Like Golf Story before it, Yoku’s Island Express is an intruiging mash-up of two genres: metroidvania and pinball!
The game takes place across a single large landscape with various themed areas ranging from underground to snowy mountain.
Yoku, the lovable dung-beetle you control, can move left and right, but he can’t jump. However, pinball flippers dotted around the world can propel Yoku various distances.
Some flippers are locked, making certain areas accessible only when a payment has been provided — the in-game currency is fruit.
Fruit can be collected from the ‘main world’, but also from various mini pinball tables dotted around.
The pinball tables are fairly simplistic, but many features from real pinball tables are present, as are one or two additions unique to this game.
You won’t die — Yoku is apparently immortal — and any ‘punishment’ for poor play is mild in the extreme.
The graphics are bright and colourful with lots of detail in NPC illustrations, adding to the accessible feel.
As with most metroidvania games, the main mission is just a part of everything you can accomplish — there’s a lot of ‘post-game’ content for completionists to feel satisfied.
But, the main story is on the short side: expect maybe around 5 hours of gameplay.
