Does Pikmin Need Homework?
A game about tiny creatures carrying fruit has found a way to put an exam on your weekend. Pikmin 4 gets its Switch 2 Edition with Dandori Academy on Thursday, November 12. Before that, a free demo launches Monday, November 2, with the opening Sun-Speckled Terrace area and two Academy stages. It is an unusually useful trial: you can find out whether Nintendo's idea of practice feels like pleasure or homework.
Dandori Academy asks you to work out a route for collecting treasure, rehearse it, then take a timed exam. Nintendo says exams run on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with one attempt per week. You can practise as often as you like before committing.
That single attempt is the interesting part. Repeating a route until it becomes elegant is satisfying; attaching one official result to the week gives the rehearsal a little weight. It may also make a bad run feel disproportionately annoying. Anyone who wants an unpressured little garden escape should pay attention to that distinction.
A reason to practise
The Academy is the reason this upgrade interests me. A prettier picture is welcome, and telling Oatchi what to do through the built-in microphone is an appealing party trick. A repeatable set of planning problems has a better chance of becoming part of an ordinary evening.
Nintendo lists 72 stages arriving over time, at six per month. That is a sustained supply of puzzles rather than a single large parcel to clear immediately. For players who enjoy improving a score, the pace could be a good fit. For completionists who want everything available on purchase, it deserves a pause before ordering.
Owners of the original Switch game can buy an upgrade pack. The new edition also adds GameShare for Dandori Battles, letting you compete with another player locally or through GameChat. Those are different attractions: the Academy is a reason to work on your own planning, while Battles give that competitive instinct a human opponent.
My recommendation is to use the demo for its Academy stages, even if you already know you like the main adventure. Play a route, then ask whether you actually want to do it better. That urge is the upgrade's best sales pitch. If it never arrives, there is no obligation to enrol just because Oatchi has learned to listen.
