9.4/10 – 22 hours to finish main objective
1/2026 Addendum
I do still think this game is very polished and solid, but it’s almost too easy. Puzzles don’t really rack your brain as much, and combat is a complete non issue with Ice Pikmin.
Review as written on 12/27/2023
Throughout Heaven and Earth, I alone am the Dandori one.
Pikmin is finally thoroughly fun! Now that most annoyances of the original game are gone, the baseline Pikmin muscles are now allowed to show, now with so many new possibilities introduced. This is a delightful adventure that proves the genius of the original formula. This will be another game I will strive to 100% in my spare time.
If you’ve read my previous Pikmin reviews, you’d know that I’ve tried really hard to love the games. The baseline brilliance of Pikmin had always shone bright, but the actual experience of playing the game grew frustrating as the Pikmin always felt ill adapted to their own game, and the devs gave you too few tools to utilize them to the potential you’d hope to achieve. HOWEVER, REJOICE! Pikmin 4 arrives to finally let the gameplay feel thoroughly good.
The jump from 2 to 4 was most apparent in the initial hand-holdy-ness of the tutorial and the introduction of each new mechanic, which was a bit hard to trudge through at the start. However, I could already tell the game was a step up, and would be super fun once the gates were fully opened. Your control over the Pikmin is super refined; with easy filtering of each Pikmin type and the returning ability to send a fleet charging at a set of targets letting you wreak havoc on anything in your sights. It was so satisfying to let my ‘Mins descend on enemies, treasures, and construction sites at watch them carry everything single file back to the onion. Pikmin has never felt better. The addition of lil dawg Oatchi was a brilliant evolution of the multiple captain mechanic from previous games. On top of acting like a second player to control Pikmin, Oatchi can act like a roided-up Pikmin himself, carrying heavy treasure and attacking enemies. His best use by far, however, is his ability to carry the player and their Pikmin around the map, helping keep all those rascals in check in a controlled manner. Oatchi is most clutch when he rams into enemies, unleashing all readied Pikmin onto your target, absolutely deleting enemies. Paired with the upgrades to its power and stun duration as well as the broken new Ice Pikmin, no boss is too tough to fight. I love the confidence it gives the player and the versatility Oatchi provides. Waterwraith was a pushover. Oh, and Oatchi can jump too, adding verticality to the puzzles.
The gameplay loop overall is a deluxe Pikmin 2, with the goal of collecting treasures and exploring caves rather than gathering parts. 4 adds onto the mix with the object of rescuing lost castaways and harboring them at your base. On top of caves, there are both Dandori battles, which have you clear out a room in a certain amount of time, and night expeditions, a traditional tower defense mode that has you defend your base from amped up enemies with the adorable Glow Pikmin. These add a nice array of variety as you chug through the main story. Once you beat the game, Pikmin 4 keeps going, standing out in the modern age of games with its decent array of postgame challenges. With two new areas, and a mini Pikmin 1 remake via Olimar’s flashbacks, you get to really sink your teeth into this game’s offerings.
It’s honestly hard to find any glaring issues with the game besides minor pet peeves (GFY Moss), meh characters (this is a children’s game), and the Pikmin still being weird (that’s probably never going to change). Pikmin 4 really knocks it out of the park and is great value compared to more expensive, shorter games of modern times.
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