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It was never the most high profile of Nintendo's titles, but the adorably odd Pikmin series finally returns this week with the Wii U exclusive strategy puzzler, Pikmin 3. As in the originals, you control three stranded space pilots, who in turn can command up to 100 quirky little plant creatures as you explore an alien world. Colour coded Pikmin can perform specific tasks, helping you to gather food for your dying planet.

"A wonderful, generous game," says Eurogamer's 9/10 review. "It's astonishingly adept at catering to a variety of different skill levels, whether you're a seasoned multi-tasker who divides troops to conquer, or a fretful helicopter parent hovering endlessly over a single team and bustling them past each challenge with obsessive care."

"In many ways, this is like a Nintendo greatest hits: the appeal of Mario and the structure of Zelda and Metroid flipped on its head," reckons Videogamer, also awarding a 9/10. "Pikmin 3 captures everything that was great about its predecessors and streamlines it further. There's no dead weight - just hours of beautiful-looking and beautiful-playing video game, with that same sadistic streak that underpinned it previously."

"This is Nintendo. This is what we want to see," says NowGamer, also offering a 9/10 score. "Brilliant ideas, well executed. Give Mario and co a well-deserved rest, Nintendo, it's time to let that brilliance shine again."

The praise carries over to the mainstream press, with The Daily Telegraph adding a five star review to Pikmin's pile of plaudits. "Yes, it's a game about multitasking, forward planning and time management," says the review, "but it's also a game where you command sentient carrots to headbutt a crawfish to death. Ah, the joy of simple pleasures."