As I said in my preview of Pikmin 4, I haven’t been a fan of Pikmin in a long time. I have no ill will towards the franchise, but can’t get into it for whatever reason. In the fourth game, I finally saw the light of day and decided to give these weird little aliens the attention they deserved.
Pikmin 4 begins with us stranded on an alien planet. We created our own heroes and set off with our weird two-legged puppy, Oatchi, by our side. Of course, as time goes on, we’ll soon be joined by the titular Pikmin, who are more than happy to help us find the castaways stranded on the planet and fix our ship to the point where we can leave.
To escape, we must first explore the world around us, delving into the areas the game offers, picking up treasures to fuel our boat, drifters to rescue and onions to improve our Pikmin abilities. Every area of Pikmin 4 is visually stunning and distinct from each other, which keeps me coming back time and time again even when I get the necessary resources from a given location. They’re inviting places, even if they’re full of weird, bug-like monsters that make you want to dig every nook and cranny in hopes of getting a 100% finished tab.
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You can’t run around these places forever, though, because you have to get back to your boat before dark. Even if you unlock nighttime expeditions, these won’t allow you to explore and collect more treasure, so you’ll have to make the most of your days. I find it generous with the time you’re allowed each day, but I recommend making sure you know what you’re getting into when you start exploring, otherwise you could easily spend a day doing almost nothing. Planning and being efficient when collecting treasure is what Pikmin 4 recommends, especially in the Dandori Battle and Dandori Match minigames. Here, your efficiency is tested, and the skills you learn from these minigames can be used in the wider world. Except in these scenarios, you’re never really tested on your ability to loot treasure or have your minions build bridges, but it’s worth bringing those skills aboard to get the most out of your exploration.
As you probably know, in addition to daytime raids into strange faraway places, you also get nighttime expeditions in Pikmin 4. I find the name a little misleading, because really all of these nighttime adventures boil down to a tower defense game where you and your new glowing Pikmin have to stop creatures from attacking the glow of the night. Resources generated by Luminknoll are important to the campaign, and nighttime expeditions do offer an interesting change of pace from the main game, but I do find it somewhat annoying that you can explore during the day or go on nighttime expeditions. Oddly enough, I couldn’t go straight to a nighttime mission after circling an area during the day.
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These are a staple of our gameplay in Pikmin 4, and while I have some small criticisms of how the timing works, I have to say it’s an incredible game. There’s always one more thing to grab, one more tunnel to explore, one more day to spend. It rarely feels tough, and a big part of it is the story, especially the characters. Pikmin 4 may not lure us to theaters like the other two movies on July 21, but its core cast is pretty entertaining, from mad scientist Russ to the ever-cautious Colin. While these guys won’t be adventuring with you, in cutscenes after a long day of exploring, you can have a light chat with them and get sidelines from members of your rescue party and drifters you pick up along the way Task. Of course, I can’t fail to mention our puppy friend Oatchi, who is an incredible companion. He explains delivering treasure to your ship, fighting monsters, and carrying all your Pikmin with you at the same time. What is not to love? He’s a true standout and feels naturally at home in Pikmin 4, but never more than the titular plant creature. The Pikmins are a great, little helper of sorts, and every time they pop out of the ground, I’m grinning and chirping “hello”. Some are more useful than others, but each has its own selling point, and you’ll need to take advantage of each genre if you want to completely beat the game.
It feels like you’re breeze through Pikmin 4, because even in the tunnels and nighttime adventures, where the creatures are more prominent and dangerous, there doesn’t seem to be much of a real challenge. However, this is offset by things to do in Pikmin 4. I can forgive the lack of difficulty in a game that wasn’t meant to be overly challenging, which is all the more easier when the rest of the experience is so engaging and full of side quests and a lengthy main campaign. Even if you think you’ve done it all, Pikmin 4 will blow your head off with another big dose of content that’s bound to keep you going. It’s neither shallow nor thin, as everything to be done has impressive depth, which kept me invested for hours after the credits rolled.
Pikmin 4 is just fun. Its world is effortlessly captivating, and its core gameplay is strong enough to keep you hooked for hours on end. Combine that with extras like Nighttime Adventures, and Nintendo has built another big winner in the company’s already incredible 2023. I can’t speak for being a longtime fan of the series, but if you’re thinking about dipping your toes, I can only recommend this incredibly fun experience.
