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The Nintendo Switch now has enough Pokemon games to span three generations, from the tail end of the seventh with the Let's Go games to the dawn of the ninth through Scarlet & Violet. Smack dab in the middle, ringing in Gen 8 as the first new mainline titles in the series for a home console, Pokemon Sword & Shield arrived to considerable fanfare.
Time marches inexorably on, and as of this writing, Sword & Shield are a few years old and counting. But Pokemon is Pokemon. People will be buying the Galar games for years to come. What can newcomers expect in terms of length? Are Sword & Shield an epic adventure or a swift sojourn? A little of both, actually.
How Long Does Pokemon Sword & Shield Take To Finish?
Pokemon Sword & Shield follow the tried-and-true formula of collecting eight Gym Badges and then moving on to the Pokemon League. Every step of the way, you're building a core team of pals, preparing to challenge the champion for the position of strongest trainer in the land. If you've played any of Gen 8's predecessors, sans perhaps Sun & Moon, you'll know what to expect here.
The lack of an extensive secondary plot involving a nefarious organization players must topple likely contributes to the somewhat faster path through Sword & Shield's main story. Some of the later gyms arrive at a breathless pace, too.
Even so, we're not talking about the kind of game you can comfortably zoom through to the credits in a couple of relaxed sittings. You're looking at a solid 26 or so hours on average.
How Long Does Pokemon Sword & Shield Take To Finish With The Expansion Pass?
Although the games have been criticized for coming in a little shorter than many of their peers, Pokemon Sword & Shield pulled a neat trick — with the addition of two decently-sized DLCs via a paid Expansion Pass, a substantial amount of new content was added throughout 2020.
Those who can afford to shell out for the extra fun are strongly advised to do so, as the somewhat 'skeletal' feeling behind Sword & Shield's campaign is arguably alleviated via the 'Isle of Armor' and 'The Crown Tundra' DLCs.
If your goal is to get through the core content of both the vanilla game and its pair of companion areas, without investing a ton of time in any of the above, add another five hours for 'Isle of Armor' and six for 'The Crown Tundra', totaling you about 37 hours.
How Long Does Pokemon Sword & Shield Take To 100 Percent?
Of course, for many fans, Pokemon games are designed to be played for hundreds of hours. Those who are only just entering the wonderful world of Pokemon may wonder how a 25-ish hour main campaign can suddenly climb into the three-digit zone, but when there are so many species to catch, as well as advanced mechanics like breeding, building competitive-tier teams, perfecting Effort Values, and more?
Pokemon Sword & Shield are no strangers to this truth, with roughly 109 hours of gameplay to be found via launch content, as well as another 16 from 'Isle of Armor' and 27 from 'The Crown Tundra'. That puts things at a hefty 152 hours if you want to get as much out of Galar as you possibly can. Better get out there while the day's still young, trainers!