Pikmin 4 Unveils New Twists in Latest Trailer
Last week, at Nintendo’s June Direct showcase, we were treated to the most in-depth trailer of Pikmin 4 yet. The game about small flower guys is getting a surprising amount of attention from Nintendo- which indicates that they have a lot of confidence in the project. From new Pikmin to a complete shake-up to the formula, the latest trailer showcased why you should be hyped for the return of Nintendo’s most charming franchise.
The gameplay preview began by giving us some more information on the dog-like creature ‘Oatchi’. We’d seen him previously but we didn’t know what his purpose was until now. Acting in a similar way to a big Pikmin, the dog creature is able to bring items back to your base like you’d expect, but what we see later on is what makes him really special. With the ability to use him as a raft to cross bodies of water with your swimming-averse buddies and having him charge through breakable objects, Oatchi is already confirmed to be a valuable member of your expedition team.
After a few panning shots confirming a vast variety of environments to explore (including inside a house- which has been requested by fans for years), we get to see the player head underground. A strange trend for Nintendo recently, especially after Tears of the Kingdom’s entire underground map, this element of exploration harkens back to Pikmin 2’s dungeons, in which you delved into multiple floors to collect treasure. This feature seems to work very much the same way in 4- except the main goal here seems to be to find ‘castaways’ of your crew who have gone missing.
From here, a corrupted Olimar-like creature kidnaps your crewmate and challenges you to a new minigame: Dandori Battle! Like the versus mode in Pikmin 3, here you must collect as much treasure and fruit as possible in a given time limit in order to beat your opponent. Nintendo seems to be taking the most well-received aspects of the previous Pikmin games to make the best possible package experience.
After this, we got too look at a much-needed upgrade system before it was confirmed that players would be able to descend to the surface at night for dark expeditions. This comes with some upsides and downsides. The main idea here is that enemies become more powerful, but there are certain areas and treasures only available to you when the sun goes down. However, the biggest appeal is definitely the newest revealed Pikmin: The Glow Pikmin. These little guys only appear at night and help you to protect their homes and your base from these powered-up enemies.
With new enemies, new areas to explore and, of course, new Pikmin, the fourth entry in the Pikmin franchise is shaping up to be its best. Taking the greatest parts of previous games in the series, Pikmin 4 looks to be a culmination of fan-favourite elements to create something really special. With a demo launching on June 28th and the game releasing on July 21st, there’s no reason to at least check out this charming game about controlling a squad of little goblin guys!
