This game just seems like an onslaught of missed opportunities. None of the Pikmin, asides from Winged Pikmin, assist platforming in anyway, the puzzles are extremely bare bones, and the game does not expand on the Pikmin series in many interesting ways. A 2D platforming Pikmin game seems like it could be really fun if done right. But I think Hey! Pikmin just doesn't really do anything interesting with this concept.

I don't completely hate this game though. Hey! Pikmin still has aspects of the mainline Pikmin games that I do enjoy. While not to the same extent as the mainline games, Hey! Pikmin has some enemy designs I liked quite a bit. The Eye-Stalker Bulbeel and the Long Water Dumple are two that specifically come to mind. This game also has a Piklopedia and Treasure Log. Once again, it isn't as indepth or enjoyable as the mainline games, but the Piklopedia here is still a great feature. Especially since the Piklopedia was absent from Pikmin 3's original release on Wii U. I also really enjoyed the soundtrack to this game.

I can't say for sure, but I think that many Pikmin fans hate this game more than they normally would since it was the only real Pikmin video game inbetween Pikmin's 10 year gap between Pikmin 3 and 4. If Pikmin 4 hadn't released yet, I would probably be less forgiving to this game as well.

This is just a mediocre platformer with just a little bit of charm of the Pikmin series still present.