Jumping into this DLC I was pretty apprehensive, none of the trailers had really convinced me this was going to be anything than just more of the base game, one I had enjoyed but wasn't in a rush to get back into.

And while yes, that's essentially what this is, I was pleasantly surprised with this expansion.

The Teal Mask takes place in the small settlement of Kitakami, and the story centres around 2 new characters who were genuinely very interesting to me, made me once again wish there was voice acting because the personal issues these guys face are well written and interesting, and they reflect on the Pokémon of the story.

It's not complicated but in a few hours it tells one of the more compelling main series Pokémon stories out there.

The area being smaller really helps with the game, the pacing is fantastic here, there's loads to discover by exploring and some pretty tough boss fights that challenge you way more than the base game.

Performance is still a major issue, it runs like
crap, and while the textures are improved here, it still feels like everything is in slow motion at points.

But once again this doesn't define the whole experience, the teal mask has lots to do for the price and shows that with a little more time the guys at gamefreak can make great content. -7.3/10

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are some of the best written stories in the entire Pokemon franchise, bar none. Starting with Arceus and then into the four main plotlines that make up SV, it truly feels like it's in a story renaissance (albeit at the sacrifice of some performance issues).
The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero cranks that story up to 11. Teal Mask introduces a pair of delightful characters whose dynamics are fun and inviting and who are fascinating to see operating outside of SV has you understand of Paldea. Kitakami is an absolute delight to explore, if a bit small, and the small-town rural Japan vibe is absolutely unmatched (especially since it allows for Hisuian Pokemon to show up!).
The box legendary (Ogerpon) is maybe my favorite legendary in the past few years, even if the three sub-legendaries are... lacking.
Seeing even a scrap of Teal Mask convinced me to pick up the DLC and I did not look back... especially after Part 2.

So I never played the DLC for Sword and Shield, meaning this is my first experience with mainline Pokemon DLC. It's split into two parts and, for $35, I can't say that it's less appealing than a "brand new" game in the same time period. This series has had it bad lately and DLC seems like a decent way to slow things down to focus on quality...
That being said, this left a lot to be desired. It was cute, but really not anything special. It's interesting only so far as it is just more of the thing I like.
See, I'm deeply fucked in the head, so I of course completed the Kitakami dex and will likely do the same for the second half of the DLC, but I didn't do it because it was fun or because I liked the expansion all that much. I'm just a feckless little fanboy that still buys these unfinished games, so it's not like my opinions mean much in this instance.
If you're not huge into Pokemon, this DLC probably isn't worth it. We'll see how the bluray disc or whatever the second half is called goes, but I doubt it will be enough to justify such a lackluster opening act.

man this is infinitely better than the base game

way more focused, story is actually somewhat engaging
battles are harder (still pretty easy tho)
huge step in the right direction