Detective Pikachu Returns Review - Elementary School, My Dear Watson

Pokemon is cool. The world’s best selling IP has fashion collaborations with brands like Balmain and Gucci, plus celebrity partnerships with Post Malone, Ed Sheeran, and Katy Perry. Pokemon is stylish and renowned, and should have grown up with us these past 25 years. Unfortunately, the games seem desperate to make Pokemon seem dorky and goofy, and that’s a major pitfall of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Detective Pikachu Returns.

The sequel to 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:the 2016 3DS game, likely more popularly known these days as the follow-up to the 2019 movie, is fine. But it’s a shame that, after a solid run of Pokemon spin-offs like 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:New Pokemon Snap raising the bar for what a Pokemon game can be, Detective Pikachu is content t▨o play safe. Modern Pokemon games are held back by the dedication to the idea that ‘every game is someone’s first’, but Detective Pikachu Returns doubles down on this idea in the worst way.

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Ostensibly a puzzle game where you piece together clues to solve crimes, you’ll find yours🅘elf ‘solving’ the crime well beforeꦉ the game is ready for you to. While it is aided by the fact you can choose to deduce a crime as soon as you have the right clues (rather than, as some games force you, having to collect every clue), it still leads to some unnecessary steps.

Pikachu squeezing through a gap in Detective Pikachu Returns-1

Where ♋the game is far better is in the environmental puzzles - there are temple doors that must be opened with the right combination of berries, for example. It’s never too taxing, but at least there it feels like you’re thinking for yourself. This is not the New York Times Crossword, but these other puzzles do at least feel like ꧑the Junior Jumble.

The original trailer was widely mocked for introducing Tim as ‘in his iconic red jacket’, but it’s about as interesting as a𒉰ny other detail you might pick out. Thankfully a lot of the game is spent directly communicating with other Pokemon via Pikachu, and these have more established personalities. The humans are all so stilted and awkward, with no complexity to their characters beyond thinking Pokemon are neat. Detective Pikachu Returns seems to revere “I like shorts, they’re comfy and easy to wear!” as one of gaming’s finest contributions to literature.

Tim deducing what berry is sour in Detective Pikachu Returns-1

Detective Pikachu Returns’ saving grace is the Pokemon themselves. Despite complaining about pretty much everything, Pokemon fans remain very easy to please. I know, I’m one of them. Get the Pokemon right and all is forgiꦍven. There’s more depth between Pokemon than there is between people, and if you’re here to have a chat with Ludicolo, it’s got you covered.

I still would have liked a bit more in this area. A Pokemon you meet early on talks like a surfer duuuuuude, but a lot of Pokemon only want to talk about how much they ♑love their partner humans and how neat stuff is. They feel like Kingdom Hearts&r🌼squo; version of Disney characters - they’ll be close enough for most, but something’s not quite right.

Pikachu himself, however, is fantastic. It’s hard to be a Pikachu in a Pokemon game, with Ash’s Pika taken as the default. Detective Pikachu’s personality - gruff yet frie🎀ndly, competent yet clumsy✤ - shines through and he’s the only one in the game who seems to have been written as a character rather than a plot vector.

Pikachu riding Growlithe's back while picking up a scent in Detective Pikachu Returns-1

It’s a very cosy game. It may not challe♐nge you too much, but it’s well put together and, given Pokemon’s recent history, that needs to be stated. It’s slow and a little dorky, but very charming and will leave any Pokemon fan smiling. I want Pokemon to go beyond scratching the surface with its world-building, but I also just like it that Politoed and Poliwag are in an indie band together. It’s nice. There’s a lot of ‘aww, cute’ stuff that keeps it afloat when the crimes can drag out.

Tim is superfluous. Obviously, he’s the one who directly communicates with the other humans and thus actually solves the case, but he adds nothing to the experience. The game tries to give him a narrative arc with a love interest, but she (like everyone else in his life) unflinchingly thinks he’s amazing. He’s a boring character made w💫orse by the fact everyone around him worships the ground he walks on.

The mural room with the sweet yellow and sour blue paintings in Detective Pikachu Returns

There are sections when Pikachu and Tim are separated, and Pikachu gets unique powers like riding Growlithe’s back to pick up scent or smashing rocks with the help of Darmanitan. When we’re with Tim, all he can do is keep asking questions (he never gets any rebuffs in his advances) and loses the ability to communicate with Pokemon. I found myself wanting to stay jus🅘t with Pikachu, rushing the Tim sections to get back.

Mostly, Detective Pikachu Returns does what its title promises. It’s a little longer than the first game, coming in at just over 20 hours, but other than that it’s still Pikachu stealing the show, some cosy and straightforward crimes that take a little too long, and some ღmore interesting puzzles on the way. It won’t make you think too hard, but it’s relaxing and opens up the world of Pokemon a little wider. Fans of th🙈e first game will welcome the sequel with open arms, but those looking for a Pokemon-themed LA Noire may need to keep searching.