![]() Games set on real-world maps are no longer brand new at this point, but there’s still something fascinating about seeing yourself in two worlds at once, and Niantic’s tech has evolved to the point that it all works smoothly. Without the typical challenges I look for in games, I find that a lot of Pikmin Bloom’s appeal comes down to something that sounds pretty boring on paper: it’s satisfying to see new technology working well. Which is weird in a game built around walking, since you’re essentially cheating yourself, but it’s done responsibly - the game doesn’t hold key features back if you don’t pay, and I have yet to spend (or feel like I need to spend) a dollar on it. You essentially build up your team to keep building your team.Ī big part of that, I imagine, is Niantic needs to make money, and the more it can get you thinking about the numbers, the more likely you are to spend money to make those numbers move faster. Here, you plant flowers and fight mushrooms, but there’s no challenge to either. Growing more Pikmin would unlock different types of gameplay or new stories to explore. In a typical game, this would lead to something. You walk to find seedlings, walk to make them grow, walk to get food to feed them. And there are ways to optimize your squad. ![]() You have tasks to do, which occasionally take a hint of strategy to complete. On a mechanical level, there’s not a lot of game here. ![]() And I’m still trying to wrap my head around the appeal of it all, because it runs counter to so much of what I typically like in games. But every day, multiple times a day, I check in. I occasionally go out of town, and have to wait weeks for items I discover there to find their way back to me. I sometimes earn far too many steps by driving with my phone in my pocket. It’s been almost six months since Niantic’s walking companion app launched, and my routine hasn’t changed much in that time. For reasons not entirely logical, I still love playing Pikmin Bloom.
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