The epilogue of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet has arrived: here is our latest review, dedicated to the “Indigo Disc”, the second half of the DLC
We took our time with the promise of a final epilogue for the overall successful narrative side of Pokémon Scarlet and Violetbut finally the time has come to dedicate a late one review even to the second DLCthat is Indigo Disc on whose shoulders it rests the weight of an impossible redemption. Let’s clarify it one last time: while distancing ourselves from the almost unanimous criticism from the sector press as perhaps excessive, it is undeniable that those of the game are certainly not the glories to which the brand has accustomed us from 1995 to today. And with which, it must be said, he even spoiled us a little.
In other words, we are on the decline for post-launch support that is symptomatic of the choral problem to which it belongs. Speak about “missed miracle” could be a good definition for what we have seen so far, but understood as unfulfilled potential, the expression fits the entire game from day one to today. We are aware of the improvement seen with a patch between October and November and we take note of it, but it is hoping for a similar stability that we waited for the January 11th event only to discover that it would arrive via Secret Gift. At this point there isn’t much left to say, other than dedicating three sections to the “good, bad and ugly” of the west of the Unova region.
The good: plot and Bioterarium | Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: The Indigo Disc DLC review
One of the greatest strengths of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet was the narrative aspect, and just as it was in the first DLC The Turquoise Mask we can also be pleased with it in the review of Il Disco Indaco. From the initial antagonist that he was, Rubra she has transformed into one of the most convincing allies in a Poké adventure, relegating the pseudo-antagonistic role to the obsession of Riben and Rea. The new supporting actors introduced to the series remain charismatic and convincing.Blueberry Institute (as well as a Team Star intent on making amends), and it is worth watching the denouement of their meeting with Pepe, Penny and Nemi (January 11, 2024). We don’t want to say anything elsehowever little there is at risk of spoilers in this regard.
There is also good news Bioterarium as a concept in itself, which in its simplicity at a game design level would also have made sparks in the post-launch support of Spada e Scudo. This time it’s the usual mini-open world a patchwork of four different biomes, who divide up the same number of quadrants of the gigantic underwater cake. Of course we still don’t understand how some Pokémon of the Unova regionin which the second DLC is theoretically set, are still inaccessible in the entire main series on Nintendo Switchbut fauna apart from the fanservice never fails to make us want more and more fifth generation remakes. In this sense, applause goes to soundtrack. For the rest, however, as Rubra would say…
The bad: technical performance, recreation and endless padding | Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: The Indigo Disc DLC review
There’s nothing to do: the performances just don’t want to take a beating. Framerate drops, from a laughable problem exclusive to the elitist snobbery of PC players, become a serious source of worries, softlocks and occasional crashes. Flicker of blades of grass, “lame” transitions and so on: nothing is missing, to the point of causing a public “mea culpa” on the part of The Pokémon Company in view of future chapters of the series. Which is a shame, because with the aforementioned autumn patch the game achieved a performance that, although not excellent, remained at least stable.
If nothing else, time (and patches, hopefully) will decide how badly our scrutiny is destined to age. A different matter, however, when it comes to the game design itself. There longevity of the experience, for those of you who have completed both the main adventure and the previous DLC, explicitly focuses on the padding pure. The Recreation in Fortnite’s “Match Assignments” style on paper they invite players to find themselves in the Bioterarium with the Contact Circle to share the various objectives, with which to unlock additional features (including the starters of the other regions, although declared as available immediately in the marketing) , progress with the local Elite Four and so on. In practice, only the broth is lengthened. Even Litha, a very welcome new entry from Nordivia, raises the bar here by asking for complete a larger Pokédex without having a significant subquest tied to it.
The Bad: Pay to Compete, Pay to Win | Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: The Indigo Disc DLC review
But if on the one hand we have game design choices dictated by clumsy ideas, on the other they also make their way advantages so disproportionate as to border on pay-to-win. Simply, if you love the competitive side of Pokémon, Don’t expect to end up in any tournament without purchasing the DLC. There are numerous tools with which to enhance your creatures or change their Teratype, collecting at least ten of the necessary Teralites on the ground at a time when a raid in the basic game usually yields fewer. The same goes for the Golden Caps, the regional forms and other elements that previous games enhanced with the ritual Battle Tower, inexplicably absent here.
Speaking of the aforementioned Teratitypes, it is with this DLC that a new one emerges: that Astral, with which to corroborate the individual moves and on which, therefore, to build new strategies to compete in tournaments. The mockery towards users who remained with the vanilla version (some for economic reasons, some for disappointment) also extends to movement in the overworld, where the limited glide with dive at the end of the basic game gives way to a much more competent variant Spyro style, and then unlock the Free fly for a purely ascending movement. It’s not a situation we willingly outline (far from it!), but unfortunately things are like this.
Let’s take stock (and some saints from the calendar) | Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: the Indigo Disc DLC review
We have already extensively described the situation of the DLC from the technical side, but as Professor Aralia of Unova teaches “repetita iuvant” and therefore we dedicate a minute of silence to the graphic front. In reality, credit where credit is due, in terms of texture and characterization as regards the characters, the game still lets the talented side of Game Freak. The intent to sprinkle the head with ash can be seen in the little things, between Blastoise’s cannons in battle (at a good time!) and the melodramatic pantomime of the supporting actors during the dialogues. Unfortunately, they are the sobs in terms of lighting, framerate and anything else tarnish the positive aspects.
Il sonorous saves the franchise in the corner even in the darkest moments, and enjoying songs from the fifth generation is an empty net goal. Leaving aside the obvious things like the soundtrack during battles (with coaches and otherwise), there’s plenty to analyze the scores for hours without ever ceasing to find some juicy gem. The original songs, then, manage to stand up to an otherwise very unflattering comparison, demonstrating the artistic merit hidden behind a hasty gestation dictated by the needs of the merchandise. From this point of view, the brand of pocket monsters has become its own nemesis, slave to the shadow cast by now unattainable glories.
Final considerations
The second DLC, The Indigo Disc, is sold together with its predecessor in the package The treasure of Area Zerowhich adds a cost of to the sixty euros of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet 35 others: something that we cannot fail to consider at the end of the review. In itself, the quality/price ratio also depends on the time that fans intend to dedicate to the title; being a fan of this brand and loving the Big N in its entirety have been like oil and water almost since the dawn of the saga. Never before, however, has the arrogance of the franchise dared to propose features as DLC to be left to the base game. Yes, the Teracristal Raids can be shared in co-op with players without the expansion and the Pokémon obtainable in the latter can be traded, but at this point it also seems like the minimum.
In itself, as a whole, the ninth generation Pokémon still remains above the sufficiency threshold for what his merits are in the eyes of a player still not accustomed to the franchise. Or, at least, one with a good mouth. Once the newbies have been excluded, tragically, the inevitable comparisons with the big guns of the series emerge: a random White/Black Version, or a HeartGold/SoulSilver Version, so to speak. Yes, there was a grill. Yes, there were sprites. Sure, there were iffy 3D models in the overworld. But, what the heck, there was also the heart.
This was what we thought. But what is your opinion? Tell us below, and as always don’t forget to stay on techgameworld.com for all the most important news for gamers and beyond. For your purely gaming needs, you can instead find the best discounts in digital format on Instant Gaming.
Redemption narrowly missed
Points in favor
- Raids and Pokémon shareable with players without DLC…
- Care for texture, characterization and sound…
- The Bioterarium is brilliant in its simplicity…
- The old and new characters always remain charismatic
Points against
- …but the DLC benefits are too unbalanced
- … sunk by still precarious performances
- … but there’s too much to sweat to make it work properly
- The accessibility of the starters in the trailers is a lie