Yoku’s Island Express is a really cute and novel idea - a pinball metroidvania - where you explore a big island trying to deliver letters and solve a mystery, sometimes by trudging along at a snail’s pace, but mainly by playing through small pinball sections where you bump your ball-like character with flippers, trying to hit switches, collect fruit, and move on to the next place. It’s a game with a lot of heart and charm, but it really wasn’t for me; I had too much difficulty with the pinball sections and didn’t find them that fun.
Starting the game, I was hit by how stylish and cute it was. There was a dreamlike quality to the visual style that reminded me of some older Rayman games, and the characters and environments had a pretty good design. After some small story beats, the basics of the plot are explained - you are the new postmaster on this island and you gotta deliver some letters - and you start pinballing around. Moving between pinball sections is quite slow and can be confusing, so the map is littered with bumpers that you simply activate with the left and right shift button depending on their colors.
You’ll bump around for nothing and everything, some small side areas with a few fruits (used to open new paths or purchase some upgrades) or other collectibles, but mostly you’re trying to get from A to B to C in order to progress the main quest or some side activity you’ve accepted. At some points you’ll get into more ‘separate’ levels where you have to pinball a bit more in order to progress. This can mean multiple screens back to back where you hit specific targets, collect gems or what not, and move on to the next challenge until you complete the setpiece.
Sadly for me, the pinballing itself was a frustrating affair, and as the core gameplay element, it meant I was just struggling with the game and had no fun at all. Hitting the same ball with the same bumper over and over again, not understanding exactly if I was trying to do the wrong thing or aiming at the wrong place or what not, falling through spikes (losing fruit) repeatedly, not figuring out at all how I was supposed to send my little guy (and if I even had to send him there) and I was just struggling.
At some point I decided that if getting around the island - although it was fun to explore and see the traversal options and all the neat pinball-related ideas on the periphery - was a pain and if the more gamey bits were also a pain, this probably wasn’t the game for me. Yoku’s Island Express is pretty unique, so it probably means it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. It certainly wasn’t mine, but you pinball heads out there might enjoy it.
