Pokémon Sword and Shield - The Crown Tundra Reviews
If you enjoyed Pokémon Shield and are looking for more Pokémon to fill your time, The Crown Tundra is worth the price of admission.
The Crown Tundra is more than just a small expansion with a slightly expanded pokédex and a brand new legendary to catch. This is one hell of a meaty campaign with some interesting puzzle-solving mechanics, a labyrinthine map to explore, tons of returning legendaries, and a roguelike mode that is way more addictive than it should have ever been. Whereas The Isle of Armor felt too short and undercooked, The Crown Tundra is absolutely worth buying if you own Sword or Shield.
Pokémon Sword and Shield: The Crown Tundra is a solid expansion that culminates the expansion pass on a highly positive note with a slew of new features and improvements.
The new items, moves, locations and of course Pokémon add a lot to the replay value. Dynamax Adventures alone are worth the price of admission for both DLC expansions. If this is the direction that the franchise is going to take from now on, I’d say that Game Freak definitely nailed it on their first try.
Crown Tundra is the conclusion of the first expansion of the Pokémon franchise. Both Galar's extra adventures have a "test" feeling, a taste that could be a title in the main series entirely in open areas or even open world. Crown Tundra was important for having continued the evolution from this perspective, and managed to attract a greater charm in its construction than its predecessor. This first attempt was not perfect, but Crown Tundra managed to close the package with a little adventure as fun and promising as the possibilities of the future.
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As flawed as Dynamax Adventures are, this add-on showcases so much of the future for Pokemon. Yes, Dynamax Adventures should be revisited, but it is still a great addition to the series. Vast open areas should be the standard for Pokemon games now, not just a great showpiece. On that point, bringing back Roaming Legendary Pokemon was the best way to highlight the Wild Areas’ value. You need to regularly change your team for Legendary Clues, so thank goodness you have universal PC access. Finally, letting the player choose which Legendary Pokemon they wanted was a wise design choice, reinforcing a good precedent for future Pokemon DLC.
Featuring more species to fill your Dex with, new ways to Max Raid, and plenty of legendary encounters; The Crown Tundra compliments its predecessor well and gives fans even more to do in Gen VIII.
The Crown Tundra is a decent DLC, getting straight to the point of catching Pokémon, with Legendaries being the primary focus. There are a lot of familiar faces but the new additions are a sight for sore eyes. Dynamax Adventures is the real winner here and it can be enjoyed by yourself or with friends.
Pokemon Sword and Shield: The Crown Tundra isn’t exactly big on the story, but the way it focuses on exploration encapsulates Pokemon’s pure essence. It’s about exploring new places, making new discoveries, hunting down monumental beings, and doing it all with friends. Combine this with the Isle of Armor, and I feel this DLC is well worth the admission price.
A much welcome expansion for Pokémon Sword and Shield that introduces two, very well-designed areas, brimming with Pokémon to catch. Perfect for fans of the games, but likely won’t change the minds of others.
As an expansion to the main game, The Crown Tundra offers perhaps even less varied distractions than its predecessor, The Isle of Armor, and fewer rewards or strategic advantages to unlock. However, it also potentially offers more playtime, since Dynamax Adventures are sure to keep players invested in search of a sought-after rare or legendary shiny Pokémon with good IVs. Since both expansions can't be bought separately and come bundled no matter what, both ultimately complement one another rather well. It is therefore hard to scoff at what's on offer in the Expansion Pass, although it should only be considered indispensable by the most eager Pokémon fans, who are more likely to get the most value out of it.
Ultimately, there are better RPGs on the Nintendo Switch to play. For the highest-grossing media franchise, Pokemon is an emperor with no clothes. Instead of giving loyal fans bang for their buck, they’re now asking for DLC that barely adds instead of improving. If Pokemon is the king, it’s about time the fans had a coup.
The Crown Tundra gives you a lot more engaging content than The Isle of Armor, but it's still a bit lacking in polish. If you like Legendary Pokemon though, this is the DLC for you.
There's not as many new Pokémon as I'd have liked, and two-thirds of the legendary hunt is lacking. But, with new features, tons of legendary Pokémon, and a cool new environment to explore, this is an expansion worth picking up.
Although it may come at an additional cost, Pokemon Sword & Shield's Expansion Pass has salvaged the games for this fan.
In short, The Crown Tundra is another fine addition to Pokémon Sword & Shield, but it emphasises many of both the highlights and shortcomings of the base games. The highs are excellent, white hot flashes of wonderment, but they're a little spoiled by a foundation of ageing game design. We would recommend this to anyone who enjoyed The Isle of Armor, but considering if you've paid for that you've already paid for this, it's hard to argue otherwise. The Crown Tundra offers a glimpse of a possible future, and what it does well, it does seriously well, but the series as a whole deserves to be completely dug out of the nearly 25 year-old design philosophies that made the originals great. The world has moved on since Pokémon first arrived, and it's time for the series to catch up.
All in all, I think The Crown Tundra is the better of Pokémon Sword and Shield's two expansions. It's yet another step forward over improving the Wild Area, so much so that I think it could serve as a really good foundation for creating a full open-world Pokémon title. It's not without its faults, but I haven't been able to stop playing since I started it and don't see myself voluntarily letting up any time soon.
These efforts seen in The Crown Tundra make up for the disappointment that was Isle of Armor and leaves Sword and Shield’s expansion pass off on a positive note.
The most frustrating part of the whole experience was that it proves Pokémon Sword & Shield could’ve been so much better than they were. Despite its short length and graphical limitation, The Crown Tundra gives a further glimpse into how magical Galar could’ve been.It’s a steep price point for an Expansion Pass where only half of it is enjoyable. Combine that with the full price of the base game, which is necessary to play The Crown Tundra, and you’re looking at a hefty price tag for very little joy. However, if you’ve already finished the base game or completed the Isle of Armour, The Crown Tundra is a very enjoyable way to spend a few hours.