“Open-world pinball adventure.”
That’s an odd combination of words, no doubt, but when they actually form the basis for a game they end up being completely understandable.
Yoku’s Island Express, from Villa Gorilla Games, is side-scrolling platformer designed around pinball physics. Players take control of a little bug and his rolling ball, spinning through courses a la Sonic the Hedgehog and bouncing off of objects or through obstacles. It’s wrapped in a very painterly aesthetic, with everything created in hand-drawn visuals. It justifiably looks very pretty, as Jens Andersson, the game’s developer, was also the dev behind the enjoyable 3DS art program Colors! 3D.
Thanks to a touch of Metroid-vania, the game’s world will require exploration and puzzle-solving — it’s not just about going forward and racking up points. Yoku’s Island Express is drawing from a lot of other distinct genres and ideas, and amazingly they look like they’ll work together really well.
Salivate at the artful imagery, and dedicate some space to the novel concept when it launches for PS4, Xbox One, PC and Switch sometime this year (2017) or early next.
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