On the surface, Yaxi Taxi is a charming game that features a simple objective of going as far as you can and surviving while completing the tasks of returning the "Yaxis" to their homes. What I soon came to realize after playing this game is an enchantingly complex lore involving a mysterious pilot willing to do whatever it takes in order to survive, even though that future will never become a reality for him. To understand this, the first thing to consider are the titular Yaxis: alien creatures seemingly stranded in space far away from their home (dwarf planets amidst an asteroid belt). Yaxis seem to be helpless in the midst of space, relying on the spaceship to guide them back to safety, yet despite this, most Yaxis are left stranded due to two limitations: the maximum capacity and the natural path of the spaceship. These Yaxis will likely never see the light of day again and will be left in space for all of eternity. Additionally, the pilot of the spaceship seems to hold the Yaxis in low regard: although he has progressive tasks of dropping off Yaxis back home, he is able and more than willing to "kill" a Yaxi as a sacrifice rather than take damage to his own vessel. Is this a means to an end, as a necessary loss in order to rescue whoever he can, or is this all calculated in part of a great scheme? Does the pilot label his spaceship as a "Taxi" in order to prey on weak and helpless creatures? Such questions are left running through the players mind throughout the game. What's most haunting is the amount of empty planets left uninhabited by Yaxis, clearly way too inferior for the taxi driver to ever consider halting at. One thing to consider is that the natural assumption the player is guided towards is that these planets are where the Yaxis belong, as if they once lived there before and were forcibly taken away. How did this happen? Is there a sinister, dark force at work ripping Yaxis away from their homes? On the other hand, we don't know too much about the nature of Yaxis. What if these planets were already inhabited by native beings, and Yaxis are "colonizers" of sorts, aided by the taxi? In many science fiction novels and movies, aliens are portrayed as villainous creatures looking to claim planet Earth as theirs for the taking. Is this also the case for the myriad of planets we pass? The creator of this game has beautifully hidden a masterpiece of a story entirely within its gameplay, and I eagerly await Yaxi Taxi 2 to explore more of this intergalactic tale.
