How to play multiplayer co-op in Pikmin 4

With Pikmin 4, Nintendo added multiple ways to play co-op with your friends across a multitude of modes, including the game’s long-winded story mode.

In the story mode, two players can work together to complete the main chunk of the game. Those looking to roam the world together, however, might be a little disappointed with what options are available to them.

How does co-op work in Pikmin 4?

While there is a form of multiplayer co-op in Pikmin 4, there’s no way to have two players running around the same map and playing with each other. In Pikmin 4, multiplayer takes on a Super Mario Galaxy approach where a second player can control a cursor that appears on the map to aid player one.

By using the “Pebble Pitcher” a second player can launch rocks at enemies and interact with the world around them. But the main controls are still handled by the first player.

This ability also has amusing uses where you can hit Pikmin carrying things to speed them up. This seems like a speedrunner’s dream, and we can see co-op runs being a popular option, or one player using two controllers, as every second counts when trying to complete runs, after all.

You can also open the main menu at any time while playing the game to turn co-op on and off in the story mode, so you won’t always be locked to it.

Outside of that possbility, the only other form of multiplayer is the Dondori Battles, where two players can go against each other in small arena combat for a chance at proving who the superior Pikmin player is.