Pokemon Sword and Shield's first town artwork looks like a dream

(Image credit: The Pokemon Company)

Pokemon Sword and Shield art director James Turner took to Twitter today to reveal the first artwork for a town in the game, and now I can't stop looking. It's about as cozy and comforting as a fresh cup of tea, depicting a small winding road in the valley between two quaint homes billowing smoke from their chimneys. Seriously, why can't this place be real life?

Turner took to Twitter on Tuesday to reveal his work, expressing "his desire to convey how pretty the countryside of the UK can be" - mission accomplished, Turner. Pokemon Sword and Shield will introduce a brand new locale for the Pokemon series, the fictional Galal region, inspired by the rolling hills and country roads of the UK's more rural areas.

Of course, there's a lot more to Galar than the picturesque scene depicted in Turner's wonderful artwork. There's also snowy mountains, contemporary cities, sprawling plains, dark caves, and more. I can't wait to see what sort of Pokemon spawn from these new and varied environments.

What's better is that along with the new and expansive region of Galar to catch Pokemon, Sword and Shield seems to bring an emphasis on exploration and open-world elements brand new to the franchise. Exploring the Wild Area, which "connects several different towns and cities," will allow you to take control of the camera while you encounter different Pokemon depending on the weather and location, as well as other players if you're connected to Switch Online.

Pokemon Sword and Shield release exclusively on Nintendo Switch November 15.

Here's your guide to every Pokemon we know about in Pokemon Sword and Shield.

Jordan Gerblick

After scoring a degree in English from ASU, I worked as a copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. Now, as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer, I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my apartment, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.

Latest in Pokemon
an ai chatbot plays a modded verion of pokemon red and jumps down a ledge to talk to an npc
An AI's mission to 'teach' itself Pokemon Red is going as well as you think - after escaping Cerulean City after tens of hours, it went right on back
Pokemon Legends Z-A screenshot showing Mega Charizard
Pokemon Legends Z-A's visuals aren't "great" say former Nintendo marketing leads, but hope Switch 2 could allow Game Freak to "go back to the drawing board" and add more detail to future RPGs
Pokemon Legends: Z-A screenshot
Pokemon Legends: Z-A looks to finally bring my anime-inspired dreams of truly active combat to life
Zoomed in art of the Sudowoodo illustration rare card in Pokemon TCG Pocket.
Pokemon's literal god of the universe is almost unstoppable in TCG Pocket – the only thing that can save us is a smiley tree and a concussed dinosaur
Charizard in the Pokemon anime.
Pokemon fans prove they'll buy anything as a Cheeto shaped like a Charizard sells for almost $90k
The player character in Pokemon Legends: Z-A looks at the three starter Pokemon, Totodile, Tepig, and Chikorita.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A's starter trio proves it's time for a new type, and I know what it should be
Latest in News
Jordan A. Mun looks at herself in a mirror in just a vest in Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet screenshot
5 years after starting development, Neil Druckmann says Naughty Dog's new game Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is "still evolving and changing as we're making it"
Silent Hill f
After 2 years of silence, the next mainline Silent Hill game is getting a dedicated stream this week with "the latest news"
Original Xbox console
Former Microsoft exec says the first Xbox was killed early in favor of 360 because it was "losing money left right and center," but luckily "we could afford to hemorrhage cash"
A Monster Hunter Wilds character holding binoculars.
Despite Monster Hunter Wilds suffering monstrous performance problems on PC, it still outsold the PS5 and Xbox Series X versions in the US
Jordan A. Mun looks at herself in a mirror in just a vest in Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet screenshot
The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann says Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet will also be about "being lonely," as if his zombie apocalypse wasn’t isolating enough: "I really want you to be lost"
A screenshot of Jordan drinking a soda during the reveal trailer for Intergalactic: The Hertic Prophet.
Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is "a game about faith and religion," which Neil Druckmann jokes will surely get less hate than The Last of Us 2