Pikmin involves the space explorer Olimar crash landing on a planet due to a meteor strike scattering crucial parts of his ship all over the planets surface. Olimar encounters the Pikmin, slightly creepy plant creatures who obey his every command and it's then a case of repairing the ship in 30 days before his life support systems fail.

It's a simple plot, but the mood is surprisingly somber, with the environments doing plenty of the story telling, which still look incredible to this day.

As Olimar you explore one of 5 areas and use the Pikmin to recover the pieces of the ship. You have 30 in game days to locate the parts, with each day working on a timer before you must return to the ship with your Pikmin. If you leave any Pikmin in the field they are eaten and are gone for good. So it's about managing your time, how much can you get away with before sunset?

Using the 3 different types of Pikmin you are simply directing them to pick things up, destroy bridges or kill enemies. The day limit may seem daunting but I feel you have more than enough time to find everything, and you don't even need to get 100%. If you’re efficient, make a plan and choose the right Pikmin for the job, you'll be fine.

I really enjoyed this, it was stressful but serene at the same time, a very different game loop, but one I'm excited to play more of - 8/10