Detective Pikachu Returns, sequel to the original adventure puzzle 3DS game, finally comes back five years after its worldwide release. Continue reading to learn more about our full review and whether or not this game is worth your time and money.
Detective Pikachu Returns Review Overview
Detective Pikachu Returns Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 Pokémon Are The Stars of the Game Additional Gameplay Mechanics Investigations Are Presented Neatly |
Visuals Need An Upgrade Voice Acting Is Bad With Some Exceptions Local Concerns Are Unrewarding Story Is Predictable And Drags Fairly Generic and Easy Puzzle Game |
Detective Pikachu Returns Overall - 52/100
Detective Pikachu Returns is a fairly mediocre game. Apart from some exceptions, there aren't enough things in the game that make the experience interesting enough. It offers different gameplay mechanics like Quick Time Events (QTEs) that differentiates itself from the popular games in the genre and several fully voiced, fully animated cutscenes. But unfortunately, it still is not enough to make the game worth its asking price.
Detective Pikachu Returns Story - 6/10
While the game starts with a recap to explain everything, it doesn't really do a great job of letting new players in on the premise. It immediately gets into the main plot as soon as you start, then limps throughout the tutorial and introductory case. The main human character Tim Goodman is about as interesting as stale white bread, while Detective Pikachu is the main attraction and does a good job of carrying the game.
Detective Pikachu Returns Gameplay - 6/10
The game immediately differentiates itself from the other detective games by being able to walk around freely, as well as having other sequences like interacting with Pokémon to help you and other Quick Time Event (QTE) sections available. It doesn’t offer much more than that in comparison to other popular detective games, like the original Ace Attorney trilogy, Professor Layton games, and even the Danganronpa series.
Detective Pikachu Returns Visuals - 5/10
The graphics in Detective Pikachu Returns are so dated that it may even be considered a downgrade to the previous 3DS installment. While Pokémon games are not particularly well known for their amazing graphics, the mainline games look way better in comparison. It’s to a point where it makes one wonder if the game really was released in 2023.
Detective Pikachu Returns Audio - 5/10
Voice acting and its soundtrack aren’t the game’s strong suit. Other than some exceptions like Pikachu, the game’s music and voice acting is generic, uninteresting, and passable at best.
Detective Pikachu Returns Value for Money - 4/10
This game’s $50 price tag is definitely not justifiable for people that are not Pokémon fans, and those not fans of the genre as well. The game doesn’t offer enough to make it worth the price, and the money may be better spent buying even older games in the same genre like Ace Attorney.
Detective Pikachu Returns Review: Truly Elementary, My Dear Pikachu
Detective Pikachu Returns is an extremely mediocre experience. The Pokémon series have stayed true to its roots and continue to market their games mostly for kids. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with that, it may be a missed opportunity for the company to try appealing to a wider audience. How easy it would be for them to tap into the wonder of discovery for both newer players as well as long-time, more adult fans that have grown up with the series. For this spin-off, they failed to do that, as they fully focused on the “for kids” aspect and made the game way too easy, especially for a detective mystery game.
Sure, Pokémon games are not particularly known for having high-fidelity visuals or captivating narrative. The constant controversies of the attack animations in its Switch games have especially been put under scrutiny. But Detective Pikachu Returns shows that these aspects are not only neglected, but borders on ignored outright. The Disney/Cocomelon-esque human characters are especially egregious in comparison to the several Pokémon in the game.
To its credit, the game made me realize that mainline Pokémon games have sorely been missing voiced dialogue all these years. It may be one of the main reasons why the anime draws a lot of people and is something that they should definitely try more in the series as a whole. It’s not particularly perfect in this game, but it can be improved over time, while still adding something new to the series.
But more than issues with its artstyle aside, the game’s true sin is that it is easy and clearly meant for kids. Not even a wide range of kids either; it was probably meant for those in the first half of elementary school. There were multiple times where I was able to solve the case before the characters got halfway through with their deductions. Most of the deductions devolve into a multiple choice quiz, and the game even handholds you to the right answer. It sours the experience when you know how it’ll end way before it even concludes.
Children are not as dumb as the game seems to give them credit for. Several other games, like the Professor Layton series, show that more mentally stimulating brain teasers can be marketed towards kids and still hold the interest of an adult. Heck, even the movie based on this game was able to delight both. But this game is so easy that you’d probably have to be actively trying to be incorrect to get anything wrong. Knowing this, playing through the game becomes even worse, as the story points take too long to wrap up, making the whole thing just become a slog and a chore until the resolution of the case.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate the game. It’s just riddled with flaws that stifle the potential of what it could’ve been.
Pros of Detective Pikachu Returns
| Things Detective Pikachu Returns Got Right |
|---|
|
Pokémon Are The Stars of the Game Additional Gameplay Mechanics Investigations Are Presented Neatly |
Pokémon Are The Stars of the Game
The Pokémon you encounter in the game range from the classic Generation 1 up to newer additions like Applin, Raboot, and Corviknight from Sword and Shield. There aren’t any Pokémon from Scarlet and Violet, but this might just have been a matter of this game being developed before they finalized the Pokémon for SV. Regardless, the Pokémon are easily the better parts of the game, as the dialogue between Pikachu and the other Pokémon give them a lot more character. Among all of them, Detective Pikachu is easily the best thing about the game. His animations, voice acting, and overall character is the main draw of the game, being the core component that ties the interaction between Pokémon and humans together.
Additional Gameplay Mechanics
The game has some aspects that may differentiate it from all of the other puzzle games out there. Being able to walk around as Tim or Pikachu, as well as having quick time events in the game adds a bit of uniqueness to the game. While these may be simple, other popular puzzle games, like the aforementioned Ace Attorney and Professor Layton series, follow more of a visual novel-esque style of gameplay. Detective Pikachu doesn’t and lets you go your own way.
The game also has another mechanic where you collaborate with Pokémon to help in your search. This was introduced to keep the player engaged as well as introduce them to other Pokémon in the series, should you not be a die-hard fan that can identify over 1000 Pokemon.
Investigations Are Presented Neatly
There will be a lot of note-taking and deductions as the game progresses in each chapter. The information given to you is presented well and in an organized fashion. Every chapter includes sections for "Deduction Phases," which allows Pikachu and Tim to organize what they know so far. The player would probably have to be actively ignoring the game to miss the important details in most investigations, but It’s great that the information is always tackled in a presentable form. Most detective games have too much information to digest sometimes and that may overwhelm the player.
Cons of Detective Pikachu Returns
| Things That Detective Pikachu Returns Can Improve |
|---|
|
Visuals Need An Upgrade Voice Acting Is Bad With Some Exceptions Local Concerns Are Unrewarding Story Is Predictable And Drags Fairly Generic and Easy Puzzle Game |
Visuals Need An Upgrade
The visuals of the game are outdated, to the point where it may even be considered to be a downgrade to the previous 3DS installment. In comparison to the mainline games, the models and animations for both the human characters and Pokémon are definitely lacking. While there are some characters with designs that look unique, it seems the designs serve no purpose other than to be unique. The lower quality graphics really become an eyesore especially since you will be walking around a lot in all of the locales you will be visiting. In addition to this, the locales that you visit are also very lackluster and pale in comparison to the mainline games. Ryme City looks and feels very uninteresting and, aside from the Pokémon, the whole locale is bleak and empty.
The only real exception to this was during the final confrontation with the main villain. It seems all the budget went into animating that scene and Detective Pikachu himself.
Voice Acting Is Bad With Some Exceptions
The voice acting in the game is laughable with the exception of the Pokémon, which don’t really talk aside from Pikachu. Cutscenes that involve the human characters talking often feel like they’re just there, existing, rather than being an integral part of the case. The voice acting of the human characters really highlights what Pikachu brings to table even more. While this might have been done on purpose to make sure no one outshines Pikachu, it came at the cost of having characters you don’t really care about.
Local Concerns Are Unrewarding
There are many “local concerns” around the places you’ll be visiting, serving as side quests to do while doing the main investigation for that case. These are mostly generic fetch quests that quickly end up becoming boring. The amount of “local concerns” increases with every chapter and ends up as another thing to pad playtime. In addition to this, there aren’t really any rewards to finishing these side quests, other than extra dialogue when you interact with the local newspaper after every chapter. This makes the game longer than it needs to be and adds nothing to the overall experience.
Story Is Predictable and Drags
The game’s story is drearily predictable, with multiple points even left unexplained or unresolved even with the context of the previous game. They don’t bother setting up plot twists, and most of the plot points drag on for far too long, until the game is sure that it is painfully obvious to the player. Save for a few characters, most of the cast are dry and don’t really add much to the story, other than just existing.
It gets to a point where some of the characters’ motivations are just too plain and easily changed. When the villain is confronted and proven wrong about it, they don’t even try to defend themselves and admit defeat immediately. While it may be clichéd for the villain to fight to the end, the whole thing just ends so fast that it doesn’t seem believable that they were just enemies a second ago.
Fairly Generic and Easy Puzzle Game
The game feels similar to other detective games where you have testimony gathering, evidence organizing, and the like. It feels too generic and doesn’t really try to present itself as a different type of detective game. Most of the cases’ resolutions become a multiple choice test which handholds you to the correct answer. There is literally no point of failure as they point you to the correct answer. Investigations devolve into a crawl to the finish line, since you already know how it ends most of the time. It added those additional gameplay mechanics I mentioned earlier, allowing it to distinguish itself. But those things don’t necessarily enhance the meat and bones of the genre, which is the mystery solving part. This, coupled with the poor graphics and forgettable soundtrack, makes the game as a whole feel incredibly sterile and bland.
Is Detective Pikachu Returns Worth It?
Not Worth It, Being So Unremarkable
Detective Pikachu often quips that he’s not just a detective, but a GREAT detective. Sadly, the same qualifier can’t be used for the entirety of the game, as it strikes itself as unremarkable. There are certain parts in the story which admittedly were quite enjoyable, but the pacing makes it so that it wasn’t enough to crawl all the way through the finish line.
All in all, it may be better to skip this game, considering its price and low difficulty. Better to go for other detective-mystery games to have more thought provoking mysteries like the more popular series like Ace Attorney and Professor Layton if you have that particular itch. If you just want to find out what happens in the story, you’re probably better off looking it up on Youtube.
Detective Pikachu Returns Overview & Premise
Follow the coffee-loving Detective Pikachu and his human partner, Tim Goodman, once again as their investigation regarding a jewel theft. The tracks lead them down to some clues and hints about the disappearance of Tim’s father, Harry. Uncover the mystery behind his father’s disappearance and the other Pokémon-related incidents around Ryme City.
Game8 Reviews
Detective Pikachu Returns Product Information
 |
|
| Title | DETECTIVE PIKACHU RETURNS |
|---|---|
| Release Date | October 6, 2023 |
| Developer | Creatures |
| Publisher | Nintendo |
| Supported Platforms | Nintendo Switch |
| Genre | Adventure, Detective, Mystery |
| Number of Players | Single Player |
| ESRB Rating | E |
| Official Website | Detective Pikachu Official Website |
