Update: This demo was actually released on PC in early July, but only came to my attention when publishers Team17 made an announcement around the demo’s launch on more consoles today. Shame on me. Still! If I missed it back then, maybe you did too?
Apparently done with our Graham’s long-running promise to review Yoku’s Island Express, developers Villa Gorilla today released a free demo for their, ahem, “open-world metroidvania pinball platform adventure game” so we can all try it for ourselves. That official description may be odd but it’s not inaccurate. Yoku’s Island Express is a platformer where we play an insect postman tethered to a giant ball, moving across the open world and completing quests mostly by boinging around little interconnected pinball puzzles. It’s a real cutie too, with a nice look and laid-back vibe. As you can now try for yourself.