Pokemon Sword and Shield Release Today

The highly anticipated new installments in the Pokemon Series – Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield – release on the Nintendo Switch today.

The games have been both highly anticipated and highly contested, with many fans voicing concern over the changing and removal of several major features as well as the now-famous removal of nearly half of the total National Pokedex. Wherever you may lie on these issues, the games have now been officially released, and people both excited and worried about the game can form their own complete opinions of it.

Sword and Shield take place in the Galar region, inspired by Great Britain, and showcases a massive new region full of locations to explore and new creatures to discover. Both completely new Pokemon and new versions of old Pokemon viewed in ways both fresh and familiar are strewn throughout the experience. The player takes control of a young trainer setting out to defeat all of the region’s Gym leaders and become the new Pokemon League Champion.

The player will travel throughout the region, befriending and catching new Pokemon and honing their skills, as has been tradition since the original games’ release back in 1996. Some changes have been made to the formula outside of the Pokedex drama, such as the Gigantamaxing gameplay and the inclusion of a mandatory EXP share function.

Hopefully, the game can live up to the varied expectations of the many differing fans out there and turn out to be another widely enjoyed installment in the wildly popular series. You can check out a trailer for the game down below:

Have you picked up Pokemon Sword and Shield yet? What are your thoughts so far? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned to The Nerd Stash for the latest in gaming, movies, TV, comics, and more!