Pikmin 4 Preview

Pikmin 4 is just under a month away, and we’ve been checking it for our review – but for now we’ve got a preview for the game. Enjoy.

Pikmin 4 is out on July 21st, check out our bargain guide here. There is also a demo available now.

Hey you! So you’re playing Pikmin 4. Tell me, why are you on the planet this time?

Whoa! That’s pretty abrupt. The game is pretty upfront that Captain Olimar, a repeat spaceship wrecker, has once again crash-landed. As it turns out, so has the rescue team out to rescue him, and it’s up to you to save them all. 

How long do you have to save everyone? Or is it rebuilding a rocket? Or does your home planet need more juice or something?

In short: you have as long as it takes.

…wait, what? Doesn’t that ruin the challenge and all that perfectly honed micromanagement? 

Ok, this answer is a bit longer.

I love the Pikmin series, from playing the original two on the GameCube onwards and the Wii U and Switch for Pikmin 3. There’s always been one thing that has limited my enjoyment of the games, and that has been 1 and 3’s time limits. For Pikmin (or is it Pikmin 1 now?), it’s 30 days to repair the ship. For Pikmin 3, it’s ensuring there’s enough juice to take back home. This made Pikmin 2 my favourite game in the series hands down. It was a good combination of no big looming countdown until game over while making the days count. The underground sections helped too, it was fun just seeing what treasures you could uncover.

Pikmin 4 thankfully throws out the big clock of doom, instantly making the series that little bit more approachable to players who have been put off by the demands of the earlier games. I found starting the game more freeing, knowing I could take time to smell the gigantic roses and bolster my Pikmin numbers. Across three games, it hasn’t just been the pressure of the timer. Pikmin 3 also included three new explorers to micro-manage, adding even more pressure on new players. 

Overall, Pikmin 3 Deluxe also worked towards making that game more approachable through difficulty settings to take the edge off some of the more frustrating elements. In Pikmin 4 you can even rewind time, by a few minutes or restart the day. If you get into a fight that winds up with half of your Pikmin crew getting wiped out, you can have another go. If you want to try and complete it in few days as possible or without rewinds, you can do that too.

Geez you weren’t kidding, lets bring it back. I love the Pikmin series, is this more Pikmin that I love and hold dear?

Good news, it is still very much a Pikmin game, title and all the Pikmin aside. There is no shortage of Pikmin and other familiar creatures and Olimar is presumably somewhere too. 

If you’ve played any of the three main games then you’ll be very familiar with cultivating a Pikmin army and coordinating them as you tackle the hostile creatures keeping you from precious treasures. 

I played those three games*, so why should I play Pikmin 4? 

For starters, you can’t go wrong with more and new Pikmin to play, especially since it’s been at least a decade since we really had a new non-spinoff or non-deluxed game. 

From the get-go, Pikmin 4 feels like it has been built differently (game engine aside) and feels overall more approachable than the series has in the past. There are large new areas to explore and unearth its many treasures as you extinguish the local wildlife to fuel your ever-growing army of Pikmin. 

Not only is there the large area to cover on the surface, you can also find pipes that lead down to underground ‘dungeons’. These underground areas aren’t timed like the surface is, so you can take your time to find everything and get some uncommon Pikmin to take back to base with you. Early on, I found the new Ice Pikmin, who are great at freezing creatures, water and other obstacles. I’ve enjoyed these little side adventures as they take me back to the underground in Pikmin 2.

You also get to make your own character, as you rescue the Rescue crew and make everyone use a name of your choosing (I haven’t checked if there’s a bad language filter on this yet). You can choose your build, face shape, face and hair. Don’t expect too much, but you can make a cool little adventurer. Also, you get a rescue puppy called Oatchi.

STOP! Tell me about this space puppy!

Oatchi? They’re your trusty companion on the rescue mission, they quickly become vital to the enjoyment of this game. Oatchi is big enough that you can ride on top of him like your own personal Bulborb as all the Pikmin cling onto them for dear life, it’s great fun. 

While you don’t have other characters running around with you to help coordinate efforts, you can utilise Oatchi in similar ways. They can help carry treasure, they can help dig, they can charge and bite enemies or help break down a barrier. After an hour I couldn’t imagine this game without this invaluable puppy creature. On top of that you can charge up a ramming move with Oatchi, when it connects it also flings every Pikmin with you onto the creature, classic Oatchi.

Sounds good, so what else can you tell me? What’s an embargo between friends.

There is so much I would love to say about the game. It’s frustrating for me too! I can’t say much at the moment. So far, everything is looking good. Whether you’re a Pikmin fanatic or still on the fence about the series, this might just be the one to win you over. Keep an eye out in July to read a lot more about my rescue efforts with my new pal Oatchi. 

*While still acknowledging Hey! Pikmin and Pikmin Bloom as Pikmin spin off games.