Tinykin

A few weeks ago I nearly made a terrible mistake. I almost let Tinykin leave Game Pass without playing it. Thankfully I came to my senses before it left, because it is the breeziest, most pleasing 3D platformer I’ve played in years.

Despite what its may lead you to think, Tinykin is not a Pikmin clone. Not even close. Yes, you do wander around a larger-than-life house collecting tiny creatures, but in practice they function more as collectibles than characters. You never, ever have to micromanage your Tinykin – they follow you no matter how fast you run or how far you jump, allowing you to focus entirely on the platforming goodness.

Each level plays like its own miniature open world, and every one strikes a perfect balance between allowing for free exploration and providing a sense of progression. (As Todd Howard would say: “See that giant toilet? You can climb it!”) Although reaching high places and destroying certain barriers does require collecting enough Tinykin, I never felt like my progress was being artificially gated. Points of interest are plentiful and each destination reveals two or three new directions to explore.

I also appreciate the gradually expanding sense of scale. While Milodane never grows larger, he does obtain greater verticality. When you climb to the top of a ceiling fan and look down at the bookshelves and potted plants you were scrambling around just half an hour ago, it really lets you feel how big the levels are. Much like Katamari Damacy [塊魂], Tinykin makes the familiar feel fresh.

Tinykin is also notable for being a very peaceful game. There’s no combat and no way to die. If you’re damaged by an environmental hazard, you respawn immediately, no worse for wear. I especially appreciated the way Tinykin handles long falls. While you can break long falls with your bubble ability, you can also simply let Milodane splat into the floor. He’ll then respawn at the spot you jumped from. This is handy when you’re platforming high in the house and miss a jump. There’s no need to make up all that lost ground – you can try again right away.

Because of this, Tinykin is also quite easy. But when I was running around the kitchen gathering ingredients to make a cake, I never felt like it needed to be any harder. The controls are responsive. The colors are vibrant. The characters are cute. There’s a lot to love here and I’m glad I gave it a try before it got away.