Detective Pikachu Returns – a great game that’s not for you. Despite its niche target audience, the game itself has a well-paced story with solid graphical performances and interesting characters.
Here’s my impressions of the game and why you probably shouldn’t play it.
No More MissingNo.
Unlike Pokémon’s recent instalments Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Detective Pikachu Returns has stable graphical performance. Granted, they aren’t trying to achieve anything to the scale that the mainline Pokémon games have attempted in recent years, but it is still refreshing to see a Pokémon maintain their shape, detail, and smooth animation no matter how far away you walk from it.
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The only caveat to the graphical performances which perturbed me was the way in which characters would repeat their one simple animation over and over again every time they spoke, no matter the emotion. This repetitive movement irritated me enough that I found myself spamming the ‘A’ button to get through conversations quicker, simply so I would not have to see it.
If I were to be really picky, I could also call out the face that the voice acting and characters mouths do not align if you pick the English dialogue option (it does for the Japanese). But there is so little voice acting that this does not become as much of a problem as you might think.
Never Gets Old
The best thing Detective Pikachu Returns accomplishes is detailed and humorous Pokémon introductions. Every time you meet a new Pokémon species you are yet to encounter in the game, a little cut scene plays introducing the Pokémon to the player. Despite this happening consistently throughout the game, it actually doesn’t get old. Seeing 3D Pokémon in a 3D environment living everyday life in a modern city fulfills a childhood fantasy of mine.
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SPOILERS (But say it in the voice of River Song)
Right off the bat, if you have watched the 2019 Pokémon Detective Pikachu movie, you probably already know how the story ends. Having watched the movie in preparation for the game, I felt that I had cheated myself of the mystery surrounding Tim, Detective Pikachu, and their missing father/partner, Harry.
I would also warn any parents or carers who are interested in purchasing this game for their child, that the last third of the story can feel a bit dark. Ultimately, the day is saved and everybody lives happily ever after (as is typical of children’s games), but to get to that point you have to encounter some situations which, depending on the age of the child, they may not have the emotional maturity to wrestle with on their own.
The Ultimate Deduction
I envision older children who love both reading and Pokémon to enjoy this game, which is an incredibly select few people. The game took me (a 28-year-old woman with average intellect) roughly 15 hours to complete. For a child, this could be longer depending on their reading and logical reasoning capabilities.
If you or the person you are reading this article or fall outside of this suggested niche, chances are this game will not be your cup of tea (or coffee).
