Yoku's Island Express

Yoku's Island Express is the perfect combination of pinball mechanics meets metroidvania, and is not only my favorite indie game so far this year, but my favorite pinball game of all time.

Yoku’s Island Express is an achievement in itself, effortlessly mashing up two polar-opposite genres that ultimately goes hand in glove to wonderful effect. This excellent foundation is upheld by its endearing, well developed and interwoven locations, bolstered further by a cast of lovable characters and a warming story. Minor frustrations regarding traversal to the side, this is a perfect example of meaningful innovation.

With the theme music still kicking around in my head now, the world of Mokumana having surprised with multiple twists and turns, and the puzzling pinball moments standing proudly alongside the many platforming opportunities, this is one game that is going to appeal to a huge range of player.

Yoku's Island Express is a small, highly creative, indie gem. You'll be delighted by its great art and fresh, innovative and compelling gameplay supported by an excellent open world, metroidvania-ish level design. A must have for lovers of good games and 2D platform adventures.

Endlessly joyous.

Yoku's Island Express is the best indie game that I've played this year so far. Who would've guessed that Metroidvania pinball would be such an addictive and enjoyable formula? Factor in the delightful visuals and sound and you're left with a must-have adventure.

So this is what happens when you mix pinball mechanics with an open 2D-platformer... This is my personal arcade highlight so far this year.

With only a few small niggles to complain about, Yoku’s Island Express successfully merges pinball and platforming without ever making the former feel like a gimmick. Its beautiful presentation and fun, engaging exploration blend together to create a truly unique experience.

Yoku's Island Express is a game that you'll encourage others to check out the minute you start playing. Aside from the gorgeous aesthetics, the use of pinball mechanics is inspired, and the execution of the mechanics is done well. It's a relatively short experience, but it feels packed with tons of side-quests if you can deal with the backtracking seeming to go on a little longer than usual due to the pinball mechanics. Overall, Yoku's Island Express is a brilliant game that adventure fans need.

Yoku’s Island Express is a cheery, bright, frictionless experience that adds much-needed twists to an established formula and despite my hesitance for pinball, it sold me on a kind of gameplay that I never knew I wanted.

Overall, there’s not a lot to dislike about Yoku’s Island Express. It’s deep, it’s fun, and while the main character may not be memorable as a Rayman or a Mario, the gameplay is so well-planned that you aren’t in need of a strong lead character to make it all work. Villa Gorilla did one helluva job with this release and it’s a game that shouldn’t be overlooked.

Yoku’s Island Express critical path can be completed quickly, and there could definitely be more meat on that bone, but it’s a journey I urge every pinball and Metroidvania fanatic to play. Villa Gorilla doesn’t just introduce a new concept to gaming – it has full ownership of it, and shows us just how fun it can be.

Yoku's Island Express proves that platforms, and even metroidvanias, can find new ways adding unusual elements to the gameplay with strange and unique mix of characteristics. In this case, the strange blend of platform, adventure and flipper results in an amazing design.

Quotation forthcoming.

A beautiful, summery game with furiously fun puzzles that adults and kids will love. [July 2018, p.88]

Yoku’s Island Express is a highly compelling mix of genres. Its pinball is fantastic, and its world is full of fun things to do. Through brilliant game design, this odd combo is merged into an inseparable, cohesive whole. The blend is not perfect, off-balanced in a way that will likely appeal more to pinball aficionados than fans of more classic Metroidvania fare, but still does justice to both genres. For the first shot at this unique idea, it definitely hits the mark; Yoku’s Island Express is so fun and charming it’s impossible not to have a blast.

Who said Metroidvania and pinball can’t exist in the same game? Yoku’s Island Express shows the opposite by being a great game, thanks to very uncommon and never frustrating gameplay.

A really enjoyable platform / exploration 2D adventure with a twist: the implementation of pinball sections.

Villa Gorilla mixes genres and manages to deliver a great game that brings huge doses of fun and entertainment. Yoku’s Island Express is a true experience that should be played.

Yoku's Island Express has been a fantastic surprise. This original mix of platforms, exploration, RPG and the gameplay of a pinball works and is very entertaining. The design of levels is careful to detail and the game is full of surprises, hidden phases, interesting characters and a story that you want to complete.

A cool hybrid of platforming, puzzling and pinball, Yoku's Island Express is a bit of a one-off, and therefore well worth seeking out.

For everyone out there who has been beaten down by the relentless pursuit of thrills and high scores, Yoku's Island Express is going to feel very refreshing. It's a charming vacation filled with beautiful locales. Taking the time to explore everything is highly recommended. The emphasis on pinball lends the game a superbly-realised identity. Utilising an array of bumpers and flippers to get around is somehow more fulfilling than tapping a jump button repeatedly.

Yoku’s Island Express is whimsical, charming and a joy to play. It’s developed by people who have an obvious love and deep knowledge for both pinball and Metroidvania games, and frequently delights and surprises by taking established genre conventions and quite literally flipping them about.

One part Metroidvania, one part pinball game, Yoku’s Island Express is a beautiful mashup that just shouldn’t work. But it does, and as a result, it’s just wonderful.

Retreading completed areas while hunting for secrets can occasionally get stale, but Yoku’s Island Express has a refreshingly positive attitude that kept me smiling the whole way through.

A clever, but not seamless, mix of genres. [Issue#201, p.90]

The beautifully drawn and wonderfully composed Yoku's Island Express is another nice addition to the Xbox One's library of platformers. There is a ton to unlock and collect on the island's large map, which is rewarding and fun to explore, although the size of the world can sometimes lead to problems. But while the mashup of pinball and platforming is enjoyable to play, players aren't going to see anything in Yoku's they haven't already seen from either genre.

Beautiful to look and gentle at first, but some sections can ramp up the frustration to breaking point.