What is Pikmin Bloom?

In the years since Pokémon GO launched, Niantic has more than proven they have the chops to turn Nintendo’s beloved game franchises into hyper-successful mobile game endeavors. But comparatively speaking, Pokémon GO was easy mode. It’s literally the most ubiquitous and successful franchise in the world, except maybe for Hello Kitty. For Niantic’s next endeavor, they’re trying something a little bit different. A little more… verdant, perhaps. So, what is Pikmin Bloom?

What is Pikmin Bloom?

If you’ve ever played the Pikmin games, you know that the general idea lay in cultivating and harvesting tiny plant-like creatures called Pikmin, and using them as your personal army/labor force. Compared to the main games, Pikmin Bloom is aiming to be a little more laid back, though no less collaborative in its design. You’re not fighting anything, nor are you battling other players. The only real goal of Pikmin Bloom is to make the world a prettier place.

How to play Pikmin Bloom

Here’s a basic step-by-step on Pikmin Bloom’s core gameplay loop:

1. Walk around your neighborhood, collecting Pikmin seedlings
2. Place the seedlings in your pack to make them grow as you walk, before blooming into full Pikmin
3. As you walk around with your Pikmin, flowers will grow in your wake, and your Pikmin will find snacks you can feed to them

While the AR tech is a big part of the gameplay like Pokémon GO, there aren’t any combative aspects to Pikmin Bloom. You just walk around, pick up Pikmin seedlings, grow them into proper Pikmin, and then walk around with them. As you travel around, you and your Pikmin can leave flower petals, which will bloom into gardens of colorful flowers. The whole goal, if you could say the game had a goal, is to work together with other players to plant lots of flowers all over the place and make the world a little nicer.

There’s also a built-in journaling element. As you travel, you can take pictures with your Pikmin and save them to an album with a caption. Oh, and you can also earn and buy little hats for your Pikmin if you want to give them some extra style. Basically, it’s just a fun way to make your daily walks here and there a bit more memorable.

Pikmin Bloom is available on Google Play and the Apple App Store.