Yellow Trouble

About this game

Mysterious creatures that look like ducks have suddenly appeared on the island of Yellow Sands! Discovering their grandfather and all other adults missing, Mei and her younger brother ZK are about to experience a summer vacation like no other. Together with Fibo, their grandfather’s dog, they must repel the invaders by using special water guns and make their way across the island to find help.




Players can shoot freely in 8 directions. Holding down the shot button locks the direction while moving. The water gun shots lose damage over distance, though. So getting close to enemies does more damage.



Hitting enemies with water builds up the pulse bar. Enemies also drop energy orbs when destroyed. Collect them to fill the pulse bar faster and get one pulse stock for each full bar (up to three).


Tapping the pulse button releases a pulse wave that slows down enemy projectiles inside it. Enemies in the pulse wave take increased damage as well and most are bullet sealed when pulsed. There is a cooldown before the next pulse can be used. Each wave uses one pulse stock.


Holding down the pulse button charges a strong pulse shot instead. The pulse shot does more damage, can cancel enemy shots, and can destroy things the normal shots cannot. Each pulse shot also uses one pulse stock, but the cooldown is much faster than the pulse wave’s.


Choose from Mei, ZK, or Fibo, each with different shot types, speed, and pulse shots. Knowing how to utilize the various systems with each character is the key to victory!



There are 2 different game modes. Looking for a quick game to test your arcade shoot 'em up skills? Aim for a one credit clear and/or high score in 8 auto scrolling stages (+2 secret stages) that feature branching paths and endings. It also includes an Easy difficulty for those new to shoot ’em ups.

Scoring in Arcade mode is very simple. When the pulse stock reaches the maximum of three, scoring mode is activated and all orbs collected get converted to a score bonus instead of filling the pulse bar. Higher scores get more extends. Basically, score potential increases with less use of the pulse. Players have to find the right balance on this difficulty scale and adjust their strategy according to skill level.


In Quest, take your time to freely explore Yellow Sands Island in a run and gun with action RPG elements.


Characters can level up their different attributes by beating enemies or completing missions throughout the island. While progress can be saved in this mode, finding the best character build to beat Quest Mode in the fastest time possible is the real challenge!

Both modes support up to 3 players local co-op.

• 8-way shooting allows more freedom compared to traditional shoot ’em ups
  
• 3 selectable characters to choose from
  
• Local co-op up to 3 players
  
• 2 different game modes - Arcade (shoot ’em up) and Quest (run & gun action RPG) [The DEMO lets players try the first 2 areas]
  
• 8 Arcade Mode stages (2 more can be unlocked under special conditions)
  
• Character level up system in Quest Mode
  
• Multiple stage paths
  
• Multiple endings depending on performance and uncovered secrets
  
• Fully assignable controller and keyboard button controls

Check out the community hub news section to find out more details about the various aspects of the game.

Yellow Trouble is currently still in development. Some features and artwork may change in the final release.

Latest news

• Announcements·16 Aug 2026Official

  Quest Mode's Other End Game

  {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45335411/b6282d7211396a0d167a1e09b7b1085063e8816d.jpg The main challenge of Quest Mode is to beat it in the fastest time possible during the first run for the leaderboard timing. Grinding can make characters overpowered, but it obviously takes longer. However, there is also another end game in this mode and it is the final perk called Parallelism. This perk allows the overpowered Quest Mode character to be used in Arcade Mode and helps anyone who would like to tackle those harder badges! Of course, using custom characters in Arcade Mode disqualifies the score from the leaderboards. And for those who want to crank up the Arcade difficulty, nothing is stopping builds that are significantly underpowered. The perk can be activated as many times as there are fragments to spend, although, only one custom build can be registered for each of the three characters. A new build will replace the previous one. So go set up those custom characters and play Quest Mode more!
  Read full article on Community Announcements (DrearyWeary)

• Announcements·25 Jun 2026Official

  Summer Sale

  {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45335411/ec7f4fb82811c62c8b368517ce6d70170ebe3130.jpg The Steam Summer Sale is here. Now is the time to get this cute 'em up with arcade shoot 'em up and action RPG run 'n gun modes that is suitable even for beginners. You can get my other games in a bundle as well. https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/45275/The_DrearyWeary_Collection/
  Read full article on Community Announcements (DrearyWeary)

• Community & Events·8 Jun 2026Official

  Bullet Fest

  {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45335411/da2ad4853bed1bd3a17b44973acc521239533443.jpg Steam's Bullet Fest is here and Yellow Trouble is part of the sale! You can get my other games in a bundle as well. https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/45275/The_DrearyWeary_Collection/
  Read full article on Community Announcements (DrearyWeary)

• Announcements·27 May 2026Official

  Charge Up and Use the Pulse Shot!

  {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45335411/3dbf364c8032c2273f4f7b82fb2c3efcd3c16b4d.jpg The charged pulse shot is not the same as a screen clearing bomb in other shoot 'em ups. This is more like a grenade in a run and gun, except this can be replenished easily by building the pulse meter. It is more powerful than the normal shot, can cancel all enemy projectiles, and can damage enemies that the normal shot cannot. When used with a pulse wave active, it becomes an even bigger and more powerful pulse shot!
  Read full article on Community Announcements (DrearyWeary)

• Announcements·13 May 2026Official

  Extend the Pulse Wave!

  {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45335411/df09e3722dabc7a077f65714e5348b0cf3591e5e.jpg Don't want to wait for the pulse wave to cooldown after it ends? Then extend it if you have one more pulse stock. in Arcade Mode, extending it will cancel all enemy projectiles and deal damage to enemies, usually destroying small ones. If you keep collecting orbs to maintain the pulse wave, it is possible with extensions to be inside a pulse wave for a much longer time! Try to find the best spots to do this!
  Read full article on Community Announcements (DrearyWeary)