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About the only aspect remaining is the the creepy surveillance cameras that pop up and even they feel completely downplayed. I can’t tell if somewhere between then and now, they decided to overhaul the whole plot or if the original premise was just for demo purposes. Eventually, you find yourself exploring around the land, hooking up with a resistance, and plotting to uncover Sunshine Inc.’s plan and stop them.
PIKUNIKU TOAST FREE
Sunshine is offering the locals free money for useless junk (like corn and wood). After emerging one day, you find that that a Mr. Instead you’re a mysterious red creature simply known as “The Beast” by nearby villagers. And now…you need to forget about all of that, because it no longer exists. It was a highly-intriguing setup that contrasted brilliantly with the colorful, childlike aesthetics. Now, if you’ll recall our initial preview from just over a year ago, the setup for Pikuniku involved a mysterious town under constant surveillance with a mayor trying to force everyone to be happy via a daily festival, who eventually makes you a permanent resident with your own home. But does the final product’s quality match the charm and adorableness of its lead character alone? Well, okay, that’s a tough bar to to clear, but let’s see how close the game comes… It looked and felt unique, upon first impression. Their puzzle-platformer, Pikuniku, turned some heads when Devolver Digital first unveiled it a while back. Well, that and a story involving a possible dystopia. For developers Sectorhub, though, all they needed was a red oval with some adorable eyes. And if the words “Secret Toast Level” don’t make you want to play this game, I simply cannot help you.Quirkiness and charm are major selling points in a lot of indie games, and as such, it takes something special to stand out. Is there a secret toast level? Yes, yes there is. Can you earn masks and hats that have absolutely no use? Yes. Do you have to defeat a robot in a dance contest? Yes. The plot is unimportant compared to the oddities you’ll discover along the way. Pikuniku is a game that revels, absolutely glories in inconsequence. Sure, Pikuniku has a “story” on the level of classic console games like Megaman -make your way through the levels to defeat the villain who wants to destroy the world-but that’s not the point. Find a hidden dungeon and the biggest challenge isn’t getting past the shooting spike traps (which just send you back a few feet, rather than all the way to the beginning), the bigger thrill is discovering that you can jump on clouds that will take you to hidden sections. There are coins to collect, hidden paths to explore, and trophies to find, but the real joy of the game is figuring out what you can get away with. Your interactions with the environments are, as I say, limited to jumping, rolling (by pulling in your legs), activating switches/talking, jumping and swinging.
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Subversive storytelling aside, the world of Pikuniku is a delight to explore. But then you encounter Sunrise, Inc., a company made up of robots and flying drones that promises everyone FREE MONEY just for the privilege of sucking up, oh, all their resources and and homes. This tone goes on for a bit as you complete minor quests. Except they almost immediately realize you’re harmless, and apologize. Then you encounter a village terrified of Piku because you fit the description of “The Beast” from legends. Your first encounter is with a ghost who just wants you to wake up and get moving. In fact, Pikuniku will lull you in with a sense of how harmless the game is.
PIKUNIKU TOAST FULL
Seemingly everything in the world has a texture and tone as you move through it, full of delight, soft shapes, and color. Welcome to a wonderfully simple, delightfully odd game where you play Piku, a red dot who walks, rolls, jumps, and kicks his way through a landscape built on the concept of “sproing.” In fact, Pikuniku may be the sproingiest game I’ve ever played-walk through flowers in the 2D world and they bend and pop back, kick acorns and they bounce off trees, jump past lanterns and they swing and chime. And, in doing so, Ernie reinforces the great lesson of Pikuniku: “Maybe this problem can be solved by kicking.” Ernie drank nuclear waste and turned into a bloated, bright green blob with the consistency of a water balloon. Ernie is the son of the gigantic worm with whom you’ve joined forces to defeat an evil corporation that’s draining all your corn, trees, and, in her case, water. There’s a point about halfway through Pikuniku where you meet Ernie.
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