So you may have heard that recently Pokémon Sword and Shield have had their first DLC release, The Isle of Armour. This expansion brings back 105 Pokémon from old generations and adds a whole new story.
A good thing about this expansion is the level scaling. I started a new game, on Pokémon Sword to try out the expansion at its lowest level. It doesn’t take long to reach, as you only need to get to the Wild Area for the first time. Then take the train to the new Isle of Armour.
Reaching the island for the first time I felt under levelled, my poor Sobble only a lowly level 10, and my newly acquired Galarian Slowpoke at level 12. The first Pokémon I encountered was a Rockruff at level 15, which would have been a struggle had I not picked the water typed starter.
Levelling out was fairly easy though, as some of the more dangerous Pokémon, such as Bouffalant, knew very little in damaging moves.
I spent my first hour exploring the quaint island, finding and building myself a new team. Then I chose to start the story.
After battling your new rival, in my case – Klara – you’re journey begins at the dojo. After a short cutscene and a quick battle with Mustard, you’re sent off on your very first of 3 trials.
The first two trials you face feel like odd jobs that introduce you to new mechanics, like Max Soup, and the third is a battle. These trails are easily completed and don’t take massively long, but they do help you explore and traverse the island, allowing you to see a lot of what it has to offer.
After the three trials is where the most challenging part of the DLC begins. After you acquire Kubfu you’re given the choice to tackle one of two towers, each allowing your Kubfu to ultimately evolve in one of two ways.
I chose the Tower of Darkness, and despite the games warnings of Kubfu being level 30 to make the challenge easier I tried my luck more or less straight away. I lost. Badly.
The challenge isn’t in beating the tower with only a Kubfu, but the process of grinding Kubfu to be able to fight the tower by its self. Once I hit level 30 the tower was relatively easy, each trainer only having one Pokémon of the towers type.
Once completing the tower, and evolving your Kubfu into Urshifu, you are left to wander the island as much as you wish.
The island does have plenty to explore, and plenty to see. But it also has another side challenge where you search for Alolan Digletts buried in the ground. The reward for this is Alolan versions of older Pokémon for every 5 or 10 Diglett you have found.
One feature from older games, and perhaps a peak in this expansion, is the return of Pokémon following you outside of their balls. This might only be a small feature, but you can’t help but appreciate the effort they’ve put in to allow every Pokémon follow you around.
Just like in generation 4’s Heartgold and Soulsilver, and later spin-offs Let’s Go: Pikachu and Eevee, fans will be happy to see their favourite monsters run around behind them. It’s a fun little addition that many players will appreciate, although for me, I especially enjoy seeing a Slowpoke dragging behind because it can’t keep up.
For a DLC to bring us a new Wild Area I was a little skeptical. But the Isle of Armour really does bring out a lot of character that the original Wild Are just doesn’t seem to have.
I was a little disappointed to see, from my experience, that only one new Galarian form was added to the game. I feel like we could have done with many more. But, after the Dexit fiasco, it’s nice to see more Pokémon return to the game, with or without a regional variant.
This expansion does have plenty to offer for new players and veterans alike. The level scaling is effective, and allows you to play at any time, no matter how far into the game you have reached.
It does feel a little steep for £25, but when you consider the expansion pass also includes The Crown Tundra. It all feels worth while for the effort that Gamefreak have put into this expansion and the level of effort we can come to expect for the next.
With plenty to offer and a story to follow, even for a rather short one, this expansion is definitely one to check out if you’re a fan of the series.
GameSploosh 