Yoku’s Island Express

What is this? This feeling, it seems so familiar but almost forgotten.
Could it be... joy?

I'm mostly terrible at platformers (let alone metroidvanias), but make it into a pinball game and I have half a chance. Yoku's Island Express is cute, entertaining, charming and just generally utterly delightful. So creative and colourful, this is not the sort of thing I normally play but it has completely captured me.

Hello friends,
Welcome to my review of Yuku's Island Express. In this game, you play as a small dung beetle who takes over for a pterodactyl in delivering the mail for a island. The game itself is a mix between rpg elements and pinball mechanincs. The storyline is pretty straight and linear, but you can explore the island at your own leisure. You also get abilities or items that can help looking around the island. They can help you explore the island fully. Be aware that some collectibles in the game require a special trick that is not mentioned. This is the slug explosion trick. Basically, a explosion that propels your character over obsticles. Anyways, here is my PRO/CON list:
PROS:
- A fun game.
- Great artwork and a nice soundtrack. The artwork is similiar to raymon series.
- Lots of collectibles.
- Puzzles mixed with pinball action.
- Nice storyline.
CONS:
- Sometimes the pinball mechanics of the game are hard to use and hard to get used to.
- The fact that the "slug explosion" method is never mentioned in the game, so it is up to the player to discover how to use it. They should of at least explained a bit about it.
- I wish there was more of the game..it was fun. Maybe a sequel in the future?
I do recommend the game because it is quite fun. If you also like pinball games, this will also be fun for you. I think this game would be great for young children and hard core achievement hunters too. There are things in the game that both group of players will enjoy.

The love child of metroidvania and pinball games :D
really enjoyable, very colorful, nice characters, different side-quests and collectibles, not too difficult nor too long..
so, keep an eye on it and think about it, because it's worth
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Il frutto dell'amore tra i metroidvania e i flipper :D
davvero gradevole, molto colorato, personaggi simpatici, diverse side-quest e collezionabili, non troppo difficile né troppo lungo..
insomma, tenetelo d'occhio e fateci un pensierino, perché ne vale la pena

Most underrated game ever; I love this game so much.

Gameplay
This game features a mix of platforming and pinball. I knew this going into the game, but I was still amazed at just how well the game integrated the two and made it smooth. The focus is largely on the pinball mechanics and Yoku’s Island Express executes it extremely well. I’m not very adept at pinball, but I was able to pick it up rather easy. You are a happy little dung beetle with a… not really a dung ball but a round ball nevertheless, and you are the new postmaster. The whole postmaster thing is kinda on the back burner for most of the game but counts towards achievements and gives you upgrades. Yoku’s Island Express uses fruit as a currency to purchase items/upgrades/or other things to help you progress. The amount of fruit you are able to get is pretty substantial given most bumpers drop fruit when you hit them and they will reset after going to a different part of the map.
Controls
Yoku’s Island Express can be played with both keyboard and controller. The game will transition easy between the two. For the keyboard, it uses the arrow keys and the two shift keys (like pinball has done previously on the PC). For the Xbox controller, it uses the triggers and the left stick. I found that I preferred the controller. Each pinball…lever?.. has one of two colors, blue or yellow that are controlled by different keys or triggers. Some of the levers will have both colors meaning either can be used.
Visuals
As stated above, there are two colors blue and yellow. I did not see an option for colorblindness unfortunately, so bear that in mind. One thing I noticed that I was rather surprised by is that the resolution change in the menu is instant. I didn’t realize it at first as I was expecting a confirmation box or flicker of the screen. Nope. Instant. Done. That being said, I believe it defaulted to 1080p, and I run 1440p, so I had to switch to “Desktop” resolution. As for in game visuals. They are pretty good. The colors are great, the animations are fluid, and the environment looks amazing.
Audio
I really enjoy the background music. I felt it fit the locations extremely well. However, some places, especially the starting area, you can tell the music is looping and it can get a little old. Mostly in the starting area that because you are spending a fair amount of time there learning the ropes.
As for sounds, I thought they were responsive to the task being performed. Additionally, there are minor background noises that add to the feel of the game. Your little dung beetle also makes noises as he/she gets flung all around the map. The languages used for races are different and fit characters well in my opinion.
Miscellaneous
I found that the hardest bits were the non-storyline objectives. The difficulty for the storyline was challenging, yet forgiving. There were also quite a few funny moments for me as a result of my mistakes, usually involving me launching myself into the sky.
Summary
Yoku’s Island Express surprised me with how well it executed its mechanics. I found that I preferred to use the controller over the keyboard, which is great that it has the functionality. I rather enjoyed the world and was generally impressed by the game’s visuals and audio it presented in the game. Overall, I would definitely recommend this game

Yoku's Island Express is an absolute delight of a game. The visuals are bright and fun and the story is entertaining enough to keep the player engaged. Whoever came up with the idea of adding pinball mechanics into a metroidvania is quite possibly a genius.
The only criticism I would have of the game is the music. It has a real earworm quality to it, and you may find yourself humming the tune even when you're not playing it. I for one really enjoyed the music, but others might not appreciate the earworming that goes on!