Pikmin 4 has finally made me understand the joy of Pikmin NintendoPikmin 4 is nearly upon us and we were recently invited by Nintendo to go hands-on with the game. However, did we like how the game was shaping up and did it leave us wanting more? As a lifelong Nintendo fan, there\u2019s one franchise that I\u2019ve never been able to connect with: Pikmin. I can\u2019t explain why. Maybe it\u2019s the strategy elements that put me off or the fact that I\u2019ve always hated Olimar in Super Smash Bros. \u2013 but I do know I\u2019m not alone. Pikmin has always felt like one of Nintendo\u2019s most niche first-party franchises. That might have changed after I was given the chance to spend around an hour and a half with Pikmin 4, the first proper Pikmin game in a decade. While I was only able to play through one stage, something definitely clicked in my brain. I found myself caring about these cute little creatures in a way that I\u2019ve not been able to before. Finding (Dan)dori It was mentioned a few times during my preview session that the goal with Pikmin 4 was to create a more relaxing experience than previous entries, while still offering a challenge for those who want it. That certainly resonated with how it felt during my short time with the game. The closest I got to feeling a sense of urgency was a countdown ticking away in the corner of the screen as nighttime approached, but I never felt pressured to achieve anything specific during each day. I knew that once the timer was up, I could simply return and do more exploring the next day. My preview session took place in a single area called Sun-Speckled Terrace, which felt like being shrunk down to the size of a bug and wandering around someone\u2019s backyard. It didn\u2019t take long to get used to the gameplay loop, so off I went collecting Pikmin to do my bidding. That could be recovering treasures full of Sparklium to restore my spaceship to its former glory, defeating various bug-like enemies, or hunting for my missing crewmates in underground caves. The game encouraged me to work on my Dandori, the art of \u201corganizing your tasks strategically and working with maximum efficiency\u201d. This isn\u2019t something I\u2019m used to when gaming. I\u2019m someone who gets distracted by sidequests or whatever shiny thing lies in the distance. But there was something about working alongside my team of Pikmin to achieve our goals together before the day ended that felt incredibly rewarding. Pikmin\u2019s Best Friend My favorite gameplay element from my time with Pikmin 4 was definitely Oatchi, the loyal canine companion who followed me around as I explored Sun-Speckled Terrace. At first, my commands were limited. This good boy functioned much the same as my army of Pikmin in the sense that I could send him out to attack enemies, carry items back to my ship, or break down walls. But as I progressed through the game, Oatchi grew larger and learned new tricks like jumping to help me discover new areas. I quickly realized that Oatchi wasn\u2019t just a cute sidekick, but an essential part of progressing through Pikmin 4. There were vases that could only be smashed by charging up Oatchi\u2019s dash or scents that he could pick up to point me in the right direction. After venturing into one underground cave, I had to leave my main character behind and control Oatchi by himself to solve a puzzle involving buttons and moving platforms. Adorable and functional, what\u2019s not to love? Exploring the space Another feature I got to experience was the variety of Pikmin on offer, especially the new ice variants which work exactly as you\u2019d expect them to. Lob them at your enemies to freeze them in their tracks or use their cooling powers to freeze water and make a path to walk across. It\u2019s not a game-changing addition, but it\u2019s another handy Pikmin type to have at your disposal that works a treat when you\u2019re feeling overwhelmed by multiple enemies. Despite being a relatively small stage when compared to the vast worlds of many modern games, there were absolutely loads of things to discover in Sun-Speckled Terrace. I feel like I could have easily spent another two or three hours just exploring this area, let alone the rest of the stages. While the core gameplay doesn\u2019t stray too far from classic Pikmin fare, one area that has been given a decent overhaul is the visuals. I\u2019ve never considered Pikmin to be a particularly pleasant-looking franchise (the word \u2018muddy\u2019 springs to mind). However, this new iteration marks a pretty big upgrade with environments looking far more vibrant and inviting than in previous outings. Left wanting Oli-more This isn\u2019t the kind of game that needs cutting-edge graphics, of course \u2013 and we\u2019re never going to get that on the Nintendo Switch anyway. Even so, Pikmin 4 really is quite lovely to look at. I was given the option to play on a huge TV with the Switch docked, but I chose to stay in handheld mode as it looked great on the OLED screen. Although I was only able to experience a snapshot of what Pikmin 4 has to offer, the sense I get is that this is Nintendo\u2019s attempt to introduce the franchise to a newer audience while also keeping existing fans happy. It\u2019s not reinventing the wheel. But, with a handful of great new features, some lovely visuals, and a more relaxed approach to gameplay, I feel like it\u2019s won me over already. Pikmin 4 will be available on Nintendo Switch on July 21, 2023.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pikmin 4 has finally made me understand the joy of Pikmin NintendoPikmin 4 is nearly upon us and we were recently invited by Nintendo to go hands-on with the game. However, did we like how the game was shaping up and did it leave us wanting more? As a lifelong Nintendo fan, there\u2019s one franchise […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84137"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84137\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}