Even if you didn’t play the previous installment — -or watch the 2019 film adaptation — -Detective Pikachu Returns is an easy concept to grasp; a coffee-loving Pikachu and his human partner, a young man named Tim Goodman, work together to solve mysteries in Ryme City, an urban environment populated by humans and Pokémon alike.
The catch is that, while many in Ryme City have their own special Pokémon partners, Tim can actually understand his hat-wearing Pikachu. They talk. At length. It’s kind of their thing.
Already an established investigative team (Tim and Detective Pikachu receive special recognition from the city in the game’s opening moments), our heroes are again called upon to uncover the deeper implications of a rash of Pokémon-related incidents while also searching for Tim’s missing father, Harry.
As teamwork does indeed make the dream work, they divide the labor, working in tandem to search various scenes for clues, with Tim interviewing the humans and Detective Pikachu questioning the Pokémon. This approach works well enough, with the partners navigating various fixed-camera scenes around Ryme City and the surrounding area, frequently interacting with its colorful denizens.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6BPC5gkPsA
Visually, the game is solid if not always flashy; the Pokémon models are fun and distinct, though the human populace tends to look a little flat and same-y after a point. The soundtrack, however, remains stellar throughout, with a jazzy slant that alternates between chill and frenetic as the plot dictates.
While the bulk of the gameplay focuses on talking your way through its mysteries, these segments are broken up with some light puzzling. This can mean anything from clicking around a scene in search of clues or resources to the odd quick time event — -typically of the “push the A button really fast to escape” variety.
Speaking of pushing buttons, the control scheme is also easy to grasp. Tim and Detective Pikachu (often together but occasionally independently) are moved with the left Joy-Con stick, with the A button serving as your default action button. The directional pad can be used to consult Pikachu for advice should you become stumped (left), but it is also occasionally pressed to allow an excited Pikachu to tell you his thoughts on your current situation unprompted (right).
The X button opens a helpful case notebook where you’ll find collected clues arranged in a nicely conceived flowchart format. When you have enough information to solve one or more branches, Detective Pikachu will alert you so that he and Tim can “Begin Deducing.”
The Y button, on the other hand, is reserved for following secondary missions, optional tasks assigned by the other humans and Pokémon you encounter along the way. These missions generally involve finding someone or something that is lost/hiding and occasionally fielding Pokémon quiz questions from a roving professor (by interacting with the ‘Mon described and then returning to her to provide an answer).
Is the answer “Slowpoke in a cowboy hat”? (Because it should be.) image: NOA
Most helpful, though, are the ZL and ZR buttons. As I’ve already mentioned, Detective Pikachu Returns is very text-heavy. ZL allows you to access a transcript of your most recent exchange (a “Recap” option found using the + button’s menu gives you a broader summary of the plot so far), while ZR fast-forwards through dialog and even most of the game’s cutscenes.
On the surface, Detective Pikachu Returns lives and dies by the conventions of the classic adventure game. When you’re new to a case or have just uncovered a puzzle, the lengthy dialog sets the stage for the next phase of your adventure, introducing new characters, bringing you up to speed on a recently discovered location, or providing the first breadcrumbs you’ll need to solve a fresh mystery.
However, once you’ve gotten into things, you may find that you’ve comprehended the solution well before the dynamic duo. This leaves you running back and forth from scene to scene (often necessitating multiple loading screens) until Tim and Pikachu gather enough clues to catch up with your reasoning.
But the game is at its best when it blurs the edges of the genre and embraces this vibrant world where humans and Pokémon coexist. These moments are largely limited to Detective Pikachu’s solo investigations, wherein he drafts a nearby willing Pokémon to provide the skills he lacks. (In my favorite sequence in the game, he climbs atop a Galarian Darmanitan and uses it to punch through obstacles!)
Growlithe’s nose knows! image: NOA
At its core, this game is about the ideal of benevolent partnership, of humans and Pokémon working together for the greater good, so it’s of little surprise that this is exactly where the game shines. Whether looking for clues through walls with a helpful Luxray or using some friendly Lotads as stepping stones to get across a water obstacle, Tim and Detective Pikachu regularly lean on those around them (and each other) when times get tough.
The drawback is that in the long stretches between these interactions, the game is largely walk-talk-click-something-repeat. Obviously, this should limit the appeal of Detective Pikachu Returns. Adult fans could get bored by the slow pace while kids could just as easily miss the context clues pointing them toward a solution to any given problem.
The good news is that the game addresses this in some pretty clever ways. For those who may want to experience the title without getting bogged down in its particulars, there is Story Jump Mode. This lets you play through “whichever part of the story seems most interesting to you.” Of course, this route can be fraught with spoilers, but it’s a nice compromise for those who wish to trim the narrative fat.
On the other end, listed under the Misc. section of the game’s settings is an option called “Correct selection indicator.” By turning this feature on, you’ll notice that the correct choice for each deduction segment is marked with a star. Sure, following the wrong lead isn’t going to hurt you in the long run — -Detective Pikachu just lets you know that you need to try again — -but it can cut down on frustration for younger gamers. These two additions represent a pretty novel approach to the lingering pacing problem of the genre, and I believe they do a lot to increase the game’s overall appeal.
I find Clefable’s silence incredibly suspicious. image: NOA
In the early days of the consumer PC renaissance, when computer technology transitioned from expensive and niche to affordable and ubiquitous, adventure games reigned supreme. We point-and-clicked our way through investigations, solved environmental puzzles galore, and plumbed complex mysteries from fantasy castles to haunted houses to madcap cartoon cities. (It was, all things considered, a pretty swell time to be alive.)
Detective Pikachu Returns makes fine use of that storied narrative adventure legacy and even manages to avoid a few of its more unsavory trappings. While it may not be for everyone — -action gamers, in particular, will find little meat on this bone — -it’s a fun, cozy puzzler for Pokémon fans that’s arrived just in time for your holiday shopping needs.
Review materials provided by Nintendo of America. This post contains affiliate links. All Pokémon should wear hats.
