With the December 14 release date for the second half of the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet DLC The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero fast approaching, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company invited some media outlets and creators to preview The Indigo Disk. We’ve compiled some of the details shared and links to various previews and YouTube videos.
Previewer takeaways
IGN
“I think the real draw for many will be the Terarium itself. It’s absolutely massive and packed with detail, and I had a great time exploring it. I can’t speak to several of the coolest details at the time of this writing, but there’s a lot here, and I’m excited to spend time exploring the Terarium when I get the chance.”
“Blueberry Academy places a large emphasis on double battles, adding an extra layer to your tactical and team-building decisions, so you’d better be prepared to throw two Poke Balls whenever you run into an opposing trainer.”
Serebii
“… there is a lot of Regional Forms dotted throughout the Terarium. This made for a nice feeling of difference compared to the rest of the game as it was nice to just see these Pokémon out in the wild. It helps give the feeling that the Terarium is in essence akin to a Safari Zone where many wild Pokémon had been brought in from other regions.”
“Of course I would be remiss to not address one of the big elements that work against Scarlet & Violet, the performance. […] It was definitely not worse than Pokémon Scarlet & Violet has been up to this point, and may have felt even smoother than before, but it was not without its flaws or slowdowns but I had no slowdowns which felt like Casseroya Lake in Version 1.1, just a few drops here and there. Basically, it’s still Pokémon Scarlet & Violet so don’t go in expecting a massive overhaul.”
Dexerto
“The game’s visuals are on par with the existing title, however, like in The Teal Mask the condensing of different types of foliage and biodiversity benefits the world, often looking more appealing than the occasionally barren plains of Paldea.”
“Perhaps the biggest changes were in the form of battles, and the challenges awaiting players. […] Speaking of challenge, the highlight of our preview was a fierce battle with Amarys. It’s clear that Game Freak is putting trainers to the test, as Amarys’ team is a surprisingly clever spread of different types, moves, and even items. Our first encounter with Blueberry Academy’s Elite Four gives us hope of a true challenge that long-time fans will relish.”
GoNintendo
“…during my session I saw a few wild encounters with Pokémon hovering around level 65. In addition, the trainer battles I encountered not only had the advantage of even higher levels than wild encounters, they also had what felt like competitively built out teams that managed to actually wipe out my team on one occasion!”
“Among the biggest standouts over the course of my play session was the map itself. [..] Featuring four evenly divided biomes, The Terrarium is not only a larger map than Kitakami was, it’s also more varied, made possible by the four different biomes contained inside it.”
Additional video previews
Alcremie Sundae
Shiny Catherine
Nekkra
PhillyBeatzU
Let us know what you thought of the early look of The Indigo Disk and what your current excitement level is for the conclusion of the Scarlet and Violet DLC! Don’t forget to also join our Discord server ahead of its release!
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