Pikmin 4 is set to release next month on July 21. Ahead of time, Nintendo invited me to come check out what the fourth installment of the franchise is all about. Last Thursday, I got to spend over an hour and a half playing Pikmin 4, exploring all there is to be excited about from the upcoming game. Here are my first impressions on the story mode, refreshed gameplay, and the new Dandori Battle versus mode, alongside nearly 10 minutes of new footage from the game.
Hands-on with Pikmin 4
Last Thursday, I got to experience the full Pikmin 4 treatment with an early look at the game. On top of just diving into all of the action for the upcoming Nintendo Switch title, I also had the pleasure of speaking to various members of the Nintendo press team to hear all about how the company is positioning its latest first-party release.
Right off the bat, I can tell you that Nintendo is ready to give Pikmin 4 the spotlight to finally have the game get the attention and love it deserves. The company started off a presentation about the game talking about how this may in fact be Pikmin 4, but we might as well forget that. It’s not that the other games haven’t been critically-acclaimed or classics in the Nintendo library, but the series is hardly as popular as some of the brand’s other titles. Hoping to change that, Nintendo was positioning Pikmin 4 not as the fourth game, but just as THE Pikmin title.
Of course, Nintendo can hype up the game all it wants, but what is actually happening with Pikmin 4?
Graphics are fun, stylized, and gorgeous
Pikmin 4 marks the franchise’s debut for a game developed for the Switch. With that leap to the next generation of Nintendo console comes plenty of improvements, but the most notable has to be in the graphics. And in one word, the upcoming game is just gorgeous. The entire time I spent roaming around the miniature world of Pikmin, I had to keep reminding myself to actually play the game instead of just taking in how good the environments looked.
I have been replaying the first two games and as signature of designs as they have, it’s all a little dated, which is to be expected on a pair of Game Cube titles! But now everything looks so vibrant and crisp. Everything is so stylized yet realistic in a way that really delivers what aesthetically looks like the next generation of the series. With as far into the Switch’s life cycle as Nintendo waited to finally bring an entirely new game from the franchise over to the hybrid console, I am happy to see Pikmin 4 looking as good as it does.
Perfect gameplay gets even better
Pikmin 4 also thankfully plays just as wonderfully, too. As fun as the characters and the designs of the world have been, gameplay has always been the one thing that really makes Pikmin stand out. Everything largely remains the same as the previous releases, by which I mean near-perfect, just with some quality of life improvements here and there to iron out some of the bugs from making the leap to Nintendo Switch.
Right off the bat, the controls were as intuitive as ever for a veteran Pikmin player like me. If you’re a fan of the series and fearful that Nintendo is messing with the secret sauce that made the last titles play as well as they did, put those concerns aside. But also if you’re entirely new to the world of Pikmin, the company has gone the extra mile to make sure it’s easy to pick up.
I talked to some other attendees invited to the Nintendo event last week who aren’t as familiar with the series as I am, and they found the game to be easy to jump into. Throughout the entire afternoon, more than one of the Nintendo staffers referred to Pikmin 4 as being a cozy game you could curl up on the couch and enjoy. It really feels like the company delivered on that from all angles, and the controls are just the start.
Quality of life improvements are a welcomed change
There are also some quality of life improvements that really lean into accomplishing that mission. One of the biggest ones that I am sure fans of the series will appreciate is the new Rewind feature; easily the worst part of the game in the past has been making a mistake accidentally losing a cluster of your Pikmin. Whether it’s miscalculating the approach to taking down an enemy or you’re just a little careless like me and send them into hazardous environments, Nintendo makes it so you can just go back in time and pretend like nothing happened.
While not as anxiety-inducing, one of the more tedious elements of past Pikmin games have been waiting for your little plant friends to carry treasure all the way across the map back to your rocket ship. In Pikmin 4, that is being mitigated by the ability to actually move your bass around each of the levels. You can do it as many times as you’d like to some pre-determined points that seem specifically chosen to help cut down on the time that you’re waiting for your little army to finish a task. Even in my hour or so of playing the main story mode, it’s something that I got to enjoy.
What’s new in the fourth installment
It’s clear to me that Nintendo really did lay the foundation to make Pikmin 4 as fun, if not even more enjoyable than previous installments. And that’s just with some of the more minor changes! Now it’s time to look at what the company has built on top of the improved graphics and other small gameplay changes.
There is so much new this time, that I really do see why Nintendo is telling me to forget that it’s the fourth game in the series and not just Pikmin. Right off the bat, there’s new character customization, so you already know that this game is going to be good. Nintendo unfortunately knew that if it gave me access to this in my limited time with the game, I would have spent every last second perfecting my little avatar, and so I didn’t ultimately get a chance to dive into the nitty gritty. They just threw me into the world with a pre-customized character that very much still gives off the same vibes at Captain Olimar, Louie, and some of the franchise’s previous protagonists.
Speaking of, all of the original Pikmin from the previous games are making a comeback. But not just the original seven, there are also two new ones. The new Ice Pikmin help you freeze enemies and also complete little puzzles of the cold variety, while the Glow Pikmin are unique to the new night missions I will circle back on here in a second.
Pre-order Pikmin 4 now
Entirely new for Pikmin 4 is also another character named Oatchi. This 2-legged dog is your faithful companion throughout the entire story, and adds in some fresh gameplay mechanics. On top of acting as another character you can command like the Pikmin, Oatchi can also be ridden to help you quickly traverse the map. You and all of your Pikmin can just climb onto his back and ride around to charge attack enemies. I absolutely adore this one technique you can pull off, where all of your Pikmin will just swarm off of the pup’s back and onto an enemy in the most satisfying way. He completely turns Pikmin gameplay on its head, but still fits very well into what original fans of the series will expect.
The game is also rolling with the firsts by introducing a skill tree. Oatchi can be leveled up to do different things and help you achieve the game’s mission of rescuing some other explorers lost on Earth. There’s also some unlock-able abilities that help make the game just that more fun, like fire-proofing all of your Pikmin. Some are going to say that it takes away the challenge that the previous titles had, but remember, Nintendo is hoping Pikmin 4 can have a wider appeal as a cozier game than the first three entires in the series. And it definitely seems to be on the right track.
But I hear you. You’re missing some of the intense action that the first game to offer; Nintendo hears you, too. New in Pikmin 4 are these night missions that let you break one of the cardinal rules of the series – don’t take your Pikmin out at night. Normally when a day comes to an end it means you have to pack up and wait for the next one, but now in the fourth installment of the franchise, you’ll be able to actually go out at night.
In what are effectively tower defense missions, you’ll have to use the all-new Glow Pikmin to defend your base from enemies. I was only shown off the mode, and didn’t get an actual chance to play it, but have to say that it looks like such a blast.
Dandori Battle introduces a new split-screen Pikmin 4 experience
One of my favorite new inclusions from Pikmin 4 has to be the just-introduced versus mode. Refreshed for the game is the new Dandori Battle. Dandori is a term I heard so many times during my time with Nintendo last week, a word that can simply be translated to the synergy that comes from planning, deploying, and commanding your Pikmin on the battlefield. And that is exactly what Dandori Battle is.
The local split-screen experience pits two players against each other in a battle to fill their Onions with as much treasure as possible. Each game lasts for 4 minutes, and has you not only fighting over the same loot, but actually against each other. You can have your army of Pikmin attack your opponent to slow them down or just steal that delicious strawberry from them.
There are some fun abilities you can collect throughout the game that makes everything even more hectic, with boosts and other ways to harm your opponent popping up in little gachapon balls. And then, there’s the bomb. It takes all of the excitement up a notch by making the loser of this mini tug of war match lose a lot of their treasure. It can completely turn the tide of the battle at the last second and is just so much fun.
The whole Dandori Battle mode is easily some of the most intense, yet fun split-screen play I’ve enjoyed in a while. I cannot wait to make this a staple of game nights with friends, as it’s so silly but fast-paced. It’ll be a great introduction to the series for those who haven’t played before, perfectly instilling what Pikmin 4 is all about into a 4-minute mini game.
Releasing next month
Pikmin 4 will be releasing July 21. You can lock-in your pre-order ahead of time over at Amazon for a physical copy. It retails for the expected $59.99 price tag that most Nintendo Switch titles usually do. A demo will be going up on the eShop come Wednesday to help players decide if Pikmin 4 is worth the purchase for themselves, too.
9to5Toys’ Take
If my passion for Pikmin hasn’t already shown through, let me be as blunt as possible. I’m a massive fan of the franchise and was as excited as any fan could be to get an early look at the fourth installment. But there’s a lot riding on the game. I’ll be one of the first to tell you that Pikmin 3, even with its Deluxe edition treatment, didn’t live up to the fun that the original two titles did.
Thankfully, my biggest takeaway from my time with Nintendo last week is that Pikmin 4 gets the franchise back on track. It caters to fans like myself who have been enjoying the series for almost two decades at this point, but also feels like the jumping off point for new fans to finally enjoy the game. It’s a love letter to everything that fans like myself have enjoyed about the titles in the past, while introducing some refreshing features, new gameplay, and so many other new things to do.
The full review will be coming soon, but beforehand I can already tell you that Pikmin 4 is something special. I am going to be counting down the days until I can fully dive into the game and experience the whole story mode, and definitely think that you should be, too.
Pre-order Pikmin 4 now
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