Tinykin | PC Review
Tinykin, developed by Splashteam and published by TinyBuild is a 3D platformer. It is currently available on Windows PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch, and for the purpose of my review I was playing the Windows PC version.
In Tinykin, you take on the role of a space explorer known as Milo as he finds himself landing on Earth but in tiny form. Milo has to explore around a regular sized house in his miniature size. Along the way you’ll meet some adorable little creatures, known as Tinykin, who inhabit the house. Each room in the house becomes an incredible playground filled with wonder when you're tiny, and each room provides a unique experience filled with charming bugs to help you. Tinykin are essential to your success in the game as each different colour will have a different ability that is necessary to progress; for example, red Tinykin will explode and blow things up for you, whereas pink ones will move large objects around. You have to explore around the rooms and investigate everything you can to collect as many Tinykin as you can to complete the various objectives that you have throughout the game. As well as collecting Tinykin to complete the goals in each level, you also need to collect golden nectar that is scattered around the map. So there really is quite a lot to achieve throughout Tinykin and for the collectors out there, this should really scratch that itch for you.
Whilst Tinykin isn’t “open world”, each level feels like its own world because each level is simply HUGE. There are so many areas within them that all pose unique challenges. Some puzzles will demand that you have a certain amount of red Tinykin, and if you don’t have that yet, there's no stress because there are countless other areas to explore within the level and so many other little objectives you can complete that will always reward you with new Tinykin to add to your little army. Each level has its own main objective that will usually be split up into a few parts and is essential to story progression, but there are also side objectives in each level where you can help the locals in that room.
I wouldn’t say that the puzzles are particularly difficult to figure out, but this easiness was actually welcomed by me. Yes, I love difficult games like Dark Souls, tactical shooters like Valorant, and chaotic disasters like Warzone, but sometimes I just want a game that isn’t going to sap the last dregs of my sanity from me, and that's where Tinykin really was shining for me. From the moment I loaded into the game, it was just an absolute delight in every sense. The concept itself was easy going, and it was backed up by really smooth platforming and controls that simply worked. One of the biggest things that puts me off a platformer is poor mechanics, floaty cameras, and clunky movement; however, all of these things were just perfect and effortless for me throughout Tinykin. There is no combat in the game at all which was a very refreshing change from… well, everything I normally play! The game doesn’t feel like it's lacking anything without combat, and I feel like if there was an attempt at combat it would have taken away an element of the pure joy I felt whilst meandering my way through the levels. Yes, in true Laura fashion I still found ways to die, but there isn’t any penalty for death, so you simply respawn and jump back into your adventure.
Tinykin is a game filled with pure, unadulterated fun and joy. It's not particularly challenging, but the execution throughout is just perfect. Fans of Pikmin or fans of platform games in general will be totally charmed by it, I absolutely was. Tinykin is one that I could recommend to just about anyone of any age group or skill level - nobody will struggle with the gameplay or struggle with the concepts in play at all. The lack of combat or threat is something that I absolutely didn’t miss. I really couldn’t recommend Tinykin enough.
Lj’s Rating: 5 out of 5.
For more information on Tinykin please use the following links...
Splashteam - Developer | Facebook | Twitter | Website
TinyBuild - Publisher | Facebook | Twitter | Website
Many thanks to Vicarious PR for the Review Key.
Tinykin | Windows PC | PlayStation | Xbox | Nintendo