Pikmin 4 Hands-On Impressions – Classic Charm Shines Through New Layers

wccftech.com:

Perhaps it’s appropriate for a series about tiny ant creatures exploring very hostile environments, but it’s always kind of seemed like the world was against the Pikmin franchise. Every new entry in the franchise feels like it could be the last, with the wait for Pikmin 4 being particularly long and fraught. Shigeru Miyamoto himself said Pikmin 4 was “very close to completion” all the way back in 2015, and that was essentially the last we heard of the project for a very long time. Fans were left to wonder if the series had been permanently sidelined as year after year passed. Thankfully, after nearly a decade away, the little carrot men are marching back.

I’ve had the opportunity to get an early taste of Pikmin 4, sampling its new mechanics and playing through its first two major areas. So, is the game blossoming with exciting new ideas or has Nintendo let the franchise wither on the vine? Scroll on for my early hands-on impressions.

The setup for Pikmin 4 is simultaneously as simple as ever and rather convoluted. In his mad quest for all things shiny, Olimar has crash landed on yet another planet and, unfortunately, the entire “Rescue Corps” team sent to retrieve him have crash landed as well. Whoops! You take on the role of a single Hocotatian (that’s what Pikmin’s race of little space guys is called) who has to find and retrieve both Olimar and the entire Rescue Corps team. In a fun addition, this new protagonist can actually be customized by the player using a simple Mii-like editor (I opted for the charmingly grumpy fellow below).

Pikmin 4 may bring a number of new ideas to the table, but it doesn’t mess too much with the fundamentals. For those unfamiliar, that means leading around a small army of Pikmin, which you