Highlights
- Pikmin 4 marks the return of a beloved franchise and is praised as one of the best entries to date, but its co-op mode falls short and feels like a missed opportunity.
- The Dandori Battle Mode in Pikmin 4 offers an enjoyable multiplayer experience, resembling traditional RTS games, where players compete or team up to capture treasures.
- The co-op campaign in Pikmin 4 is disappointing, with limited gameplay options for the second player, and it feels like Nintendo abandoned the successful co-op formula introduced in Pikmin 3 Deluxe.
After what felt like an eternity, Nintendo has finally released the colorful RTS Pikmin 4. Its release marks the grand return of one of the studio's cutest franchises and is the perfect treat for fans of the series. Almost everything about the game works fantastically, and it may be one of the best entries to date. However, Nintendo may have made one glaring mistake with Pikmin 4's co-op mode.
Since Pikmin 2, the Pikmin series has been dabbling in various co-op and versus game modes. Pikmin 4 is no different, but the way the studio decided to do the co-op campaign is strange. What could have been hours of fun puzzle-solving with friends turned out to be kind of boring. It almost feels like the co-op was an afterthought for the studio, and that seems like a missed opportunity.
Pikmin 4 Had a Ton of Co-Op Potential
While the formula of Pikmin 4 is focused on the single-player puzzle-solving shenanigans of the Rescue Corps, players can also mess around in various multiplayer modes. The largest multiplayer mode comes in the form of the Dandori Battle Mode which pits two players against each other or allows them to team up to take down an AI. Players must race to capture as many treasures as they can before their opponent does. It functions a lot like other RTS games do and can be a lot of fun with the right group of people.
The other multiplayer mode in Pikmin 4 comes in the form of a co-op campaign. While some players may think that this means players can traverse the world of Pikmin together, there is actually not much to do here. One player assumes the role of their custom Pikmin character while the other one gets to control a cursor. They cannot actively control Pikmin, but they can throw pebbles at enemies and useful items at the main character. This mode can quickly get boring for the second player, but it could have been so much more.
Pikmin 3Deluxe was the first game that featured a full co-op campaign for players to jump into. Both players could control their own character and the Pikmin, and they would work together to solve all sorts of puzzles. While there was no online element, the local split-screen worked really well. It felt like a fantastic addition to the formula that should have been expanded upon for years to come, but for some reason, Nintendo chose to abandon the concept entirely.
Pikmin 4 could have shined with a co-op campaign if it were given the chance. While the single-player story is a joy to play, almost everything is better with friends. Players could have traversed this mysterious world, solved every puzzle imaginable, gathered their own Pikmin armies, and saved Captain Olimar alongside each other. It would have been the perfect addition to one of the best entries in the series, and hopefully, it crops up through post-launch updates someday.
Pikmin 4 should have taken everything good about previous Pikmin and done it better. Nintendo should have never cut an exciting mode like Pikmin 3 Deluxe's co-op campaign out of the franchise, but there is no going back now. Instead, the studio needs to expand upon Pikmin 4's multiplayer mode as the year goes by. There is a ton of potential for a mode like this, and it is time for Nintendo to deliver. Even if the second player has to control Oatchi, it would still be leagues ahead of the boring co-op campaign that Pikmin 4 currently has.
Pikmin 4 is available now on Switch
