With the fourth mainline/numbered entry in the Pikmin series, Nintendo have chosen to do everything in their power to make this the most accessible and content rich game in the series. For those familiar with the Pikmin series, Pikmin 1 and 3 followed a gameplay loop that saw you exploring areas to collect ship parts/fruit to get off a planet before a deadline hit, causing a game over. Pikmin 2 saw you collecting treasure with no time limit and exploring caves as well as the overworld for that treasure. Pikmin 4 follows more closely to the formula of Pikmin 2 while adding plenty of its own new ideas into the mix.
So the core gameplay loop of Pikmin 4 sees you exploring areas and using your Pikmin to collect items lying around the world to collect its sparklium that can be converted into fuel for the characters spaceship that will allow them to explore other areas of the planet and eventually return back home. The story premise is that Olimar has yet again crash landed on a planet containing Pikmin and needs saving, however the Rescue Corps sent to save have also crash landed and it's up to you, a newbie Rescue Corps member to save not only Olimar but the missing Rescue Corps members too. Yes, for the first time in the series you play as a self insert character who you can customise with a limited set of options (which is nice, the character creator is nowhere near overwhelming) that can be changed at any point once you unlock the option in the game. So in addition to collecting treasure, you will also be finding Rescue Corps members to carry back and as the game progresses, random castaways that have gotten stuck on this mysterious planet too. What's cool about this is every character has a profile card detailing a little bit about themselves and what they came to the planet to do, whether it's to research the plant life or do a documentary, there's a varied bunch of characters to meet. They all help flesh out the Pikmin universe too as you meet characters from many different planets like Hocatate and PNF-404 and it shows the Pikmin universe is so much bigger than we realised. These characters once saved can all be found in the new hub area of this game where they will offer side missions to complete like make 300 Pikmin bloom or discover a certain amount of creatures. They're nice extra challenges that help make the smaller tasks you do while exploring a bit more valuable.
Right let's get onto the gameplay itself and all the tweaks Nintendo have made. When Pikmin came to Wii the pointer controls were such a natural fit for the series that it was hard to see an alternate way of playing that was just as good. The Deluxe port of Pikmin 3 on Switch tried to replicate this using gyro aiming but unfortunately the aiming would constantly need reset due to how quickly it would drift. With Pikmin 4 being designed for Switch, Nintendo have opted for a lock on cursor that works pretty well (aside from a few moments where multiple things are next to each other and it's hard to pinpoint what you want). Gyro aiming still comes into play but is only active when whistling or throwing Pikmin meaning you don't have to constantly reset it and you still get to quickly move your aim when needed. They've added a much more dynamic camera this time allowing you to get pretty close to the action on the ground as well as pulling out far enough to get a decent read of your surroundings and you've got shortcuts you can add to the d-pad for stuff like items and character switching which is really nice. While it's not quite at the same heights as the pointer controls during the Wii/Wii U era, Nintendo have managed to adapt the controls of Pikmin into something that is very suitable for both the TV and handheld playstyles of Switch with little compromise. The game also begins with a pretty heavy handed tutorial to help those new to the series and make sure that everything is explained in detail. It interrupts the game a little too often for me as someone who has played the series before but I can understand wanting to make sure people understand how everything works.
The biggest new addition to the gameplay this time around is Oatchi, your very own space dog companion! Oatchi can be used in a variety of ways. The main one I used was as a ride. Oatchi can carry your character and all your Pikmin on his back which is really handy and helps eliminate one of the main causes of lost Pikmin for me: the stragglers at the back being crushed or caught by enemies. Of course there's still enemies capable of knocking you and your Pikmin off causing chaos and leading to lost Pikmin but it is really handy being able to gather them all onto Oatchi's back to try and keep them safe. Oatchi is also able to complete many tasks that Pikmin can like carrying objects and defeating enemies and through upgrades he can become immune to various elements and carry heavier items. Thankfully he doesn't negate the need for Pikmin altogether, he's more of a handy helping hand for dividing up tasks or transporting Pikmin across water who normally couldn't.
We also have a couple of new Pikmin types with the Ice and Glow Pikmin. Ice Pikmin are impervious to being frozen, can withstand cold temperatures and freeze bodies of water if you have enough of them. They can also freeze enemies when used to attack them making fights a lot less riskier but when a frozen enemy is defeated they shatter and you don't get a body to carry back and grow your Pikmin population. It's a nice approach to risk/reward design that also helps make the game a bit easier if you choose to.
Glow Pikmin are mostly exclusive to the new night missions in the game but can also be used in caves. These Pikmin are impervious to all elemental weaknesses other Pikmin have but can still be killed by enemies. They can teleport to your character when they are done with their tasks and at the end of a night mission for every 10 surviving Glow Pikmin you have, you earn a glow seed that can be used to spawn Glow Pikmin in a cave. They're pretty handy if your Pikmin population is thinning out while in a cave and you can't find any more around.
Speaking of night missions, these are tower defence style missions where you are tasked with protecting a Luminol or two to collect a medicine for some of the castaways that are suffering a leafy transformation. These missions see you using Glow Pikmin to collect star bits to carry back to the Luminol to expand their numbers so they can defend against the oncoming onslaught of enemies throughout the night. As they can teleport to whoever you're controlling you can quickly switch between Oatchi and your character to manage defending multiple Luminol. It's a nice change of pace from the main missions and keeps the game feeling fresh. I do think it would've been cool if they had multiple captains like in Pikmin 3 so we could defend 3 or 4 Luminols because of how fluid the switching is with Glow Pikmin but otherwise it's a solid game mode and it's nice being able to explore at night.
The bulk of your game time is exploring the beautifully crafted environments and collecting the various treasures available. Nintendo have made a couple of tweaks to the traditional Pikmin formula. First is the limitation of just 3 Pikmin types at any one time which helps making sure each Pikmin type can have a chance to shine as areas are designed with this in mind and will offer recommended Pikmin types to bring along. There might be a couple of times where you'll want to swap out for another Pikmin type to accomplish a task but for the most part the game is extremely well designed around this, and in caves it is possible to find Pikmin types outwith the 3 you brought in allowing you to play with a larger variety at once for a bit. I think this limitation works well for preventing people from becoming overwhelmed by the amount of Pikmin types to choose from as well as making sure the player has to strategise with a limited amount of resources. Also different this time round is starting with a limit of only 20 Pikmin at once. This can be expanded by finding Farlic onions throughout levels, increasing the limit by 10 every time until you hit the traditional limit of 100. I assume this was done to ease newcomers into the series and not overwhelm them and I think it works well. It's another item to collect and it feels good watching your Pikmin limit expand, being able to accomplish more tasks and fight stronger enemies as your army grows. Another gameplay addition is the ability to rewind time to undo mistakes. It's a pretty comprehensive rewind allowing you to go back to specific points or even all the way back to the beginning of the day. As an optional tool it's great for accessibility and while I tried to avoid using it, it did come in handy during the final boss encounter after having my purple Pikmin wiped out from trying to figure out how best to hit the boss.
There's a very well done balance between overworld and cave exploration that helps keeps both feeling fun and fresh throughout. The overworld has all the usual Pikmin puzzles to solve, walls to break down, tunnels to dig, etc and caves can be found throughout these levels. Caves act much like they did in Pikmin 2, hiding treasure to collect and holding some of the more difficult enemy encounters. These areas have been tightly designed this time, offering very puzzle box like experiences as you work your way through them. They also tend to house the rarer Pikmin types allowing you to add new Pikmin to your army. The caves this time are often around the 5 levels mark so you don't spend as much time in them as you do in 2 allowing a better balance between the areas you're exploring. I loved the caves in this game as they were very fun and tightly designed areas that offer fun puzzles to figure out with your Pikmin.
I've covered so much already but wait, there's more! As well as being able to find caves through the levels, there are new Dandori challenges and battles that can be found too. Dandori, as explained in game, is the art of organising your tasks strategically and working with maximum efficiency to execute your plans quickly and by gosh the game does mean that. The Dandori challenges see you given a set amount of time to collect every single object within a level. You start out with a specific set of Pikmin and must act quickly and efficiently to grow your Pikmin army as well as defeating enemies and clearing paths to collect every item. These challenges are intense and you cannot stop for a second otherwise you're going to miss the target score. These are so much fun and really test your quick thinking abilities as well as how efficiently and quickly your brain can spot how to divide tasks up to get them done. I absolutely loved these challenges and getting a platinum score on my first try was always a delight.
The Dandori battles see you take on a mysterious leafling in a split screen battle to collect the most points before time runs out. It's a bit more chaotic and you can use your Pikmin to mess with your opponent and steal their items from them as well as pick up the traditional Nintendo style multiplayer items to turn the tide of battle. This is also offered as a traditional multiplayer mode in the main menu and it does its job well but the chaotic nature of them leaves them feeling a bit less satisfying compared to everything else on offer.
So yeah, there is an absolute ton packed into this Pikmin, taking me well over 20 hours to get to the credits while 100%ing every area on the way and Nintendo is like you thought that was it? Nah, here's even more content providing one of the meatiest post games in recent memory. We got more areas to explore, a new mode that caters to those who loved Pikmin 1 and a set of Dandori challenges that really test your skills. It's incredible just how much content Nintendo has packed into Pikmin this time around and the way each game style varies things up keeps things fresh. Despite having 9 Pikmin types and Oatchi available to use, they somehow manage to make sure each Pikmin type still has a role to fill without feeling pointless. The story mode also alleviates one of my main criticisms about Pikmin 3 by making sure that every single type of Pikmin sees use. 3 saw purple and white Pikmin go unused in the main story while 4 makes sure everyone gets their chance to shine, particularly through the caves that usually have challenges designed around specific Pikmin types.
The game is just a joy to play and very chill for the most part with late game providing some of the challenges veteran Pikmin fans might be looking for. Aside from heavy handed tutorials and a little bit of jank with lock on aiming, I don't really have much to criticise with Pikmin 4. It's an extremely well designed game that manages to expand upon Pikmin in all the right ways while finding ways to appeal to fans that love the style of Pikmin 1 or Pikmin 2. The sound design is as great as ever, with every Pikmin making unique noises and having cute footstep sound effects that differentiate over different material and there's one boss fight in particular that blew me away with how it played with the music. And of course the game carries the series usual charm with every item having a few logs to go through along with the funny names. It's always fun seeing these characters try to figure out what exactly a GBA SP could be used for.
Pikmin 4 takes the series to new heights while maintaining a delicate balance to try and appeal to as wide a demographic as possible. Nintendo have nailed expanding the various types of strategic gameplay on offer while also making sure that everything is balanced as finely as possible. Somehow they have managed to make this most content rich Pikmin title and kept it feeling fresh throughout making this my favourite Pikmin title so far and one of my favourite games of all time.
So the core gameplay loop of Pikmin 4 sees you exploring areas and using your Pikmin to collect items lying around the world to collect its sparklium that can be converted into fuel for the characters spaceship that will allow them to explore other areas of the planet and eventually return back home. The story premise is that Olimar has yet again crash landed on a planet containing Pikmin and needs saving, however the Rescue Corps sent to save have also crash landed and it's up to you, a newbie Rescue Corps member to save not only Olimar but the missing Rescue Corps members too. Yes, for the first time in the series you play as a self insert character who you can customise with a limited set of options (which is nice, the character creator is nowhere near overwhelming) that can be changed at any point once you unlock the option in the game. So in addition to collecting treasure, you will also be finding Rescue Corps members to carry back and as the game progresses, random castaways that have gotten stuck on this mysterious planet too. What's cool about this is every character has a profile card detailing a little bit about themselves and what they came to the planet to do, whether it's to research the plant life or do a documentary, there's a varied bunch of characters to meet. They all help flesh out the Pikmin universe too as you meet characters from many different planets like Hocatate and PNF-404 and it shows the Pikmin universe is so much bigger than we realised. These characters once saved can all be found in the new hub area of this game where they will offer side missions to complete like make 300 Pikmin bloom or discover a certain amount of creatures. They're nice extra challenges that help make the smaller tasks you do while exploring a bit more valuable.
Right let's get onto the gameplay itself and all the tweaks Nintendo have made. When Pikmin came to Wii the pointer controls were such a natural fit for the series that it was hard to see an alternate way of playing that was just as good. The Deluxe port of Pikmin 3 on Switch tried to replicate this using gyro aiming but unfortunately the aiming would constantly need reset due to how quickly it would drift. With Pikmin 4 being designed for Switch, Nintendo have opted for a lock on cursor that works pretty well (aside from a few moments where multiple things are next to each other and it's hard to pinpoint what you want). Gyro aiming still comes into play but is only active when whistling or throwing Pikmin meaning you don't have to constantly reset it and you still get to quickly move your aim when needed. They've added a much more dynamic camera this time allowing you to get pretty close to the action on the ground as well as pulling out far enough to get a decent read of your surroundings and you've got shortcuts you can add to the d-pad for stuff like items and character switching which is really nice. While it's not quite at the same heights as the pointer controls during the Wii/Wii U era, Nintendo have managed to adapt the controls of Pikmin into something that is very suitable for both the TV and handheld playstyles of Switch with little compromise. The game also begins with a pretty heavy handed tutorial to help those new to the series and make sure that everything is explained in detail. It interrupts the game a little too often for me as someone who has played the series before but I can understand wanting to make sure people understand how everything works.
The biggest new addition to the gameplay this time around is Oatchi, your very own space dog companion! Oatchi can be used in a variety of ways. The main one I used was as a ride. Oatchi can carry your character and all your Pikmin on his back which is really handy and helps eliminate one of the main causes of lost Pikmin for me: the stragglers at the back being crushed or caught by enemies. Of course there's still enemies capable of knocking you and your Pikmin off causing chaos and leading to lost Pikmin but it is really handy being able to gather them all onto Oatchi's back to try and keep them safe. Oatchi is also able to complete many tasks that Pikmin can like carrying objects and defeating enemies and through upgrades he can become immune to various elements and carry heavier items. Thankfully he doesn't negate the need for Pikmin altogether, he's more of a handy helping hand for dividing up tasks or transporting Pikmin across water who normally couldn't.
We also have a couple of new Pikmin types with the Ice and Glow Pikmin. Ice Pikmin are impervious to being frozen, can withstand cold temperatures and freeze bodies of water if you have enough of them. They can also freeze enemies when used to attack them making fights a lot less riskier but when a frozen enemy is defeated they shatter and you don't get a body to carry back and grow your Pikmin population. It's a nice approach to risk/reward design that also helps make the game a bit easier if you choose to.
Glow Pikmin are mostly exclusive to the new night missions in the game but can also be used in caves. These Pikmin are impervious to all elemental weaknesses other Pikmin have but can still be killed by enemies. They can teleport to your character when they are done with their tasks and at the end of a night mission for every 10 surviving Glow Pikmin you have, you earn a glow seed that can be used to spawn Glow Pikmin in a cave. They're pretty handy if your Pikmin population is thinning out while in a cave and you can't find any more around.
Speaking of night missions, these are tower defence style missions where you are tasked with protecting a Luminol or two to collect a medicine for some of the castaways that are suffering a leafy transformation. These missions see you using Glow Pikmin to collect star bits to carry back to the Luminol to expand their numbers so they can defend against the oncoming onslaught of enemies throughout the night. As they can teleport to whoever you're controlling you can quickly switch between Oatchi and your character to manage defending multiple Luminol. It's a nice change of pace from the main missions and keeps the game feeling fresh. I do think it would've been cool if they had multiple captains like in Pikmin 3 so we could defend 3 or 4 Luminols because of how fluid the switching is with Glow Pikmin but otherwise it's a solid game mode and it's nice being able to explore at night.
The bulk of your game time is exploring the beautifully crafted environments and collecting the various treasures available. Nintendo have made a couple of tweaks to the traditional Pikmin formula. First is the limitation of just 3 Pikmin types at any one time which helps making sure each Pikmin type can have a chance to shine as areas are designed with this in mind and will offer recommended Pikmin types to bring along. There might be a couple of times where you'll want to swap out for another Pikmin type to accomplish a task but for the most part the game is extremely well designed around this, and in caves it is possible to find Pikmin types outwith the 3 you brought in allowing you to play with a larger variety at once for a bit. I think this limitation works well for preventing people from becoming overwhelmed by the amount of Pikmin types to choose from as well as making sure the player has to strategise with a limited amount of resources. Also different this time round is starting with a limit of only 20 Pikmin at once. This can be expanded by finding Farlic onions throughout levels, increasing the limit by 10 every time until you hit the traditional limit of 100. I assume this was done to ease newcomers into the series and not overwhelm them and I think it works well. It's another item to collect and it feels good watching your Pikmin limit expand, being able to accomplish more tasks and fight stronger enemies as your army grows. Another gameplay addition is the ability to rewind time to undo mistakes. It's a pretty comprehensive rewind allowing you to go back to specific points or even all the way back to the beginning of the day. As an optional tool it's great for accessibility and while I tried to avoid using it, it did come in handy during the final boss encounter after having my purple Pikmin wiped out from trying to figure out how best to hit the boss.
There's a very well done balance between overworld and cave exploration that helps keeps both feeling fun and fresh throughout. The overworld has all the usual Pikmin puzzles to solve, walls to break down, tunnels to dig, etc and caves can be found throughout these levels. Caves act much like they did in Pikmin 2, hiding treasure to collect and holding some of the more difficult enemy encounters. These areas have been tightly designed this time, offering very puzzle box like experiences as you work your way through them. They also tend to house the rarer Pikmin types allowing you to add new Pikmin to your army. The caves this time are often around the 5 levels mark so you don't spend as much time in them as you do in 2 allowing a better balance between the areas you're exploring. I loved the caves in this game as they were very fun and tightly designed areas that offer fun puzzles to figure out with your Pikmin.
I've covered so much already but wait, there's more! As well as being able to find caves through the levels, there are new Dandori challenges and battles that can be found too. Dandori, as explained in game, is the art of organising your tasks strategically and working with maximum efficiency to execute your plans quickly and by gosh the game does mean that. The Dandori challenges see you given a set amount of time to collect every single object within a level. You start out with a specific set of Pikmin and must act quickly and efficiently to grow your Pikmin army as well as defeating enemies and clearing paths to collect every item. These challenges are intense and you cannot stop for a second otherwise you're going to miss the target score. These are so much fun and really test your quick thinking abilities as well as how efficiently and quickly your brain can spot how to divide tasks up to get them done. I absolutely loved these challenges and getting a platinum score on my first try was always a delight.
The Dandori battles see you take on a mysterious leafling in a split screen battle to collect the most points before time runs out. It's a bit more chaotic and you can use your Pikmin to mess with your opponent and steal their items from them as well as pick up the traditional Nintendo style multiplayer items to turn the tide of battle. This is also offered as a traditional multiplayer mode in the main menu and it does its job well but the chaotic nature of them leaves them feeling a bit less satisfying compared to everything else on offer.
So yeah, there is an absolute ton packed into this Pikmin, taking me well over 20 hours to get to the credits while 100%ing every area on the way and Nintendo is like you thought that was it? Nah, here's even more content providing one of the meatiest post games in recent memory. We got more areas to explore, a new mode that caters to those who loved Pikmin 1 and a set of Dandori challenges that really test your skills. It's incredible just how much content Nintendo has packed into Pikmin this time around and the way each game style varies things up keeps things fresh. Despite having 9 Pikmin types and Oatchi available to use, they somehow manage to make sure each Pikmin type still has a role to fill without feeling pointless. The story mode also alleviates one of my main criticisms about Pikmin 3 by making sure that every single type of Pikmin sees use. 3 saw purple and white Pikmin go unused in the main story while 4 makes sure everyone gets their chance to shine, particularly through the caves that usually have challenges designed around specific Pikmin types.
The game is just a joy to play and very chill for the most part with late game providing some of the challenges veteran Pikmin fans might be looking for. Aside from heavy handed tutorials and a little bit of jank with lock on aiming, I don't really have much to criticise with Pikmin 4. It's an extremely well designed game that manages to expand upon Pikmin in all the right ways while finding ways to appeal to fans that love the style of Pikmin 1 or Pikmin 2. The sound design is as great as ever, with every Pikmin making unique noises and having cute footstep sound effects that differentiate over different material and there's one boss fight in particular that blew me away with how it played with the music. And of course the game carries the series usual charm with every item having a few logs to go through along with the funny names. It's always fun seeing these characters try to figure out what exactly a GBA SP could be used for.
Pikmin 4 takes the series to new heights while maintaining a delicate balance to try and appeal to as wide a demographic as possible. Nintendo have nailed expanding the various types of strategic gameplay on offer while also making sure that everything is balanced as finely as possible. Somehow they have managed to make this most content rich Pikmin title and kept it feeling fresh throughout making this my favourite Pikmin title so far and one of my favourite games of all time.