Pokemon The Crown Tundra DLC preview: four big additions in Sword and Shield’s latest DLC - VG247

In Sword and Shield’s Pokemon universe version of the UK, The Crown Tundra takes on the role of Scotland.

While we couldn’t actually go hands-on with The Crown Tundra thanks to the ongoing pandemic in the real life UK, an in-depth presentation and tour of the new area and its content makes clear that this is a larger, more extensive expansion than the Isle of Armor.

Each of these open-ended areas feels more ambitious than the last – the Isle of Armor felt a step up from the wild area, and the mountainous Crown Tundra feels like a further stretch still.

In the past, Nintendo and The Pokemon Company would sell a third ‘edition’ of each Pokemon game with new content, quality-of-life tweaks and minor changes.

The expansion pass takes the place of that – and based on the content on offer, it actually provides far better value than any of those upgraded versions ever did?

They continue to make this DLC accessible, too – despite a focus on endgame content, The Crown Tundra can be accessed from very early in the game.

But let’s talk about the actual content of the Crown Tundra.

There’s a main story quest which sees you joining an expedition team and going into the wild to hunt a “huge-headed Pokemon” – the all-new legendary Pokemon Calyrex.

Calyrex is a royal sort of Pokemon that regards people with a classically superior, sniffy attitude – and it seemingly was once actually King of Galar.

Once in battle, the Zapdos is level 70 – and then like any Pokemon, you’ll have a chance to catch it.

Dynamax Adventures take place in Pokemon Lairs, and they’re essentially one of the most in-depth pieces of end-game content in Pokemon Sword and Shield, ultimately offering you the chance to catch super-powerful legendary Pokemon not yet found in Galar – though each legendary can only be caught once by a player, so you can’t endlessly farm them.

This is basically a doubles Pokemon battle tournament, but there’s a twist – you choose which of the famous characters you’ve encountered you want to partner with – be that gym leaders, the champion, or other significant figures from Sword and Shield.

This is available for players who have conquered both the Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra’s stories as well as being crowned champion of Galar – so it’s considered hard end-game content.

Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield