Yoku's Island Express Review

Delivering the mail has never been such a rolling good time.

"The wise man makes an island of himself that no flood can overwhelm." -Gautama Buddha

“To write is human, to receive a letter: Divine!” -Susan Lendroth

“I'm not a ball in a pinball machine. I know what I want.” -Emile Hirsch

There has always been something liberating about the thought of picking up, leaving your current state of being behind and starting over in an unfamiliar place. In Bringing your old thought patterns and customs to introduce into a world of new experiences and personalities. The results are often transformational, influencing and altering your new environment as it in turn changes you as well. This is the type of exchange that has gone on for thousands of years at both a micro and a macro level, impacting the food we eat, the art we create, and the music we produce.

With games we have seen entire genres created through this synthesis of ideas and concepts. When tight arcade action migrated over to consoles, suddenly there was no requirement to pop quarters and stand in front of a cabinet, and so allowances could be made for larger and more expansive environments. The Metroidvania was born, producing classics such as Super Metroid and Castlevania: SOTN that inspired future games in-turn.

Yoku’s Island Express is one of those games. Pairing the large-scale world building and traversal of a Metroidvania with the tactile action of a Pinball machine, Villa Gorilla have taken us on an adventure that somehow manages to feel both engaging and lighthearted. It combines the challenge of pinball with the joy of discovery, and is a wonderful reminder that despite being in a era of 70 dollar games and multi million dollar budgets, sometimes all you need is to get away from all that and experience something fresh.

Late Deliveries

I’d be lying if I said I had a lengthy Pinball background. The first Pinball game I can distinctively remember would probably be Space Cadet on my family’s Windows 95 PC(BTW, the music still slaps) or Sonic Spinball on the SEGA Genesis. I also have vague memories of Devil’s and Alien Crush, but these far far less concrete. Exploring the intricacies of the board’s secrets and the and fast-paced action are were fun, but I would hardly call myself a Pinball aficionado.

My ties to the Metroidvania are a bit less tenuous. I never owned Metroid as a child, and my only memories of Metroid are playing Super Metroid at my friend Jeremy’s home when his mother babysat. I loved it, but never owned it. I remember renting Mega Turrican from Family Video and loving it as well, but again we never owned it, either. And as for Castlevania: Symphony of the Night? I never even played it until late into the Xbox 360 and PS3 Era of gaming.

I say this to setup the fact that I have no nostalgia for either of the genres that encompass Yoku’s makeup. Having developed a love for Pinball, and remedied this deficiency in my gameplay history by playing a LOT of Super Metroid and Castlevania SOTN in my adult years (Love them both), I had no clue what awaited me when I walked into Gamestop and picked up the box for Yoku’s Island Express. It was $19.99 new. There was no way the game was NOT going to go home with me.

That night I packed my bags for an Island getaway…

Smiling Islands

Yoku’s Island Express puts you on the raft of a dung beetle who is taking over the post office for the island of Mokumana Island (Not to be confused with the real Hawaiian Island of the same name). He arrives to find the denizens in disarray as the deity of the island has suffered an attack by a mysterious evil force, and as the new postmaster it falls on you to deliver a missive to the chiefs of the island’s tribes in order to bring them together to fix this crisis. While this remains you overarching goal, you will also deliver mail along your route and assist the residents in other ways.

Given that your excuse to tour the island is perfectly tied to Yoku’s job, the story doesn’t evolve much from the initial goal. And while it concludes in a satisfying way, the real meat of things is in learning about of the island’s history, lore, and tribal cultures. It’s a credit to the game that none of this feels forced and instead becomes a natural byproduct of becoming a better postmaster. You will meet slug farmers, starseekers, guardians of ancient relics, and more, and all of them have a place in the Island’s circle of life that add flavor to a beautiful world.

The places you will go on Mokumana Island run the gamut of environments, from sandy beaches and hot springs to lush jungles and snowy mountaintops. The location is even home to a series of caverns that may hold a secret or two. The pinball is also expertly weaved inside these locales and feel like a natural part of the world. Whether you are climbing a mountain or navigating tight crevasses, the constant change in locales means things will never fall into routine.

Hakuna Matata

It all ties together wonderfully. You’ll use your ball to roll, bounce, and ping you way across a wide variety of pinball “tables”. As this is a Metroidvania your moves will gradually expand as your adventure rolls on, further opening up the world for you to explore. From a vacuum that enables you to store explosive slugs for breaking through barricades to a leash that enables you to swing over gaps, it all synergizes perfectly with the pinball adventure. Even backtracking, a common bane of these sorts of games is handled wonderfully as you gain access to stops on a pinball railroad of sorts that can send you all the way across the map in a heartbeat once completely unlocked.

Ordinarily I would struggle to complete a game consisting of Pinball boards, but it’s a credit to Yoku’s that I didn’t feel any frustration during my playtime, in no small part due to how easygoing the game treats failure. Throughout the island you will collect fruit for delivering mail, exploring the shot routes on the pinball areas, and completing sidequests. Should your ball go down the hole, the only penalty you can be expected to incur is to lose some of that collected fruit before being given another opportunity to try again. Even the handful of bosses are fun obstacles to navigate, and while many bundles of fruit were lost on my trek, I never got anywhere close to losing all my fruit.

This fruit can be also used to unlock alternative routes and pinball boards, or make a current table easier by giving additional bumper or levers. These not only give you options around potentially difficult boards, but also give another way to open previously inaccessible areas, leading to more fruit and side quest opportunities. Once you arrive at the island’s hub town you will get to interact with a variety of interesting characters full of tasks for their new postmaster. Sidequests range from delivering special long overdue packages to fetching a toolbox to fix something. They even have a place for you to paint your ball with a variety of colors, some even allowing access to hidden areas. There is always something to do in the pursuit of exploration.

Sights and Sounds

Aesthetics are vital to any good pinball table, and Yoku’s Island Express is a feast for the eyes. Vibrant colors are the order of the day, with a graphical style that is full of personality. Bumpers and Levers are clearly indicated and color coded so you know which button will activate which lever. The blacks are impressively deep in cavern and ocean environments. The various denizens also are crafted based on animals, and have their own unique flair that is instantly recognizable.

We are also given a soundtrack that acts as a perfect partner to the visuals, matching it’s mood and ambiance perfectly. Some of my favorite songs are include the LoFi island chill of Gorilla Woods and the upbeat banger Beeline theme. It just adds the right touch of whimsy to an experience already loaded with it. Citizens of the Island chatter and chirp in a manner reminiscent to Animal Crossing Games, and is just as endearing. Other Sound effects are used to excellent effect, from the Party Favor used to prod the environment to the various collision sounds as you ping you way through your adventure.

In discussing the performance of the game on Switch, I was not able to notice any major problems in framerate, controls, or bugs that negatively impacted my enjoyment of what is being offered. It was polished, intuitive, and fun throughout. The menus and save features are also easy to navigate, and progress is tracked. User interface is clean and I never struggled with it. Not much else to say on this front.

Sure Plays a Mean Pinball

Reflecting on my time with Yoku’s Island Express brings me back full circle regarding breaking routine and trying new things. In the end I have to say my life was enhanced from playing Yoku’s Island Express. It is real upper in the best possible way, and I can honestly say that I will be more aware of good pinball games in the future because of it. And while taking a chance on a 20 dollar game at Gamestop is nowhere near the same level of risk as hopping a plane to a distant island on a whim or changing a career, Anytime you can leap out of your comfort zone for so little a price, do yourself a favor and take it. You will be different once the experience is complete.

The current going rate for a new copy of Yoku’s Island Express is sadly about double what I paid. On Amazon it is going for 89 dollars, and on Ebay the cheapest I can find it is for around 38 Dollars. This is one you may want to get while you still can. As sword spreads about the quality and feel-good nature of the game, it will only go up from here. As for me, we are all ultimately reflections of the art we consume, the books we read, and the stories we leave behind. At the end of all things, all we leave behind are these tales, and how we make others feel. This game made me feel good. And that is the highest praise I can give Villa Gorilla. Of all the games I have completed this year so far, it is by far my favorite.

-Mongunzoo