Continue the adventures of the atypical (and adorable) great detective by investigating a new case as Tim Goodman and Detective Pikachu in the long-awaited sequel to the first game.
Detective Pikachu Returns
Developer: Creatures
Price: $50
Platform: Nintendo Switch
MonsterVine was supplied with a Switch code for review.
What a strange history the Detective Pikachu franchise has. First released as a partial game in 2016 in Japan, the original version of this detective-themed Pokémon spin-off was followed by an expanded full version in 2018 that was released worldwide. It then received a movie adaptation in 2019 that changed some aspects of the story, including the ending. A couple of weeks later, a sequel to the game was announced… and then wasn’t mentioned again until this year, when Detective Pikachu Returns was officially revealed with a release date just a few months away.
Detective Pikachu Returns picks up after the events of the first game, with young detective Tim Goodman and his partner Detective Pikachu still searching for clues about Tim’s missing father. The characters go over a brief recap of the first game to refresh players’ memories or bring new players up to speed, along with a cute nod to the movie by acknowledging that the “R” case was adapted into a movie that didn’t quite show everything accurately. Tim and Pikachu are now officially recognized as detectives, so it isn’t long before they’re called on to investigate a case. What looks like a simple case on the surface soon leads to a deeper plot that the two are determined to learn the truth about.
The first Detective Pikachu was an easy game clearly geared toward a young audience, and Detective Pikachu Returns manages to be even easier. Most of the game follows a simple gameplay loop: you explore the gameplay area, investigate scenes, and talk to witnesses to find evidence, with the combination of Tim and Pikachu allowing you to question both people and Pokémon alike. Once you have enough evidence, you open your notebook to “deduce” the answer. You can do this at any time, but the game will prompt you once you’ve found all the relevant answers. These deductions come in the form of simple multiple choice questions, and they tend to be incredibly easy. In fact, they’re so easy that I found reading the wrong answers to be one of the more amusing aspects of the game. For example, a situation where you need to get past a wall of ice asks if you should melt the ice with fire, douse it with room-temperature water, break it by throwing berries at it, or tell Munchlax it’s ice cream so he’ll eat it. Sometimes it’s tedious to have the game painstakingly walk you through question by question to an obvious conclusion, but at least there’s some humor in it.
A handful of quality-of-life features are available, although I expect they’d get the most use on repeat playthroughs. You can fast-forward through dialogue and play cutscenes at double speed, either by default or by holding a button. You can also turn on a setting to increase the movement of the characters. And although I doubt most players will ever even need to use the optional hint system, there’s even an option to have the game simply mark the correct answers. Finally, once you clear the prologue you unlock the ability to jump to any point in the story. This “Story Jump” mode has its own separate save files, including a separate autosave, which is a nice touch.
Alongside the primary gameplay loop, there are a few additional mechanics that shake things up to keep the game from feeling too repetitive. Some sequences involve brief quick-time events, simple puzzles sometimes stand in your way, and there are a handful of mild stealth sections as well. Other parts require you to team up with another Pokémon to make use of their skills, such as working with Growlithe to track a scent, which results in the adorable sight of Pikachu riding the other Pokémon. Each chapter also has several side quests, referred to as “local concerns,” as optional tasks to complete. While these are usually as simple as talking to a specific character or Pokémon, they add a good deal of charm to the story and help flesh out its world.
That’s the greatest strength of Detective Pikachu Returns–charm. The first game was already cute and charming, but the sequel ratchets it up another level. If you complete the side quests, the newspaper in the next chapter will have short articles referencing them. You can press a button to talk to Pikachu at any point to hear a quip or piece of advice, but in certain spots he’ll also prompt you to press it to see a unique interaction with a Pokémon in the area. Pressing that button while Pikachu is partnered with another Pokémon results in funny conversations between the two of them, too. Like its predecessor, this game does a wonderful job of showing what it would be like to live alongside Pokémon.
I enjoyed the charm and humor, but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the story. Some parts were predictable, with one major plot point having been telegraphed ever since the first game, but it also took some surprising turns and delivered its story with sincere emotion. By the third chapter, I was thoroughly invested in seeing what would happen, and I found the plot to be more serious at times than I expected. While it has some darker aspects, it’s a wholesome and heartfelt story overall, and it wraps things up with a satisfying resolution.
Unlike the first game, Detective Pikachu Returns resolves its story without any cliffhangers, in such a way that I doubt we’ll see a third entry in the franchise. Nevertheless, I’d be delighted to see them make another game in a similar style or even figure out a way to continue the Detective Pikachu story after all.
The Final Word
Detective Pikachu Returns might not push the boundaries in terms of graphics, and it certainly won’t bend your mind with its easy and straightforward deductions. However, it’s a charming game with cute character interactions, a good sense of humor, and an interesting story. Some games just make you feel happy when you play them, and I found Detective Pikachu Returns to be one of those games.
– MonsterVine Rating: 4.5 out of 5 – Great
