Pokémon Scarlet/Violet: The Indigo Disk Preview: Familiar but fun

I've always been under the impression that Game Freak delivered a game that was a bit and miss with Pokémon Scarlet/Violet. On one hand, the open world nature (while technologically flawed) did open the way to a much more immersive and personal Pokémon adventure, but at the same time, the open nature did mean that the progression was all over the place due to the lack of limits on where you can and should explore the world first. I bring these two points up because I also believe that the first expansion, The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero - The Teal Mask, managed to preserve the good and limit the bad due to its higher-level entry point. So going into the second expansion, The Indigo Disk, I was very excited and intrigued to see how Game Freak planned to continue building on its steadily improving formula. After spending around an hour with the expansion during a visit to The Pokémon Company's UK headquarters, I'm excited but not exactly blown away.

Because The Indigo Disk isn't really anything we haven't seen before. Sure, the setting of the expansion is an underwater terrarium split into four sections, and yes, that is really damn cool, but the actual level and world design is very reminiscent of what Paldea offered but on a smaller scale. You can climb icy peaks and leap over floating icebergs, you can bask on sandy beaches, bound along barren rocky cliffs, and prowl through lush grasslands. If anything, the setup of the terrarium that this expansion is set in reminds of the Safari Zones in former pixelated Pokémon titles.

And each biome is absolutely crammed with new and returning Pokémon to hunt and catch. The main talking point is of course the starter Pokémon that you can find in the world, which do seem to be very rare, so don't expect to be overflowing your boxes with Squirtles and Chikoritas, but you can also come across regional variants of Pokémon depending on the section of the terrarium you're exploring. There really is a lot to be excited about if you're a collector in this expansion, and the fact that every Pokémon seems to be over level 60 means that you can likely slot most directly into your team without needing to spend ages levelling and getting them up to snuff.

Touching on the level point, The Indigo Disk is a true late game experience meaning the Pokémon you will come into contact with will put you through the ringer and the trainers will only look to push you further. You will need a strong, varied, and versatile team if you intend to complete the new Pokédex and conquer the many trainers that call the island home. And building on this further, while The Teal Mask was an expansion that seemed to be more about its narrative and dealing with wild Pokémon, in The Indigo Disk you will have to battle and face returning fan-favourite trainers like Carmine, and also a brand-new Elite Four - and these seem to be one hell of a challenge. During the preview, I got to face off with Amarys who had a party that was pushing the high 80s in level, and required me to beat an Elite Four challenge that included gliding through rings on the back of Koraidon. Needless to say, you will need to prepare very effectively to overcome this, and likely the other Elite Four battles.

But while The Indigo Disk is looking to really offer the challenge that has been lacking from Pokémon games for a long while, all while tapping into the nostalgia of its players by making starters more widely available, this expansion is still held back by the same pitfalls and problems as The Teal Mask and the base game. You can expect an experience with low resolution textures, unstable and often downright tragic frame rates, and with textures and Pokémon that pop in right in front of your eyes. Game Freak, despite years of working on this game and its post-launch support, just can't seem to make it run well, which is a shame because there's a lot of potential with this modern formula for the series.

There were a few other secrets and goodies that you can expect, which look to keep you entertained and interested during your time studying at the Blueberry Academy in the underwater terrarium, but generally speaking, if you've played the base game or The Teal Mask, you probably already have a very good idea with what Game Freak is looking to serve up in December with this final chapter in this latest generation of Pokémon.