Pokemon Scarlet: The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero - Part 1: The Teal Mask

Game Freak · Sep 13, 2023

Everyone

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Step out of the Paldea region as you take a school trip to the land of Kitakami. There, you’ll meet new people and Pokémon while unraveling the mysteries behind the area’s folk tales.

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Nintendo Switch

Critic 6.9 (28 critics) · No ratings yet

Critic reviews

WellPlayed
Jordan Garcia · Oct 05, 2023
7.0
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: The Teal Mask is a relatively quaint expansion that doesn’t really strive to do much beyond adding some Pokémon and telling a small, nice story. Still, it is victim to the horrendous technical woes that plague the Generation 9 games, as well as some strange balance choices that make the early periods of the expansion feel quite weird.
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Switchaboo
Nathan Rudge · Sep 24, 2023
7.0
The Teal Mask is an interesting addition to Pokémon: Scarlet & Violet that at the moment doesn’t feel worth the cost of entry. However, with the addition of another set of DLC which looks to be larger and continues the story from both base game and wave one, the initial investment may hold up yet. The story and character really carry the DLC however, the performance struggles to hold up and the map just feels lacklustre. In the end, we can’t wait to see what the entire DLC package brings to the game.
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CGMagazine
Chris De Hoog · Sep 22, 2023
8.0
Despite its flaws, The Teal Mask DLC, with its fresh setting and intriguing side quests, amplifies the experience of Pokémon Scarlet & Violet—perfect for those seeking a return trip to the vibrant world of Paldea.
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Gaming Trend
David Flynn · Sep 22, 2023
5.0
Pokémon Scarlet & Pokémon Violet: The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero Part 1 The Teal Mask offers nothing we haven’t seen before. Kitakami, despite the Japanese theming, feels exactly like Paldea just with different Pokémon. The story is uninteresting and has characters changing completely on a dime, and quite a lot of the included Pokémon already appear in the main game. There’s just not much going on here.
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Metro.co.uk
GameCentral · Sep 21, 2023
6.0
There’s a lot of good stuff in The Teal Mask, including some of the best storytelling the series has seen, but it’s suffocated by a complete lack of a difficulty level balancing and heightened technical flaws. There’s every reason to assume Part 2 will be exactly the same, so we can only hope that the next mainline game will be the clear break from the past that the series has long been crying out for.
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GameSpew
Kim Snaith · Sep 21, 2023
8.0
The Teal Mask doesn’t revolutionise Pokémon Scarlet & Violet, it simply expands upon it in a meaningful way, offering up a generous-sized helping of new monsters to battle against and collect, and an enjoyable story featuring a new bunch of well-crafted characters. If you enjoyed the base game, it’s safe to say you’re going to relish this new adventure, too – and it’ll leave you eager for the second part of The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero to drop this winter.
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