Pokémon Violet’s DLC, “The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero”, just dropped its first half, “The Teal Mask”. Overall, this has been hyped online since it was revealed this March. So, is this worth the cash? Well, you’ll find out soon enough.

But before we get into that, a little bit of information. Pokemon Scarlet & Pokemon Violet released on November 18th, 2022. Although there was major hype for the release of a second Pokemon Gen on the Nintendo Switch, after release, it was grilled online for being “buggy”, “low quality”, and reviews even called  it a “…myriad of graphical issues and glitches…” and a “Flaming Trash Heap”. Even CNN says “…the game doesn’t perform well on the Nintendo Switch hardware, even on the newest OLED model I played it on. It loads very slowly and the framerate stutters constantly.”

After all these reports and the issues, Nintendo stated that they would fix the issues, but while they tried to do that, a whole new set of glitches came out. After all this, only those with relatively modest standards could call the game a fun experience. However, since the reports of the DLC, videos have come out of better features, improved graphics and quality, and an overall better experience. So, here’s what I have to think about the DLC so far.

The whole premise of “The Teal Mask” is your school’s field trip to the land of Kitakami, which is pretty much an old fashioned town based on Japan. Once you go to the town, a whole series of events will eventually unfold, and you’ll be able to catch Okidogi, Munkidori, and Fezandipiti, along with Ogrepon, which is the supposed antagonist. A whole host of Pokémon have rejoined the roster, with Sewaddle and Furret being my personal favorites. But a whole host of new Pokémon have joined, too, one of which being Poltchageist!

I personally love the design and it’s cute little face, so this is definitely one I’m excited for. Other than that, there are a lot of new things to do. In the DLC, there’ll be a special game called “Ogre Oustin’”, where you pop balloons, gather berries, and place them on a fancy little table, where you have to guard them from Pokemon. This game is single and multiplayer across different accounts. If you complete all the difficulties of Ogre Oustin’, then you even get a free shiny Munchlax. There’s also going to be a photography upgrade, with the new “Roto-Stick”, which is just a selfie stick, so you can fit more into your screen at once. There’s also going to be a photography mission to complete in the Timeless Woods, but that’s a special surprise.

The second part of the DLC, “The Indigo Disk”, is about going to a new school as a transfer student, but this school is underwater and highly futuristic. Seeing as though the other half of the DLC is more traditionally themed, it matches the theme of the games themselves. A new Tera Type was showcased in one of the trailers for this second half, but nobody really knows what type it is. They’re also adding a new area, which is called “The Terrarium”. It brings back not only old Pokemon, such as Minior, but also old regional variants and all the starter Pokemon, some of which haven’t been available on the switch. The new Pokemon seem pretty cool, but some of the designs are kind of… lacking, mainstream, blandish, or whatever you want to call them. “The Indigo Disk” is slated for release in Winter 2023.

But other than that, the storyline of the first half is much more exploration-based, and the second half is more full of battling. My honest opinion is that this is completely worth the cost, but that’s in the eye of the beholder, so it depends on what you like. It’s your $30, after all.