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Pikmin Bloom, Niantic and Nintendo's latest walking-based game, is available now in Australia and Singapore

Pikmin Bloom, Niantic and Nintendo's latest walking-based game, is available now in Australia and Singapore

Niantic has announced that Pikmin Bloom – formerly known simply as the Pikmin app – is now available for iOS and Android in Australia and Singapore. The joint venture between Niantic and Nintendo will then release in other regions soon.

Pikmin Bloom aims to add a little intrigue to your daily walks or any journey you make on foot by allowing you to bring your Pikmin squad along for the ride. But first, you will need to grow them, which is achieved by planting seedlings and walking a certain distance. So essentially, the more you walk, the more Pikmin you will have. They can then be sent out on expeditions to retrieve different items for you.

As you head out for a stroll with your group of Pikmin, flowers will bloom with each step. You can change the colour of these flowers by feeding your Pikmin nectar and plucking the petals that sprout from their heads. Once you've gathered an assortment of different coloured, you can leave colourful trails of flowers in your wake.

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Pikmin Bloom also looks to commemorate your achievements each day by keeping a lifelog. At the end of each day, it will tell you the number of steps you walked alongside the route you took. Within the log, you can also add notes and photos from your phone. However, this is entirely optional. Your Pikmin may also find postcards from your adventures that can be kept or sent to friends.

Much like Niantic's Pokemon Go, Pikmin Bloom will host monthly Community Day events. They will see players walking, planting and completing other activities together. There are not many details on this just yet, but we can expect more information soon.

Pikmin Bloom is now available on the App Store and Google Play in Australia and Singapore. It will then roll out to other regions over the coming days. It is a free-to-play game with in-app purchases.

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Stephen Gregson-Wood
Stephen Gregson-Wood
Stephen brings both a love of games and a very formal-sounding journalism qualification to the Pocket Gamer team.