Pikmin 4 review: Family-friendly fun on Switch, with a tactical twist
Is Pikmin 4 worth playing?
There hasn't been a mainline numbered entry in the Pikmin series since 2013, so you'd be forgiven for not having a clue what to expect from Pikmin 4, the new Nintendo Switch game that is launching this week and is sure to be widely promoted.
If this is a series that passed you by, but the cutesy colourful vibe has caught your eye, we're pleased to report that this is a great place to consider jumping in with the Pikmin franchise. Although there's plenty of new stuff to please returning fans, the game also takes the time to properly introduce itself and teach you what to do.
Those returning fans will know that Pikmin games centre on the Japanese concept of Dandori, which basically means that Pikmin 4 will test your organisation skills, encouraging you to resolve situations using maximum efficiency and not wasting any time. You have to think tactically, basically!
The game, like many of the Pikmin titles before it, puts you in the role of a travelling astronaut who has fallen on some bad luck. With the help of your canine companion Oatchi and a horde of colourful creatures called Pikmin, you'll have to find your missing crewmates and gradually rebuild your spaceship.
To do this, you'll learn how to order Oatchi and the Pikmin around using a control system that does take some getting used to. If you're all fingers and thumbs, your Dandori skills will take some time to master, and you might find yourself getting a bit frustrated.
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As you get better, though, you'll learn to oversee each exploratory mission carefully, keeping an eye on the timer in the corner as you order your colour-coded minions to unearth treasure, build structures, destroy obstacles, fight off unfriendly creatures and sniff out helpful stuff.
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The fact that each mission has a time limit forces you to think creatively. Should you send your Pikmin this way or that? Should you spend some time creating a new pathway, wasting valuable seconds now but saving yourself some effort in the future? These are the thoughts you'll find yourself having, and there are very satisfying feelings to be had when your plans go well.
One thing that really keeps you engaged is the game's charming visual style and quirky sense of humour, which only enhance the fun factor as you think your way through each environment in search of helpful items and missing people. From the cute critters to the beautiful organic landscapes, to some familiar-looking collectables with silly names, the game clearly wants you to have a good time.
Getting in the way of that, arguably, are the tech constraints of the Nintendo Switch console itself. While the game looks gorgeous, especially on the Switch OLED Model's vibrant screen, it's hard not to get annoyed at the lengthy loading screen that comes between each different area. We felt this with Tears of the Kingdom, too, but here the loading screens are more frequent (whereas, in Zelda, you could explore for ages in the open world without seeing any of them).
If you can see past the loading screens and the fiddly controls, though, we'd wager that you'll have a very good time with this game. The main areas you'll explore provide a nice amount of challenge, and there are also trickier side quests that you'll find along the way.
The more you play, the more that Pikmin 4 will reward you, as there are different types of Pikmin to unlock (each with different strengths), different skills to upgrade, different items to buy/craft, and different tactics you can learn. There are also some features that are designed to help new players, like the ability to rewind time, which can come in very handy.
The game also has multiplayer, allowing you to test your Dandori skills against a friend or family member, which adds a whole other level of family-friendly fun. All in all, if this game has caught your eye, we'd say that you should give it a go. It might be different to a lot of Nintendo's franchises, but we think you'll have fun with it!
Pikmin 4 launches Friday 21st July and you can order your copy from the Nintendo eShop or retailers like Amazon.
Read more on Nintendo:
- Nintendo Switch OLED review - handheld gaming levels up
- The very best Nintendo Switch games
- Nintendo Switch Pro release date - the latest rumours
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- Nintendo Direct - when is the next live stream?
- Best Nintendo Switch micro SD cards to buy
- How to charge Nintendo Switch controllers
- The best Nintendo Switch Lite games - take these on the go
- How to connect Nintendo Switch to TV
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