Ludography
70/100
Players9 ratings
66/100
Critics1 review

Where to get it

Pikmin Bloom cover

2021 · Niantic Games Team · Adventure · Location-based

Pikmin Bloom

Grow your Pikmin, make flowers bloom, and keep track of your precious memories, all through the simple act of walking. Whether you’re going for a short walk around the corner or commuting to work, today’s the very first day of the rest of your Pikmin adventures! Gather your squad and embark on a journey of rediscovery where every step counts.

Released
26 October 2021
Platforms
AndroidiOS
Genres
AdventureLocation-basedSimulation
Developers
Niantic Games TeamScopely
Publishers
NintendoNiantic Games Team
Series
Pikmin
Modes
MultiplayerSingle-player
Perspective
Bird view / Isometric
Themes
Science fictionOpen world
Country
United StatesJapan
Age ratings
ESRB EPEGI 3USK 0
Languages
Chinese (Traditional), English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Portugal), Spanish (Spain)
Directors
Tatsuo Nomura

About

Pikmin Bloom is a 2021 augmented reality video game developed and published by Niantic for Android and iOS. It is a spin-off of Nintendo's Pikmin series and Niantic's second collaboration with the company.

Similar to Pokémon Go, Pikmin Bloom rewards players for spending time outside. The player's real-world movements correlate to the production of items for Pikmin creatures. The game's worldwide rollout began in late October 2021.

Keywords

  • augmented reality
  • mii

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Pikmin Bloom is an augmented reality mobile game in the Pikmin series. For wandering and spending time outside, players are rewarded with items that can either grow or feed Pikmin creatures that appeared throughout the main Pikmin games.

The walking player is depicted as a Nintendo Account Mii (or one with limited customization for those without such an account) leading Pikmin, creating a trail of blossoming flowers on the map with flower petals collected from Pikmin, and the Pikmin can find items. This includes fruit and costumes. The Pikmin grow flowers on their heads when fed nectar, which in turn produces more flower petals, and then plant more flowers on the map. Local landmarks are represented as either big flowers, from which flower nectar can be collected, or as mushroom, which can be destroyed by Pikmin collaboratively with other players in a mushroom battle. There are also planned, collaborative multiplayer events and challenges involving large flowers.

Development

Niantic developed Pikmin Bloom under license from Nintendo after having previously collaborated on Pokémon Go.

It was first announced in 2021. Global rollout began in Australia and Singapore on October 27, 2021, North and South America on October 28, Japan on November 1, and lastly it was available worldwide by November 2.

Reception

Pikmin Bloom received "mixed or average" reviews from critics, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Early reviewers likened Pikmin Bloom to a gamified fitness experience, similar to fitness apps that convert daily steps taken into coins and minigames. Jess Reyes of Digital Trends wrote that Pikmin Bloom was "more a Nintendo fitness app than a video game", comparing it to Pokémon Go.

Some Android users using Android 11 or 12 at the game's launch reported delayed notifications including SMS messages. Initial reports of the delayed notifications were reported during beta testing. Niantic acknowledged the issues on November 5 and released two updates which minimize the delayed notifications.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
iOS27 October 2021Australia · North America 28 October 2021
Android27 October 2021Australia · North America 28 October 2021 · Europe 1 November 2021

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Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.