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Our team of Apple experts have years of experience testing all kinds of tech and gadgets, so you can be sure our recommendations and criticisms are accurate and helpful. This article was edited by Caitlin McGarry.You can always trust iMore. Pikmin 4 is available exclusively on the Nintendo Switch starting July 21. But adults will find plenty to appreciate, too-jokes about management culture, scientific mishaps, and more are clearly designed for an older audience.
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Pikmin 4 is silly and full of friendly characters, and maybe just as important, it approaches the world from a small-scale perspective that lends some childlike and kid-appropriate wonder to every object, from screwdrivers to plant pots to classic Game Boy consoles.
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Don’t even get me started on games like Resident Evil 4, Dead Space, or some of our other favorite games so far in 2023-they’re tremendously fun to play, but you’d have to quickly turn off the TV if a child were to walk in. Even Nintendo’s own The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom deals with some dark themes and includes some fairly graphic violence, which feels like just a little too much for younger kids. This year has seen a slew of high-profile video game launches, but surprisingly few have been family-friendly. However, the puzzles, while obvious early on, become pleasantly more sophisticated as the game goes on. But some of the simplest mechanics, such as jumping, are bizarrely gated behind several levels of progress. The various types of Pikmin and their interactions with the world are doled out over time, which helps to build a sense of learning and challenge throughout the game. My one complaint regarding Pikmin 4 is that the introductory parts of the game are loaded with tutorials, which can drag on. All of that takes place in a playful world that looks an awful lot like the real one-from a miniature, ground-level perspective. Different colors of Pikmin have different properties that allow you to solve different problems, and you slowly gain upgrades to Oatchi that give him access to more areas and help you move around the world faster. Pikmin 4 is mostly a puzzle game with a bit of action here and there. Now it’s your job to find the team, acquire fuel for your ship, and ultimately rescue Captain Olimar. You’re joined on your mission by Oatchi, an adorable alien rescue pup, but you’ll also quickly find yourself aided by the mysterious, plant-like Pikmin. The problem? The rescue team crashed as it attempted to enter the planet’s atmosphere. Pikmin 4 follows the story of, well, you: the newest member of an alien rescue team sent to find the famous Captain Olimar, who has been stranded on a world that looks suspiciously like Earth. The game also has a competitive multiplayer mode for older children (or fellow grown-ups) to join in. It might not set the best example for kids, I’ll admit, but you could do a lot worse. Pikmin 4 allows a second player to help you out by throwing rocks at enemies and encouraging your Pikmin to move faster by also throwing rocks at them.
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Kids will also need some help navigating the menus and tutorials before they’ll be able to spend time with Pikmin 4 unattended. The one stumbling block for younger kids is that characters talk with each other and with you in an alien language, so you have to rely on subtitles to follow the action. Kids are also likely to be fascinated and entertained by the inherent ridiculousness of the game, and in my several hours playing the game so far, I have been, too.
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Grown-ups with a sense of wonder or an appreciation for cute things should find a lot to like here. It’s the quintessential Nintendo game: An approachable surface hides a refined game with constantly evolving puzzles and things to do. If you’ve played earlier entries in the Pikmin franchise, you won’t be surprised that behind this game’s cute exterior lies a deep action-puzzle game. Image: Nintendo Who should play Pikmin 4?
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