Pokémon Red is the first game I can remember playing myself. And while revolutionary for the time, the rudimentary, 8-bit graphics of the series left a lot to the imagination. Pretend this grass hides wild pokémon. Imagine this pokémon is wielding vast elemental powers. Picture an epic gym battle for the right to be the champion of the entire country. The Game Boy classics could never live up to the dream they were selling. With Pokémon Sword and Shield, though, you don’t have to imagine. For the first time, developer Game Freak has brought the world of Pokémon to life in a way that the pixel-art of Red and Blue never could.
Sword and Shield’s Galar region feels alive to me in a way that no Pokémon game ever has. Wild pokémon peer their…