PC Gamer

From the moment Yoku – a mail
delivery beetle – is sent flying up
from the jungle floor through a cover
of clouds, emerging against blue skies
and the title logo, you know you’re in
good hands. There’s a breezy
confidence to Villa
Gorilla’s debut that
demonstrates a belief in
its strange central idea.
Bound into a ball shape
via an unbreakable
cord, Yoku can travel
along flat surfaces or
gentle inclines, but
unlike most of his
platforming peers he can’t jump.
Instead, the flippers, launchers and
bumpers scattered across the world
are his main method of locomotion.
Progress is straightforward above
ground, but dive into a pipe or enter a
building and you’ll discover webs of
ramps and rails, alongside mini-tables
and others that form environmental
puzzles of sorts, spreading up, out

T

hink of pinball, and you think of flashing lights and clattering
noise. It’s a fast, precise, demanding form of play. You
certainly couldn’t call it sedate. And yet here’s a game that
makes it so. A self-styled ‘pinball adventure’,Yoku’s Island
Express carries itself with a carefree charm from the title
screen, to the credits and beyond, its cheerfully mellow vibe ensuring that
any moments of potential frustration just melt away.

and across the map. You’ll hit targets

to free creatures, scatter spores for

fungi and rescue tadpoles for a giant

turtle. There are higher-stakes quests,

but even the boss encounters aren’t

exactly high-pressure situations: let

the ball fall between

any pair of flippers and

the brambles below

merely scratch a hole

in your wallet, taking a

few pieces of fruit

(your all-purpose

currency) with them.

Nearby launchers let

you get back to the

action quickly, and within seconds

you’ll likely have picked up a

grapefruit or a bunch of bananas to

replace what little you lost.

EXPLORING OUTLANES

Meanwhile, its painterly world

indulges curiosity, taking you from

hot springs to frozen peaks, secret

bases to dripping caves – and not

always by design, since a mishit can

send you down a rail that winds and

twists away from your intended path.

There’s almost always a shortcut

back, or a reward awaiting you

wherever you end up. Steadily, Yoku

amasses a range of abilities to open

up all corners of the map. He’ll dive

to reach underwater temples, or roll

over self-destructing slugs that attach

themselves to the ball, blowing up

any obstructions they hit. Yet you’ll

rarely face obvious roadblocks: you

seem to get each new skill just as you

need it, and retracing your steps is

made easier by a fast-travel system.

Yoku’s Island Express has been

built with convenience in mind. And

if that means it’s a little too gentle for

some – or too slow for pinball

connoisseurs – it’s a trade-off Villa

Gorilla seems happy to accept. In its

unassuming way, this is a remarkable

achievement for a debut, combining

two of the oldest types of game into

something that feels daisy-fresh. Now

that’s worth making a noise about.

NEED TO KNOW

WHAT IS IT?

An oddly relaxing

pinball-themed

platform-adventure

EXPECT TO PAY

£16

DEVELOPER

Villa Gorilla

PUBLISHER

Team17

REVIEWED ON

Core i5-4440,

8GB RAM, GTX 645

MULTIPLAYER

None

LINK

http://www.team17.com/

games/yokus-island-

express

85

A blend of mismatched

genres that somehow

works incredibly well, this

is a beguiling game of

modest brilliance.

VERDICT

FLIPPING GREAT

Adventure and pinball combine in YOKU’S ISLAND EXPRESS. By Chris Schilling

Yo k u’ s Is la n d

Express has

been built with

convenience

in mind

This serpent wants a mushroom

before he’ll let you through.

Look through a telescope

and the action zooms out.

Certain rewards highlight any

collectables you’ve missed.