Pico Park Review: To Make or Break a Friendship

Are you looking for a fun game to play with family or friends? Are you looking to test out your teamwork together? Do you enjoy creating chaos and destruction? Then Pico Park is your game! Pico Park brings all sides of friendship together. Whether it’s the ability for a group to work well together, or for people to troll others within their circle, there’s something for anyone and everyone to enjoy.

What is Pico Park?

At its core, Pico Park is a co-op, multiplayer game. Similar to Mario Party, there are a handful of modes to keep you entertained. The main game modes that are offered are different kinds of puzzles, featuring platforming or retro-style games. In this mode, players work together to complete the stage. After all players enter the door at the end, the level is considered to be cleared.

As I mentioned earlier, this is the first point where trolling can happen. There are many places where players have to work together to reach the door. If a player enters a door without helping their teammates, then the others can’t complete the level. Playing with friends and family, this has happened more times than you’d think.

In total, there are 12 different “worlds” that players can play. Each world has four levels, and each world features a different style of gameplay. As this game can be played between 2-8 players, each time a level is completed in any of the modes, then that level is unlocked for any other combination of players. Personally, I loved how the progression works in this game. By unlocking the levels in this order, I can now pick and choose specific levels that I want to try with a group of people.

Besides the main worlds, this game also features an “endless” mode. In this mode, players will choose one of four options, and the game will keep running endlessly, hence, “endless” mode. In this case, the only player or goal you’re competing against is your own record. I like this mode when it comes to more serious co-op play. It’s fun watching and trying to best your own score with a dedicated group of players.

The final mode Pico Park offers is the “battle” mode. As the name suggests, this is a competitive mode for groups of people who enjoy the art of competition. “Battle” mode has four main battles that players can choose from. Now, this mode offers the second point of trolling. One of the modes is a stopwatch game, where each player has to stop a personal timer as close to 0.01 seconds as possible.

To stop your stopwatch, you’ll press your designated button. The problem with this is that all players can reach any other player’s button. At that point, the game is less about stopping at the right time, but rather to stop other people’s buttons instead. If you want to play this mode seriously, then you’ll have to create your own honour code. Either way, “battle” mode is still fun after playing all the other modes Pico Park has to offer.

How Long Does it Take to Finish Pico Park?

The game itself is not very long, only sporting 12 “worlds” for the player to enjoy. If you want to just beat all 12 worlds, this can be accomplished within an hour or two if you’re playing with a partner. This becomes more complicated when more players are added to the game. To truly 100% the game, all 12 worlds must be beat with every combination of players. So, from partners to trios to quad, all the way up to eight players. Playing it this way may take more time, as mistakes and resets are more likely to occur with more people.

Is Pico Park Cross Platform?

Even though Pico Park is offered on two platforms, this game does not support cross-platform play. If you want to play online, you will be matched with other players using the same platform, so Switch players will be linked with other Switch players, and Steam players will be linked to other Steam Players.

As this is a co-op-based game, players will be unable to play the base game alone. A minimum of 2 players is needed to play. If you are alone, the only option to play this game would be to go to the online mode to play with other players. This game can be played offline as long as you have enough players to start the game. As the game runs without the need for a Wi-Fi connection, this game can be played anywhere and anytime.

Is Pico Park Free?

The short answer to this question is that Pico Park is not free. However, this game is offered on two specific platforms: Nintendo Switch and Steam. The cost of this game is $4.99 USD or $6.29 CAD. Compared to most games, this one is relatively cheap for the amount of fun that the game can offer. With so much replayability, you will always find something new to do with the game or the group of friends you play with.

Music

Pico Park features simple music reminiscent of the 8-bit era. There aren’t that many tracks throughout the whole game, but the ones provided fit the vibes of the game perfectly. Personally, I liked the music, and it wasn’t something that bothered me all too much. However, the songs do repeat and start from the beginning every time you fail a level. Because of this, I do know some people who found this part of the game annoying. Eventually, the music started to bother them. As I said, this part didn’t bother me, and I enjoyed hearing the songs, but do be warned that they do get repetitive.

Final Thoughts

Of all the co-op, puzzle games out there, Pico Park is one of the best. Not only are the levels varied, and the game offers many different kinds of modes, but the controls are also simple enough for anyone to pick up and enjoy. This allows any player of any skill level to pick up and enjoy. I’ve played this game with a partner and all the way up to eight players, and it’s fun every single time. If you’re worried about replayability, don’t be. Even though I had beat the whole game, it’s always a new experience when the type of people you play with changes. Overall, a very solid game that anyone and everyone can enjoy together.