After a rocky year, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s story is coming to an end next month. Its second DLC, The Indigo Disk, will conclude its bonus Hidden Treasure of Area Zero arc on December 14. That’ll close out the series’ most scrutinized set of games to date, which were lambasted at launch for performance issues and poor visual quality. The Indigo Disk certainly won’t reverse that narrative, but it at least has a shot at sending disappointed fans home happy -- especially after the underwhelming Teal Mask expansion.
Ahead of its launch, I got a hands-on preview with the upcoming DLC that showed me a bit of what to expect. I explored its new open-world area, saw some familiar monsters, and fought in one of the toughest battles I’ve ever had in a mainline Pokémon story. Every technical problem in the base game still reared its ugly head during my hour of playtime, but The Indigo Disk at least brings some high-level challenges to the mix that will test even the most seasoned competitive players.
Same problems, new challenges
The Indigo Disk picks up right after The Teal Mask’s conclusion (players will need to beat it to start the new DLC). In it, I’m sent to Blueberry Academy, which is a massive biodome floating in the middle of the ocean. It houses a round, open-world area split up into four distinct environments. One corner has your standard grassy plains, while another is a massive snowy mountain full of ice Pokémon. It’s significantly bigger than Teal Mask’s bite-sized open world, though the general design isn’t too different.
