or not it looks ridiculous. Looking at you Emboar. Tepig was such a disappointment.

So much hate over the Dynamax stuff. I like it quite a bit but to each their own I guess.

Seeing Pokémon in the open is fantastic.

I don't think anyone really likes the Dynamax thing, but from a marketing standpoint, giant Kaiju sell. Especially in Japan.

FLASHY USELESS GIMMICK ALERT
FLASHY USELESS GIMMICK ALERT

It looks awful, Let's Go seems much more interesting.

Might watch the whole thing later, but thanks for the recap. Of course, it's worth noting that all Pokemon games are open world in the sense they share with most classic JRPGs; the route layout just tends to add more of a Metroidvania feel as a rule, or maybe something comparable to FFX/XIII. Sword & Shield are seemingly promising to add a sort of "Archylte Steppe" area, to be more precise - but that doesn't mean it's not a welcome addition.

Eh Pokémon always has gimmicks, Z-Moves, Rotating Battles, etc I’m not phased by it. As I am with every entry- I’m super excited and can’t wait to play :3

@Kalmaro I'm with you. I think the Dynamax thing looks like it could be fun. I also like the sense of scale it creates when you're in a stadium.
Oh, and the idea of doing raids with other players sounds like it could be fun! I haven't ever been able to participate in Pokemon Go raids because I can schedule that out, but being able to do it online would be nice.

I'll wait to see how the Dynamax aspect plays out. Seeing as there are specific areas where it can be used, it sounds like its more like previous mechanics in that it happens here and there throughout the campaign and can only be used once during a battle and are otherwise, optional to use. I am interested in seeing how it plays into the overall strategy of match

Pokemon gets to go Kaiju, baby.

Mega evolution + Dyna-max combined = Broken? Nah I believe you can't use both.

But well I gotta love this game a lot specially after finally adding rotating camera and overworld wild pokemon

The gigantism thing just looks stupid.

The open world looks pretty big. Seems like a great way to balance the generally more linear design of these games.

Pokemon S/S continues to look amazing.

Unsure about the Dynamax thing, but, if nothing else, it's neat looking.

Well I guess people who said it looked like it was going to be like the 3DS games might have to take an L. 😜

I've been hanging around FA for too long. All Dynamax sounds like to me is some sort of fetish bait.

Hmm, now I know how my GF feels about some of my own interests sometimes. It's technically harmless but the vocal fans tend to routinely twist it into more.

Do your part, don't fetishize Dynamaxing. K thx internet.

... imagine actually trying to throw that giant Pokeball. Those trainers must have some mad upper body strength.

While I'm jazzed to see Pokemon on the overworld again, I'm still not sure what I think about the quasi-realistic environment paired with 3DS-esque characters. It's really strange to me, and I can't decide if it's something I could get used to or not. Hm.

Dynamaxing is GARBAGE and I’m so angry!!!!!!!!!! I wish they would just continue with Mega Evolutions and skip all of these new gimmicks!! Only some starters having Megas and not others feels so incomplete and terrible. They’ve really messed up.

I have to say tho! I'm not Pokémon fan, but this game got me HYPED!
Love every bit of what was shown.
Can't wait to get my hands on this. 😁

Folks are so mad about the new Dynamax mechanism, and I'm over here still confused about Mega Evolutions and Z Rings and dance moves. Remember when Let's Go came out and folks were mad because it was 'dumbed down'?
I think the art is nice, I may have a small interest in Sword now.

i wonder if you'll be able to mega evolve a dynamax pokemon or dynamax an already mega evolved pokemon....

Magic wand! Make my Pokemon GROW!

I do like the Wild Area and free camera, baby steps towards a true open world Pokemon game. The Dynamax gimmick can die in a fire, though, and I say this as an original player since Red with a binder full of Mewtwo cards in the other room. Mega evolutions are alright, Alolan forms are alright, size variations like in Let's Go are cool. Ten year old me wouldn't have cared about whatever "Z-moves" are supposed to be, same goes for rotating battles. Making your Pokemon giant for a limited time while facing giant Pokemon that have no arbitrary turn limit on their giant state is bizarre, a real waste of development time that could have been spent making a more open world Pokemon experience. The legendaries' designs aren't the best, these are probably the worst designs on legendary Pokemon since generation five. Dull colors, too much similarity in design between the two. Not the best by far, unfortunately.

My main concern with the open world is that it might feel empty, but that'll depend on how many Pokemon and Trainers are walking around. Otherwise, what can I say except a developer doesn't put in a free camera unless there's a lot to look at In the trailer from before, it showed a trainer encountering a Pokemon the traditional way, so it makes me think that it'ss be a mi of that, and Let's Go's open world Pokemon.

Dynamax looks absurd, and I love it, it's like the Totem Pokemon on steroids, and those were really fun in Sun and Moon. It makes me hope they bring back the 'call for help' thing Pokemon did then. I just have to wonder where Z-Moves and Mega Evolutions will fit into this. The former was just introduced last gen, and the latter showed up in Let's Go, and makes me wonder about the possibility of combining all three...

I was concerned about Game Freak wanting to incorporate Pokemon Go features, but never considered the raid battles as one of them-that's actually clever, and doesn't fundamentally change the old formula, just adding onto it. I like that. It actually gives an in-universe explanation for Go's raid battles too, weirdly enough.

Going to try going dark on the Pokemon news for now, but I'm actually pretty engaged. Now I just need to look into the Pokemon I want to transfer from Sun and OR, finish Let's Go, and get Meltan/Melmetal... oh boy...

Unless the giant thing makes battles too easy, I think kaiju Pokemon battles looks super cool. Man, like a giant kaiju Eevee is so absurd that I love it.

This Dynamax thing has killed any interest I had for the game. It makes the pokemon look like awful parade balloons and I doubt it'll make any tactical difference outside of MP. Not to mention that it's yet another new generation that will introduce a hundred new unmemorable pokemon. Even the starters look like Digimon rejects.

Good to see Gamefreak using the switch's power. I'm pretty sure wild areas will stay for a while. Gen 8 looks amazing! Sure, it's not the revolution many fans wanted, but another step to that, I believe.
Now, about pokemon super Sword and super Shield or whatever they will call the complete game...

Dynamax doesn’t really interest me. I would’ve preferred that they expanded a previously explored topic like regional variants or Mega Evolution but I guess that’s less marketable. Here’s hoping they still do new megas/regionals on top of the Dynamax but I doubt it.

The large open area on the other hand is a great idea. I’m glad weather is important since this is based on the UK and our weather fluctuates a lot. I hope new trainers appear there throughout the game since it sounds like it’s somewhere you’ll want to return to.

Raids, sounds alright. Hope you can either do it with randoms or at least the AI are competent.

As always, some people do not like this new "Gimmick", ok, """that's normal""" and is ok; but what is not normal is that there are complaints of this and prefer to expand a previous gimmick which many did not agree or worse, complain that "there would be nothing new" in these games and it would be more of the same!!!, or in other words, do not like anything!

Seriously people can not have coherence and understanding?!, All right, the "freedom of expression" on the internet...

Game looks cool to me. Wish they would have stuck with mega evolutions, rather than create more unnecessary gimmicks like dynamic and z-moves. Mega evolution concept needs more in-depth explanation and GameFreak has just thrown it to the side. Looks like gym layout and puzzles are gone, which is kinda sad. Kinda liked the puzzle aspect of gyms especially D/P/Or and B&W. I'm assuming you can still capture wild Pokemon the old fashion way? And please make it that Hop gives up a real challenge. Haven't experienced that since Firered/Leafgreen and B2/W2

Wow go figure that I hear about this from my friends and how hyped everyone I know is for the dynamax battles and wild area, then I go on Nintendolife and see pure hate in the comments section.

Never change, Nintendolife.

I'm unsure about dynamax. However, it seems like dynamax lead to the game having a much larger scale. Just looking at the battle scenes and the huge gyms I was instantly hooked by the scale of all of it. So it's at least a gimmick that doesn't simply affect combat but the everything surrounding combat aswell which is pretty cool.

If wild area is done and recieved well, it may very well shape the future of the series. It's something many fans wanted for a while now, but it's limited to a small section of the game for now. I'm really looking forward to it

so they added an open world system after all..great!

Dynamax is strange for sure but I remember thinking mega evolutions were lame too and it turned into one of my favorite mechanics. Plus I seem to remember an episode in the first season where ash battles a giant ancient Gengar and Alakazam so maybe this is a play on that

Just wanted to say, everyone was complaining about Let's Go, saying they'll just wait for this. Now a bunch of people are complaining about this? This will be my first main series entry, and I think it looks great, and can't wait to get my hands on it.

Pokemon Kaiju eh? I'm getting flashbacks of that Pokemopolis episode towards the end of the Indigo League saga in the anime. That episode featured a giant Gengar, Alakazam, and Jigglypuff IIRC.

The Wild Area also sounds quite interesting. Done correctly, this area could make Galar feel more organic.

This will be my first Pokémon game. Going to play it with one of the kids. Do I need to buy both versions for full experience or just one of them?

Dynamax... just why? Did they really think it would be a good idea to just mix Z-Moves with Pokéfloats?

Did anyone else think the open world areas reminded them a little bit of Breath of the Wild?

Looks like they're really changing things up for the latest Pokemon game.

That Milotic peeking it's head out of the water is a reminder of how scary Pokemon in real life would actually be.

Seriously tired of go. Leave us alone!

I really really like all of this! In terms of PvP Dynamax is like a temporary mega evolution that seems stronger. Using it strategically will be very important.

I can't wait to find out if the games will retain Z-moves and Megas. I hope so! PvP will be so cool with all 3! But a mode that also bans all 3 would be nice too for a different meta.

So happy to see the Wild Area with Pokémon in the overworld. And I liked the hints in the trailer showing different ways to get them which included whistling to draw attention to a Stufful in the grass, shaking a tree for berries (I imagine an agitated Pokemon will lunge out at you), seeing a more up-close animation for fishing, traditional random encounters....

And omg, bikes are back! Thank the gods! Both land and water, so I can’t wait

I was speechless to see a GIANT RAICHU from that Direct.
Pokemon goes GIANT?! Cool !

@Donutman You just need one of them, since they are technically the same game with some minor diferences here and there.

Can't wait to try all the new things and want to see more new pokemons.....😁😁

Okay, now we're talking, this is more of what I expected a console Pokemon game to look and play like. I'll gladly eat crow on this one (or I guess Corviknight in this case?) if the game is as good as it looks today. I said before if Pokemon wasn't going to go open world I at least wanted to see something more like OoT. And well the Wild Area looks pretty Hyrule Field-esque, an open, central field that you can wander around and explore and features dynamically changing environments (Hyrule Field had a day and night system, this has weather). This is exactly what I wanted to see. It's not full open world, but it's a good compromise. Wandering around an open field hunting for Pokemon is half of what I wanted out of an open world Pokemon game so I'll definitely enjoy this. I'm not entirely sold on this game, I do want to see exactly how much of the region the Wild Area spans, but I've gone from "probably not" to "most likely" in one fell swoop. I really wish they'd have teased this in the reveal trailer, the game would've had a much better initial reception if they'd at least teased the Wild Area because it does a much better job of selling console Pokemon. Unless it just wasn't polished enough to be shown off I just can't see a reason not to come out of the gate with this one. But yeah, for the first time in years I'm legitimately excited for a Pokemon game.

@Nekonokatzen medicine ball, very oldschool.

I really really look forward to dynamax, wild areas and raids. I think that raids are an evolution of the mini bosses pokemon in sun/moon. I really really hope they do not kill megaevolutions and z-moves. I think that building a team with those and dynamax would be more interesting. I am worried for the lags and resolution of the game. I just hope it will be a solid 1080p30fps locked.

Edit: wild areas excite me mostly because of the pokemon in the map! Awesome. After the first trailer i was very worried that they would remove this feauture.

Wild Areas? An open-world plateau that connects with ther cities?! That looks promosing and has a huge potential
Dynamax Battles... they look tremendous (even if the Giant Pokémon need adjusted proportions) but are they really gonna be the main new feature? I mean, the Dynamax moves look like unlimited Z-Moves. I bet there are still many secrets.
Multiplayer Raids interest me mostly because you have to find other players in the Wild Area... isn't that like a MMO for like 5 seconds?

Open world looks nice, and you definitely see Pokemon walking around. I am not a big Pokemon fan, but I might still get it.

So, the next Pokémon has a kind of N64 Hyrule plain where you'll see pokémon figures walk, right? (because the "large map connected to the rest of the world" description doesn't sound any different than the way the game was organized since Red)

Funny new gimmick, let's hope it doesn't last longer than its game (unlike mega-evos that stayed a bit too long).

@Majora101 "Making your Pokemon giant for a limited time while facing giant Pokemon that have no arbitrary turn limit on their giant state is bizarre"
Say that to Ultraman, the poor guy could only hold his giant size for three minutes to beat his (kaijû) giant opponents.

@Donutman If you want to play with your kid (if he can read, given the type of game this is), it could be more interesting to each have a copy (one of each name for collection sake since the catalogue of monsters is slightly different between them, but it's not mandatory) in order to be able to exploit the multiplayers aspect Pokémon has always been about: trading beasts and fighting against each other, you can even help your child by giving him/her a creature you trained, whatever...
Plus, one of this game's new gimmicks is the ability to meet and go against "Godzilla-sized" pokémon on the "central map".

Anyway, have a good time.

I can't help but roll my eyes a little at the dynamax gimmick. I also think it's a bit much to praise the wild area, because it's nothing groundbreaking for the genre. It's not much different than hyrule fields, or similar areas in a lot of adventure/JRPG games, or even the pokemon series itself. Granted, it looks beefier than previous games. So that's good.

All that being said, I'm a lot happer with Sword/Shield overall than I was with Let's Go. While it's not exactly a huge jump, it seems like an actual step forward for the series. Not a step back, like Let's Go was. I'm still starved for information on things like clothing, side content, amount of catchable Pokemon, story, and so on. But I'm feeling a bit more optimistic than I was initially.