Day Length: How Long is One Day?

This is a guide to Day Length in Pikmin 3 Deluxe for the Nintendo Switch. Read on to learn how long one day is for each difficulty, as well as the when sundown and the countdown begins!

How Long is a Day?

The length of each day in Pikmin 3 Deluxe varies depending on difficulty. For each difficulty above Normal, the length per day is shorter, meaning you have to get more stuff done with less time.

Based on Difficulty

Difference Between Difficulty Modes | Which Difficulty Should You Choose?

The Sun Meter

You can tell roughly how much time you have left by looking at the sun meter on the top of your screen. The Sun Meter rings at different divisions of the day (the sections where you see a bigger dot). Each of the three large dots signifies a time of day (Morning, Afternoon, and Sunset).

There are a total of 13 dots in the Sun Meter, so the time it takes to go from one dot to the next would be the total number of time in a day divided by 12.

Time From One Dot to the Next

Therefore, if you are playing on Normal Difficulty, and there are 3 dots left before the sun reaches the end of the meter, there are roughly 4.5 minutes left in that day.

Countdown

About 2 minutes before Sunset, a warning message pops up on your screen, telling you to gather all the stray Pikmin that are not in your Squad. It also shows how many stray Pikmin are scattered throughout the map.

If you are aiming for 0 Pikmin deaths, be sure and use your radar to locate any wayward Pikmin! You can either go to them and whistle to have them join your squad, or use the S.S. Drake to call back all wayward Pikmin.

In the last 30 seconds or so, a countdown starts, counting down from 10 to 1. As soon as the countdown ends, the day ends as well. So make sure to finish all your tasks and gather all your Pikmin before the countdown ends!

Related Guides

Beginner's Guide: List of Tips and Tricks