Pikuniku

A short, funny platforming adventure about a weird little dude on a strange quest, Pikuniku is a charming delight.

Playing out like an interactive episode of Don't Hug Me I'm Scared, Pikuniku is a perfectly formed three hour adventure.

A wonderfully absurd tale of insurrection and kicking stuff in a cheery-looking world.

What a really pleasant time this is. It’s family-friendly, without being a kids’ game.

In the wrong hands, Pikuniku could have been a shallow and ultimately forgettable experience, but its expressive dialogue, clever framing, and charming, upbeat soundtrack do enough heavy lifting to elevate it into something far more endearing. The characterization, in particular, is delightfully fleshed out. It's a simple game with a ton of heart that'll leave you beaming when everything's said and done.

We struggle to recall a dystopia quite as cheerful as the one found in Pikuniku. It's a short game, but one packed with heart and imagination, with a great single-player component and excellent couch co-op that can genuinely be enjoyed by anyone. It makes us remember the fun we had cutting pieces from our friends in Snipperclips, but where we occasionally hit a brick wall with that game, Pikuniku sidesteps frustration in favour of a breezy and charming adventure; a perfect salve if you need a break from the backlog, but don't dive in expecting endless hours of gameplay.

Its look and feel gives it a charming aesthetic that draws you in, and its solid controls coupled with balanced puzzles makes you stay a while. A funny campaign that has some true laugh out loud moments, but sometimes has vague mission objectives forcing you to wander around aimlessly until you stumble upon the next step.

It would have been nice if Pikuniku was longer and had a bit more to its story, if only because it means spending more time with its interesting and charming world. Still, what we have is a fun blend of physics-based gameplay, traditional platforming, exploration, eye-catching art and a fun cast that makes for one cute, highly-enjoyable experience. It's a quick little romp through a gleefully bizarre world that you won't regret checking out.

Games like Pikuniku are not only appreciated but even needed. An adventure as fun as it is sympathetic, a story with humor and message, a world full of expressiveness and a multitude of things to do, and an inspired and expressive presentation and audiovisual design. All this in an accessible but substantial platform game and exploration during this saving feat and curious social realism.

Pikuniku is fun, colorful, and simple. Its goofy animation and physics truly make the game stand out. Plus, you can beat the story in roughly around three to four hours, making it a great title to play in-between the larger, more in-depth entries in your library. So if you have an itch for simple puzzles and a LocoRoco-type game, give this one a kick.