With Pokémon Sword and Shield not due to hit retail for several months, Game Freak is undoubtedly still in the process of constructing the pair of Switch titles. Indeed, the Galar Region, as well as every man, woman and ‘Mon to populate it, has likely yet to be finalized, meaning what fans saw during the pair’s initial reveal might not be what shows up in the final product. Given the way in which publishers wish to promote their latest and greatest titles way before release day rolls around, it’s an unfortunate inevitability that some features or content get lost in translation.
In Sword and Shield‘s case, however, it appears the reverse is true. As part of a recent T-shirt design competition held by The Pokémon Company and clothing brand Uniqlo, several in-game screenshots were dispatched to announce a winner. The lucky individual’s entry can be seen below as part of a comparison between the original reveal trailer shown earlier this year and images printed in the latest issue of Japanese mag CoroCoro.
https://twitter.com/FadeIn2211/status/1130477237671796736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1130477237671796736&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcomicbook.com%2Fgaming%2F2019%2F05%2F22%2Fpokemon-sword-and-shield-graphics%2F
What’s particularly interesting here, of course, is the apparent difference in visual fidelity between the two versions. With what seems to be the same cottage – potentially the player’s home – seen in the background, texture and lighting quality appears to have been bumped up ever so slightly since last we saw. Subtle as they are, the tweaks are most evident on foliage surrounding the player avatar, as well as the building’s windows. In the latter – more recent – screenshot, light can be seen reflecting off of the glass panels, a neat touch entirely absent from the original.
The ‘improved’ version comes by way of a magazine scan, too, so there’s every chance the perceived improvements are more noticeable in-game. Ultimately, we’ll need to wait for Game Freak to show more live footage of Pokémon Sword and Shield to make a final decision. Thankfully, the wait on that front comes to an end next month, and you can see here for all the details.