SuperkenGaming 8

Yoku’s Island Express

A Metroidpinballvania

Yoku’s Island express is a 7 hour long Metroidvania game where you play as a postmaster beetle Yoku’s Island Express

A Metroidpinballvania

Yoku’s Island express is a 7 hour long Metroidvania game where you play as a postmaster beetle named yoku you’re here to deliver some mail, but this sets you on a quest of gathering the three chiefs of the island to perform a ritual to save makuma, the life blood of this island…

and in Metroid vania fashion this means going as far as you can on this one giant connected map completing quests to get new items to reach new areas rinse and repeat until credits role…

this isn’t an ordinary metroidvania game though,,

The entire map is one giant pinball machine..

you have full control of yokuyoure rolling along this ball, but often you’ll find yourself in a mini pinball area where you lose full control and are just focused on the flippers.. hitting targets, collecting fruit so you can unlock other targets and fast travel bee line posts.. even working towards larger fruit carrying capacity

for probably the first half of the game, the fruit feels worth collecting and looking out for..

it feels scarce despite seemingly being all over the place due to how pricey unlocking bumpers and new items is..

this encourages exploration, and youll soon find collectables insinuating there are a few secrets to uncover on this island, adding more intrigue….

Everything about this game is so charming and well designed..

As a metroidvania, I naturally felt overwhelmed at times…

this game is very unlinear, you have a map you can keep referring to to the area you need to get to.. but until you’ve explored an area its clouded.. so finding the route to get there is completely up to you..

youll constantly run into for the time being dead ends as you might not yet have the ability to get past a certain point..

though if you stop and talk to the characters of this world, the game does a great job of giving you hints on where to go to next, or which area to investigate a little..

As a giant pinball game, traversing upwards can feel a bit frustrating at times… as you are relying on timing od the ball and the triggers and you can feel a little out of control, but yokus island express is also super forgiving..

you cant really die in this game.. you can only lose fruit and traversal progress…

but none of it is ever too painful..

Its just enough to keep you engaged and putting in a decent amount of effort…

there are also side quests here on top of the collectables..

tons to do to keep you exploring and hooked in this polished pinball world..

This is a really unique experience worth checking out..

theres nothing out there like it.

I give Yokus Island Express

a 7.5/10 … Expand