Pikmin 4 review

Pikmin 4is the last game of the strategy genre series, which Nintendo added to our liking by adding its own style. Last month, I reviewed the Pikmin 1 + 2 games that the first two games came to Nintendo Switch, and I said let’s wait for Pikmin 4. So what kind of innovations does Pikmin 4 offer us, was it worth the wait, how good is it for players who want to start the series new? Let’s start the review.

Pikmin 4 review

With Pikmin 4, another one is added to the characters like Olimar and Louie that we are familiar with before, us! This time, we start the game by creating our own character and return to the alien planet, which is very reminiscent of Earth, together with our other teammates.

Old World New Characters

We are part of the rescue team that was sent after Captain Olimar was lost during his exploration of the alien planet. After our ship made a not-so-soft landing, we wander around as a novice member of the team, gather our scattered teammates and try to repair the ship, and try to find our main mission, Olimar.

We encounter the Pikmin species on the planet, whose name we have heard before, and they come to our aid in every possible way. But this time, our only helper is not the Pikmin species, we also have a dog! Collecting Oatchi and Pikmin species, which I can describe as a space dog, we will collect foreign objects that are very familiar to us in our adventure, gather our team and save Olimar.

The main story of the game takes place in sub-chapters in different areas and it took me about 14 hours to finish. I did not encounter any big surprises or details that would make you say “wow” throughout the story, but it was a pleasant experience to follow. It’s also nice to notice some references to having replayed old games recently.

Innovations Await Us

Pikmin 4 comes with many innovations in gameplay as the first Pikmin game exclusive to Nintendo Switch. Again, we play as little creatures wandering in a corner of our world, presumably in someone’s garden, and we try to solve the puzzles in the environment by encountering objects with different names but very familiar ones. While solving these puzzles, we get the support of our new dog Oatchi, as well as our Pikmin friends, the mysterious creatures of the planet.

Two new species are added to our Pikmin friends. The first of the new types, Ice Pikmin, is a genre that we will use a lot in new types of puzzles. The other new type is called Glow Pikmin and their main feature is that they shine. This new type only spawns at night and are the only helpers we have on night missions. I’ll talk about this part later. Other Pikmin variants that we know from old games appear throughout the game and help us in our struggles.

Throwing a Pikmin that will give a status effect (electric – ice cold) to the enemy’s head usually causes that friend to die until the others enter the battle, while Oatchi, who attacks with the relevant Pikmin, can create a status effect quite quickly. It interacts with the surrounding objects, provides quick access, protects others in attacks, is a real team player. Moreover, you can make it stronger in the direction you want with various improvements and make it suitable for your playing style.

Our newly added dog, Oatchi, has made a very good contribution to the gameplay and allows us to do more diverse-effective work in terms of tactics. Oatchi is also an effective name in struggles, as we can travel around and get things done with the power of more than one Pikmin on his own.

If you’re feeling sorry for your Pikmin friends you ‘accidentally’ thrown into the water during battles, or if you’re feeling sorry for them, I’d like to happily announce the game’s new rewind feature. In this way, when you get a result that you do not want, you can rewind time a little and try to reach a solution from a different direction. It is an ideal feature especially for the pensive people who throw valuable Pikmin species on the enemy’s head instead of sending the dog ahead to enter the war. It slightly reduces the difficulty of the game, but since its use is completely optional, you don’t have to use it if you don’t prefer it.

Let’s talk about the newly added night missions. The fate of Pikmins, who normally do not hide in a safe place at night, is known, we have been seeing it for 3 games. The night missions added to the game offer a new genre and game style called Glow Pikmin. You have valuable resources to protect until the morning, and you have to carefully use the limited number of Pikmin and Oatchi you have. Night missions in the style of Tower Defense start quite easily and reach challenging challenges, especially in the last levels. Fortunately, not all of them are required for you to complete the mission. I wouldn’t say they are very fun quests, they soon become monotonous, but it’s a good idea to make a change.

The Pikmin series is generally known as a strategy game where the player can do the tasks calmly, without too much stress. There are difficult places, but you set your own pace and adapt to the conditions. The newly added Dandori mod is a part that completely ignores this event. Dandori, which means something like strategic planning in Japanese, is a mod that lives up to its name. There are two different types of games, the Challenge against the time score race and the Battle, where the person who collects the highest treasure after a certain time wins.

You can play these challenges with your friends, against your friends or against artificial intelligence. I found the Dandori part entertaining, which are completely different from the main game, with challenges that seem designed to be played at home or with your friends over the internet. It is debatable whether I play it alone, but it is played with someone. It doesn’t necessarily play many episodes in story mode, but I suggest you try it with your friends.

Pikmin 4 Good?

Pikmin 4 is a nice sequel that puts new features on the previous games of the series and offers an average of 22 hours of fun adventure even with its main story. We create our own character, embark on a brand new adventure, go on night missions and participate in different struggles. In fact, after the game is over, a different mode is opened where we can play the story of Olimar. So overall the game is in pretty good shape.

It is not possible to play the main story of the game as Co-op. In the past, some games had Nintendo games where you gave the second controller to your brother and had him help by interacting with the environment, they added something similar. They said if you want proper Co-op play old games or Dandori.

Apart from these, Switch performance is also quite good. I didn’t have much trouble playing both in handheld mode and connected to the TV. Loading times exceeding 20 seconds draw attention, as I’m used to SSD speed, but I don’t consider it a big minus since we don’t spend time on loading screens all the time.

Pikmin 4, the first Pikmin game released exclusively for Nintendo Switch, is a successful game that appeals to fans of the series and players who enjoy strategy games. We know that the Pikmin series did not meet Nintendo’s expectations in terms of sales and could not understand why. Despite this, I was happy that instead of shelving the game, they developed a game with new modes and features and produced a game that would appeal to more people.

Pikmin 4, on Nintendo Store It’s on sale with a $60 price tag. If you want to try the game before you buy it, you can still download the free demo from the Nintendo Store and if you like it, you can continue to use your save here when you buy the game. If you’re looking for a strategy game like no other and you’re a Nintendo Switch owner, don’t miss it.