Pokemon Scarlet and Violet The Indigo Disk Review - If You Like Pokemon, It's More Of That

Having conquered the three-story paths of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet and exploring the known depths of Area Zero it's time to return. The Indigo Disk DLC for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet has been released and with it a new area to explore, a new story to experience, and new Pokemon to catch. How well does this cap off the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet experience though?

Immediately loading up your game, having completed the main story and The Teal Mask DLC storyline, you'll be introduced to the head of the Blueberry Academy. This is a battle-centric academy off the coast of Unova, Pokemon's equivalent of the US. Being volunteered for an exchange program it's only a short time before you're at the academy gates.

Return to the Unova region

The story of The Indigo Disk DLC has you fighting the Blueberry League Elite Four, the most powerful students at the school, and the champion Keiran. 

Kieran has had a complete transformation since we last saw him in The Teal Mask DLC. No longer is he shy and hiding behind his sister, instead he's filled with a drive to become stronger and take revenge on the player character for 'stealing' Ogrepon from them.

For the player the focus of the story is exploring the new region, taking on new challenges, and ultimately discovering the Secret of Area Zero from the season pass title. For Kieran his growth is in acceptance and a pseudo-redemption arc. This is a continuation of the journeys we saw other secondary characters like Arven and Penny go on.

The story overall isn't that strong in itself, but it works well to give some structure to the story. It's not just that you're aiming to be the champion because it's the champion, but it's to take on Kieren and you're going to Area Zero because he's on a driven quest.

The real meat of the DLC is in the new location, the Terrarium of Blueberry Academy. This large area is a new circular map divided into four different biomes. You can catch another 100+ Pokemon, travel with friends, and take on a series of more complex double battles.

For the Pokemon explorer, collector, or battler, The Indigo Disk DLC has something for everyone to enjoy.

The Pokemon Company has done a good job continuing the idea of Gym trials before taking on each of the Elite Four leaders. Players will get to perform a flying challenge, make a sandwich with a puzzle-style ingredient collection game, and even be forced into battles with an Indigo Disk-only team.

Each of these challenges was a delight to play through and did a good job of shaking up the standard gameplay.

One addition that I have enjoyed so far is the Blueberry Quests, or BBQs as they're called in-game. These are quests that will be active at all times. Small completions like walking a certain distance, catching Pokemon, and even taking pictures of Pokemon in their habitats.

Completing these quests earns you points that you can use to purchase rare items, obtain new equipment and abilities, and expand the pool of Pokemon that are available to spawn in the region. It's always exciting visiting a region and catching more Pokemon, giving players the tools to expand that pool further is a smart way of keeping the adventure going and keeping things fresh.

That being said, the accumulation of BBP is a bit slow so while it's enjoyable now I'm not sure where on my path to 12,000 BBP to obtain all Pokemon spawns I'll begin to tire of completing these objectives. 

On top of the aforementioned expansions and the desire to "catch 'em all" after completing the story of The Indigo Disk even more opens up to the players. More than a dozen legendaries become available to catch across the world, new battle challenges, and even the ability for your ride Pokemon to fly indefinitely.

As with the base game and initial DLC, the biggest issue with The Indigo Disk is the performance. A part of me was hoping that exploring the Terrarium, a smaller enclosed space, would allow for better performance but as I revisit Pokemon Violet it's gotten worse again.

The major offender is any body of water near a beach or slow ramp to ground where it seems the extra effects of lapping waves cause the framerate to consistently underperform. 

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet The Indigo Disk Review | Final Thoughts

Over my currently played 6 hours with The Indigo Disk review, and what will surely be many more continuing to complete BBQs and searching for more rare Pokemon I'm happy with what The Pokemon Company has been able to release.

At a minimum, it's a new area to explore with more Pokemon to catch, and from there there are additional story, gameplay elements, and several quality-of-life improvements. The performance is still an embarrassment but more than a year after the release of the original game there isn't too much hope for that.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet The Indigo Disk was reviewed on Nintendo Switch with a code purchased by the reviewer over roughly 10 hours of gameplay. All screenshots in this review were taken by the reviewer during gameplay.