Has Performance Been Improved In The Pokemon Scarlet and Violet DLC? – Answered

Does the game run better now, or is it still stuttery?

While Pokemon Scarlet and Violet may have pushed the standard Pokemon formula to new heights when it was released, it had a fair number of technical issues that held it back from greatness. A framerate that sometimes felt as if you were watching a slideshow presentation was one of the most egregious issues that fans had with the game, but a fair number of patches have been released since the initial debut of this new entry in the beloved franchise. Does The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero alleviate any of these issues, or are you still in for a bit of a struggle in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet?

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How Is The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero Performance In Pokemon Scarlet and Violet?

Screenshot by Prima Games

While the lands of Kitakami are a fair bit smaller overall than the lands of Paldea, it seems that the performance issues that plagued the base game have come to these plains, as well. While the DLC pack is nowhere near as stuttery and chuggy (not Cheugy) as the game was at launch, I’ve experienced a fair number of frame drops during my five or so hours with this expansion.

Is it impossible to play? Not at all. Is it slightly to severely aggravating to see these issues persisting almost a full year after release? Absolutely. Even after double-checking with other coworkers to see if I was in the minority here, I was met with plenty of voices reassuring me that the game was still fairly buggy and full of slowdown.

It’s a shame, especially since it’s been almost a full year since the release of the newest versions of Pokemon that issues like this continue to persist. Even after reducing the amount of Pokemon that would spawn in the wild in a patch long ago, it seems that the general engine is just continuing to cause issues for this particular entry in the Pokemon franchise.

That being said, however, the DLC is extremely fun and filled with plenty of new Pokemon to capture, so if you were able to suffer through this experience when it first launched, it’ll feel better than expected when you launch into the new lands of Kitakami. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled on our Pokemon Scarlet and Violet section below to learn more about these lands, and find out where you can use your new Teal Style Card to get some new pieces of gear.


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About the Author

Shaun Cichacki

As a fan of RPGs, Action & Retro titles, Shaun has been gaming since he was a young boy. With an overwhelming obsession involving Metal Gear Solid and Pizza Tower, you know you're in for a wild ride when it comes to things he's writing about.