TINYKIN
Developer Splashteam Publisher TinyBuild Format PC Release August 30
Like The Plucky Squire, Splashteam’s cheerful adventure combines 2D and 3D styles in one world, though here it’s a purely visual flourish – the environment is three-dimensional while shrunken hero Milo is rendered as a flat cartoon. We’re reminded of Skip’s Chibi-Robo, with household objects made to feel gargantuan to our ant-sized hero: a rucked-up rug becomes a tunnel, while the inside of a guitar serves as a bar for the local bug population. But it’s most redolent of Pikmin: the titular critters, hatched from slimy eggs scattered throughout the rooms, follow you around, pushing objects, triggering mechanisms or, in the case of the explosive red ones, blowing up obstructions. They also fetch and carry items, including the parts you need to assemble a spaceship to get home. But this domestic setting is so enjoyable to navigate that you’ll want to postpone the return journey.