I never thought I would play a metroidvania pinball game—yet here I am. Yoku’s Island Express, from the now disbanded two-man team Villa Gorilla, is so much fun. The game is charming, boasting a gorgeous aesthetic similar to the Ori series, but with the vibes of Delfino Island.
You play as Yoku, a tiny dung beetle tethered to and constantly pushing around the eponymous ball in this pinball adventure. When you arrive on the island, the former postmaster corners and tasks you with delivering mail to the islands' quirky residents in his stead. You scurry off to do the lazy pterodactyl’s bidding, traversing a beautifully realized 2D world using the left and right triggers to activate pinball flippers and navigate between platforms. It’s a lot of fun to explore, discovering secret areas, picking up collectibles, opening treasure chests, and completing quests for the local denizens. There are also dedicated pinball playfields which must be completed to unlock new areas and occasionally boss monsters to defeat in order to progress the story.
That story is fairly light, the deity of the island has been injured and it's up to you to gather the local chieftains so they can perform a healing ritual. It's very low stakes, Yoku can't take damage and the only fail states in the game are losing a bit of collectable fruit (i.e., money) or sending you back to the plunger in typical pinball style. That said, I appreciated the chill atmosphere and gameplay; it would have been frustrating to constantly hit a "game over" screen thanks to my abysmal pinball skills.
In terms of critiques, I experienced some minor graphical issues and terrain clipping—at one point I got stuck in a wall, forcing me to reset to the last checkpoint. Also, the controls do not seem to take pressure sensitivity into account, so you cannot lightly tap Yoku's ball with a flipper, which is a bit disappointing. As a result, I ended up having to brute force some of the more challenging pinball segments.
However, these minor issues did not detract from my overall enjoyment of Yoku’s Island Express. I've really come to appreciate small, but lovingly crafted games that can finished in a single weekend!
You play as Yoku, a tiny dung beetle tethered to and constantly pushing around the eponymous ball in this pinball adventure. When you arrive on the island, the former postmaster corners and tasks you with delivering mail to the islands' quirky residents in his stead. You scurry off to do the lazy pterodactyl’s bidding, traversing a beautifully realized 2D world using the left and right triggers to activate pinball flippers and navigate between platforms. It’s a lot of fun to explore, discovering secret areas, picking up collectibles, opening treasure chests, and completing quests for the local denizens. There are also dedicated pinball playfields which must be completed to unlock new areas and occasionally boss monsters to defeat in order to progress the story.
That story is fairly light, the deity of the island has been injured and it's up to you to gather the local chieftains so they can perform a healing ritual. It's very low stakes, Yoku can't take damage and the only fail states in the game are losing a bit of collectable fruit (i.e., money) or sending you back to the plunger in typical pinball style. That said, I appreciated the chill atmosphere and gameplay; it would have been frustrating to constantly hit a "game over" screen thanks to my abysmal pinball skills.
In terms of critiques, I experienced some minor graphical issues and terrain clipping—at one point I got stuck in a wall, forcing me to reset to the last checkpoint. Also, the controls do not seem to take pressure sensitivity into account, so you cannot lightly tap Yoku's ball with a flipper, which is a bit disappointing. As a result, I ended up having to brute force some of the more challenging pinball segments.
However, these minor issues did not detract from my overall enjoyment of Yoku’s Island Express. I've really come to appreciate small, but lovingly crafted games that can finished in a single weekend!