Pikmin 3 Deluxe
Developer- Nintendo
Publisher- Nintendo
Platform- Nintendo Switch
Release Date- 10/30/2020
Up to 2 players
Adventure, Action, Strategy, Multiplayer
Rated- Everyone 10+ for mild cartoon violence
Supports- Online Play, Save Data Cloud
Pikmin is and always has been, in my opinion, one of Nintendo’s most wonderful, yet most under rated series.
Those that are familiar with the plucky, helpful and extremely adorable little alien folks that have helped
us and our space faring protagonists along our way throughout the series will know exactly what I mean.
Pikmin 3 Deluxe definitely maintains the simple, fun, and super adorable game play that we’ve come to expect
since 2001 from Nintendo when it comes to the Pikmin games.
As opposed to our usual friend Captain Olimar from previous entries of Pikmin, we’ve got three playable
characters that we will ultimately be switching between as we explore, learn, and collect various items and
Pikmin throughout the game as we try to find a renewable food source in order to save our home planet.
After crash landing on PNF-404, the home of the fun little creatures we call Pikmin, our protagonists
Captain Charlie, Alph, and Brittany become separated and we are quickly tasked with learning as much as we
can about our new surroundings and finding the rest of our displaced crew as we attempt to not only complete
our mission, but to simply survive on this strange, new, alien world. 
Although, Pikmin 3 Deluxe does feature some new additions over the original Pikmin 3 game that was released on Nintendo’s Wii U home console back in 2013. The deluxe version of the Pikmin 3 game includes new side-story missions featuring Olimar and Louie, (which are unlocked after you progress to a certain point in the game) the ability to play Story mode with a friend and all DLC stages from the original release. If you choose to play with a friend, you’re given the ability to do so either locally or online which is definitely a nice addition, especially since many players much prefer online functionality these days. It absolutely adds a little more convenience to the mix since we can’t always get our friends to stop by for a good old classic couch co-op session.
The charm of Pikmin is definitely maintained in any case, I would even venture so far as to say that Pikmin 3
Deluxe manages to outshine and even surpass each of the previous games in the series in this department. With
spectacularly designed and simply beautiful surroundings you’ll be sure to just stare at the game world in awe
with the level of polish that has been given to this release. Everything from the shadows, the reflections, the
depth and expanse of the color palette, are all just simply exceptional and stunning.
The audio and sound effects also help to instill a feeling of wonder as you explore PNF-404 as it fits so well
and has the ability to set the mood even further than that of just the overall beauty of the visuals. 
Even the simplest of sound effects are masterfully designed and placed in order to achieve this. From tiny “bloops” and “blips” that you’ll hear coming from your KopPad, to the oddly amusing sounds that are made
as the Pikmin devour the indigenous mushroom like plants or when you pluck new Pikmin from beneath an Onion, the audio is just as amazing as the visuals and they’ve been utilized together in the most fantastic manner. With a well scripted and written story line, it’ll surely draw you in if for no other reason than to help the crew find more secrets in the hopes of completing your mission and to have fun playing with the plant-like Pikmin that you encounter, watching them grow, evolve and help you accomplish what can be seemingly impossible tasks and insurmountable obstacles at times. Then again, that’s part of the fun in Pikmin games, the strategy involved. With several new types of Pikmin, another layer of thought and planning has been added to the overall mix by providing the ability to find a more efficient way of accomplishing your goal, there by making your choices of which color of Pikmin to use even more important to the overall strategy than ever before. Although, some specific tasks can only be completed by using one particular type of Pikmin, or completed in a much more effective way so keep that in mind when planning out your course of action! 
With very simple and easy to learn controls which allow the use of not only the Switch’s Joy-Con controllers but the pro controller as well, I’m sure that anyone will be able to pick the game up rather quickly and jump right in even if they’ve not ever played a Pikmin game before. Pikmin 3 Deluxe definitely refined the controls for the game over previous entries in the series making it more playable and so much easier to just dig in and go. This is one area that definitely helps in my opinion, we’ve all played games with either overly complicated or nonsensical controls that have the potential to just destroy what would otherwise be great game play. Having a deeply enjoyable and rich style of game play that has the uncanny ability to not only draw you into the game, but also have a relaxing effect to a certain degree, you’d be hard pressed to say that you simply don’t like this game while being totally honest about it. It’s just enjoyable to play in any case. What was already phenomenal game play, simply got better with all of the fine tuning and tweaks that Nintendo have made in order to have a proper Switch release of the game with Pikmin 3 Deluxe. 
Honestly, Nintendo seems to have not only mastered their craft, but they’ve also mastered the art of the remaster!
With a demo available on the eShop there’s no reason to pass up at least giving the game a shot if you’ve never played Pikmin before. I’m pretty sure you’ll fall in love with the game!
Disclaimer: Review code provided by Nintendo