Pikuniku feels like it defines what a standard modern day indie game is. It's designed in a way that it would likely have never been green-lit by a larger studio, but with an amount of polish that would make those same studios blush. These indie games tend to excel in certain categories that it doesn't feel like these larger studios put much care into, at the expense of shorter playtime and smaller ambitions.
WHAT DEFINES THIS GAME?
The first thing that jumps out to me about this game was its sound design. Part of this is due to the fact that I played the co-op mode (featuring a set of 9 levels unique from the story mode) before anything else, and was struck by how great some of the level background songs are. This in tandem with the well-done sound effects for kicking, jumping, dialogue, and collecting items just lends this game to have audio that sounds polished to a mirror shine.
Like goodness listen to this song it goes so hard.
The visuals also have a similar polish, although I feel they don't 'stand out' as much as they are just unique. Not in some sort of game-changing way or anything, they're just not your standard fare. They appear more as if they're designed in some sort of vector-based design program rather than a pixel-based one, with almost everything being constructed of circles and rectangles lined up in certain ways. This style lends itself well to the game's nonchalant tone, feeling confident and well done, while not trying to reinvent the wheel.
THE PROGRESSION OF THE GAME
The structure of the story mode is pretty standard, being narrative based with the player accomplishing objectives by moving from one area to another with a puzzles and platforming challenges sprinkled throughout. None of the puzzles are particularly challenging, nor the platforming, but even then this game still has a generous checkpoint system that seems to respect the player's time. Some backtracking is required, but I'd argue that the dialogue more than makes up for this. I was cracking up a ton playing this game due to some of the options you can use to respond to NPCs, and their responses. This humor even comes in to impact certain parts of how the game story progresses, which I enjoy seeing, because it shows that the story and game design were done in tandem.
Also, something about Piku's blank stare throughout this entire game has an immense amount of comedic value to me. He does not look like he cares at a single point in this game and I love it.
Pikuniku, Sectordub/Devolver Digital
I'd also like to give a little credit to the devs for adding the side content they did, this including a co-op mode with nine of its own levels, a basketball minigame, and rhythm minigame to name a few.
The main thing that I'd want to see from this game would be a larger emphasis on what its good at, the narrative. I feel the developer's sense of humor could go great in lots of projects, maybe ones that went a bit further to do something interesting. As it is though, this game is definitely worth the 4 or so hours it took me to play it, and it had me smiling for pretty much the whole runtime. At the end of the day, what else can you really ask a game for?
THE WRAP UP
Pikuniku is a great time, and it's definitely worth playing in my opinion, especially if you're a fan of indies. Even if you're not though, this one just might surprise you with how fun it is. You can pick it up on modern consoles and also on Steam! The soundtrack is also available on YouTube and it has some iconic tracks worth listening to if you're one of those 'video game OST' people (me).
If you've played the game, let me know what you thought below! I always love to talk with other people about games! Same if you have any other indie game recommendations for me! See y'all back here next time, and until then, never forget to play without limits.
- Mikeyniku
Pikuniku - A Modern Indie Standard