Detective Pikachu Returns Early Reviews Are Modest at Best

Since our latest story yesterday, where Nintendo shared a Detective Pikachu Returns promo trailer to get everyone up to speed, more reviews have come through on the upcoming title.

In short: it's mixed.

Read on to see what others are saying.

Warp Pipe Weekly

A weekly recap of all things Nintendo

SUBSCRIBE

By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Notice. You can opt out at any time.

Follow us on social media!

Sign up for the Warp Pipe Weekly Newsleter

Get all of your Nintendo News

SUBSCRIBE

By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Notice. You can opt out at any time.

Detective Pikachu Returns Gaming Reviews

Below you can find a highlight quote of several gaming sites, along with their review of Detective Pikachu Returns.

Nintendo Life Review

Nintendo Life's Detective Pikachu Returns review came in at the top of the list, rated a 7 out of 10.

Detective Pikachu Returns serves up more of what delighted us first time around, with an endearing and exciting story packed full of fun and light-hearted silliness. We really do enjoy this gruff, coffee-addled take on Pikachu, he never fails to raise a smile when he goes off on one, and the game successfully straddles a very thin line in giving us an adventure aimed at younger players that long-time Pokémon fans and ancient gamers such as ourselves can also enjoy. If you can handle the inherent repetitiveness of most of the core gameplay, alongside some rather drab visuals, you'll enjoy this one.

GameSpot Review

Gamespot scored Detective Pikachu Returns a 6 out of 10 for the Nintendo Switch.

Detective Pikachu Returns is charming and well-made enough for what it is, but that is a mystery game made for younger readers. Its setting, story, and mechanics are all geared toward gently introducing the uninitiated to mystery tropes with a soft-touch approach, and that makes it hard to recommend for any age group above tweens. There's some satisfaction to be had in seeing the story unfold, but mostly this is a game made to be played by or with kids, not to make you feel like a kid again.

IGN Review

IGN rated Detective Pikachu Returns in a similar light as Gamespot: a 6 out of 10.

Detective Pikachu Returns does manage to pull off a few surprises by subverting some obvious mystery tropes around butlers perpetrating crimes, and alliances shift unexpectedly. But it’s still a story where the most obvious suspect in each case is likely the culprit, and the ending you expect is what you typically get.

VGC Review

VGC's review for the Detective Pikachu sequel marks the game at a 3 out of 5, citing a great intro to the franchise for younger players being offset by poor visual quality.

Detective Pikachu Returns is an enjoyable, if incredibly simple introduction into the mystery genre for young players. Older fans of Pokémon will get a kick out of interacting with the dozens of Pocket Monsters littered around the city, but mechanically, there’s not much here for them.

Eurogamer Review

Eurogamer's rating came in at a 3 out of 5 for Detective Pikachu Returns.

Detective Pikachu Returns is a straightforward mystery adventure whose strengths lie in its Pokémon setting and breakout star.

Comicbook.com Review

Comicbook.com's review came in at the bottom of this roster; marked at a 2.5 out of 5, calling it "Ace Attorney for 8-year-olds".

Unless you're a Poke-Fanatic or a young child, Detective Pikachu Returns probably won't hold very much for you. Detective Pikachu is still a joy to watch, but his shenanigans are hardly worth the $50 price tag. However, I think that this game would be a great fit for younger Pokemon fans who aren't looking for deep multi-layered mysteries. As much as I wished that Detective Pikachu Returns had a stronger storyline, Detective Pikachu still has plenty of charm and the kids seem to enjoy his shenanigans as much as they did during his movie.

Conclusion

So there you have it, folks. The reviews seem to be middling so far based on early gameplay from some of the other platforms.

While it's tough to admit, we've been tempering our expectations based on early looks at graphic quality and what seems to be somewhat repetitive gameplay.

Follow Us on Social Media!

Want more Nintendo news?

Show us by tagging our social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok!