Pokémon Sword & Shield is a visually spectacular entry among the Pokémon series, jumping from the low resolutions of the 3DS to the immensely more powerful Nintendo Switch. Some fans have expressed frustration with the detail of certain textures and animations, but the size, scope, and overall quality of the environments are still an incredible upgrade from past games.
There are tons of beautiful places in Galar, and each has its own weather, wildlife, and colors that take great advantage of the Switch’s capabilities in different ways. These are all the routes, cities, and other unique places that prove how gorgeous this game can be.
10 Energy Plant (Hammerlocke)
As the place for the main climactic showdown against the game’s primary villain Chairman Rose, it makes sense for this space to be an exciting battlefield, but the way it’s lit and designed is unlike any factory in Pokémon history. With its endless background of bright lights and glowing floor, this place stands out as something impossible in the older days of Pokémon.
This area is only made more beautiful in battle, remaining in an identical environment to where you walk and stand in the cutscene prior. Getting to fight Chairman Rose here, and Sordward and Shielbert later on, are a great and memorable experience thanks to this beautiful arena.
9 Wyndon
Much of what makes Wyndon such a beautiful city is just how many different things are in it. The main area feels like a bustling cityscape of large buildings, but as you move around you get to see a classy hotel, a festival and stadium, and the uniquely futuristic Battle Tower just a short distance away.
Wyndon gives players everything they could ask for, and thanks to the higher camera in most areas, it’s hard to be bothered by any poor textures on buildings and objects. Add to that a large variety of people and Pokémon wandering the streets, and you have a Pokémon environment that feels amazing to wander and revisit.
8 Route 8
The main area of Route 8 is one of the most typical Pokémon routes, and its likeness to other past locations is what makes it shine further. It’s essentially a typical maze area with different levels and wild grass blocking items, but the quality of the environment is so high that it’s significantly harder to recognize as a maze.
Pokémon X & Y had routes with extremely similar designs, but because of the technical limitations of the 3DS they often are way more obvious as video game levels. The density of decorations and details in Pokémon Sword & Shield makes for a much more natural and realistic world than prior games.
7 Motostoke
The massive city of Motostoke feels far less similar to the cities of most mainline Pokémon games, but is still weirdly reminiscent of Pokémon Colosseum’s Orre region. The streets are all wide, there are tons of secret areas and staircases, and all the moving gears make this area seem like some sort of steampunk wonderland.
This is far from a problem, though, as it makes for an extremely unique aesthetic that’s extremely rare for the series. Plus, it’s significantly more distinct than Pokémon Colosseum thanks to the beautiful waters and green hedges throughout the streets, alongside higher quality models than what Gamecube could provide.
6 Soothing Wetlands (Isle Of Armor)
While it might still be the same game, it’s no surprise that the Isle of Armor DLC has brought tons of new beautiful places to the game. Many of them feel relatively similar to the base game’s Wild Area, but the Soothing Wetlands provide a swamp that no other part of Galar resembles.
Swamps in general are quite unexplored in Pokémon games, with one of the only others being the Great Marsh in Pokémon Diamond & Pearl. With the Soothing Wetlands, though, we get a marshland with much more color and weather effects and is an absolute highlight of Galar’s Wild Areas.
5 Circhester
Classic Pokémon games have typically had extremely underwhelming hometowns for Ice-type Gym Leaders. Many have extremely few buildings and they can often have identical cottage-style houses, so besides their white coat of paint for the snowy ground, they can be extremely forgettable.
Circhester is far more memorable, in part thanks to its detailed brick roads. Many of the floors in this game can be quite plain, but the light snow over the roads and variety of styles make this city feel larger than it is. Beyond that, there are tons of details to make it seem like an especially colder place, such as the central and steamy Hero’s Bath that only looks warmer next to the light and constant snowfall.
4 Turffield
Similar to Wyndon, the town of Turffield is made far more beautiful thanks to the locked camera, which helps you experience the beauty of the overall environment rather than focusing too much on little details. Its diverse hills and paths make it feel quite large like Circhester too, making it into a great combination of the strongest parts of this game’s visuals.
What makes it even better, though, is the background of this city, which spans a massive distance in order to see crops and wilderness far beyond where you can explore. This game is undoubtedly large, but Turffield’s rolling hills make it feel even larger.
3 Battles
The places you walk are far from the only places where the graphics shine. Most Pokémon players are going to spend more time in battle than they are wandering the world, and thankfully this is where the graphical quality shines brighter than ever with beautiful Pokémon models, a wonderful moving camera, and highly detailed attacks.
Some arenas are less exciting than others, and some Pokémon animations can be underwhelming, but it’s hard to notice among the clean menus and detailed particle effects with every attack. Considering you’ll be in battle scenes constantly, it’s great to see every fight be a beautiful experience.
2 Ballonlea
Ballonlea is a perfect fit for its Fairy-type Gym, as the entire place feels magical in a way that’s unlike anywhere else in Galar. The Pokémon roaming around are all cheerily floating and the paths are all blocked by beautiful natural mushrooms, but the most distinctive part has to be the neon lights all around this town’s fantastical forest.
Places like the Energy Plant in Hammerlocke might have many beautiful lights, but it’s also quite artificial and monotone to show that it’s a factory. Not only is Ballonlea entirely natural, but its colors are incredibly diverse, and the colorful borders only make it more hypnotizing on a massive TV.
1 Slumbering Weald
It’s only right that the best-looking place in the game is so important to the story, as the Slumbering Weald is a crucial point for several plots in the game. It’s here that you face Sordward and Shielbert, have a final confrontation with Hop, and encounter the game’s cover legendaries Zaican and Zamazenta, at the very start of your journey.
With this space comes a deep dense forest with a calm and ghostly palette, and with its diverse plant life and soft fog, it makes for a fittingly mysterious space. At the end is the Shrine, a Stonehenge-style burial ground that adds a wide window of sunlight to help you see just how gorgeous this frightening forest can be, and altogether makes for a lovely atmosphere to wander and explore.
NEXT: 10 Pokémon Who Don’t Look Anything Like Their Type
