Splashteam’s Tinykin answers the question: What if Pikmin was a collectathon puzzle platformer?
It may sound like a crazy idea, but I have to tell you it works incredibly well and has been some of the most fun I have had playing a game this year.
The basic setup is pretty much pure Pikmin. Players take on the role of a fun-sized astronaut called Milo, who finds himself stranded on a hostile planet that looks suspiciously like Earth. Soon he befriends the local wildlife, which he hurls at every problem, while on a mission to gather the parts needed to rebuild the Mcguffin he needs to return home. So far, so Pikmin.
There are five kinds of cute Tinykin to collect – each with a particular function; Pinks pick things up, reds blow stuff up, greens make a ladder you can climb, blues help power things, and yellows make bridges.
Commanding the adorable little critters is extremely easy. You just chuck them at the appropriate context-sensitive object, and they do the rest. Need something moving but don’t know where it goes, it doesn’t matter. The pink Tinykin will drag it where it needs to go. Want something blown up? Just toss the red Tinykin at it, and it’s gone.
However, rather than the Tinykin’s abilities being used to help manage and collect resources like in Pikmin, The Tinykin augment Milo’s considerable platforming abilities.
All of the strategy elements of the Pikmin formula have been stripped out of Tinykin, giving it a greater sense of immediacy. So rather than breeding Tinykin and managing how many you need for each task, you just break the little guys out of their eggs, and away you go. They then help Milo collect nectar, which allows him to use his bubble jump ability to glide further and reach more Tinykin, which then helps him get to more nectar. This cycle repeats until all the nectar is collected, and Milo has aided all the bugs in each room.
As you explore each part of the abandoned home, Milo finds himself in the abandoned home of an inventor that has been taken over by insects after he mysteriously vanished. Each room in the house is a joy to explore as Milo uses the Tinykin to help him clamber up plants, traverse tabletops and even explore long-forgotten vivariums at one point.
Each area has one main objective. This is usually to find some items for the main faction of bugs in the room. But the best part is exploring the vast environment while collecting every item and completing Tinykins numerous side quests and challenges (which reward you with artefacts for an ant’s museum).
The best part of Tinykin is how Splashteam has made the mundane feel magical. Each room feels unique and teeming with life, from a chapel in the living room full of Shieldbugs, the farmers’ fields made of scourers in the kitchen, to a bubble-soaked nightclub in the bathroom. It is impossible to not want to press on and see what the next room holds, and it is usually brilliant.
This sense of wonder also infects the platforming, which is incredibly zen. There are no enemies, just the occasional spike pit, puddle or fall, and if you do die, the game drops you right where you left off.
That’s not to say there isn’t any sense of challenge, but it comes from finding the best route to navigate around each sprawling space. Maybe you might stack a few green Tinykin to help you on top of a chair, then glide over to a nearby plant pot and hop from leaf to leaf before making it over to a bookshelf. Then perhaps you see some nectar on a lamp shade, so you glide across the room and land on top of it. It’s thrilling stuff, and thanks to some incredibly slick controls, getting around is pretty effortless.
However, Milo’s best ability is to zip around the house on a bar of soap that he uses as a skateboard. The pea-sized pioneer can even grind along on edges and silkworm threads that help him return to previously tricky-to-reach areas with ease.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how beautiful the art direction is. Tinykin mixes 3D spaces and items with beautifully rendered 2D character sprites to stunning effect. It feels like a 90s kids cartoon (I kept thinking of Penny Crayon. Don’t ask me why), and although most of the supporting characters you meet are simply animated, each is brimming with charm and whimsy.
However, The titular Tinykin are the real stars and are absolutely adorable. Whether it’s the pinks making marching noises when carrying objects, the red Tinykin cackling with delight as they explode, the whole group of them singing (Pikmin style) as they follow Milo around the room or all huddling up for a snooze if you leave them to idle for long enough, they are simply delightful, and I need more of them in my life. (Give me them in plushie form yesterday.)
Tinykin is a masterclass in game design. A superb 3D platformer, teeming with wonderfully designed environments and charming characters. The simple idea of Pikmin – but a platformer seems like a strange idea, but one that Splashteam have executed with aplomb.
If you are looking for something easy-going to play over a lazy weekend or simply to put a smile on your face, Tinykin is just what you need.
