Alongside Pokemon Scarlet, Pokemon Violet is the most recent title in the long-running franchise. In most games in the series, the original release is all players were given. However, in recent years Game Freak has embraced DLCs to bring players even more content post-release.
Pokemon Violet was controversial upon release. It launched with plenty of bugs, and for many gamers, it wasn’t up to the standard expected from the series. In the time since its November 2022 release date, the developer has been hard at work ensuring it’s up to scratch, and now, DLC is starting to finally release for the game. Let’s take a look at everything released so far!
Pokemon Violet DLC: The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero
As of right now, there has only been one announced expansion for Pokemon Violet. This is known as The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero, and has been confirmed to be arriving in two separate parts: The Teal Mask and The Indigo Disk. Let’s see what these packs have to offer!
Part 1: The Teal Mask
Pokemon Violet: The Teal Mask released on September 13, 2023, for $34.99, so it’s a relatively new release. Unfortunately, the early reception to the first piece of DLC hasn’t been great.
Focusing on the positives first – there’s plenty of quantity here, with around fifteen hours of content for completionists (less for casual players). The Teal Mask adds a new island region: Kitakami. This has a few different biomes to explore, giving a solid amount of variety to the gameplay. There’s even a new storyline, which overall follows the standard Pokemon formula. In theory, The Teal Mask should be everything players want from an expansion. So why isn’t it universally loved?
Simply put, like Pokemon Violet on launch, The Teal Mask is pretty bugged right now. There’s nothing game-breaking here, but there’s plenty that will frustrate throughout. For example, the performance. It’s rough. So rough in fact, that even casual players would be able to notice in day-to-day play. The glitches themselves, while harmless, just paint the picture of an unfinished piece of DLC. There’s just so many of them!
On top of all of this, there are more things that remain true from the base game. Game Freak seemingly hasn’t figured out how to get the best from the Nintendo Switch, resulting in a DLC that is ugly to look at. The Teal Mask is plagued with low-res textures, and a staggering lack of detail that makes the vastness of Kitakami feel empty.
Still, we can hope that like Pokemon Violet, Game Freak commits the time and resources to fixing The Teal Mask before the next DLC.
Part 2: The Indigo Disk
Pokemon Violet: The Indigo Disk is currently slated for release on Nintendo Switch in Winter 2023. While no specific date has been given, it’s safe to assume it will make this release window, with The Teal Mask meeting its deadline earlier this year.
Intended to be the second part of The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero, not much is currently known about The Indigo Disk. Game Freak has kept its cards close to its chest here. However, we do know that after the conclusion of The Teal Mask‘s storyline, The Indigo Disk will focus on the protagonist’s move to Blueberry Academy. There, you’ll be able to take part in school activities, with a Pokemon twist. Attend classes, and get to know the other students – it actually sounds like an interesting change of pace.
If The Indigo Disk can be more polished and offer something different, it could redefine Pokemon Violet‘s DLC. After some of The Teal Mask‘s issues, Game Freak desperately needs a win in the eyes of the community.
Is Pokemon Violet DLC Worth The Money?
Right now, we can only talk about The Teal Mask, as The Indigo Disk is yet to be released. For $34.99, The Teal Mask offers a ton of new content, all of which scales with you depending on your progress in the base game. An entire new region is nothing to scoff at, and shows ambition from Game Freak.
But ultimately, it seems like many of the problems the studio has spent the last ten months fixing have once again reared their ugly head in The Teal Mask. Don’t misunderstand us, though. There are plenty of gamers who played Pokemon Violet on launch and loved it, bugs and all. For Pokemon superfans, there’s still lots to love here if you can look past its issues. If you fall into either of these categories, then yes, Pokemon Violet: The Teal Mask might be worth picking up.
However, if you picked up Pokemon Violet in November 2022 and found yourself bitterly disappointed, it’s extremely likely that you’ll have the same experience here. We can only hope The Indigo Disk goes a long way to rectify the problems, and make Pokemon Violet‘s DLC a must-buy.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Nintendo.