Yoku's Island Express - PS4

Oh, the fate of the dung beetle! Forever facing the burden of pushing its poop around, always toiling, seldom resting. Wouldn't life be easier if it were helped along by... pinball features? It's an odd question that Villa Gorilla has set out to answer with Yoku's Island Express, but then conventional thinking only ever gets you conventional games, and this action platformer (with a twist of RPG) is surely not conventional. Essentially, it's a game for those who long for the parallel universe where Sonic Spinball spawned a thousand imitators.

You play as Yoku, a dung beetle looking forward to his quiet island life relieving the resident pterodactyl postmaster of his duties. It's not to be, however, as beneath the lush (beautifully hand-drawn) island there's something worryingly Lovecraftian afoot. An ancient island god is trapped in a restless sleep and the delightful islanders are plagued by quakes and storms brought about by its nightmares. If falls to Yoku to traverse the island using pinball mechanics to put the problem to rest in a mix of platforming, metroidvania-style open world exploration and RPG mechanics. Throw in a host of weird abilities to be gathered and you've got a colourful and thoroughly original game with tons to offer! more