For more on Pikmin 3, check out our full Pikmin 3 review. Or, for more of the best Nintendo Wii U games for a 10 year old, why not try our Family Game Finder
Pikmin 3 is a strategy game for the Wii U that revolves around a strange, plant-like species known as Pikmin. After leaving your home planet in search of food, the game begins as your ship crash lands on a mysterious planet, where you're the size of an ant, and blades of grass tower all around you - along with fruit the size of a small house! Unable to do much to carry the fruit back to your ship, you soon discover the mysterious Pikmin, who follow you around and will do whatever you say without so much as a second thought. Needing help to load food onto your ship, not to mention a helping hand in surviving the inhospitable planet, it's up to you to make use of the loyal Pikmin to explore the planet, collect as much fruit as you can, and help repair your ship before blasting off home.
As a strategy game, there's a lot for children to think about here, and one wrong move can mean the difference between success and disaster. The controls at least are fairly simple - using the GamePad, the left analogue stick moves, while the A Button can be used to throw Pikmin at things, where they'll use their initiative and do whatever's necessary, either picking up a fruit to carry it back to your ship, or whacking at an enemy with their heads. But the life forms on the Pikmin planet are deadly, and killing them without losing too many of your Pikmin takes a lot of practice, and trial and error as you try to discover their weak points. While you can have up to 100 Pikmin in your squad, and have five types of Pikmin available, each of which have their own special abilities, several sections in the game see you coming up against enemies that can wipe out half, or even two thirds of your team in one hit. With so much to think about, tricky bosses, and Pikmin that aren't the most intelligent creatures in the world (they have a nasty habit for getting stuck on walls, or simply standing staring into space when there's a giant enemy behind them), the amount of hand holding and management you have to do with the Pikmin means younger children may struggle if they haven't played many strategy games (such as Little King's Story) before.
Older children, however, will appreciate the intuitive challenge Pikmin offers. With a heavy emphasis on exploration, adventure, and trial and error as you use your Pikmin to build bridges, dig tunnels, and open secret routes to other parts of the world - all while avoiding the often less than friendly wildlife - there's a lot here for children to enjoy, especially those who like to think things through, and take a more methodical approach. With the game divided into days, each of which lasts 15 minutes, it's also helpful that you can choose to go back, and replay any earlier days should you so choose, letting you undo any particularly awful mistakes and be more careful next time!
Although there's no blood or gore in Pikmin 3, there are some things parents should know about. While the Pikmin are under your command, the levels are littered with enemies that want to gobble them up in various ways, whether it's grabbing them with their long, sticky tongue, or actually piercing them with a giant spike that flies out and lances the Pikmin straight through their body. While there's no blood or gore, it could be a bit disturbing for young children, especially as the Pikmin always cry out when they're killed in a way that'll tug on the heart strings of grown adults!
Age Ratings
Format Reviewed: Nintendo Wii U
