Pikmin Bloom is consistently evolving with more activities around its real-world exercise conceit, much like Niantic's other Nintendo-themed mobile game Pokemon GO. Unlike the latter title that has almost 1,000 potential monsters to feature coming into Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, Pikmin Bloom launched with all seven primary Pikmin colors available, leaving little canon material to add beyond fringe cases like Pikmin 2's Bulbmin. Instead, Niantic has released new decor types to keep players hunting for Pikmin in their neighborhoods.
A lot of the standard decor added to Pikmin Bloom has become more interesting since it launched last October, like train station "Tickets" that vary based on where players find them, or "Leaf Hats" that only appear on rainy days - recently updated so they'll be "easier to obtain." Others have only appeared for a limited time, with the latest example being "Chess Piece" decor available from July 18 and July 31 to celebrate International Chess Day. Event-exclusive Huge Seedlings appear as normal for this period, but Niantic is also experimenting with Golden Seedlings that could be used for more down the line.
How Pikmin Bloom's Weekly Challenges Enhance its Gameplay Loop
At its core, Pikmin Bloom is a game about walking. Various real-world locales are categorized so the Seedlings found there will grow into Pikmin that collect unique decor. Pieces of fruit can also be found everywhere, and feeding fruit nectar to Pikmin produces flower petals. Up to 60 Coins per-day can be earned by planting flowers during walks, which are otherwise a microtransaction currency used to buy items in the game's shop or to recharge the Detector that searches out more Seedlings.
This gameplay loop has stayed consistent, though additions such as Weekly Challenges from May 2022 have done more to encourage engagement and community building. As the name suggests, Weekly Challenges began as a way for up-to five players to team up and reach a collective step goal each week. Initially these challenges only offered petals and nectar, but Niantic has offered new items like Mii character outfits in the months since. A second Weekly Challenge category for flower planting has been introduced too, letting groups reach for multiple goals at a time.
Golden Seedlings Could be Much More
During the International Chess Day event period, Pikmin Bloom players who complete either Weekly Challenge category will receive a brand-new type of Golden Seedling - guaranteed to provide a Chess Piece decor in just 100 steps. Considering Huge Seedlings typically take 10,000 steps to mature, Golden Seedlings are much easier to clear out of one's backlog despite how long it might take to finish Weekly Challenges. Since players can hold one Golden and event Huge Seedling at a time, this also mitigates past issues with special decor being bottlenecked.
There are only four Chess Piece Pikmin - Yellow, Blue, White, and Purple - so theoretically having two chances at a time will make it easier for players to collect all the decor (and Niantic says they "will be available in the future again"). However, that shouldn't be the end of Golden Seedlings as a concept. Seedlings from a diverse range of locales could become a regular reward for Weekly Challenges, even if they're variants that don't grow in 100 steps.
One of the main issues with the "collect them all" model in Pikmin Bloom is how much gets region-locked. Pokemon GO is arguably worse when it comes to region-exclusive monsters given Pokemon like Tropius are locked to particular continents, in this case Africa. Yet depending on where someone lives, it may be easier to find "Clover" Pikmin from a park than it is to find "Shell" Pikmin from a beach. By randomly cycling through a decor Seedling reward each week, players could have another excuse to team up and complete Weekly Challenges without breaking the game's appeal by giving all its collectibles away in one fell swoop.
Pikmin Bloom is available now on Android and iOS devices.