One major reason why Pokemon GO and Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee found instant success is down to the fact that both games allowed players to live out their real-life Pokemon fantasy in a way that the franchise hadn't before. Pokemon GO used AR technology on mobile so that players could see Pokemon in their own environment, whereas Let's Go replaced random-battle with Pokemon roaming in the overworld. Next month's Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield are looking to expand on the fantasy in new and exciting ways with the introduction of the Wild Area.
Despite Pokemon Sword and Shield 10GB file-size, players can expect the upcoming eighth-generation to be similar in size and length as other games in the franchise. Rather than having every Pokemon in the wild appear in the overworld, Pokemon Sword & Shield uses a combination of random encounters and the Wild Area to offer a unique experience. But what is the Wild Area and how does it work?
What is the Wild Area?
The Wild Area is a large open-world wilderness location in Pokemon Sword and Shield that players are free to explore at will. Located in the center of the Galar Region, the Wild Area is equivalent to the size of two regions in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and connects to multiple towns and cities across a variety of different biomes including lakes, fields, deserts, and more.
In the Wild Area, Pokemon can be found roaming in the overworld just like they did in Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee, except that this time players are given unrestricted control of the camera. Players will be able to explore in any direction of the Wild Area without the bird's eye view approach to the camera, giving a real sense of scale to each Pokemon's size - and the variety of landscapes and shifting weather patterns will also affect the kinds of Pokemon that players can find.
Pokemon in the Wild Area can be found through three different kinds of encounters: roaming Pokemon, random encounters, and a new catching mechanic where players will need to sneak up on rare Pokemon that appear as exclamation points hiding in the grass. And not all of the Pokemon in the Wild Area can be caught without a bit of a fight as players will come across some Pokemon that are drastically over-leveled.
Online Connectivity & Max Raids
Just like previous games in the franchise, Pokemon Sword and Shield is a single-player RPG and will play like a traditional Pokemon game. However, the Wild Area will introduce online multiplayer for the first time. Described as "constantly-connected," the Wild Area is not unlike Destiny 2's hub-world location, the Tower, and other players can be seen roaming in the world alongside wild Pokemon.
Due to the online-connectivity and the ability for multiple players to appear in the same world, the Wild Area is believed to be the location where Max Raid Battles are going to take place. Max Raid battles are multiplayer battles where up to four players can join together to battle a Pokemon that's locked in their Dynamax or Gigantamax form. Raids appear as beacons of light that beam into the sky, something that requires a significant amount of space which fits perfectly with the Wild Area's design.
The Wild Area is one of Pokemon Sword and Shield's most intriguing and promising new additions to the franchise. Being able to see Pokemon roaming in the overworld and allowing players to live out their real-life Pokemon fantasy is exciting but its the new features that come along with the Nintendo Switch like online multiplayer and Raid battles that will go a long way to making this feel like a real step forward for the series.
Whether or not the Wild Area will do enough to improve on Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee's roaming Pokemon or Raid battles in Pokemon GO remains to be seen. Game Freak is making a lot of exciting changes based on the success of previous games in the series, so it's clear players are in for a few surprises come November including pre-order bonuses that come with a catch!
Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield release on November 15, exclusively on Nintendo Switch.