Pikmin is a very frustrating game. For every good thing it does there are two missteps. The core gameplay is solid; the process of building up an army to do as much as possible in as little time as possible is really cathartic. But the level design is infuriating, with so many walls ledges that force you to go in roundabout ways that waste your time.

The world is super interesting, with the diverse locales and weird alien species offering a lot of intrigue about this planet. But the enemies are really irritating, and it's easy to lose a ton of your Pikmin all at once because the game didn't do what you wanted to do and the enemies wipe out a third of you Pikmin instantaneously.

Not helping matters are all the mechanical problems. The camera is never in a good position to see what you need to see, and I swear to God it moves on its own. The AI of the Pikmin is complete garbage; it's honestly kind of hilarious to watch how dopey they are, but it's maddening to watch them trip for the 214th time and to blow the whistle multiple times while they refuse to listen to you.

It's a bit hard to recommend this game. When I played it, I couldn't stop thinking about it because of how solid the world and core gameplay is, but there's a lot holding it back.