Pretty chill pinball metroidvania adventure game with cutesy designs. Only major complaint is that 100%ing the game feels pretty tedious, having to grind specific shots to activate all the scarabs and certain slug explosion shots for some of the Wickerlings (because some of the shots are very imprecise). Also, the fast travel could be improved a bit, seeing as a lot of the underground or low-lying land locations can take a while to backtrack to. Otherwise, I really enjoyed my time playing some mean pinball with island music.

Much better than the combination of genres would have one believe.

I was definitely more into the exploration than the pinball but everything felt mostly solid. The (at times useless) map and some of the physics tied to using the exploding slugs or the leash to swing put a damper on things but not to a severe extent.

One of the cutest and most charming games I've played in a long time.

Cara, esse jogo é o tipo de loucura que só existe na indústria Indie e que eu AMO! Simplesmente um dia alguém olhou um Metroidvania, olhou um Pinball, virou pros amigos e disse:
"Rapaziada, EU TIVE UMA IDEIA!!!"
E graças a esse cara, hoje temos essa pérola!

Yoku's Island Express é um jogo tremendamente relaxante, simpático e fofo. Toda a parte de exploração (Metroidvania) dele é ótima e bem montada, com diversos caminhos, missões secundárias e segredos espalhados pelo mapa. E, claro, toda a parte de Pinball é muito bem adaptada ao todo, desde o próprio personagem principal até as mecânicas mundo afora, que nunca saem do tema.

Algo interessante de mencionar é que não há formas de morrer no jogo, o máximo de penalidade que existe é perder algumas poucas frutinhas (que são o dinheiro do jogo) ao deixar a bolinha/Yoku cair em alguns trechos de Pinball. E o mais divertido é que, ativando essa penalidade um certo número de vezes, você desbloqueia uma missão secundária para fazer que é obrigatória para alcançar o 100%, então nem mesmo o ruim é de todo ruim.

É o joguinho perfeito para desestressar no final do dia. Apenas sentar, pegar o controle e sair explorando todas as partes da ilha desse pequeno monstrinho Pintroidballvania genial, fazendo missões e apreciando toda a beleza dos cenários, artes e soundtrack do jogo ao longo do caminho.

I haven't quite collected everything like I would like to, but I don't think that'll change my opinion. I love Yoku's Island Express! It's such a fun little game brimming with charm. I'm glad I crossed paths with this one and hope more people can do so as well.

I think it's important to know my background: I'm not great at pinball. I grew up around grimy arcades and have played tons of pinball, but never got it down. That said, I thought the pinball stages that are included in here are great. Really bite-sized and comprehensive. Every once in a while I'd feel a bit braindead, slamming the ball in the exact same spot 12 times in a row. But that's my problem! And despite that, I had a wonderful time.

There's something really magical about the combination of genres that Yoku's Island Express (YIE) is able to pull off as well. Using fruit to unlock new areas, new areas unlocking new abilities, and having an objective across a big open map all works SOOO well. Every little loop of gameplay is perfectly refined and harmonious with one another. It's really made me want to check out more "casual" metroid-vanias.

I think some people might look at how little it takes (by way of playtime) to reach end credits, but I thought it was perfect. I estimate that I probably have another 3 hours to get all the collectibles for the "true-ending", and on top of that the game ships with a randomizer! So there's a lot of potential for replayability.

Overall I don't have any complaints with Yoku's Island Express. It's such an excellently casual and cozy game, I believe that just about anyone who picks it up will have a really fun and relaxing time playing it.

This needs for recognition. The artstyle and music alone nearly rival that of games like Ori, and the gameplay loop is just out of this world in terms of uniqueness.

I genuinely don't have any major criticisms with the game; I have many minor nitpicks, but none of them hinder the experience.

I can't wait to see what these devs do next.

88

Neat little pinball metroidvania. I especially liked the character designs and the artdesign in general. I do not know why you use fruits as a currency, that is the only off putting visual choice for me because those things look like they are straigh out of a mobile game. My biggest complain about the game though is the navigation trough the world. Sometimes getting from point A to point B was so freaking tedious and frustating because I accidentally entered tricky to get out of pinball passages multiple times because I believed it to be part of my way to point B.

On paper, this pinball platformer metroidvania should be a thrilling experience, especially when factoring all the well executed elements. However, there's simply not enough thrill/excitement that you crave from a pinball game. The sprawling map gets cumbersome to traverse outside of the pinball sections, yet a large aspect of progression is doing long traveled fetch quests. There's a level of pinball flashiness that's lacking in most areas that disguise the repetitiveness of the genre, and without it you get your fill very quickly. The world is visually satisfying and the mechanics work decently well, but there's not enough fascination to avoid the game feeling like a chore.

🎮 Platform: PS5
⌚ Time to finish - 6h story (15 total with 100% trophy)
🏆Trophy completion - 100% - 85% of it is easy. 15% of it is super frustrating because there are certain jumps you have to do with exploding a slug which are completely random and even off by a pixel you miss the target. SUPER frustrating but I had to do it because i was so close. I think one jump took me 30 minutes? If you are going for 100% go in knowing this.
🤬Difficulty - easy - medium. Apart from the 15% in trophy completion.
🌄Graphics – Pretty and nice to look at!
🌦 Atmosphere/Music – really enjoyed the music it fits the theme but nothing stood out. It gave a fun and relevant vibe to the game.
📚 Main Story / Characters – Story was simple. I really liked the Beetle pushing his pinball around the world. Its a very unique setting and take on pinball metroidvania.
🤺 Combat – Unique, you fight with your pinball. In general combat light, but i enjoyed the boss battles. I wish the next version has more of those boss battles because it changes up the gameplay.
🧭 Side Activities / Exploration – The game is one of the easier metroidvania to navigate on your own. Its clear when a flipper takes u up or down a map.
🚗 Movement/Physics – Great apart from the trophy caveat i said.
📣 Voice acting – none
🥇 Best thing about the game - Its super unique. A metroidvania pinball that is easy to navigate!
👎 Worst thing about the game - Nothing really. Its missing something to make it a 4+ game. But i hope a 2nd version comes out since the foundation of the game can lead to something even more creative.
💡Final Thoughts:

Super unique game. I never really played pinball games but i got pretty good at getting the ball where i want in a relatively short time. The game also gives some markers to give you an idea of where to go. The map is pretty easy to navigate, and that is coming from someone who gets lost easily in games. Definitely play it since its a short experience. There was one obscure flipper hidden behind a wall (only time its used) that you must activate for a key ability. I wish this was more visible as i was lost for a bit till i looked it up. Then I realized it was so hard to see.

The idea of mixing pinball and adventure games is a risky gamble, with its own inherent problems. Anecdotally, a cup of coffee is the element that split the two aspects into discrete elements, notably to allow for breaks: the title is above all an adventure game, with pinball phases occurring only in short sequences, where it is a matter of showing precision to hit small targets or reach bottlenecks. This choice – quite justified, considering the economy of the game-design – nevertheless makes the adventure a bit frustrating. The pinball mechanics for movement make traversing the island rather tedious, especially because beelines are few and far between, our speed is quite low and the map is difficult to read. Backtracking can then be boring, as you have to go back through the village, which acts as a hub. I would have appreciated the existence of a teleportation system to really connect the different zones. Beyond these ergonomic remarks, Yoku's Island Express is a particularly charming and benevolent game. Its universe is as colourful as it is mystical, which gives it a particular touch, which could be close, in a way, to the aesthetics of Link's Awakening. The side quests are quite charming and give the island an appreciable personality. The careful work on the art direction and the soundtrack must be highlighted: a special mention must be made for the music of the final boss, whose excellent sounds could have been used more in the rest of the game. Of course, some sections are more frustrating than others, but the title has the good taste to never drag on too long, so that only an enjoyable experience remains.

you wouldn't think pinball and platforming would mix but yoku makes it work. sure there are going to be times you miss a shot and need to try ten or twenty times but that's pinball baby!!!! and its not dissimilar to missing a jump in a platformer and needing to clamber back up.

great soundtrack, fun writing.

some of the collectibles are a little fussy but they're entirely optional. i would rush to buy a sequel on day 1

Depois de dropar 3x e finalmente terminar na quarta vez, me pergunto o que nesse jogo me fez insistir tanto?

E ainda não sei a resposta, mas o que posso dizer é que Yoku's Island é um jogo com uma premissa criativa, é inicialmente bem divertido, bonitinho. O formato metroidvania misturado com pinball é cativante, no começo.

Porém após algum tempo percebi que é um jogo CHATO. Andar pelo mapa é um castigo, e não combina com algumas necessidades do Metroidvânia, por exemplo, ter que ir e voltar em um lugar várias vezes.

Os diálogos são chatinhos, não tem graça, são genéricos, e parece que todo personagem que você encontra pelo mapa te pede um favor.

Acho que a estrutura de missões e mapa aberto foram uma escolha péssima pro jogo. Mas ainda assim tem uma ideia boa aqui que vale a pena ser experimentada.