Can You Change Difficulty in Pikmin 4?

With a franchise that will often present a challenge to the player, can you change the difficulty in Pikmin 4? Whether you have played the previous games before or not, commanding an army of Pikmin is easier said than done. Collecting them is one thing; using them to take down kaiju-sized enemies is the real challenge. Now that you can time travel and use other features that bring more complexity, can the game still be too difficult or easy for some? Let’s discuss whether you can change your difficulty setting in Pikmin 4.

Are There Difficulty Settings in Pikmin 4?

While many can expect a difficulty choice like Pikmin 3, Pikmin 4 does not allow you to change the game’s difficulty. This is similar to Pikmin and Pikmin 2, both of which didn’t have this feature. 

Furthermore, there is no difficulty setting unlocked after the game’s first playthrough, like Pikmin 3 did with the Ultra-Spicy difficulty. This doesn’t mean we are dealing with a Souls type of difficulty; quite the contrary.

Thanks to various features, especially the Rewind Time feature and your Oatchi companion, you will find that your experience is slightly more forgiving than before. You can view Pikmin 4 as the middle ground between the accessibility and difficulty modes of Pikmin 3 and the challenge of Pikmin and Pikmin 2. So, if stuck in an area, you will need to visit it later once you level up your Pikmin army. Alternatively, you can use your Rewind Time feature to bring back your Pikmins that inevitably die from the encounter.

We could see this lack of a feature as a creative choice from Nintendo. After all, several games, especially the Souls game, have gathered fame and recognition by not featuring any difficulty options. And apparently, this has worked for Pikmin 4. There are not many complaints regarding the game’s difficulty up to this point, even asking for a more challenging experience. 

Perhaps not making use of the Rewind Time feature could spice the difficulty up for players looking for a bigger challenge in Pikmin 4. Even so, Nightmare Expeditions surely introduce a higher difficulty to the mix, so be sure to experience it as well.

Related:

Is Pikmin 4 a Reboot? Explained

While not having the ability to pick a difficulty in Pikmin 4, players are surely having a great time playing this new entry in the Pikmin saga. Near-perfect reviews and overall enjoyment make this game worth picking up, even if you cannot change its difficulty. Just make sure to pace yourself or use the game’s features to give you a break, and you will be good to go!

Pikmin 4 is available now on Nintendo Switch.