Yoku’s Island Express Review | Ori and the Pinball Forest
I’ve made my love for pinball quite apparent on multiple episodes of The Gaming Outsider. It’s also no secret that I’m a huge fan of the Metroidvania genre, most recently with my review of A Robot Named FIGHT! With that said, I was a tad skeptical when I heard that a Swedish developer made a game that combined both genres into a single game. While Yoku’s Island Express doesn’t make sense on paper, Villa Gorilla cleverly made it work in utterly charming fashion. And it completely charmed the pants off of me.
You play as a tiny dung beetle by the name of Yoku. He can’t jump, but he rolls a pearl-colored sphere called a bauble. Yoku arrives on a beautiful island and earns a job as the island’s postmaster. The game plays like any other Metroidvania in that you work on a two-dimensional plane, gathering abilities that open more of the map as you progress. The key difference is that the map contains conveniently placed pinball flippers that launch your bauble into playing fields that resemble pinball tables. Yoku clings to the ball via a tether as you work your way to each area, unlocking secrets, and fighting bosses.
The brilliance of this title comes in its use of actual pinball mechanics. Each “table” contains flippers, orbit loops, bumpers, and lights, just like real (or video) pinball tables. But even newbies to pinball won’t be overwhelmed, as the difficulty is never unforgiving. The penalty for losing the ball down the drain is minor, so there’s barely any frustration for “missing”. Conversely, the reward for nailing a particular shot is incredibly satisfying. Watching Yoku flying through winding tunnels at high speed is reminiscent of Sonic Spinball on the Sega Genesis.
If the gameplay isn’t enough to draw you into Yoku’s Island Express, perhaps its pleasant tone will. The best word I’ve come up with to describe this game is “delightful”. From the lush color palette to the pleasant and upbeat soundtrack by composer Jesse Harlin, this is an absolutely joy to play. The entire package is a breath of fresh air to the gritty, dark games that are pretty much everywhere.
The only real complaint I have for this title is a minor one. On occasion, I struggled to find exactly where I needed to go next. Admittedly, this could have been a fault of my own ignorance, since I missed some pretty obvious bread crumb trails. Still, it was slightly frustrating during an otherwise straightforward experience with great pacing.
Do yourself a favor, and don’t miss Yoku’s Island Express. The only way I could see anyone not loving this game is if they have an intense hatred for either of these two genres. It put a smile on my face better than anything else I’ve played this year, and it deserves recognition.
This review is based off of an Xbox One copy purchase by The Gaming Outsider for coverage purposes.
Yoku's Island Express
$39.99
Pros
- Clever Combination of Two Gameplay Styles
- Bright/Colorful Visuals
- Delightful Soundtrack
Cons
- Slight Frustrations Getting from A to B
