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Pikuniku platforms5/28/2023 ![]() ![]() The graphical look lends itself well to the game's sense of humor. The visuals, like every piece, are clean and smooth to a point that their simplicity is welcome, and you will not wish for greater detail. Character’s eyes suddenly pop open when they realize something, pauses in dialogue create great “blank stare” moments, and so on. The visuals are simple, on the level of what you may see in a small Flash game or something presented in PowerPoint. I played on PC, using a keyboard, and found the key assignments easy to understand and execute. ![]() You do pick up items, notably hats that your character wears to gain different abilities, but accessing the inventory and using them is all straightforward. It doesn't bring overcomplicated controls into play. The controls and gameplay are easy to understand: you move left or right, jump, kick, roll, and otherwise pick things up or talk with NPCs. Pikuniku is styled as a simple, accessible 2D platformer. There’s accessible gameplay, simple, delightful visuals and audio, clever humor, and a lot of well-wrought design packed into this tiny, short-and-sweet game. This is a consistently fun, fresh, smooth and engaging experience from start to end. Well, with Pikuniku, I have found a rare title I think anyone would like it. It would need to be so accessible, so smooth, and so delightful that I couldn't imagine telling someone they wouldn't like. ![]() In ConclusionĪs an interesting take on a dystopia, I recommend picking up Pikuniku, but when on a sale as I don’t think its length justifies the $12.99 price tag.It is rare to play a game that I can honestly recommend to anyone. The other thing is that the Collector achievement on GOG seems to be unattainable, with Galaxy itself saying it was unlocked by 0% of all players, yet other achievements work. Another thing worth noting is that some parts of the game are inaccessible after first completing them, which may lock you out of some achievements. Despite being centric to the story, I don’t know the names of the rebels, and each rebel is lacking a distinct personality despite doing well as a group. While the dialogue is well done, some of the characters aren’t as fortunate. I wish the game had more content, especially post-game, where new problems and challenges can be introduced without changing much of the main game. The animations are also fluid and smooth, which you can see mainly in how How it uses bright colors, giving a childish yet extremely polished look andįeel. The art style is minimal, yet it works amazingly well with I drew a Minecraft Creeper when asked to draw the scarecrow’s face. The dialogue shines in how most characters are oblivious to the world around them but focus on issues that are small in comparison, or in how the valley village thinks Piku is “the beast.” The usage of lowercase in the dialogue is a nice touch. It treads the line between easygoing and dystopian surprisingly well, and it shows in the dialogue as well as the game’s minimalistic art style. What really sells Pikuniku is the setting and the humor. Piping to stealth missions! The other half is comprised of quests such as drawingĪ better face for the valley’s scarecrow, as well as minigames. By and large though, puzzles form half the game, ranging from electricity Though it does have slightly harder sections such as dungeons and the bossįights. (I beat it in just under 5 hours and that’s while liberally exploring the island), The game isn’t too difficult and can be completed in no time Such as puzzles, hidden pathways and metroidvania staples like areas that needĪn ability to be accessed. Or breaking boulders, or sinking in water by rolling. Jump, roll and kick, all three used for various activities such as pushing rocks Pikuniku makes clever use of platforming mechanics,Ĭombining both Piku’s available abilities and the world around them. taking away necessities such as food and housing, and even a rebel movement! It can be played in Adventure mode solo, or in a separate cooperative mode (which I am not covering here). As you progress through the game, you find the world is not as happy as it seems, with cameras emerging to watch your every move, Sunshine Inc. You play as Piko, who only just woke up after a long slumber, to find out that the nearby village is giving up its corn supply to Sunshine Inc. ![]() Pikuniku is a platformer game by Sectordub, with an interesting mix of a cutesy and dystopian setting. Available on: GOG, itch.io, Steam, Nintendo ![]()
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