Tinykin Review – Little Big Fun
Tinykin seamlessly combines platforming and puzzle solving with minion management from Nintendo’s Pikmin Series. The player controls a small, flea-sized astronaut that travels to his home. planet to Earth to trace humanity’s true origins. The explorer’s journey takes him to an ordinary home occupied by sentient insects who worship a mysterious deity. An astronaut is required to build his rocket from ordinary household materials with help from Tinykin the adorable and small-eyed aliens. As a fan of “little person in a big world” experiences, Tinykin’s premise and world drew me in, and its gameplay satisfied me until its conclusion.
The best, though perhaps reductive, way to describe Tinykin’s gameplay would be “Pikmin as a platformer.” Each room in the house offers large, smartly laid-out playgrounds where players overcome platforming challenges and solve environmental puzzles using different types of Tinykin. There are pink Tinykin with objects and red Tinykin which explode when they hit the ground. You also have green Tinykin that can stack vertically to create a ladder. It’s great that each Tinykin is introduced one by one, so I can spend a whole level learning about their talents and then introduce another.
As you add more Tinykin members to your ranks, the puzzles will become more complex and well-crafted. Sometimes, it’s as easy as lifting an over-sized appliance from your path. Some tasks can be as simple as carrying an oversized appliance out of your path. Other tasks require creativity and a willingness to travel the world in search for scattered items. Tinykin’s puzzles are easy to solve, regardless of how complicated they may seem. Tinykin won’t make you ponder your thoughts for too long. This level of difficulty was enjoyable and challenging enough that it didn’t become boring or too simplistic. Tinykin’s puzzle-solving has a nice flow that keeps the experience moving, making it a breeze to get through.
Tinykin controls are intuitive and easy to use. All you have to do is aim for the target and then fling them at it. Tinykin also allows me to do multiple tasks, making it a great tool. While a crew of helpers lugged objects around, I enjoyed collecting pollen to improve my hover abilities and finding missing mail bugs.
Tinykin, a 3D platformer-style collect-a-thon is similar to the 3D platformers. It’s rewarding to find hidden treasures and collect items. Sometimes it’s bundles of pollen; other times, it’s a missing piece needed to complete a side errand, such as reuniting a photograph with its frame. The world is a colorful, oversized jungle gym, and I’m impressed with how each room feels like a lived-in dwelling while still having clear pathways that appear organically arranged.
I had the most fun freely exploring and using my Tinykin army to tinker with whatever lay before me, like pushing in protruding books or yanking a washing machine’s door open. Hopping across a kitchen, hallway, or bathroom is a delight from this small perspective, and platforming feels exceptionally tight. To make it more fun, you can ride soap bars over ziplines. Using climbing ropes to locate shortcuts makes it easier to return. I only wish there was a map because the busy environments make quest givers feel like needles in a haystack whenever it’s time to turn in a job.
Tinykin is comforting and familiar in an old-school way. Its challenges never become convoluted, nor does its design reinvent the wheel, and that’s okay. Tinykin’s few ideas are executed exceptionally well. It is a relaxing and enjoyable journey that takes six to eight hours. Don’t let this delightful adventure sneak under your radar.
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