Even as a Pokémon spin-off series, Detective Pikachu is weird. It ditches turn-based role-playing combat for adventure game mystery solving. It stars a Pikachu who talks like a grown man. And it inspired an extremely faithful, star-studded, live-action Hollywood movie adaptation that’s actually awesome. However, Detective Pikachu Returns ($49.99) on Nintendo Switch is a pedestrian release, with lackluster visuals and gameplay that may test the patience of the young players it caters to. Still, its sheer weirdness has some undeniable appeal.
(Credit: Nintendo)A Bolt of the Bizarre
Detective Pikachu Returns is a direct sequel to the original Nintendo 3DS game. You once again control Tim Goodman and his enigmatic Pikachu partner, a pair that earned a reputation for being great detectives after successfully cracking their previous cases. The duo continues to search for Tim’s missing father, Harry, a dilemma that somehow involves the legendary psychic pocket monster Mewtwo.
As a story-driven adventure, Detective Pikachu’s plot drives the gameplay. I don’t want to go into much detail, but a simple robbery balloons into an urban conspiracy, complete with decent political stances. In fact, Detective Pikachu Returns provides a resolution to the first game's cliffhanger ending, even if it somewhat overlaps with the 2019 film.
If anything, I wish the game wasn’t quite as laser-focused on its main plot. I would play through all sorts of standalone cases in this fascinating world of Pokémon/human harmony. The conceit allows for fun and clever solutions like knowing the difference between a plain old apple and an apple-shaped Pokémon (Applin). Each stage has a few side activities, but they're fetch quests, not full-blown additional stories.
(Credit: Nintendo)Ho-Hum Visuals
Inconsistent presentation harms the narrative. The music and voice acting are fine, but the visuals are disappointing. What was an impressive 3DS game is now an awkward and ugly Switch game.
From basic mansions to generic ruins, the environments are empty and uninspired. There’s little interesting framing despite the fixed camera angles. Textures are nearly nonexistent, with everything looking too smooth and flat. Stiff facial animations are especially distracting in numerous cutscenes where characters must emote. Detective Pikachu himself remains extremely cute, like when he runs like a toddler or drinks coffee, but the game can’t skate by on that character's charm alone.
Modern Pokémon games are rarely graphical masterpieces, but they push the series' graphical envelope. For example, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are far more ambitious open-world games. Meanwhile, New Pokémon Snap uses its on-rail gameplay to pack in the beautiful graphical details.
(Credit: Nintendo)Pokémon Goes Point and Click
Once the Pokémon storytelling charm wears off, Detective Pikachu is a competent, but shallow adventure game. You speak with witnesses, investigate clues, and enter your mind palace to figure out what’s going on. Tim talks to people while Pikachu talks to Pokémon, making you feel like the only person who really knows all the secrets (even if Pokémon testimonies canonically don’t hold up in court). But as I kept playing, this simple loop became less engaging. The similarly approachable Disney Illusion Island isn’t the best Metroidvania, but it’s a better representation of its formula.
I must give Detective Pikachu props for its accessibility; the game does an admirable job of helping young players with a genre defined by lots of reading. Each stage climaxes with a big speech that gently tests your knowledge of the case as you fully embody the great detective hero who explains the answer to everyone else. Unlike a Telltale adventure game, Detective Pikachu's plot is linear and fixed, but you at least feel like an active participant.
Occasionally, you must team up with a Pokémon partner with a unique gameplay gimmick. Growlithe tracks scents, while Luxray sees through walls. These largely throwaway segments range from serviceable puzzle-solving segments to truly tedious stealth. The Lego games feature more consistently enjoyable kid-friendly gameplay, while Professor Layton does a better job integrating puzzles into a larger story. Pentiment, one of our favorite Xbox games, has far richer gameplay mechanics.
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Detective Pikachu Returns continues the film's unique spin on the Pokémon universe, but its mediocre visuals and gameplay aren't nearly as engaging. Young Pokemanics may get a kick out of this adventure game, but everyone else will get more out of Pentiment and other genre releases.
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