Pikuniku Review | Just a Weird Little Guy Doing My Tasks
Pikuniku is a short, curiously wacky indie that will entertain you for a few hours. If you find it on sale, you might enjoy the funny…
Pikuniku is a short, curiously wacky indie that will entertain you for a few hours. If you find it on sale, you might enjoy the funny dialogue and co-op.
It’s hard to compile my thoughts for a review of this game! Ultimately though I’d say the perceived value matches the experience. I paid about 1$ for this game on both Switch and Steam. For the amount there is to do, the small chuckles I got talking with the strange NPCs, and the short little Co-op experience, that’s a great price, and largely where my recommendation comes from.
As I played I felt it was very middle of the road. I enjoyed exploring the single-player Adventure up through the story completion but got a bit frustrated when trying to complete the game because I found it difficult to know where to go, where I had been before, who I had talked to, etc. Eventually, I just gave up on trying to 100% it after combing through the overworld a few times. Something that made it particularly cumbersome was the understanding that some hats and masks (and inventory items) had purpose, while others were cosmetic or useless. So in the end game, it feels like a mess of a puzzle without direction. At the least, I wish items had a line or two of a description to assist with that aspect of it.
But up to that point, it’s a serviceable enough game, the platforming and physics were fun, and I got some hints of satisfaction from the “Metroidvania” sense that came from adventuring. If the devs make a sequel, I’d like to see them double down on those elements for sure. Beyond that I also enjoyed the quests, platforming, and other puzzles (that I could find). My wife and I played the co-op and enjoyed what was there, but when we completed it, it left an odd sense of… “so that’s it?” because it only took a few hours. I think all these thoughts can come together and paint the picture that Pikuniku needs a little more meat on its bones, something that I’m hopeful a sequel could bring.
Overall, I do recommend the game when it’s on sale for cheap, as I did enjoy the experience until I hit the post-game. Perhaps it would give you some chuckles and enjoyment as well. Just so long as you’re into reading NPC dialogue and chilling in a weird little world.
Originally published at https://backloggd.com.