Yoku’s Island Express Review
I love Yoku’s Island Express! Here’s a short review for it…
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 game brimming with charm. I’m glad I crossed paths with this one and hope more people can do so as well.
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. Yoku’s Island Express is almost exclusively pinball. Despite my hang-ups on real machines, I managed to overcome them and love the time I spent in this game.
The pinball stages that are included here are great, best described as bite-sized and comprehensive. Every once in a while I’d feel a bit brain-dead, slamming the ball in the exact same spot 12 times in a row. But, as mentioned, that’s my problem! Eventually I’d stop being bone-headed or perhaps the game would give me a break, and I’d move on to the next set of stages.
There’s something really magical about the combination of “metroidvania” and “pinball” that works shocking well. Using fruit to unlock new areas, then having new areas unlock new abilities, as you follow objectives across a big open map, it’s fun and feels well-designed. Every little loop of gameplay is perfectly refined and harmonious with one another. Perhaps it’s a more casual of a take on either of the genres it’s made up of, but it’s made me curious to check out more “casual” metroidvania type games to see what else people have been cooking on this front.
Some players may look at how little it takes (by way of playtime) to reach its end credits, but I thought the run time was perfect. I estimate that I probably have another 3 hours on top of my existing 6 to get all the collectibles for the “true-ending”, but once I’m done with that, I’m considering starting a play through with the game’s included randomizer mode, which sounds like a total blast! I’m happy that there’s a lot of potential for replayability, and I’m certain most folks will be as well.
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. I recommend it!
Originally published 27 September 2023 at https://backloggd.com.