Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: The Indigo Disk
- December 14, 2023
- Nintendo
If you've come this far, you may as well continue through The Indigo Disk; just don't expect it to significantly elevate the gen nine experience.
In this adventure, you'll be transferred from Uva Academy to its sister school, Blueberry Academy. Unlike Uva Academy, with its long and rich history, this school was only recently established and has a focus on teaching Pokémon battles. What's unique about Blueberry Academy is that a large part of it is actually in the sea! Attend lessons, mingle with the local students and experience a new schoo…
Nintendo Switch
Reviews
- Exciting Unova connections and solid new music enhance the experience.
- Challenging battles and a variety of activities provide engaging gameplay.
- The Terarium offers a fun new area to explore with returning Pokémon.
- Performance and visual issues persist from the base game, making for a janky experience.
- The story feels rushed and lacks depth, leaving players unsatisfied.
- The BBQ gameplay loop is tedious and the grindy BP system detracts from enjoyment.
- story8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players criticizing the narrative for being poorly crafted and offering a rushed conclusion to the overarching plot of Scarlet & Violet. While some appreciate the engaging characters and challenging battles, others find the side quests tedious and the overall storytelling lackluster, compounded by persistent performance issues. The DLC attempts to build on the school theme but ultimately falls short in delivering a satisfying narrative experience.
“Challenging battles, tons of Pokémon to catch, and the story feels well-crafted.”
“Double battles, high-level trainers, and difficulty spikes turn the games into a real challenge. New and returning Pokémon, BBQs, and the story and characters keep the player engaged during the DLC. The Blueberry Academy delivers on the school setup that Scarlet and Violet promised.”
“The story and characters keep the player engaged during the DLC, making it a memorable experience.”
“But the DLC drops the ball in terms of narrative, offering an unsatisfying and rushed conclusion to Scarlet & Violet’s story, along with the grindy BP system and those ever-present performance issues.”
“Performance and visuals are somehow even worse, BP is very grindy (without multiplayer), incredibly lackluster story to end Scarlet & Violet.”
“Somehow worse performance, poor storytelling, map is more of the same.”
- optimization4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has been widely criticized, with players reporting worse performance and graphics compared to the previous titles, alongside persistent issues from Scarlet & Violet. Additionally, the gameplay loop is described as grindy and unsatisfying, contributing to a lackluster overall experience. Overall, the DLC fails to address these optimization concerns, leaving players disappointed.
“But the DLC drops the ball in terms of narrative, offering an unsatisfying and rushed conclusion to Scarlet & Violet’s story, along with the grindy BP system and those ever-present performance issues.”
“Performance and visuals are somehow even worse, BP is very grindy (without multiplayer), incredibly lackluster story to end Scarlet & Violet.”
“Loose plot threads, the awful BBQ gameplay loop, persisting graphic/performance issues from Scarlet & Violet base game.”
- music2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game has been praised for its exciting connections to Unova, featuring solid new tracks and remixes of legendary battle themes. Players appreciate the excellent new music accompanying the diverse features of the Terarium area, enhancing the overall experience during free-form play and challenging battles.
“Exciting Unova connections, solid new music, and legendary battle remixes create a great setting for free-form play.”
“Terarium is a great new area with various new features; the new music is all excellent, and there are some decently challenging fights (by Pokémon standards).”
- graphics2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game have been criticized for being even worse than its predecessor, Scarlet & Violet, with persistent performance issues and a lack of visual polish. Reviewers also noted that the overall presentation feels underwhelming, contributing to a disappointing gaming experience.
“Performance and visuals are somehow even worse.”
“Persisting graphic and performance issues from the Scarlet & Violet base game.”
“The awful BBQ gameplay loop.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the DLC to be particularly frustrating, citing the battle points (BP) system as excessively grindy, especially in the absence of multiplayer options. This grind, combined with performance issues and a disappointing narrative conclusion, detracts from the overall experience of the game.
“But the DLC drops the ball in terms of narrative, offering an unsatisfying and rushed conclusion to Scarlet & Violet’s story, along with the grindy BP system and those ever-present performance issues.”
“[Performance and visuals are somehow even worse, BP is very grindy (without multiplayer), incredibly lackluster story to end Scarlet & Violet.]”
- gameplay1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The gameplay has been criticized for its loose plot threads and an unengaging BBQ gameplay loop, alongside ongoing graphic and performance issues carried over from the previous Scarlet & Violet titles.
“Loose plot threads and the awful BBQ gameplay loop detract from the overall experience.”
“There are persisting graphic and performance issues carried over from the Scarlet & Violet base game.”
“The gameplay feels repetitive and lacks depth, making it hard to stay engaged.”
Critic Reviews
Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: The Indigo Disk
If you've come this far, you may as well continue through The Indigo Disk; just don't expect it to significantly elevate the gen nine experience.
79%Pokémon Scarlet & Pokémon Violet: The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero Part 2: The Indigo Disk review --- The next semester of Pokéductation
For better and worse, Pokémon Scarlet & Pokémon Violet: The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero Part 2: The Indigo Disk is more Pokémon Scarlet & Pokémon Violet. Your enjoyment of it will largely depend on how much jank you can still tolerate, but this DLC does some interesting things to spice up the game. Trainers will actually put up a fight, there are cool optional areas to explore, and there’s of course a ton of returning Pokémon to catch. It’s a very small step back to where we fell in love with the series, but still far from its heights.
65%Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: The Indigo Disk DLC Review
The Indigo Disk is a blast to play alone and with friends, but it’s still held back by all the same technical issues that made Pokemon Scarlet and Violet a disaster.
70%
