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Yoku's Island Express Review


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484623035_YokusIslandExpresslogo.thumb.png.befa311b7b66d4fc57e50a0a6a57a554.pngWho would've thought that you could take pinball, a game format that far predates video games, and make it feel completely fresh and unique in 2018? Developer Villa Gorilla does just that with the beautifully stylish Yoku's Island Express, which stars a dung beetle on his first day on the job as a postman. The best part is that this isn't just an inventive take on pinball mechanics, it's a fantastically crafted Metroidvania adventure game with all of the exploration one expects from the genre, in a charming pinball format. Once you're pulled into exploring the hills and caverns of Yoku's Island Express, with all of its flippers and bumpers, it's hard to put down.
 
Our dung beetle protagonist arrives on Mokumana Island ready to start delivering letters and packages. His inaugural day as postman is quickly turned upside down when he learns someone has attacked the island's protector god, and now Yoku needs to assemble the three chiefs to help put things right. And if you can't count on the postman to help save an island, who can you trust? There isn't an abundance of writing in Yoku's Island Express but it has just enough to establish the charming island setting full of adorable creatures. And even if the game doesn't indulge in long cutscenes or exposition you still get the sense that there's a rich history to the island and the game's world in general—certainly enough to build a sequel or two off of.
 
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So what does a pinball Metroidvania even entail? Well, Yoku can move left and right and interact with certain objects or talk to the island's inhabitants, but the crux of the game is based on using flippers to launch Yoku through tunnels or high into the air. There are sequences that are set up like a classic pinball game: left and right flippers, bumpers, spinners—even a pit to fall into if your timing is poor. Most people are familiar with pinball, which helps make Yoku's Island Express easily accessible for any player, and getting the ball to spin through various tunnels and bumpers is always satisfying. Of course, it can sometimes be tricky to get the ball exactly where you want it to go in pinball, and in this game you often need to aim for a specific passageway or tunnel in order to collect a key item or otherwise progress, so sometimes the game feels a little difficult to manage. However, there are no significant penalties for messing up. There's no timer over your head and you can't die, so even if you do find yourself a little frustrated you'll never lose anything in the game.
 
It helps that Yoku's Island Express gives you plenty of small goals and side quests to interact with, so you're always engaged and eager to complete the next mission. Everywhere on the island you'll find fruit in bubbles. The fruit acts as a sort of currency; spend them to unlock flippers/launchers that can take you to new parts of the island, or purchase items from a handful of characters. Collecting fruit to unlock new areas to collect more fruit to unlock new areas—it's a perfect little exploration gameplay feedback loop, one that compels you to keep playing, keep exploring, because there's always something new to uncover. You'll also discover items and abilities that allow you to reach new areas, encouraging you to backtrack and discover everything the island has to offer. It's Metroidvania gameplay philosophy at its finest.
 
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Even though the island isn't really that large there's so much to uncover that Yoku's Island Express is still a good nine or ten hours long. Like other Metroidvania games you could probably speed through it in a fraction of the time but that'd be depriving yourself of all of the unique side quests, like helping a giant mushroom find new soil to spread its spores. And of course there's plenty of stuff to collect, so completionists will enjoy finding every secret that Mokumana has to offer.
 
However, there are a couple of areas where Yoku's Island Express could be a little easier to explore and backtrack. Repeating certain pinball sections can actually be rather confusing if you can't remember exactly which path or tunnel is meant to send you forward or backward. None of the pinball sequences are so long that this is a huge problem, but it still would have been a little more convenient to be able to quickly skip some areas. Also the game's map, while beautifully drawn, is pretty difficult to read, especially if you're trying to find collectibles that you've missed. You almost have to be playing in handheld mode, with the screen close to your face, to be able to clearly find what paths you need to take. These aspects don't make the game any less fun, but they do make it a bit inconvenient at times.
 
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Right from the start Yoku's Island Express is just an absolutely charming game. The character designs are adorable but more importantly there's something incredibly tranquil about the game as a whole. Obviously this isn't a game based around intense combat or anything like that but still, the developers clearly built the visuals and music around a relaxed, enjoyable atmosphere—perfect for an island vacation kind of game. Aside from the ridiculously cute characters the environments have been beautifully hand-painted with plenty of rich colors, whether it's on the tropical beach, snowy mountain top, or even the dark caverns under the island. The music is just wonderful as well—I could listen to the main theme on a loop for hours—although if anything the soundtrack gets too muted and atmospheric at times. It generally suits the environments, like the aforementioned caves, but the first few tracks are so delightfully upbeat that I kind of wished they all could be like that.
 

Yoku's Island Express is guaranteed to charm you from the second you start playing. The entire atmosphere of the game is so delightfully vibrant and buoyant, from the colorful scenery and infectious music to the adorable island inhabitants. Then the gameplay pulls you in with the simplicity of familiar pinball mechanics crossed with Metroidvania exploration to create a wonderfully original experience. In many ways Yoku's Island Express exemplifies the best of indie gaming: talented developers working on original ideas to create a game truly unlike any other.

 
Rating: 9 out of 10 Pinballs
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Yeah, took a gamble on this cause it was out on my birthday and I wasn't sure if the hotel I was going to be in would have good internet(luckily it did) so I was able to play and was enjoying it on my birthday. Still at an early point in the game, the pinball mechanics are really fun.

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