May’s plans to wreck their future, giggling at every offbeat noise they catch in the accompanying melody. Pikuniku isn’t about Daddy Pig’s family making an absolute tit of him at every opportunity, though. This is a story about how people can band together, and not accept what they’re fed by large corporations led by an evil, pink fluff ball in a top hat. And there’s an angry slice of toast in there, too. Piku – a red, armless blob with legs – comes out of its cave to discover that a company called Sunshine Inc. is promising ‘free money’ to the locals in exchange for their junk. Sunshine’s intentions are shady, and the eccentric townsfolk are at risk of losing their homes. This 2D puzzle-platformer does well to marry the absurd and the inspirational, having you play hide and seek with an anthropomorphic rock before joining the group looking to take down the property developer that’s negatively impacting your new pals. A rhythm-action dance off at the nearby nightclub is welcome, because it precedes a battle with a giant, buzzsaw saw-wielding robot. The narrative races towards the finish line in the final third, and some of the enjoyable frivolity is sadly thrown by the wayside, but Pikuniku still maintains its silliness. It’s like a trippy fever dream Neil Buchanan had after a particularly successful big art attack.

Most of the puzzles aren’t all that wonderful, though, and are instead pretty standard fare: you push in switches to open doors, or stand on switches to open doors, or kick acorns onto switches to open doors. These areas just lack the colour seen when Pikuniku deviates from this formula. When it embraces the bizarre, it’s at its best. Take a walk around the handful of neighbourhoods, popping in and out of buildings like a sporadic secondary in a ‘90s sitcom, and you see the flavour within.Īrgue with someone over how they should grow their flowers, collaborate with a budding DJ on a track for their next album, or learn some useful tips on when to wash pasta dishes. It’s nice trotting in and out of homes, unaware of what’s going to meet you inside. You mightn’t belly laugh at everything, but you’ll at least smile after seeing your main objective is to ‘Get Swaggy.’ Even the gags that don’t totally hit their mark are still pleasant in a way.

The squelching and clicking of NPCs as their dialogue pops up on screen are as warm as a hug from a loved one, or more importantly, that first cup of tea in the morning. It doesn’t become an irritant, like other games that still use the N64 garble these days. Sure, Pikuniku is a playful little jaunt involving talking shapes, but the *wacky* soundtrack is still not a good fit. Every song loops incessantly, with annoying bleeps and bloops – as well as some *really* jarring chords – thrown in for good measure.

Pikuniku online