Good things come in small packages

Splashteam, developer of the humourous 2D platformer Splasher, is back again but with a different cast of curious creatures in its newest project, Tinykin. It's an imaginative and very pleasant 3D platformer that challenges you to think outside the box and find a new purpose in everyday objects — especially since they'll be the only thing to help you escape the '90s house you've found yourself in. But it's okay, you're not alone; Tinykin is filled to the brim with intriguing NPCs to guide the way.

You take on the role of Milodane, an explorer and astronaut who finds himself in a cluttered house on planet Earth, but this house has an unusual atmosphere, and there are no humans. Instead, each room is infested with an array of talkative insects who quickly request Milo's help for the rewards of something we see as a mundane household object, but to Milo, they are the key to repairing his ship and finally heading home.

Yes, it does sound an awful lot like Pikmin X Chibi-Robo, and — as you might expect — Milodane can't take on the adventure alone. Alongside recruiting the help of a wise elder, Ridmi, Milo has to rely on NPCs and a peculiar species called Tinykin to get to where he needs to be. Eventually, each creature Milo meets helps him locate the parts he needs to repair his ship and return to his home planet.

So, like Pikmin, Tinykin are small, friendly creatures that Milodane relies on to make progress. Unlike Pikmin, they can be found residing in coloured eggs around each room or trapped in crates and crying for help, which adds to an addictive 'collector' gameplay element.

There are five types of Tinykin, all different colours and all adopting a unique quirk that comes in handy in one way or another. While blue 'kin help create electricity links, green ones can build a ladder to reach high places. Collecting as many as possible in each area is essential to ensure you aren't caught short when you need them most. To make matters straightforward, the game automatically applies the best-suited Tinykin for any selected task, whether you're building a bridge between two platforms or moving a heavy object. These cutesy critters can be used as and when Milodane pleases and follow him around the map without needing any babysitting.

Although the game immediately presents a lot of Pikmin-like traits, there are several differences which make it more than a carbon copy. Tinykin are much more scarce, for example. Each level will produce enough to comfortably support Milodane through the adventure, but there won't be any excess to throw around. Additionally, since there's no combat, there's no need to sacrifice any Tinykin — good news for those among us that felt terrible guilt over every lost Pikmin. Tinykin are exclusively used to progress through each area using environmental problem-solving rather than brute force battles against marauding bugs.

Each time Milodane meets a new sub-species of Tinykin, a cartoonish animated cutscene briefly introduces the creature's ability. Rather than maintaining the 3D appearance, these animations mirror the 2D style of Milodane and the Tinykin and serve as remarkably refreshing tutorials compared to bombarding you with textboxes, and if the animation didn't make it clear, there's always hands-on practice available with the Tinykin not far from where you first met.

One downside to the combination of 3D levels and a 2D protagonist is an issue with depth perception. It's hard to judge where Milodane will land after a significant jump, sometimes sending him falling to the bottom of a map. It becomes easier over time, however, to select a suitable camera angle to avoid perilous leaps of faith and guarantee a safe landing.

Beyond that minor issue, the 3D platforming here feels exceptionally solid. Control-wise, some players may have an issue with jump being on 'A' if they're used to 'B' but, like a few mechanics in Tinykin, an hour or so in and it's second nature. Outside of remembering how to jump, the game doesn't require much learning to pick up and get stuck in. Before you know it, you'll be surfing around on a soap bar and throwing Tinykin left, right, and center.

Gameplay is predominantly stress-free, and unlike Pikmin, there's no day and night cycle to limit your adventure, and no major antagonists or threats to Milodane's health besides falling from a high space — and even then he respawns on the ledge he fell from after a few seconds. There's no frustration or tension to take away from exploration here. The only minor inconvenience you'll encounter is a lack of the specific Tinykin you need, but a few cycles around the map will solve that. Simplicity is part of the game's stress-free vibe and doesn't feel detrimental and boring.

Perhaps the most compelling element, if collectables are your thing, is the mountain of goodies it presents from the get-go. Even after completing the six-ish-hour central campaign, there's more than enough pollen to collect and side quests to complete to keep you occupied for a few additional hours. For a perfectionist, Tinykin presents around ten hours' worth of collecting and quest competition alongside the story. The central hub where Milodane repairs the ship makes entering each room incredibly simple, so there's always a chance to dash between areas to mop up this and that when you finally have the necessary upgrades.

While the creature-tossing element and overall premise give the game an undeniably Pikmin-like feel, Splashteam has created enough differences to give Tinykin its own charming personality. Nintendo's series involves resource management and some proper Real Time Strategy in a way Tinykin doesn't bother with. What Splashteam offers here is a stress-free and very pleasant platforming experience which is very welcome indeed.

As a whole, Tinykin is more than just a wholesome, stress-free 3D platformer or 'Pikmin Lite'; it's a lesson in appreciating the simple things in life, including the help from those around you. Even with a mass of collectables and a free-flowing storyline to follow, Tinykin never feels cluttered or overwhelming. Despite feeling a lot like a certain Nintendo series when you first pick it up, the game has enough of a unique identity to separate itself from the pack, offering a pleasant, pure platforming spin on Pikmin.

Scoring Policy Review copy provided by tinyBuild

Cross my fingers for physical release. Btw, I have tried the demo Switch version and it was running on 30 fps while the PS4 / PS5 version was 60 fps after watching from YouTube with 60 fps compatible option. Again.... Switch version got the downgraded quality. 😟 Guess this game will be on my PS4 / PS5 once it has physical release.

Just finished it on Xbox. My GOTY so far. Brilliant 3D platformer.

A lot of outfits trying to eat Nintendo's lunch. Animal crossing, smash bros, pikmin, and mario competitors etc.. that even if they don't quite hit N's high notes.. get mighty close. Nintendo should pull their thumbs out of their asses and innovate again. Only big new idea in past decade has been splatoon, and even that's growing stale. Nintendo will become followers instead of leaders if they're not careful

Love this game! Puts a smile on my face every time I play it. Playing on Xbox via GamePass so unsure of the Switch port quality.

Just beat it on Gamepass, I agree with the review, pretty spot on.

I wouldn’t put too much emphasis on the “post game content” unless you really want to hunt down all the pollen

I had such a blast with this game and couldn't stop playing until I had 100%. Haven't been so addicted to a game in a long while. I'm not usually a completionist anymore, but some games just nail that OCD exploration hook, and this one was perfect for me.

There's nothing ground breaking about it, but it's just a pure FUN game. Objectively, I agree with a "critical" score of 8, but on a subjective enjoyment level, this was a 10 for me.

It's a relatively short game but the experience made it fully worth the price. By far some of the most fun I've had with a game all year, alongside ElecHead.

This is excellent news - I love these type of games!

Finished it the other day on Xbox Game Pass, definitely my indie goty

Really enjoyed the demo of this one, it's on my wait-for-deep-sale-list, basically my "backlog" in which I decide what to get next based on the price. Saves a lot of... Everything.

@Sequel Since I already played Pikmin 3 on Wii U, my favourite "Pikmin" game on Switch is The Wild at Heart. It's a gorgeous 2d Pikmin game with some Luigi's mansion vacuum backpack action in it.

I liked the demo a lot and I'd rather play this on a Nintendo console than GPU so I'll get this on a discount. I'm getting that MK8 DX DLC cheap, so I can't pass it up.

Hooked on the Foliana Heights song!

Demo was pretty fun. Yes this will be downloaded by me someday.

Didn't Nintendo already make a platformer with a Pikmin spin?

EDIT: My mistake: a platforming spin on Pikmin.

Having A as jump without an in-game way to change the controls is a sin. I'll try the demo again after this review, but I admit to downloading it before and then quickly deleting it after seeing they didn't put in the minimal effort to let you change the controls.

Update: playing the demo again now. I had forgotten that I slightly dislike how glide feels platforming-wise and the controls for throwing the pikmin-type things are not great. And having the second movement button (skateboarding basically) not even be adjacent to jump is very awkward; it feels like they actively tried to make bad controls or else made good keyboard/pc controls and didn't bother thinking things through for Switch. I don't doubt it can be a fun game, but if both the controls and platforming are subpar, I may not have the patience to continue. The review says the platforming feels good but I'm not feeling it even as a fan of a ton of different 3D platformers.

@Sequel All of the clones are trailing in their shadow. Nintendo will be fine. These companies are copying SSB, Animal Crossing, Mario Kart, and Pokémon. All 20+ year-old game series. They are still the leader in those types of games and it took this many companies 20 years to even hope to compete. I can't wait for the Splatoon clones to come out in 2035.

Even the current whipping boy Pokémon is still ahead of the pack. Those clones out now are emulating Pokémon games from 10+ years ago, and they aren't even better than the games from 10+ years ago.

EDIT: I forgot to mention the Zelda clones popping up, most specifically the BotW clones.

Wow 8/10 for a game that lasts six hours and costs over £20, I only paid £25 for a physical copy of Pikmin 3 Deluxe! Game over man, Game over!!

@Sequel I’m in total agreement. IMHO these indie games are trying to recapture the magic of a couple of genres that many fans feel are losing their luster. We all know the most successful was Stardew Valley and what it did for fans of harvest moon. I’m currently playing TemTem and I’m very pleased by the choices made to set it apart from Pokémon so far. Personally I’m very excited for the outbound ghost and hope that it gets me close to the level of joy I got from paper Mario and paper Mario TYYD. Bug Fables was great but it just didn’t have the charm to draw me in.

Nintendo has left being many fans behind for a number of franchises. It seems like many games are getting the Stardew valley treatment these days. But none so far have completely knocked it out of the park like SV did. But boy am I happy with the choices!

Seems like the game "Hey Pikmin!" should have been...

@FishyS The controls can be changed. I changed jump to B and it worked like a charm.

Playing it on Xbox Game Pass - game is great! So much fun!

The controls "may take some getting used to"? Really? I thought the controls were quite simple. Anyone that's ever played a 3d platformer should no trouble whatsoever with the controls.

@eaglebob345 I can't disagree. And pikmin 3 is a masterpiece imo. Even the soundtrack is transcendental.

Just finished it yesterday. Surprised the reviewer, and some of the commentators had problems with the controls. I thought they were spot on, and had no problem landing on platforms. In my mini review I noted the controls were one of the highlights. I was jumping all over from high places with no hesitation. (I should note I played on XBox, not Switch.)

£22!! Should be no more than £10. I don't know why games on Switch are so much more expensive when they run like trash compared to other consoles.

@NinjaNicky It's not so much more expensive. The game is the same price on Steam and PSN.

@Sequel Pikmin 3 is an excellent game. I haven't yet played it on the Switch but I did play the original on the Wii U. It's the only Pikmin game I've played, so I'm hoping that 1 and 2 come to the Switch in some way as well.

@eaglebob345 Rather than the games being vampiric, I think it is the fault of the comparison. The comparison of games to a brand's heavy hitters can feel vampiric, even if the game intends not to be or isn't at all.

@Indielink my wording wasn't great. I meant for the quality of game, it shouldn't be that much. Its the same price on Steam and PS but you're getting a better quality game.

@andyg1412.... A game shouldn't be rated by its price. Only quality. You got a copy of Pikmin on the cheap?.... Good for you!

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