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REVIEW: YOKU'S ISLAND EXPRESS (Switch, ps4, xbox one, pc - switch version tested)

26/6/2018

18 Comments

 
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Many, many, many years ago... I got myself into a right lather of anticipation for Sonic Spinball.

Remember dat? It was a - ha ha ha... ha ha ha - "spin-off" of the Sonic The Hedgehog franchise, which took that series' Casino Night Zone pinball-y bits, and built a whole game around them. At least, that's what it did in theory.

As ideas go; that's brilliant. A platformer that's also a pinball game. Except, Sonic Spinball wasn't terribly good. It was achingly mediocre, more pinball than platformer, and failed to live up to the expectations I'd built for it in my guilelessly optimistic mind.

23 years later... the game that I'd wanted Sonic Spinball to be has finally arrived, in the form of Yoku's Island Express. By way of a commentary on Sega's historic mismanagement of an open goal, it stars - rather appropriately - a dung beetle.

You know: a disgusting little creature that pushes poo around, and doesn't seemingly understand why nobody wants to eat it.
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DUNG ROAMIN' 
So, Yoku the dung beetle has arrived on an island for his first day as the new post master.

​He must travel around the maze-like island delivering letters and packages, rolling his massive ball of turds in front of him - just like a real postal worker! 

It's one huge, seamless environment, with a Metroid-like structure. In short; previously inaccessible areas become open to you as you acquire new abilities and solve puzzles.

Yoku's unique form of travel around this world is through the use of pinball flippers. It's a world full of chutes, and rails, and things you rebound off. Hitting bumpers will disgorge fruit or other items which Yoku finds useful. As he progresses, he gets access to a grappling hook, and can use a limited fast-travel network. Other areas are locked away until you complete a pinball-based puzzle.

While that would've been enough to sell me on the concept, the cherry on the tart was its sense of the island being a real place - albeit in a very video-game-y way.

​It reminded me of the Dizzy series and Jet Set Willy - a place full of secrets, and named locations, and quirky characters. Coupled to the gorgeous, painted graphics, it's somewhere that I wanted to spend time, and it was that which kept me playing. 
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TEDIOUS
There are a few frustrations here; travelling back and forth around the island can verge on the time-consuming and tedious, especially as you're relying on your pinballing skills to get you where you want to go. It's also somewhat labyrinthine, and while you can see where you need to be on the map, getting there is another matter. 

Overall though, all the elements of this genre mash-up work both in their own right, and - thanks to the quality of the presentation, the disarmingly charming storytelling and world, and the thoughtful design - as a whole. I wanted to explore the world, and discover its locations, in spite of any frustrations I might've had with the structure. It was always nice to play.

Yoku's Island is a rare game. It feels both ancient and new at the same time. It makes good on an idea that's almost a quarter of a century old, while demonstrating how games can - and should - be a sum of their parts... even if those parts don't feel like they should fit together. 

In fact, here's how much I liked it; I was given a free review copy for the PS4, but elected to spend actual money of my own to play it on the Switch.

SCORE: 65p for a 1st Class Stamp out of 70p for a 1st Class Stamp!?!?
COME ALONG NOW... SEND AN EMAIL TO THE DIGITISER FRIDAY LETTERS PAGE!
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18 Comments
Dan Whitehead
26/6/2018 08:28:32 am

Tell me sir, have you seen a game called I Am Level for mobile? That's also a pinball-esque platformer, but done in a Manic Miner ZX Spectrum stylee. I found it quite charming and very true to the best qualities of olden days gaming, with none of the shitty bits.

http://www.smilingbag.co.uk/app/i-am-level/

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Wormy-Klaus
26/6/2018 10:47:05 am

I second this recommendation. It was exactly what I was thinking of whilst reading this review, although I never knew how widely-known-about it was. It was made by a friend of mine who is sadly no longer with us, but I break it out for a replay from time to time because it's just brilliant.

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RichardM
26/6/2018 05:00:57 pm

Ah! I was going to try, but it doesn’t work with iOS 11. What a shame!

Robobob
26/6/2018 09:08:57 am

Funny how you mention Sonic Spinball, as I was just playing it and Sonic 2 the other day and wondering how they managed to make Spinball worse than the Casino Nights pinball bits.

Part of the problem is that Sonic just doesn't move the same way as in Sonic 2 - he gained a certain sluggishness, like a supersonic hedgehog moving through treacle, which means controlling him is rather yawnsome. It was also an absolute pain in the ass to make any progress in the game (probably I was just rubbish at it).

It wasn't quite the same concept but I remember around the same time Psycho Pinball on the Mega Drive being much more playable and importantly, FUN.

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Spiney O’Sullivan
26/6/2018 01:41:42 pm

Say what you like about Sonic Spinball, it provided an important lesson in handling crushing disappointment that would prove essential to anyone who planned to keep on playing Sonic games in the future.

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Meatballs-me-branch-me-do
27/6/2018 06:04:33 pm

Psycho Pinball seemed to be very good (especially compared to some of 21st Century’s titles) but the demo was extremely miserly: you only got about two minutes of play. Stuff that and Codebastards in general.

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DEAN
26/6/2018 09:09:26 am

Because of your words I have now purchased this game and that makes you an 'Influenza'.

I'm not sure if this is right or not but I believe that dung beetle dames go for the dung beetle dudes with the most amount of shit. I don't think this works for us and I reckon if I turned up to 'the dance' with a skip load of stinky Petes then all the ladies would be sick or something.

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Nick
26/6/2018 09:20:47 am

That sounds smashing. A combination of some of my favourite things: Pinball, watercolourey graphics and poo. I guess you can lick the Switch card first for a more immersive experience.

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Voodoo76
26/6/2018 10:51:17 am

You can use a 1st class stamp to post me your PS4 copy... Its a WIN WIN for both of us!!

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Trevor Cod
26/6/2018 12:29:36 pm

I'm sold on this game already from reading other reviews and this one is the 'clincher'.
But... I too would rather play it on the switch than the PS4 but the price difference is just silly, like nearly ten quid.
First world problem I know but it rankles me slightly.

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Nick
26/6/2018 01:04:00 pm

First world semi-solution:
Only £3.99 difference through Amazon at the mo.

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Trevor Cod
26/6/2018 03:01:07 pm

Yeah but you can get the PS4 version for 16 quids at Argos but the switch one is still 24 quids.
So I'm still rankled.

Penile Gout
26/6/2018 01:05:41 pm

That's not a first world problem, just an understandably annoying and seemingly unjust occurrence .

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Chris
26/6/2018 01:41:53 pm

Oh Nintendo, why do you hate us so?

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AcidBeard
26/6/2018 02:14:11 pm

Will have to pick this up although I doubt it will dislodge Kirby Pinball as the greatest pinball game ever.

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Biscuits
26/6/2018 03:02:55 pm

Real talk: I like Sonic Spinball. It's a clear labour of love and passion project

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Bleh
26/6/2018 03:11:58 pm

That art style...it looks like Peggle

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James Walker link
26/6/2018 11:45:31 pm

Crue Ball!!!!!111!!!!?!

That came out in the early 90s when Nirvana came out and made all them bands look like gay pirates!

Reply



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