Tinykin (PS5) Review

Platforming Adventure that Stands Tall in All the Right Spaces

It’s probably not too much of a stretch to say that many of us have a comfort genre of games we enjoy, the type of game that we can lose ourselves in and keep thinking about after the console or computer is turned off. For me, I always enjoy a good, linear platforming adventure game, and Tinykin, by developer Splashteam and publisher tinyBuild, checked every box in that specific genre for me. Though the narrative did not seem to stand out and contained some oddly vague points here and there, the gameplay was handled smoothly and kept me playing for hours at a time.

Tinykin is the story of Milo, a futuristic astronaut of sorts looking to re-discover Earth. When he finally finds humanity’s former home, Milo finds himself shrunk down to the size of a penny and navigating a house run by different nations of insects. In order to return home, Milo must explore the house, perform tasks for each group of the bug residents, and slowly rebuild his ship. Along the way, Milo recruits a mini army of tinykin, small creatures that can perform various abilities and skills.

Our hero Milo is out of his element.

Visually, this game is gorgeous. The environments consist of fun, colorful 3D builds full of items and locations to explore. Splashteam took basic rooms such as a kitchen or bathroom and turned them into full levels with almost no wasted space. I must have spent a combined hour just slowing down and looking in every space. The character models are an almost perfectly exquisite complement to the levels, as each character and NPC is drawn in a 2.5D form. If I had to make a comparison, I’d use an updated art style from the animated comedy show Futurama as a point of reference.

Something that caught my attention more so than the visuals was the audio. Nothing about the music or level sounds felt familiar, and so much of the audio flowed well in stereo surround. Unlike some other platformers and exploration games where there is a singular audio track for each area, Tinykin created variations of the level sound design in different sectors of the rooms. In one level, I experienced a full concert in a corner that complemented the audio theme of the room, and I could hear different versions of that same song across the room. The music is fun, but never too repetitive that I found it stuck in my head unprovoked.

So many times I had to stop and enjoy the scenery.

The various NPCs in each level were refreshingly unique. Many had fun personalities of their own, with some being more fleshed out due to side quest inclusion and main story plot points. The levels in the house contain a diverse selection of different insect people, such as shield bugs in the office and praying mantises in the kitchen. Plenty of these NPCs have some form of dialogue to hear, though by the fourth level or so I found myself doing more skimming of these speeches than active reading. Generally, once the main objective of the room is discussed with Milo, the player can get everything done without much interaction.

The tinykin are both characters and the driving game mechanic. Five different types of tinykin are discovered, and each type has a very specific ability that aids Milo in his exploration of the areas. For instance, a dark pink tinykin is used for any sort of major object moving, like picking up a large door key or moving a cereal box out of the way. Though the player has to start every new room without any tinykin in their arsenal, the game leaves plenty of the various types around to pick up. Some tinykin can be depleted, with the player having to find more to replenish the pack, and others stay with you the entire duration of the level. I rarely found myself without the number of specific helpers I needed for a particular task, and if I was lacking I could easily explore and find more.

The tinykin are perfect little helpers.

In terms of narrative, I found myself focused more on the gameplay than figuring out the backstory of Milo and the lives of the other characters. Milo is a silent protagonist, and the rest of the characters speak a high-toned separate language, so I didn’t feel like much story explanation was passed along. Even the opening cinematic is told in a cartoon style with no dialogue, so I didn’t quite feel like I understood exactly who Milo was and what kind of setting I was coming into. Luckily, the level exploration took the wheel, and I found my completionist nature being satisfied with every new area to explore.

Tinykin handles exactly like you would want a light platforming adventure game. The controls felt responsive and quick, and the use of the tinykin creatures was crafted well into two shoulder buttons. I do think that at times the controls were a little too responsive, and I wouldn’t have minded a bit more “stickiness” to some of the aspects like rope climbing and beam crossing. The majority of the time, I had no issue getting anywhere in the level I wanted to go, thanks to plenty of shortcuts discovered and quick traversal aids.

Different types of tinykin perform different duties.

This game contains all the typical adventure collectibles and missions one might expect, but that did not prevent me from zoning out to some music and experiencing it all. From a collectible token system to smaller, level-specific side quests, the rooms contain plenty for Milo to find and interact with. As mentioned above, no space in the levels is wasted, and even the most unassuming piece of furniture might contain secrets and items the player needs for something else. This game can definitely appeal to the type of player that considers themselves a trophy or achievement hunter, with plenty of those being found just by exploring.

For players looking to relax and try something fun and light, Tinykin is definitely the “lo-fi” title to do just that. With a polished exploration system, beautiful visual aesthetics, and plenty to explore and complete, this game appeals to the platformer completionist player as well as to those that maybe want a break from 60-hour open-world story epics. Very few issues arose in my 10-hour playthrough, and I’m inclined to say that this title is a well-built game from its launch. I highly recommend cleansing your gaming palette with Tinykin, which proves that big things can come in small packages.

Tinykin launches on Steam, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, and PlayStation on August 30th, 2022 with a demo available now on Switch and Steam.

SCORES

GAMEPLAY - 9/10

VISUALS - 9/10

SOUND - 8.5/10

CONTROLS - 8/10

REPLAY VALUE - 7.5/10

OVERALL - 8.4/10

A digital PlayStation copy of Tinykin was provided for review. All screenshots in this article were natively taken via PS5’s screenshot system. For more information on Tinykin or developer Splashteam, check out their website.