What parents need to know
Pikmin 4 is an exclusive game for the Nintendo Switch released on July 21, 2023.
The story follows that of the previous game, Pikmin 3. Captain Olimar crashes aboard the SS Dolphin on the planet PNF-404 and the rescue team sends a rescue team to help him. Only small problem: their ship also crashes, forcing its occupants to eject. As a new recruit to the rescue team, it will be up to you to find the members of the rescue team scattered across the planet.
Fortunately, you are not alone: you can count on the help of Otchin, your vaguely canine companion, and the Pikmin, small plant creatures with special abilities.
The player character can recruit and lead squads of Pikmin (and Otchin) to explore various locations, solve puzzles, defeat enemies and collect treasures (objects of everyday life on Earth that these miniature aliens take for valuable artifacts). Each Pikmin has its strengths and weaknesses, and it is up to the player to deploy them strategically. Unlike previous games in the franchise, Pikmin 4 allows you to customize the player character. Two new Pikmins also appear: the Ice Pikmin and the Luminous Pikmin. This game has a single player mode and two multiplayer modes: cooperative and competitive.
This game is considered appropriate for an audience of all ages.
The game was provided by the publisher for review, this does not influence our opinion.
Details
Level of experience required
| Age | 3+ | 7+ | 12+ | 16+ | 18+ |
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| Beginners |  |
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| Intermediate | |
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| Experienced | |
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Evaluation
There are no scary or violent scenes. The characters and settings are colorful and cute.
This game does not contain explicit content.
There is not much text and no obscenity is pronounced.
The goal of the player character is to save a rescue team and to complete the mission for which it was deployed. To do this, it is necessary to collaborate with the Pikmin and with some NPCs.
The controls are quite easy to execute, but the game requires some strategy to make good use of the Pikmin’s skills and to progress through the story. The backtracking function, which gives us the option to go back a few minutes, allows us to correct errors without much inconvenience.
Acheter le jeu une fois
There are no microtransactions.
Local game modes
There is only one game mode, the main mode that presents us with the story of Pikmin 4. However, as we progress in Pikmin 4, challenges and duels are unlocked and we have the option to replay them as we please from our base, just like night explorations.
It is possible to compete against another player in Duel Dandori, or complete the explorations in co-op. However, in exploration, the second player will be restricted to certain actions: throwing stones at enemies and using objects. He is the first player who will control the characters and Pikmins.
Online Game Modes
None.
Expansions/Add-ons (DLC)
No additional content is announced at this time.
Our opinion
Pikmin 4 is a success, and even if it is the fourth installment in the series, an excellent entry point for those who would like to discover the universe of Pikmin. Nintendo are used to trying to make their games accessible to as many people as possible, and Pikmin is in that vein. Basically, Pikmin is a real-time strategy game, a genre that is often difficult to approach.
But with its simple design and cute universe, Pikmin makes the genre accessible to newcomers, while offering challenges to more experienced players.
Pikmin 4 also brings several novelties, in addition to the 2 new types of Pikmin already mentioned. First there are the Dandori duels, which ask us to bring back as many treasures and monsters as possible to our base in 5 minutes. But another captain tries to do the same, and he and his dog try to steal our treasures and attack our Pikmins with theirs. It’s an exciting game mode, which also lends itself well to multiplayer.
There are also the Dandori challenges. Once again, we are thrown into a small arena, and we must try to bring back all the treasures and monsters scattered throughout the level with a limited number of Pikmin.
But the big novelty of this opus is the nocturnal exploration. Usually, you have to take refuge in your ship before the sun goes down, because the creatures become too aggressive. But this time, we are offered to discover the environments at nightfall, accompanied by the luminous Pikmins. Here, it is not a question of exploring the world and bringing back treasures, but of defending one or more bases until sunrise.
All these additional modes prevent Pikmin 4 from becoming too repetitive. The result is an exciting game, easily cut into small segments, that will slide the hours between your fingers.
Our rating : 18 / 20
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