Pokémon Sword and Shield for Nintendo Switch: 10 things we want

Photo Mode

It’s a new core game in HD for the first time on Nintendo’s most powerful system to date. You’ll want plenty of opportunities to take screenshots of all the cool areas you’ll be visiting to be sure, but also of the various Pokémon you’ll encounter throughout your journey, hopefully being able to pose with a lot of them in fun ways.

Photo mode is a really common thing nowadays in video games, and it especially makes a ton of sense in a series like Pokémon, which potentially provides opportunities for a lot of fun and wild photos depending on what’s going on. And unlike a lot of other games that provide this mode, while you can simply take some photos, there’s already a great blueprint on how to do this and make it sort of a fun minigame in the process.

As I stated previously, Pokémon games on Nintendo home consoles are few and far between, and most are not particularly fondly remembered. There is one particular entry, however, that is fondly remembered. That would be Pokémon Snap for the Nintendo 64. Instead of capturing Pokémon, you took pictures of them. It wasn’t as simple as aiming your camera and having them pose for you, often you had to do various things to lure them out and get them to a good spot for a photo, and it was a lot of fun.

This could be a minigame that is incorporated into Sword and Shield that does things like grade you on the quality of the photo and such, maybe unlock some goodies after you take enough good photos. Either way, some kind of a photo mode in Pokémon Sword and Shield for the Nintendo Switch is an absolute must.