Game Freak has revealed how long it will take to beat Pokemon Sword and Shield. According to the game's director the latest Pokemon adventure will about the same length as previous games, but this one will offer even more extra and bonus content for hardcore players to dive into.

For its Switch debut the Pokemon franchise is going to the Galar region, which is based on the United Kingdom. Sword and Shield is introducing three adorable new starter Pokemon, Sobble, Scorbunny, and Grookey, and will include many other Pokemon, both new and old. The biggest new addition is the Wild Area, a sprawling zone where players can catch Pokemon and engage in online activities and raids.

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In an interview with Game Informer Pokemon Sword and Shield director Shigeru Ohmori was asked if the length of the game was comparable to other entries in the franchise.

"In terms of the volume or the amount of content in the main adventure, it’s comparable to other Pokémon generations that we’ve played." Ohmori said. "I think there’s a lot of interesting activities that, for example, completing the Pokedex or really going out into the Wild Area and engaging with those mechanics, that’ll add a lot of replay value for players who are looking to get really hardcore into that."

pokemon sword route one

If taken at face value this means the length for a regular playthrough, just breezing through the main story, mandatory gym battles and endgame, will take about 30 hours to complete. More hardcore fans can try and tackle all the extra content, which will put them at about 50 hours. Beyond the single player content, the Wild Area will provide ongoing content to players who stick with the game. In the interview Ohmori and producer Junichi Masuda also opened up about what to expect from the Wild Area and the Max Raid Battles that will take place in the zone.

"With Max Raid Battles, we have the star ranking system and... the highest-ranked ones – they are quite difficult." Ohmori said.  "I’ve tried to play them on my own and lost many times. When you get to the highest stuff, you need really good team coordination to defeat them."

Looks like Pokemon Sword and Shield players will have to band together and use their most powerful Pokemon to defeat these Raid bosses in what may be the most difficult challenge in a Pokemon game yet.

Pokemon Sword and Shield will launch on November 15, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.

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Source: Game Informer