Pokemon Sword and Shield Wild Area real-life diorama explored in new video

The Wild Area is an open-world section of Pokemon Sword and Shield that connects various towns and allows for complete camera control, and for me one of the most attractive aspects of the game so far. Soon you'll be able to explore a real-life replica of the fielded plans, lakes, and islands of Pokemon Sword and Shield's Wild Area via the Pokemon Wild Search app, but for now this brief clip posted to Twitter by the official @poke_times offers our best look yet.

The diorama is a wonderful representation of the colorful landscapes that make Pokemon Sword and Shield's UK-inspired countryside so appealing. And while we might not get the chance to see it in person, we'll soon be able to explore this region of Galar using a 360-degree camera through the Pokemon Wild Area Search application, releasing next month for PC and mobile devices.

Although Famitsu reports that the Pokemon you encounter in the online app will be CG-rendered, you can see in several available images what look to be actual Pokemon figurines in the diorama. In one shot we can see Pikachu darting across a field, and in another, Sword and Shield's new chimp-like starter, Grookey, can be seen looking as cute as ever.

It isn't clear yet how much of the Wild Area will be open for exploration in the upcoming app, but I can only assume that what's seen in the new video is only a small portion. It was recently revealed that the size of the Wild Area can roughly be compared to two regions of Breath of the WIld's map combined, which is definitely sizable for a Pokemon game.

While we wait for Sword and Shield, here are the best Switch games you can play right now.