Between the movie adaptation coming out and one of my friends highly recommending the game to me, I finally decided to play Detective Pikachu. It’s a spinoff of the Pokémon franchise for the Nintendo 3DS/2DS that’s not as bizarre as it sounds. I had no idea what to expect from it. What I got was a fun game that kids and diehard Pokémon fans should enjoy.
Detective Pikachu follows the adventures of a teenage boy named Tim Goodman, who’s looking for his missing father. Harry Goodman was a famous police detective who went missing after a suspicious car accident. Only his partner, Pikachu, could be found at the scene.
By the time that Tim arrives in Ryme City, two months after the incident, his father’s Pikachu has somehow gained the ability to speak- but only Tim can understand him. He presents himself as “the Great Detective Pikachu” and wants to help Tim find his missing father. Unfortunately, Pikachu isn’t much help in one respect: he suffers from amnesia and can’t recall what happened during the accident. So Tim and Pikachu team up to investigate Harry’s last case and figure out why he disappeared.
The game is divided into nine “chapters,” each concerning a unique case. Tim and Pikachu work together to solve crimes by interrogating suspects and searching the crime scene. Pikachu gives the duo an advantage by talking to all of the Pokémon witnesses and translating their testimony for Tim. It’s all very straightforward and you’re not likely to get stuck on any point in this game. If you’re looking for a serious challenge, don’t expect to find one with Detective Pikachu.
Don’t expect to collect any Pokémon or engage in battles either. In the world of Detective Pikachu, most people have one Pokémon as their “partner,” similar to Ash’s friendship with his own Pikachu. The secretary at the Baker Detective Agency has a Fletching that delivers mail for her, a talented violinist works with a Kricketune that helps her practice, and a police office partners with a Manetric that uses his nose to solve crimes.
I’m sorry to say that I didn’t get as much out of the world building or the Pokémon cameos as I ought to have. As a kid, I stopped paying attention to the Pokémon franchise after the first movie and I’m only just starting to regain interest now. My knowledge of Pokémon begins and ends with Gen 1. As it is, I liked the game’s setting and the Pokémon that I encountered. Lifelong fans will probably love everything about them.
This game does an impressive job with episodic storytelling. Each case leads directly into the next and has some importance to the whole plot. When I think of other video games or TV shows that try to do this, they usually follow a certain format: the premieres and the finales are where all the important stuff happens. Then you get a lot of “monster of the week” episodes in between that are loosely connected to what the characters hope to accomplish. Without going into spoilers, I can say that that’s not the case with Detective Pikachu. Granted, not every mystery directly ties back to Harry and his investigation. But Pikachu and Tim always have a reason to be where they are and they find clues in every case that help them piece together the larger mystery.
Speaking of Tim and Detective Pikachu, they had a nice partnership and I liked all of the human characters in the game. However, I found Tim to be a little too flat and generic. As of this writing, the movie hasn’t come out yet, so it’s too early to pass judgment on who will ultimately give the superior acting performances. Still, based on what I’ve seen in the trailers, I’m enjoying Ryan Reynolds and Justice Smith much more.
Overall, Detective Pikachu is a solid game and I recommend playing it if you have a Nintendo 3DS (or 2DS). It’s simple to play, which makes it a good choice for young kids to try out. Fans will enjoy the story, the setting, and the many different kinds of Pokémon. Enjoy it before you watch the movie!
Zone, but you can still just go play with bots if you wish.
choose different characters to play, some of which are free, some of which you find parts to get, and others that you can buy. You go and do missions on different planets to get upgrades to your armor, pets, weapons, abilities, etc. In the past year they added a more open-world planet (possibly more than one) to go get items on as well instead of just the missions. I can say I didn’t play this much, but I did enjoy the few times that I did. You could say this game has a few pay-to-win advantages as you can buy upgrades and characters to play.
eapons, as well as learn more skills. You can customize your character a hell of a lot in this game, but it can be overwhelming for some as the gameplay can be difficult at times. A bonus to this customization is you can choose the same type of character as your friends and still have completely different spells and play styles. I hear this is much easier (and more fun) with your friends, but can definitely be played alone. I never made it very far in this game (it updates a lot and I have shitty internet), but I know a few people who really enjoy it. Also, it is never pay-to-win as you can’t purchase advantages with real money.
can choose from to play. You can be Zeus, or Loki, or even the Monkey King. There are multiple types of competition that you can play such as competitive mode and conquest. This is a hugely popular game that people like to brag about where they are on the leaderboard and I would say they have good reason as I found it a bit difficult. Also, no pay-to-win here that I know of, unless you consider being able to open up all Gods with the Ultimate God Pack an advantage.
play as. They advertise it as constantly being updated with new game modes, maps, equipment, and hats (which they say is most important! Lol). You can collect, craft, buy and trade hats and weapons in this game so that you can truly customize your character and therefore your gameplay. As that is about all you can buy.. this is not a pay-to-win game either!
the most comprehensive free-to-play, cross-platform, MMO military game for Windows, Linux, Mac, and PS4. It basically lets you have a full on war with all of the vehicles you would want. And who doesn’t love a game that is cross-platform?! I’ve never played it, but my significant other has and says that it is a great time if you like free military games. There is both PvE and PvP content so that everyone can enjoy it. And definitely not a pay-to-win game.
of their heroes are free and can fill multiple roles in the game allowing people to change things up in every battle. They want you to play how you want and find your favorite play style, but also be able to change it if the need arises. You can play co-op versus bots or you can go play PvP. I have never played this game, so I have no personal experience with it, but it is definitely not pay-to-win!
5 v 5 battles, but I’m not sure if that has changed at all. There are a lot of cool skins that you can get for the characters and the battles can sometimes be really intense. They have done a few updates since it came out and currently Future’s End is the game going on. They have a new champion, Atlas, and as the others are he is free. Anything that affects gameplay is unlocked just by playing, so this is not a pay-to-win game. Although you could call it a pay-to-look good game (lol).
into animes, novels, films, and games. This game is based upon trading cards for Yu-Gi-Oh! and is basically that, but online. It allows you to do duels, and PvP, as well as create your own deck with the cards you get in-game. They have voices from the anime in-game and great 3D animations. I have not personally played it, but it looks like fun if you are into trading cards. I am not sure if any of the in-app purchases make this pay-to-win.
branches as you choose. You can play PvP in this game – the fastest way to level up – or you can choose to level up by playing PvE. My significant other plays this game heavily and really enjoys it (if you want to try it, I can get you an invite link that will give you free stuff! Just send me a message on our Discord!).
For many gamers, there are fantastic memories associated with games from the 1980s. Between the accessibility of arcades and finally being able to play at home these games became a foundation for so many of us who like to game. 
