Open world Pokemon game mod has fans thinking what Sword and Shield could have been

Pokemom Sword and Shield have been blasted yet again by the franchise’s online community, with some fans claiming the gameplay in the upcoming titles is rivalled by a 2013 fan-made game. 

Open world before its time

The video shows a uniquely styled Pokemon game that adopts an open world format. This is notable as fans have been clamoring for an open world Pokemon game ever since the days of the original GameBoy.

Even Nintendo’s upcoming Pokemon Sword and Shield will only be partially open world. While it has yet to be confirmed, as we haven’t seen footage from places across the board, wild areas are apparently fully explorable but travel through cities is more fixed.

via Gfycat

Real-time battling

Another feature that some Pokemon trainers have implored Game Freak to experiment with is a real-time battle system. Naturally, Nintendo have been hesitant to do so because Pokemon’s current turn-based system is synonymous with the series.

• Read More: Pokemon players are comparing Sword and Shield to 20-year-old Stadium and the results aren’t great

However, this particular game does use real-time mechanics and it appears to work. The clips show a Squirtle battling a Charmander using its patented move bubble, before the trainer aims a Pokeball at the weakened Charmander in an attempt to capture it.

Graphically the game is somewhat rudimentary, but this is understandable considering open world has yet to be properly utilized and that it was a fan-made game.

Comparisons to Sword Shield

The response to the clips appearing online has been clear, though. For the most part, trainers think it looks like a great game and amid the current Pokemon Sword and Shield criticisms, fans are using it as an example as to what current Pokemon games should be capable of.

The name of the game wasn’t provided, but a little bit of research shows similarities between a game called “Pokemon” which was given a Pokemon mod, according to RuffledRowlit. The game doesn’t look exactly like the one shown in the top clips, though, as it looks more like Pokemon: Generations. 

One response to the clips suggested that the game is currently unavailable, which is hardly surprising given the copy of intellectual property. Another user was a little more brutal, saying: “Why wouldn’t it be shut down; it’s literally better than any Pokemon game they’ve ever made in their entire time making them.”

It has been a tough week or so for the teams behind Pokemon Sword and Shield, as they have received criticism for multiple aspects of their upcoming game.

It started with the news of the National Pokedex being removed, followed by fans being disappointed with the graphics shown at E3. Elsewhere, a student made their own Pokemon animations in response to trainers lambasting the robotic nature of Wingull.

Trainers will get a chance to see the game in-full when Pokemon Sword and Shield releases on November 15.