Review: YOLKED (early access)

Entertaining gameplay? Check. Funny concept and design? Check. Just the right amount of frustration to keep you going? Check. Egg-scellent puns? Check. YOLKED serves exactly what it announces: a few hours of silly entertainment with physics-based controls that upset you yet are oddly satisfying.

Ketchup and mustard: your sworn enemies

In YOLKED, you play as an egg with arms. Yes, you read correctly. You’re an egg that attempts to launch itself from structure to structure, using its hands as anchors, catapulting itself through levels. That sounds easy enough, right? That’s until you have ketchup bottles squirting ketchup on you, rolling pins squishing you, spatulas flying at you, and an array of familiar but suddenly very threatening items – you’re an egg after all, and you have a very fragile shell! What’s more, while you swing carefully from platform to platform, any corner or wall can signify death…

While this may seem already difficult as is, the real challenge is the controls. You may use keyboard and mouse or a controller. All you can move is your two arms, using them to hold onto structures and swinging yourself around. If you have played Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy, you’ll feel right at home, both in terms of controls and in terms of frustration – although YOLKED is nowhere as ruthless, because there are frequent checkpoints.

Sure to make you crack a smile

Whether you’re playing by yourself or with friends, this game is far from being pure frustration: you’ll definitely laugh a few times. From the terribly amazing (or amazingly terrible) egg puns, to the egg’s cute little “wheeeee” sounds, to the unsuspected items that are scattered across the levels, you’re assured to have a few laughs. There’s even a silly little storyline “hidden” in the background of levels that makes you feel like the hero of the eggs!

While the frustratingly fun physics-based mechanics are at the heart of the game and its reason for being, I truly appreciate YOLKED’s attention to details that satisfy the itch that explorers and completionists such as myself have. The game rewards venturing off the beaten path not only by offering multiple ways towards the next level, but also by hiding collectible costumes that you can wear (yes, your egg can wear costumes!) in some harder to reach places.

This game is an egg-sperience

YOLKED is the prime example of how creative indie companies can be. HardBoiled Studios (developers) and Hitcents (publishers) showcase brilliant thinking outside of the box. This fun little game will not change your life nor is it meant to compete with any other games, it is so quirky and abstract, in its own category. It effectively sucks you in, allows you to forget about your life and your problems for a bit, and delivers a few hours of fun, laughter, and escapism. You’ll time and again laugh at yourself for the things you accidentally make your egg do, and feel very proud for making it to the next level.

I played this game in early access and it took me three hours for two full playthroughs (I played once and just wanted more so I played again, just for fun!), which includes taking time to find and collect costumes. It is indeed very short in its current state – yet I can’t help but heartily recommend it. It’s just such a shot of endorphins! Pure, simple fun. Furthermore, the developers and publishers care very much about their game and its players, even coming on our stream when we played it and sending us a postcard at Qweerty Gamers. I have so much respect for their business practices and their artistry. I cannot wait to play the full version!