My appetite for a new Pikmin game borders on the borderline, so when I learned that Tinykin’s army of adorable followers could potentially fill the bud-like void in my heart, I was super excited. But while its simple environmental puzzles may not have fully satisfied that craving, its fun world and highly satisfying platforming unexpectedly satisfied another hunger. It feels more like a modern evolution of the N64-era 3D platformer formula than most other attempts I’ve played, and its slow-paced exploration and collectible hunting is an absolute blast from start to finish. It was a pleasure.
You control a space explorer named Milodane as you wander through an ordinary two-story house. Along the way, you’ll meet the literal bug citizens of this giant house. They repurposed the rooms into a thriving and elaborate kingdom complete with amusement parks, nightclubs, and slightly worrying churches. Both designs are consistently Tinykin’s high marks.
As you try to assemble parts for a device that can complete jobs for the locals and bring Milodan home, you’ll get help from Tinykin, the game’s namesake. Collect and throw these colorful creatures from eggs in fixed locations scattered across every map to help you navigate the world and solve puzzles within it. That could mean using his stronger pink Tinykin to carry objects to specific locations, or an explosive red Tinykin to blow up obstacles. Every room has a set amount of Tinykins to collect, and they won’t follow you between rooms. So finding enough to complete the task at hand is part of each puzzle.
your one thing won’t However, it’s combat that uses helpful little friends. Tinykin is a completely non-violent game, with no enemies to avoid or health bars to worry about. In fact, the only way to die is by falling too far or being submerged in water. Just before the accident, there are no other effects. This is no big deal and may sound boring to some, but the atmosphere at Tinykin is so cozy and laid-back, focused on exploration and discovery, and plenty of fun on its own. That’s a big reason why we offer it.
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Every room is a relatively open playground to run around in, but the way these levels are drawn into small, self-contained areas that branch out into other rooms from there is clever. Encounter bugs in optional quests that are tempting to complete, devoted to collecting the golden pollen that is found, or instead climb up the leaves of nearby foliage plants and wait for other house decorations. There is a possibility that Explore, or you might unlock a silk string for bugs that you can ride all the way to the other side of the room.It’s so easy to get distracted by everything can I mean, I tried to explore every nook and cranny of each room before moving on to the next, so there was rarely a dull moment.
It also helps that it feels good to move around as Milodan. It can be a bit frustrating not to stay on top of the jump arc for long, but the upgradeable bubble hover feature allows you to eventually drift very long distances. Grinding on the edge of the platform) is also very satisfying. They aren’t the most complex movement mechanics in the world, and there really aren’t any true platform challenges to test their mastery, but even relatively simple tasks like climbing a piano can be made more difficult by feel. It’s going to be fun… Just control.
In that sense, Tinykin executes the concept perfectly, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the concept is too mechanically robust. For example, while it’s fun to collect Tinykins to progress and run around the room, the abundance of Tinykins and the freewheeling nature of exploration made it feel like a real limitation in the first stages of the room. I found enough of a particular color before finding where I needed it. Similarly, the “puzzle” of matching the correct color to the obstacle is not too difficult. So the joy of each room comes from the first surprise you explore. I did.
However, the creative themes in each room more than make up for this relative flatness. I loved running around the kitchen. The theme of these levels is more than just reaching the most hanging fruit. A standout is the bathroom, split between a group of party-obsessed silverfish and a clique of party-pooping dung beetles. As Milodane helps get the party back on track, the music becomes more energetic, adding to this particular feud, but with Tinykin’s excellent soundtrack.
In the true spirit of N64-era platformers, these levels are full of collectibles. There are hundreds of pollen balls in every room, and grabbing enough of them will upgrade your hover-jump duration. Unlocks artifacts to be exhibited. There are also many side characters that you can chat with as you progress through the story. She’s an adorable ghostly ant named Ghasper who likes to hide in dark corners.
Getting all the rooms to 100% isn’t too difficult if you’re tracking where you’ve already seen it, but the about nine hours it took to do so was still a lot of fun. That said, finding new types of Tinykin in later rooms is the only way to gain new ‘abilities’, and those helpers don’t follow you between rooms, giving you the fun feeling of returning to rooms. A realm with new powers and fresh eyes. This makes it fairly easy to complete one perfectly, but the challenge is at least with a perfectly tuned familiarity, without the collectibles feeling unfair, and occasionally a few. Hidden in a despicable place.
