Yoku's Island Express (game) : A metroidvania pinball game?

Let me start out by saying that this is the most fun I've immediately had with a game right from the start of it since Rayman Legends. For the most part that level of fun continued all the way until the game was finished around 5 hours later (unfortunately the game is short.)

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I stumbled upon this game because I was searching for a new metroidvania style game and this was on some random person's list. I was thinking that there is no way that a pinball game could possibly include world exploration and elements of powering up but i'll be dammed, they pulled it off and it is wonderful.

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There are various pinball "tables" that exist inside of the environment throughout the rather large map but that isn't the entire game. As far as getting from place to place is concerned the beetle you control can walk from side to side but can not jump, therefore moving to higher areas must be accomplished via various "flippers" that are located just all over the place.

Certain new areas can't be accessed until you complete certain objectives inside of one of the individual pinball games and to be honest, none of them are very difficult and it is impossible to lose. You don't ever run out of lives (balls) and you can't die.

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The various tables are fun and varied and involve things like multi-ball as well. This title was particularly appealing to me because ever since Alien Crush, i have been searching for a pinball game to play largely to no avail.

The only negative I can really say about this game that is until you discover the "fast travel" aspect of the game, going to and from various portions of the map can actually be quite tedious and annoying. It's not that it is difficult or anything, and it really doesn't take that long, but since many of the quests you have to go on send you backtracking, it can be a bit like Mario needing to run backwards through all the levels on super marios bros to deliver a package and then have to run all the way back.

Thankfully this situation doesn't occur many times.

_{this trailer from the Game Trailers channel does a good job of showcasing the game}

Like you would expect in any metroidvania game, you receive certain powerups (there's only a couple of them) throughout the game that open up other areas on the map as well as other collectibles that I haven't even gotten close to acquiring all of.

I was able to defeat the main story in under 6 hours but I thoroughly enjoyed the entire game as it was cute, fun, and very well-conceived. I hope that this game kicks out a trend of pinball oriented adventure games because as strange as it sounds, this mix actually really works well.

While the game is short, it does have a lot of replay value due to the hidden secrets and collectibles, as well as a few of larger tables that are not readily available except as end-game content.

Due to a wonderful mix of being intuitive, fun, great soundtrack, and loads of replay value; Yoku's Island Express receives the highest rating in my personal stash.

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While the game is a bit overpriced at $20, the demo is free and it seems likely that this title would end up on a seasonal special sometime soon.