![\"Detective](\"https:\/\/www.gameinformer.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/body_default\/public\/2023\/10\/04\/2844e031\/detective_pikachu_returns_screenshot_13.jpg\")
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\n Reviewed on:<\/b>
\n Switch
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\n Platform:<\/b>
\n Switch
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\n Publisher:<\/b>
\n Nintendo, The Pok\u00e9mon Company
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\n Developer:<\/b>
\n Creatures Inc.
\n \n <\/p>\n
The previous Detective Pikachu game, released over five years ago on 3DS, traded in traditional Pok\u00e9mon elements for mysteries more familiar to the Phoenix Wright\/Professor Layton crowd. Gone were the trainers, Pok\u00e9 Balls, and battles in exchange for evidence-gathering, deduction, and a Pikachu that can speak far more than its own name. A year later, the movie adaptation became the second highest-grossing video game film at the time. While the game left a central loose thread dangling, the movie, which is disconnected from the game series, tied everything up in a neat bow. Detective Pikachu Returns is left to deal with this discrepancy, impacting the story this game sequel can tell.<\/p>\n
Partners Tim Goodman and the titular Detective Pikachu begin by receiving awards for their investigative work from the previous game. Of course, it doesn\u2019t take long for things to go wrong, and they solve a series of connected mysteries while continuing the search for Tim\u2019s father, Harry. I welcomed their familiar rapport with Tim as the straight man to Pikachu\u2019s gruff, coffee-swigging comic relief. Seeing this relationship grow and evolve as the cases become increasingly personal deeper into the game is great.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The gameplay remains largely the same as you dash through the streets of Ryme City, temple ruins, and other varied locales, chatting with every human and Pok\u00e9mon you see. This builds out the world, gives personality to the Pok\u00e9mon via Pikachu\u2019s translation, and compiles evidence for your notebook. Once you have enough on file, it\u2019s time to deduce the facts you\u2019ve probably figured out already but now have the proof to back up. Cases once again wrap up via a multiple-choice quiz as you lay them out and identify the culprit. I appreciated the quality-of-life options that help move things along, like faster movement speed, zippy text navigation, and a fast-forward button for cutscenes.<\/p>\n Pikachu\u2019s ability to team up with other Pok\u00e9mon is easily the best addition. Sniffing out a trail with Growlithe, punching through obstacles with Darmanitan, and peering through walls with Luxray all provide a welcome active gameplay break from the constant text scrolling and environment searching. These sequences aren\u2019t revolutionary, but they finally allow you to use some Pok\u00e9mon powers in this series (Detective Pikachu famously can\u2019t use his powers).<\/p>\n Side missions shake things up outside the main case you\u2019re working on. Someone will need help finding a missing Pok\u00e9mon friend, or a persistent professor will describe one you can keep an eye out for. These open up your singular focus on the main case but provide little payoff. When a new chapter starts, you can scroll a newspaper covering all the NPCs you helped. I did these more out of obligation than pursuing a sense of accomplishment.<\/p>\n The simple, cartoony visuals are a step up from the long-in-the-tooth 3DS entry and work well for the game’s tone. Unfortunately, environmental navigation is stuck in the past. Pesky loading screens are a constant companion as you run back and forth through small chunks of town or navigate floors of buildings.<\/p>\n
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