14 DAY TRIAL // 
You’d think that an egg that sprouts hands would find it really hard to use them, given that there’s nothing in his genes or environments suggesting how to move them or how to grab objects. But my sushi egg avatar is currently clinging to some glasses, watching them slowly break, and pondering the physics involved in making a big jump to get to some cupboard windows.
Sure, it has cracked under pressure quite a few times already. But he quickly understood how to climb up surfaces to make some progress and how dangerous it can be to stay in front of a squirting mustard container. The egg might be recently given consciousness but he also understands the dangers of knives and the crucial nature of executing a perfect swing while holding on with just one arm.
The egg might now know it but humans are to blame for the many dangers the world throws at it. After all, we put the fragile glasses in weird positions and we are the ones throwing darts at furniture. It is the destiny of the hand-equipped egg to find a way through them all and get to some sort of salvation, even if that takes hundreds and hundreds of cracking deaths.
YOLKED – The Egg Game is developed by HardBoiled Studios and published by Hitcents. I played using Steam on the PC. The game is available on the Nintendo Switch as well as on the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One. The title features physics-driven movement mechanics and is designed to take players on a difficult adventure.
It all starts with one egg that gets arms and decides to escape its cooked fate. It doesn’t have too much sense but it offers a good premise for a weird adventure that gradually offers more details about how this sentient egg came to be. Levels offer both fun references and intriguing environmental hints that a bigger mystery needs to be solved. But this is not a narrative-driven experience.
Instead, YOLKED is all about physics and gameplay. The game quickly explains that each egg hand can be controlled independently. Both are extra grabby, allowing players to stay glued to surfaces that are slippery in the real world. A quick boost makes climbing easy and it seems our egg protagonist only needs to avoid environmental hazards to make progress.
There are falling knives to duck, darts that a malevolent presence throws, and more traps to dodge. To stay ahead of the danger, the egg has to execute a range of daring maneuvers. And swinging quickly emerges as the most important of them. Get enough momentum going and you can traverse big distances quickly. Don’t settle for getting past just the nearest obstacle, think about a way of making it to a checkpoint or at least very close to it.
Just make sure that there’s a surface to grab onto at the end of the arc. Otherwise, you can witness the long fall and final splatter of the egg (or just push a button to reset to the nearest checkpoint). Then it’s time to re-assess and decide whether the problem lies with the execution or the plan itself. Trusting one’s instincts is better than overthinking.
The physics aren’t entirely realistic but they can be unforgiving. The good news is that failure will allow players to find new egg costumes and other unlockables. The bad news is that certain sequences can get frustrating, especially when the save point is just out of reach when death comes.
YOLKED is designed to test the player’s resolve. Good checkpoint placement means the frustration level mostly remains low. Unfortunately, the difficulty level cannot be changed during the campaign. Players who never mastered similar experiences should probably pick Easy initially and there are moments where I really wanted the option to skip a gameplay sequence.
The independent hand control concept is solidly executed. My brain isn’t always able to keep everything straight and I suspect many players will find it easy to drop a hold they should be maintaining or badly execute a swing.
But there are glorious moments when I entered a flow state, moving quickly and almost without planning ahead, dodging danger at the last second, and reaching the checkpoint just as my luck seemed to be running out. I managed to avoid incoming darts by staying in the air. I swung away even as glasses broke. These sequences deliver the dopamine boost that then makes it easy to deal with repeated failure.
Gamers who really want a challenge can enter Endless mode. Different environments are available, players start with more health, and players score points when they get to a checkpoint egg cup. The danger level is higher but that only serves as motivation to execute even more impressive moves.
YOLKED – The Egg Game might feature a ton of egg splattering but it features bright and fun visuals. There are constant indications of where players need to go and clearly marked save points. The levels offer a clear visual identity and are packed with a ton of puns and references that are a joy to discover. Even the egg costumes are interesting, despite their relative lack of detail. The sound department is on par with the rest, with some good ambient effects and a decent soundtrack that needs more variety to avoid getting replaced with cooking-focused podcasts.
The Good
- Physics-driven gameplay
- Swinging possibilities
- Good level design
The Bad
- Difficulty is fixed during the campaign
- Some frustrating sequences
- Limited narrative
Conclusion
Endless mode adds even more difficulty and is well-suited for competitive players. Experimentation is rewarded but the game could have used a few extra narrative beats. YOLKED is extra fun with an audience that’s ready to cheer on daring leaps and fast reflexes. But it can also be a relaxing way to end a gaming session when ingested in small doses.
A review key was provided by the publisher
