Tinykin [Nintendo Switch] | REVIEW

Want to know what one of my favourite things about reviewing games is? When I play something that I hadn’t even heard of before and end up loving it. That’s exactly what happened with Tinykin, a charming puzzle-platformer that won me over with its creative gameplay, whimsical world, and wonderful cartoony visuals.

Check out some screenshots down below:

• 

• 

• 

Tinykin puts players in the role of Milo, a miniature spaceman whose found himself crashing down into someone’s home on Earth in the year 1991. It turns out that it’s also full of kooky little creatures known as Tinykin, each of which is willing to follow Milo around and use their abilities to help him return back to space. What follows is an imaginative adventure across a tiny world that’s simply bursting with personality, with plenty of characters to meet and unique sights to encounter as you explore what SHOULD be just an ordinary home. It’s funny how much things can change when you look at them from a different (and much smaller) perspective, right?

The best game to compare Tinykin to would be Pikmin, with Milo leading his own little brigade of Tinykin after encountering them across the game world. Each has their own special abilities they can utilise, with Red Tinykin able to cause explosions, Purple Tinykin having super strength, and Green Tinkyin stacking up into tall towers you can climb, just to name a few. The more you have of each Tinykin, the more you’re able to do with them, with the finding of them across the environment important to your progression through the game. They’re cleverly implemented and add plenty of variety to both the platforming and puzzling of the experience, with their use never growing old and proving entertaining right until you reach the end credits.

It’s something owed to the game’s slick design, with levels carefully crafted to offer a fair amount of challenge that’ll encourage players to think of the best ways to utilise their Tinykin. In fairness, you’ll always have access to the Tinykin you need in some shape or form so it’s rarely difficult to figure out what you might need to do – taking the time to explore the world and investigate every nook and cranny will still take some clever thinking though, especially since the diverse selection of Tinykin you have offer such varied abilities. Add to that the abundance of things to see as well as the side quests you can complete, and you’ll quickly find it’s easy to find yourself fully engrossed in Tinykin’s wonderful world.

“[The Tinykin are] cleverly implemented and add plenty of variety to both the platforming and puzzling of the experience, with their use never growing old and proving entertaining right until you reach the end credits.”

The platforming is super enjoyable too, with Milo easy to control and having plenty of cool little manoeuvres that’ll help him get around. Whether he’s bouncing his way between platforms, surfing around the ground and rails on his soapboard, or using bubbles to float around, traversal across the world of Tinykin is ALWAYS satisfying.

The world itself looks fantastic too. You’re essentially just exploring someone’s home but from a very, very, VERY small perspective, but the way that different rooms or furniture are utilised is very creative and lends itself well to the puzzle-platforming gameplay. There’s plenty of detail to be found and it’s charming how the little-life that has settled within the home has turned it into their own living space, with each area you explore genuinely packed with lovable charm. The wonderfully drawn 2D sprites are just the cherry on top, with the mix of visual styles giving Tinykin a unique sense of identity that looks splendid in motion.

I’ve just got so much praise for the game, with my whole time playing Tinykin spent with a big smile on my face. It’s accessible for younger players too, with the game auto-selecting the appropriate Tinykin when interacting with objects – there are no fussy menus to work through here that slow the experience down, but instead streamlined motions that ensure the action never stops. Admittedly, this could make the game feel a little easy in places and encouraged less clever thinking from the player, but it was still an appreciated feature from a casual playthrough perspective.

Check out some screenshots down below:

• 

• 

• 

If I had to complain about anything, it’d be that the game does recycle some ideas. Whilst I found myself doing a lot of zany things throughout the world, it often relied on the same mechanics over and over again, almost to a point where some areas could get a little predictable. There are enough different Tinykin to use that it doesn’t feel like a problem, but it would have been cool to see some more variety within the gameplay mechanics towards the backend of the game. It’s a minor complaint though and one that didn’t stop me from adoring my time playing.

Developer: Splashteam
Publisher: tinyBuild
Platform(s): Nintendo Switch (Reviewed), PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC
Website: https://www.tinykingame.com/