This review contains spoilers
The nature of this DLC two parter truly feels like the "definitive third game" that the new DLC style serves to replace in the current generations. At the time many people complained about the short nature of part 1 but ultimately Teal Mask was 1/3rd to Indigo Disk's 2/3rds of story and content. An introduction to what's to come in this indulgent and enjoyable post game story.
I have not finished ALL the post game content of these two DLC yet but have finished the core content and been playing it extensively with a joy I haven't felt since Sun & Moon.
Story wise these DLC introduce several new characters, some of which have ties to characters from past games. The Blueberry Elite Four is such an enjoyable array of characters with fun personalities and small details that really make the world of Pokemon and it's relation to genration 5 come alive. My personal favourite is fairy trainer Lacey, the daughter of Driftveil gym leader Clay, whose most notable pokemon is an Excadrill like her father that she tera's into fairy type. The story itself isn't any deeper than other pokemon games but it feels much more indulgent in the small things to tell a story, such as Kieran's change in style, the BB Elite Four's pokeball choices and throwing styles, and what their team strategies are.
Speaking of team strategies, while Teal Mask's difficutly curve was relatively stable, the jump to Blueberry Academy truly feels like an endgame/post game. The Blueberry Elite Four all use some interesting strategies and teams. Crispin's Sunny Day team leads with Rotom Heat and Talonflame, and includes Harvest Exeggutor holding a sitrus berry. Dratyon, the dragon type, utilises a Sceptile with the new move Dragon Cheer to buff his dragon Pokemon. And personal favourite, Kieran has replaced much of his of favourite pokemon with a competitive set of Dragonite, Politoad and goddamn Incineroar. Obviously the difficulty of these fights is ultimately up to your play style. I personally caught and EV trained a mostly new time for the DLC but even utlising my competitive Trick Room team I was often left with one pokemon surviving in the victory.
BBQ's are another new, fun gameplay idea that are best utilised while playing with others. You fulfill basic tasks, gain BP and use those BP to upgrade the club room or print items at the new item printer. As someone who actively plays with their partner the BBQ's have been relatively enjoyable but I can see the potential that they'll be incredibly frustrating if you're a solo copy or someone without two copies and two switches to utilise the full group missions.
All I can really say is that I love this DLC. I love Scarlet and Violet as a whole and consider them up there as some of my favourite Pokemon games. This is certainly not to say they're without flaws. Many people have criticised the technical issues with the games which are entirely real and valid complaints. Personally however, the completed Scarlet and Violet with the Hidden Treasures DLC is exactly what I want out of a Pokemon game and have dreamed of since I was a kid. If you didn't like the base game, this DLC probably won't change your mind. But if you even somewhat enjoyed what you experienced, the DLC is truly worth it and adds a large amount of content of fun content. I'm looking forward to playing ranked again with the new Pokedex additions!
I have not finished ALL the post game content of these two DLC yet but have finished the core content and been playing it extensively with a joy I haven't felt since Sun & Moon.
Story wise these DLC introduce several new characters, some of which have ties to characters from past games. The Blueberry Elite Four is such an enjoyable array of characters with fun personalities and small details that really make the world of Pokemon and it's relation to genration 5 come alive. My personal favourite is fairy trainer Lacey, the daughter of Driftveil gym leader Clay, whose most notable pokemon is an Excadrill like her father that she tera's into fairy type. The story itself isn't any deeper than other pokemon games but it feels much more indulgent in the small things to tell a story, such as Kieran's change in style, the BB Elite Four's pokeball choices and throwing styles, and what their team strategies are.
Speaking of team strategies, while Teal Mask's difficutly curve was relatively stable, the jump to Blueberry Academy truly feels like an endgame/post game. The Blueberry Elite Four all use some interesting strategies and teams. Crispin's Sunny Day team leads with Rotom Heat and Talonflame, and includes Harvest Exeggutor holding a sitrus berry. Dratyon, the dragon type, utilises a Sceptile with the new move Dragon Cheer to buff his dragon Pokemon. And personal favourite, Kieran has replaced much of his of favourite pokemon with a competitive set of Dragonite, Politoad and goddamn Incineroar. Obviously the difficulty of these fights is ultimately up to your play style. I personally caught and EV trained a mostly new time for the DLC but even utlising my competitive Trick Room team I was often left with one pokemon surviving in the victory.
BBQ's are another new, fun gameplay idea that are best utilised while playing with others. You fulfill basic tasks, gain BP and use those BP to upgrade the club room or print items at the new item printer. As someone who actively plays with their partner the BBQ's have been relatively enjoyable but I can see the potential that they'll be incredibly frustrating if you're a solo copy or someone without two copies and two switches to utilise the full group missions.
All I can really say is that I love this DLC. I love Scarlet and Violet as a whole and consider them up there as some of my favourite Pokemon games. This is certainly not to say they're without flaws. Many people have criticised the technical issues with the games which are entirely real and valid complaints. Personally however, the completed Scarlet and Violet with the Hidden Treasures DLC is exactly what I want out of a Pokemon game and have dreamed of since I was a kid. If you didn't like the base game, this DLC probably won't change your mind. But if you even somewhat enjoyed what you experienced, the DLC is truly worth it and adds a large amount of content of fun content. I'm looking forward to playing ranked again with the new Pokedex additions!