4.5/5 ★ – Visionary_Gamer's review of Pikmin.

A dark but charming, stressful but calming, weird but wonderful experience. I could not put this down. It had me thinking about it going to sleep and at while at work. It’s basically taken over my life for 5 days. I’ve always liked real time strategy games like Command and Conquer and Age of Empires, but this has something special. A uniqueness I’ve never seen before. From the get go, I was obsessed with the gameplay elements. Growing my army of Pikmin, creating the pathways by defeating enemies and creating shortcuts, but most of all retrieving those all important ship parts. I adore this addictive gameplay loop. The satisfaction when things go right is infatuating but the absolute panic that ensues when things go wrong creates a real sense of strategy and care. Numerous times I lost countless Pikmin by not being prepared for a boss, or then falling off a ledge to their watery death. Pikmin creates a great sense that your actions and mistakes truly matter. It’s a cute but dark game at times. The Pikmin will March to their death for you. They trust you. And to hear their little disappointed cry as their souls leave their body was devastating. Not just because they are a valuable resource but also because the game portrays them as living, feeling things. Nintendo got everything right here. From the miniature overgrown setting. To the colourful art style. To the amazing sound design where they nailed every little detail. I loved the sound of a seed popping out of the onions and the trumpet melody as you directed your little Pikmin. Not to mention the catchy music which created a calming experience at times. I really adored the enemy design. Cute but fierce. Excellent, original bosses. Especially the big beetle boss (I forget the name) where you had to plug his nose with a Pikmin to reveal and attack its shiny red flesh beneath its wings. Your character, Olimar, creates a wonderful sense of adventure with the daily ships logs and commentary when discovering new things. I felt invested throughout. I thought the endings lacked a bit of context and creativity. It would have been nice to see Olimar return to his family he spoke so much about in the game. I’m really intrigued to see what the later Pikmin games have in store and what new mechanics and features they can bring to the table.