Villa Gorilla bringing Yoku’s Island Express (open world pinball adventure) to the Nintendo Switch
In the past decade, we’ve seen many genres get the open-word treatment, including some that didn’t really need it and/or where it probably was the worst idea ever. Pinball and open-world seem like the weirdest of mixes, and yet, that’s exactly what Villa Gorilla is working on with Yoku’s Island Express.
Described as an “open world/metroidvania-style pinball adventure”, it blends platforming action with pinball mechanics, and takes place in a large open world. You get to play as Yoku the dung beetle, the new postman of Mokumana Island. But that island isn’t the paradise it expected: quakes and storms plague the place, because of the nightmares of the island God.
The developers promise a “unique and quirky adventure with handcrafted visuals”, where you will “soar through the air, vacuum explosive snails, fight a Screetch, feed starving lemurs, discover the mystery of the Fruit Altar, and wake an old god”. Your ultimate goal: rebuild the island’s post office!
According to the developers, Yoku’s Island Express is inspired by “the joy of exploration of a young child, having just found the entrance to a secret garden, or unlocked the door to an attic full of wonderful and interesting things to discover”. The art direction is inspired by Studio Ghibli films, and features “painterly”, hand-made visuals.
Here’s they key features of Yoku’s Island Express:
- Genre combining open world pinballing
- Unique beautifully handpainted artwork
- An island filled with unique creatures, both big and small
- Action-packed nonlinear gameplay that awards exploration
And here’s the trailer and some screenshots for Yoku’s Island Express:
Villa Gorilla was founded by AAA-industry veterans Jens Andersson and Mattias snygg, working in their own proprietary engine with the goal of exploring game ideas that would never get made in big-studio environments. Working in a small 4-man group with fast iteration times, the team has struck out fresh to do something that feels personal and unique.
Yoku’s Island Express (Switch – eShop) will be released this Winter. The list of confirmed games for the Nintendo Switch and the Upcoming Releases page have been updated!
Source: official website
