Note: Video version here. The text below is a transcript of the shooting script. Some wording might be slightly different between the text and video. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I had been eagerly awaiting Detective Pikachu to come stateside since its Japanese announcement back in 2016. And that’s not counting the leaks that came out a few years earlier.
But in between all that time, I still didn’t really know what the game was, and wasn’t sure what to expect playing it myself. After going through its 12 hour story, I can say now that it wasn’t exactly what I think I wanted, but it was a pleasant experience nonetheless.
I want to start off talking about the puzzles in Detective Pikachu.They’re barely puzzles. Once you start investigating a case, you go around talking to NPCs who will then give you information. To solve the case, you drag and drop the relevant blocks of information onto the case file using the 3DS’ touchscreen. That’s pretty much it.
There aren’t these big hidden clues you have to try and piece together. The game hands you everything you need, and as long you’re paying even just a bit of attention, you won’t have any trouble whatsoever.
The game even asks you upfront if you want to start on easy mode. Seeing as this game might have a large percentage of younger players, that makes sense, but the average player won’t need it. Hell, I bet most kids won’t either.
That said, the puzzles weren’t what compelled me to keep playing Detective Pikachu. It was the story of all things, which i was very much not expecting.
You play as Tim Goodman, son of ace detective Harry Goodman. You make your way to Rhyme City where you meet up with Harry’s partner Pokemon, the titular Detective Pikachu. You team up to solve the case of your father’s accident and subsequent disappearance only to get caught up in a larger mystery involving some Pokemon related incidents your father was investigating beforehand.
The mystery itself wasn’t very complex. I figured most of it out fairly quickly, but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment of seeing it all unravel first hand. A lot of that has to do with how charming the Pokemon World can be when explored in games outside the core rpg series.
Pikachu himself is just a well of personality. His gruff talking, coffee drinking, lady loving charm had me chuckling through the majority of the game. Besides the main cutscenes, the game also throws small vignettes at you in which Pikachu interacts with his surroundings, talks to himself, and gives you detective tips. They are simply a delight.
Maybe my biggest gripe with the story is the ending. While the game did leave some wiggle room for me to come up with a few different theories for what was actually going on, the actual outcome was of course the theory I was hedging all my bets on. Maybe I was giving the game a bit too much credit. I could have just been seeing what I wanted to see. Coming up with motivations that weren’t really there in the first place.
In addition to that, right in the final scenes, as things are wrapping up, the game simultaneously ignores one of its more interesting plot points, while also setting up for a sequel. I would have much preferred and nice, complete story for a game like this. But of course, with a movie already in production, turning Detective Pikachu into a full on franchise isnt that much of a surprise.
If you’re looking for a interesting puzzle game built to get your deductive reasoning skills a good workout, Detective Pikachu isn’t the game for you. But if you’re looking for a simple, fun little story with a lot of personality and charm, go ahead and give it a shot.