Legend has it that in the cave near the village hides a horrible monster that must not be awakened. But it turns out that the monster in question is you! In truth, you are only a small red ball on legs, quite incapable of harming anyone, the total absence of arms and mouth being a serious handicap when one wishes to embrace a career as a devourer. honest people. From then on, once awakened by a strange ghost, your mission will mainly consist of helping the inhabitants of the village rather than terrorizing them. It must be said that they already have a lot to do, since a strange character at the head of an army of robots distributes "free money" to them with a vengeance, in exchange for some seemingly innocuous local resources. . In reality, a diabolical and anti-ecological plan naturally hides behind this alleged generosity. But before going to kick the ass of the story's big bad, our pseudo-monstrous friend (who seems to be called Piku if we believe an object to be picked up in the game) must prove himself to the villagers and do them a favor. Classic foot movements, rolling thanks to the retractable legs, jumping, kicking and triggering dialogues represent the basic abilities of Piku. Thanks to this, he can freely explore the surrounding environments. A small inventory also allows him to associate (automatically) the right object in the right place, and to change his mask in order to obtain new skills. Twice, the hat-pencil allows the player, for example, to draw the face of his choice on blank canvases (we can already imagine what misplaced minds will do with this freedom…). Dark glasses are required to enter a private club. And thanks to the hat-watering can it is possible to grow plants and thus clear new paths.
PIKUNIKU BY THE WAYSIDE
Halfway between an adventure and platform game, Pikuniku does not hesitate to constantly vary its gameplay. You will be asked to find characters in the scenery, to win a match of baskick (the local sport, halfway between football and basketball), to be the best in a mini-rhythm game, to perform one or two chases, to evolve for a few seconds in a parody of Dig Dug, to solve a few puzzles based on switches, or even to win several boss fights which are always very simple. The level of difficulty is generally very low, the game obviously trying to appeal to less experienced players as well. Only the times when Piku has to hang on a hook after a jump require a minimum of tact, and even then. To tell the truth, the interest of the game lies essentially in its humor, which is expressed through very funny dialogues (undubbed, but which have enough character for us to hear them in our head), absurd situations ( like this passage in the universe of an evil toaster) and a relatively advanced management of physics. Piku's extendable legs are used for everything from flipping switches to stepping on other characters' heads. If you push an object into a rib, one of the legs will lengthen more than the other, and placing an object in a given place generally requires several attempts, the laws of physics making relative precision. Far from being a defect, this characteristic contributes to the general good mood of the adventure.
The childish graphics also set the tone with regard to this ambient bonhomie. The artistic direction, which favors simple geometric shapes and flat tints of primary colors, is objectively not very beautiful or very advanced, but this simplicity goes rather well in play and contributes to the quirky atmosphere. On the other hand, repetitive and dissonant music can quickly get on your nerves. The game also suffers from an apparently rough finish since we had to deal with two rather annoying bugs on our PC version. On the one hand, the automatic saves do not work at all (which forced us to start the adventure from scratch after wanting to take a break after two hours of play...). On the other hand, Steam achievements are not unlocked, even when the actions corresponding to them have been performed. Finally, let's end with a word on the lifespan, which is very low. It only takes three or four hours to complete the adventure from top to bottom. Luckily, nine special co-op levels are available to extend the fun a little longer.
