Pokemon Sword / Shield: The Isle of Armor

We were striving for a new Wild Area and we received a the next step of Pokémon's open world experience. Sadly the first part of the Expansion Pass still feels shallow and with lots of empty space.

When reviwed from a zero point, Isle of Armor renews the metagame and includes a significant amount of content. It is just a pity that there is no sign of challenge to live up to the eight months of training. When out of this vacuum, however, it is clear that this expansion is much more complete than the base game, expanding its experience.

The Isle of Armor is a nice extra chunk of land to explore in the Galar region that brings with it 100 past Pokémon, and two new ones to add to the list of playables in the 8th generation games. A slew of extra items and features making Pokémon breeding and training a bit better are also included, along with enough bonuses to warrant the existence of this DLC... but not much more than that. Nevertheless there's a sense that story content is kind of short here, and that having to pay extra to gain access to more of the older Pokémon, whereas past games included all of them right from the start, whether through Pokémon Bank or not, is not the best of deals. Still, this is better than having to pay for a full new game like Ultra Sun and Moon, only to have access to a bit of extra stuff. The concept of expansions is, at least, a better solution.

With all the added Pokemon that were previously missing and the fact it's just more Sword and Shield to enjoy, The Isle of Armor is definitely worth getting, but it's best not to have the highest of expectations going in regardless due to the major flaws that hold it back from being great.

Isle of Armor is big, colorful and filled with familiar faces and feelings, but there's a real lack of brand new content.

Isle of Armor is an interesting shot of new content which the original Pokémon Sword and Shield players will be able to extend the game experience for a few hours. It is not necessarily better, but it does successfully complement the previous experience. Smart map design, 100 new returning Pokémon, some quests to face… but the story is too short, though. Good enough.

As Pokémon's first-ever DLC, The Isle of Armor is an entertaining but shallow return to the Galar region.

The Isle of Armor improves on Pokémon Sword and Shield's open world experiments with a light expansion.

The main plusses of the Island of Armor expansion are the fun game world and the large amount of trusted pokémon that have been added to the game. Unfortunately, the main adventure around Kubfu is so short that you hardly have the opportunity to enjoy all these favorites.

The Isle of Armor DLC feels like a glimpse into the future of what Pokémon is going to be. It's just a shame that elements from the base release hold it back. Let's hope the next half of the DLC, The Tundra Crown pushes the gameplay to even greater heights.

You're getting a very small narrative and another big interconnected Wild Area: that's pretty much of the gist of it.

A product that travels by oxymorons: it presents an evolution of 3D exploration lived in the Wild Lands, but it also inherits defects in level design that it decides not to leave behind.

Even though the Isle of Armor reintroduces 210 new Pokémon and provides a new and easier way to get certain items and upgrades, it's story is too short and not entertaining to really prove itself worthy. However you are a big Pokémon fan and just want to capture more of them, this DLC will probably to the job for you.

With few summer Switch games this year, The Isle of Armor is a breath of fresh air and its vibe will make you feel like you're on vacation. Plus, exploring the beautiful island while catching new Pokemon has definitely made me re-experience some of Pokemon Sword's magic.

Isle of Armor is a good small step for Pokémon, but we can only recommend it to players who want to continue capturing and fighting.

The Isle of Armor is an expansion that does things right, but in the end it feels like an underwhelming experience. The main story leaves a lot to be desired and I can't help but think that some of its improvements should be on the base game.

Pokemon Sword/Shiled: Isle of Armor is the first piece of a whole called the Expansion Pass, and despite its incredible visuals and offering a new wilderness area, it's still relying on the next iteration to justify its price. Crown of Tundra comes later this year and its premise itself caught our eye from the very first moment. Island of Armor is just a way to prepare us for what is coming.

Isle of Armor is an enjoyable expansion to Pokemon Sword and Shield and brings the franchise one step closer to embracing a cohesive open-world, but it isn’t enough to detract from an experience that is far too brief for its own good.

While the release of the Isle of Armor DLC puts Game Freak in the right steps of regaining the hearts of Pokemon trainers worldwide, the execution of the DLC leads to a mess, rather than a milestone for the series. The addition of a great Pokemon is, consequently, meritless; that, with the combination of a rather short and unimpressive main quest might lead players away, rather than ensnare them with the beauties and qualities of the Isle of Armor that are seemingly hidden.

There are definitely some much-needed additions that come with the Isle of Armor, but it still feels as though it's the least amount of content possible. I love Pokémon, but this expansion has left me feeling a little bit cold on the whole thing. There's fun to be had, but unless you're committed to catching 'em all or grinding every Pokémon up to a competitive standard, it won't last very long.

If you picked up the expansion pass hoping for a lengthy and interesting story, or some new gameplay then you’ll probably find Isle of Armor a little lacking as I did. That said, the price of $15 isn’t overwhelmingly prohibitive so if you’re a fan of Sword and Shield, you’ll probably be OK with another similar helping.

Reasonably good value for money and a better open world environment than the original but with very little story or structure, Pokémon’s first expansion feels disappointingly hollow.

Pokémon Sword and Shield's Isle of Armor Expansion gives the game the best environment and world design Pokémon has had in any 3D game, mainline, or spin-off, but very little else. If you're a Pokémaniac who is dead-set on completing another Pokédex, you'll love this, but if you want to do something other than filling out a list, this is not for you. This is not the whimsical world-traveling adventure mainline Pokémon games are, this is just boring.

As sympathetic as it is, Isolarmure is therefore the theater of a first dispensable DLC which certainly does not lack content, but above all of inspiration.