Detective Pikachu sequel announced for the Switch

The Pokémon detective has not seen his last case. Following the 3DS adventure game, and the successful film adaptation, Detective Pikachu will be returning for another adventure game on the Nintendo Switch. As with the first game, the followup will follow the talkative Detective Pikachu as he, and his human pal Tim, solve mysteries.

The game was announced on the official Pokémon Twitter page. Whilst many details of the plot are still a mystery, it promises to resolve many of the lingering plot threads left by the first game. Although the games take place in a separate continuity to the new film, this announcement was likely a consequence of the positive reception to the movie.

In  the original Detective Pikachu game, released outside of Japan last year, you play as a human named Tim Goodman. Teaming up with a Pikachu in a deerstalker hat who only Tim can understand, the duo travel around Rhyme City and solve mysteries. By piecing together clues and interrogating Pokémon, they uncover a sinister criminal conspiracy. The game left many avenues for a sequel to take, so it’s good that it will see a direct followup.

Detective Pikachu offered a new look at the Pokémon world from the perspective of a Pokémon. It was also one of the only Pokémon games not centred around Pokémon battles. The actual problem-solving was criticised for being a bit easy and simplistic. However, the adventure game genre was a great fit for the Pokémon setting. Hopefully a Detective Pikachu sequel can evolve those concepts and capitalise on the sub-franchise’s newfound success from the film.

So far all we know is that a Detective Pikachu sequel is in development. We do not have a concrete release window yet. There is also no word if the 3DS-exclusive first game will also be ported to the Switch. It might be a good idea to reintroduce the somewhat obscure spin-off title to a wider audience, now that people have more awareness of it.  Nonetheless, more quirky Pokemon spin-offs can hardly be a bad thing.