Pikmin Bloom

Pikmin Bloom is an AR mobile game, in which you grow and collect Pikmins  — a sentient floral life form. Breathe the fresh air, make thousands of steps and make your flower army grow — just download Pikmin Bloom!  

Graphics 5/10

Even though it’s based on a strategy game famous for its optic gorgeousness, Pikmin Bloom mobile is far from being picturesque.

The Pikmin guys are rather crude-looking, with gawky and unpolished bodies and pop-eyed faces that translate a perpetual grimace of astonished terror.

At the same time, it’s justified. If Pikmin received more luxurious and detailed bodies, the phone battery would die in less than 6 minutes. And the game is already pretty hungry for the battery bars on both Android and iOS.

Controls 10/10

Most of the time, you won’t need to control anything, except for your own legs. Occasionally, you will give orders to your Pikmins, check the event calendar and collect seedlings — this all can be done with tapping. 

Gameplay 9.5/10

If you install Pikmin Bloom, be ready to walk a lot. And it’s no exaggeration! The game is focused on inspiring people to become more energetic after the pandemic-induced lethargy.

So, your goal is to find seedlings, which later turn into Pikmins. These guys basically look identical, ranging by color. Consequently, the more flamboyant a Pikmin’s color is, the rarer and “shiner” it becomes. The only exception is the Winged type.

Collecting the seedlings is a challenge and crusade at the same time. Earning one will cost you at least 1,000 steps. And the more miles you walk, the more exclusive seedlings will be at your disposal, with the rarest costing 10,000 steps, and more.

Since GPS location is a crucial component of the gameplay, you’ll be invited to visit a nearby neighborhood, take a different route to your home from the grocery store, or even travel to the distant part of the city.

Additionally, your Pikmins can be sent to an expedition. The more soldiers you assign to a journey, the quicker they return. As a reward, they’ll fetch some useful stuff: fruits and seedlings. These resources can be used to expand your botanical army even more.

Conclusion

Even though it’s an AR game, free Pikmin Bloom is not very demanding. It won’t become your “second job” like Pokémon Go or one of those AR titles featuring the Witcher’s universe.

Instead, it’s a pleasant little addition to one of your walks. Collecting new seedlings, and procuring a rare Pikmin is a small, but the sweet prize, which you get as a bonus to a health-regenerating promenade. So why not try it?

At the same time, there’s basically no action. You can’t send your Pikmins to war to defeat another player’s army. And you can’t train them to evolve like Pokémon.

But if you would appreciate an incentive to go out more often, Pikmin Bloom free download is an absolute must-have.