Tinykin

I’ll start by saying I don’t really like Pikmin. I mean I think the concept itself is really dynamic and unique, but I think the ‘permadeath’ and the pressure, and I never really had it growing up made any kind of playthroughs seem like a slog for me. Like in Pikmin, you have a small army where each color of Pikmin is a different gimmick, and you have to utilize them to carry objects back to your base by solving puzzles and beating bosses. The bosses ugh. I think the combat in Pikmin games is what really never worked for me. You’re just throwing around dudes vaguely towards a boss and hoping they dont die, then call them back in repeat.

Or at least, that’s what I REMEMBER about Pikmin. But back to Tinykin. Pikmin comparisons stopping here I promise.

tldr Ratings:

Tinykin is essentially Pikmin but without the combat, more puzzles, and more verticality/platforming. Oh it’s also set completely indoors too. There that’s it. If that’s enough to get you going, stop and go try out the free demos now.

Story/Aesthetic

The story is that you are a human named Milo from another planet. He crashed on Earth and needs parts to repair/get back home (not unlike that other game whatsoever). Milo is INCREDIBLY small to the world around him and quickly befriends different insects and other characters while solving all of their problems along the way. It’s a simple story and reasons why you need to grab household objects to make a “shuttle” to finally escape the house you’re in, while at the same time giving you reasons to explore each of the rooms for different reasons.

You are, of course, very very small in comparison to the environment. The environment itself is completely 3D while all characters are 2D, sort of like (or I guess exactly like) a Paper Mario vibe. I actually really liked this look because it gave off a sense of childlike wonder, especially when you see some of the insects in this kind of design. The game really goes out of its way to make things cute/fun the entire time until the very end which I won’t spoiler.

Gameplay

Milo can really only jump, and hover in a bubble for a short time (which you can upgrade). Very quickly you’ll acquire Tinykins who will follow you around and you can order and throw them around however you want. Unlike that other game there are no environmental hazards to keep them from killing themselves, other than the red Tinykins who explode on impact (but that’s kind of like, their whole purpose in life, ya know?).

• Pink: The literal workhorse, they can pick up/carry items, usually you need X amount before you can start carrying anything.
• Red: You throw them like grenades to explode/uncover things. The game gives you a LOT of these everywhere just so you aren’t stuck.
• Green: You can stack these little green dudes to make ladders. Once you find enough of these, I feel like you can completely break some levels when you have an upgraded bubble, since it renders a lot of the environment climbing obsolete.
• Blue: Electricity dudes, you can line these up from outlets to objects to power them on. I kind of wanted more from these guys, like having to BREAK a sequence maybe to give it more depth, or have them go over hazardous places. As is you just deploy them down towards the object you want to power.
• Yellow: The build bridges/platforms so you pink guys can carry stuff over gaps. I think it’s super cute how they have little pain faces when they are being stepped on :D

There’s also nectar all around the world, THOUSANDS of it, where if you 100% get it all in a room (and hand it in to an insect, of course), you can extend the bubble hover time significantly.

Right okay, but why did you not like Pikmin but liked this?

I… can’t put my finger on it. I think I just don’t like the stress that Pikmin gives that you can’t completely control. I think Pikmin gives you situations where you have to jump in head first knowing you’re going to lose Pikmin and hope for the best with what you can do, or how many you can save after. (There’s some kind of life lesson there I’m sure.)

Whereas Tinykin is just way more chill, and is geared towards just exploring without any stress and just collecting things. Maybe it’s my obsession with Banjo/Mario 64/Hat in Time games, but I feel this scratches THAT itch more than anything. I’d recommend Tinykin to anyone who like collectathons, Pikmin, or just cute adventures in general.