Tinykin from developer Splashteam is one heck of a good time that helps to highlight that the indie space is were truly unique gaming experiences come from. It’s the sort of video game that is hard to go through without having a huge smile on your face the entire time. Gorgeous visuals, incredibly fun mechanics, and a silly story make for one of the most refreshing experiences of 2022.
In Tinykin you take on the role of an intergalactic traveler who finds himself on an Earth that’s been frozen in time since 1991. You have also been shrunk down to the size of a bug and must find the parts needed to get yourself back home. Think the gameplay of something along the line of Pikmin where you use the games tinykin, little creatures each with unique abilities, in order to solve puzzles and help the various bugs living inside your home.
These tinykin can blow up objects, stacked on top of each other to climb on, connect electrical line, create bridges and more. In each stage/area of the home you’ll need to collect these tinykin and work to fix some problem the inhabitants have. The challenge comes in tinykin management which really encourages exploration and experimentation. You’ll also be able to collect all sorts of extras that can also help make your experience easier by giving you collectibles and mega pollen balls. Collecting enough pollen in each stage adds to your float/glide meter, something essential for making tricky jumps and reaching new/secret areas.
Tinkykin has a pretty basic gameplay loop in collecting tinykin, solve some puzzles with them, collect the main object and move on in each stage. Yes, it’s incredibly simple but the experience is so clean and smooth that it never gets tiring like a lot of other games. The 2D animation is gorgeous to look at against the colorful 3D world you play through making for a fun experience the entire game. It sometimes feels like you are playing a game in the Rick and Morty universe or a show on Adult Swim thanks to its art.
The game is great experience with very little issues. I didn’t experience anything major outside of some minor annoyances with the camera in tight spaces when jumps were involved, but others have noted some framrate dips at time on some machine. On my mid-rage home rig I didn’t experience anything so those issues are from the minority. The only thing that I’d wish the game had was some sort of combat element that would take advantage of the tinykin; maybe a fast-travel system to. Hopefully we get that if the game gets a sequel down the road. Without the combat Tinykin is a more relaxed experience, something that isn’t bad in and of itself.
Tinykin is a fantastic puzzle platformer that never rises above its station by trying to do too much and become a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none. It knows what it does and does that well. Adding new tinykin with each area keeps the game fresh right up until the end. Sure, the game might not have a high replay value if you aren’t a completionist, and it’s not a serious challenge if you have a decent head on your shoulders, but I can easily see myself coming back to it every few years because it’s so much fun to see.
Tinykin is a gorgeous puzzle-platformer with serious Pikmin vibes that’s hard to play without a huge smile on your face
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