Pikuniku is a puzzle and adventure game set in a colorful world. The player controls Piku, a small red creature, guiding him through levels and solving puzzles that mostly involve kicking and pushing objects onto switches to open the way forward. Piku can lasso his legs to swing from hooks and zip lines, curl into a ball to roll, ride minecarts, and travel through pipes to reach new areas. Along the way the player meets villagers to talk with and can spend coins earned in levels on items such as hats. A local co-op mode lets a second player control a similar orange creature named Niku across a set of cooperative levels.