Pokémon is a massive franchise spanning many years, so it’s no surprise that it’s seen a few spin-offs over this time. From Pokémon Snap to Puzzle League and Pinball there have been a few random instalments. One of the strangest has to be Detective Pikachu, which was released back in 2016 for the 3DS. And now, Nintendo Switch gets the direct sequel, Detective Pikachu Returns, developed by Japanese studio, Creatures.

Once again, Detective Pikachu Returns tries to walk the fine line between younger players getting a kick from seeing their favourite Pokémon in a whole new light; while older fans get a kick from in-jokes and the whole thing being a little meta.

Crime Ball

This time around our hard boiled yellow furred detective finds himself in Ryme City once again two years following the R incident, seeing he reunites with his partner Tim Goodman once again to solve a mystery or two along with a few friends.

Interestingly, you don’t really have to have played the first game (or have seen the movie), as the tale does a really good job at filling you in on the backstory at the beginning. Detective Pikachu Returns even cracking a few jokes about them as well.

The tale it tells is also strong enough to cut its own path as it focuses on Tim’s search for his missing father Harry, all while the pair help out others on their journey. You’ll be seeing Tim talking to and questioning humans and Pikachu grilling Pokémon for answers.

You have to piece together all the info you have collected with some clues and draw your own conclusions to solve and ultimately close the cases.

Pokémon Universe

Being a Pokémon game expect cases to be light hearted and to have a sense of fun, over hunting down a serial killer or drug dealers per say. Even though it’s aimed at younger gamers, the game does touch on more heavy and darker subjects which may catch you off guard.

A big change to the game over the first is how its tale is structured; being a much more episodic affair – where you often have more cases than answers, but the more you play the more you’ll reveal.

Gameplay is a bit simpler than the first game. This is mostly due to the new case diary mechanic. Detective Pikachu Returns sees you search and investigate set areas and question all the witnesses. You then open your diary and pick a solution. However, Pikachu will give you a nudge in the right direction if you get it wrong.

Because of this, a lot of the puzzle side of the first game is all but gone. And the diary mechanic really reinforces that Nintendo are aiming at a younger audience. That said, there are a few tricky QTA moments and mini-games to be found here.

Mixed Presentation

Detective Pikachu Returns looks decent technically but has that Pokémon visual charm. At times, however, the visual presentation comes across as cheap. In addition, there are some areas where the game is not nearly pushing the Switch at all.

Detective Pikachu Returns questions characters

The audio of Detective Pikachu Returns is good overall. There is some outstanding voice acting, especially from Pikachu. The rest of the cast put in a solid shift. Music, on the other hand, is a mixed bag.

Some of the score is just jarring and stilted and doesn’t capture that epic crime thriller sound. However, like the visuals, there is a light hearted charm to it all. And perhaps most importantly, it sounds like Pokémon.

Detective Pikachu Returns takes the core of the first game and streamlines it to best fit its target audience, which it succeeds at very well and will be a real treat to younger fans.

For the veteran Pokémon fans, there is enough here to find fun if they can overlook its simplistic gameplay changes.