Trek to Yomi (2022)

Anyone who grew up in the 90s on Playstation may know the 3D fighting game Bushido Blade....the combat in this reminded me of that but on a 2D plane. You have to understand this isn't an action game....every time I wanted it to be one I was disappointed. Movements and reactions are sluggish...that's just the game's nature. I assume (hope?) it to be intentional.

The presentation is cinematic but the story pedestrian. I'm glad I played it via GamePass and didn't pay money for it, but I did enjoy it! Took about 4 hours on easy mode.

I have no clue if the choices you make matter (I have a feeling the last one does for sure) and the other complaint I have is that when the camera zoomed in during combat the characters had a plastic Gumby like quality to them.

By itself, Trek to Yomi’s art style is so eye-catching that it lures you into wanting to play it. Its beautiful noir black and white aesthetic, reminiscent of Kurosawa-style samurai period films, is quite unique within the gaming medium and works really well to evoke a particular solemn, somber mood. That, along with the strong sound design (from an artistic viewpoint, not technical), gives Trek to Yomi into a very strong sense of presentation which makes it a worthy experience even by itself. I also enjoyed a couple other aspects in it, such as how despite its linearity, it still rewards the slight exploration you can do via useful things like extra health, stamina and ammo, all of which are pretty important in your playthrough. Additionally, the game offers a path branching system I didn't see coming but nevertheless welcomed. It adds agency and flavour to how you perceive your character’s deeper motivations, and it makes your journey a tad more personal because of that.

However, there are things that keep Trek to Yomi from truly shining. As much as the sound design is great, the game's buggy nature means the overall audio experience is brought down because of the glitches it comes with. The camera can be frustrating and the controls slightly unresponsive, which also affects the overall enjoyment especially in a game that relies so much on the precision of both aspects. Directly linked to this is the combat, the centrepiece of the whole gameplay. Trek to Yomi is a side-scrolling affair whose sole progression tool is battle engagement, so the quality of the combat alone can make or break a game like this. Sadly, the title doesn't quite deliver in this regard. When it all clicks it feels pretty good, but the truth of the matter is that doesn't happen often. The swordplay is fairly simplistic, which in itself isn’t an issue, but there’s an obvious lack of polish and even poor combat design choices that, on occasion, make the whole thing artificially challenging and can add a bit of frustration. Thankfully, the game’s generous checkpoint system keeps these issues from becoming truly annoying.

All things considered, I still think Trek to Yomi is worth a shot, particularly if you’re drawn to artistically unique experiences. Without its issues this would be an incredibly easy recommendation, and every now and then we see in-game glimpses of how great this could’ve been. But none of its problems are deal-breaking, and a big part of that is because the game doesn’t outstay its welcome in any way. There’s a tiny bit of replayability here due to the path branching system, and despite its drawbacks, there’s still enough identity in this title to make it stand out and justify the investment, especially on a sale or via a subscription service. 7/10

Hiroki is an aspiring samurai who vows to his master to protect his town, his people and his love, Aoki. This linear action adventure may seem simple at first but it's actually a deep game with story, voice acting, cinematography and skillful sword combat. Explore and check nooks and crannies for upgrades to your health, stamina and ranged attacks. Be careful as you navigate areas to only be swarmed by 3 or more enemies. Defend and use precision to strike and slay the villains.

The linearity of the game is similar to Limbo, as you head either left or right to navigate levels. Yet, you can break away at times and explore, climb and search around for collectibles, upgrades and shrines. The fixed camera angles that hide secrets and hidden paths reminds me of Resident Evil. As you navigate around a corner, the camera will adjust, revealing a new area.

Your path through the game gets emotional, yet Hiroki will gain more combos and ranged attacks so you need to strategize to make it through the many fights you will endure as well as the bosses you encounter.

The way this game is presented alone is phenomenal. Immersive, atmospheric, the sound design as well top notch. I could gush all day long over how it looks and sounds, but combat plays a massive part In the overall experience and...it sucks. Slashing away at repetitive waves of enemies felt unenjoyable and clunky, there is mild variety in enemies and artistic boss designs, but when the combat does nothing for me it's hard for me to fully appreciate those mild highs. I felt like giving this 2 stars once the credits rolled, but this game does have an interesting story that kept me enticed throughout.

There was quite a bit of hype around this game leading up to its release and, sadly, it seems unwarranted. Trek to Yomi is a bland beat 'em up with not much worth seeing outside of it's visual style and even that isn't always a positive.

It is, perhaps, the best place to start. The gritty, grainy film filter over the game is pleasant. It gives the world flavour, and it evokes the "Kurosawa" feeling that other samurai games failed to replicate since it actually attempts to simulate grain and film imperfections. It's a nice touch.

The camera, on the other hand, can hurt this effect. At time the camera tries to get artistic, this works sometimes and is an abject failure at others. From simple things, like an angle making a piece of the level obscured not for the purpose of hiding a secret but for making progress tougher to find, I guess? I'm sure that's not intentional.

Other times, the camera gets artsy in an arena, which makes fighting a real pain in the ass. When the angle gets tricky it can be tough to read distance, the black and white can make this tougher too when lights and darks clash and enemies are obscured by background or foreground objects. These are kind of neat visuals, but bad for actual experience.

Speaking of actual experience hoo-boy does this game have very little of that to offer. Did you enjoy killing the first bandit in the game? Do you want to kill hundreds of them, repetitively, over several hours, and the only difference is that they get more hit points over time? If so, continue playing past the tutorial.

I'm being a bit mean, there is some enemy variety, but not much. Maybe six or seven? And that's counting "bandit with sword" and "bandit with spear" as two different entities. It's really lack luster.

Boss fights are nothing to write home about either, most of them feel like they fight dirty (such as a spear wielding demon whose jump attack seems to reach JUST longer than your dodge roll) or they're ridiculously easy. Well, they're all ridiculously easy, just some of them are a little dirty so when you lose you feel like you got robbed or stun locked more than you got bested and learned something to improve upon.

Finally, the story is meh. It plays on a fairy tale, the characters are one dimensional. The honourable samurai, the ruthless bandit, the dead love interest, and they are nothing more than that.

I can't even recommend going in on easy mode for the story. If you've got GamePass I'd recommend checking it out until you get bored, or don't, you're not missing anything. If you need to spend money? Save it, you're not missing anything.

Trek to Yomi's defining feature is its standout presentation, rendered strikingly in black and white with fixed camera angles throughout sections of 3D exploration and 2.5D combat. That screenshot above is from my actual gameplay, and you'll find lots of cool moments like that peppered throughout the experience.

The grayscale look does a lot more for this game than gimmicky homage to the classic samurai cinema that inspires it. It's not long before the game takes the turn its title implies (Yomi being a Japanese word for the "land of the dead") toward the supernatural. The game's excellent use of lighting and shadow with bold contrast does wonders for the atmosphere as the game evolves into the more eerie and surreal sections after the first third. Even before then, a level taking place in a burning, ransacked village really pops with flame and weather effects, combat seen only as shadows through bloodied window shades, etc.

The camera may be out of the player's control, but it's placed thoughtfully and sweeps over these areas in cool ways. Different angles and zoom levels, interesting shots like seeing your character through a window, and dynamic changes in focus really sell this look. Like the survival horror games of old, fixed camera also serves a purpose beyond looking cool, as the framing of the level becomes part of its design. In this way, they suggest to attentive players where to look for secret upgrades, collectibles, ammunition, and checkpoints. The camera's main weakness is when it zooms in rarely on relatively undetailed character faces that don't quite hold up to the rest.

As the game goes on, you start to get more interesting environmental puzzles and interactions in the levels, which was welcome, but I would have liked to see it from the start. Combat also improves over the course of the game as you get more abilities, but never fully shakes the stiff, somewhat awkward feel that it starts out with. Enemy variety is also a pain point, though it does get better by the middle of the game when enemies gain their own better range of abilities for you to contend with. The combat can be a bit of a pain when they throw a bunch of enemies at you at once, but usually isn't too bad. More than anything it's just... not a very fun combat system. Serviceable, I’d call it.

Story is another place where the game does itself a bit of a disservice by taking a bit too long to get interesting. Had the game started out at the pivotal ending of Chapter 3, and then used flashbacks or something to give the necessary background info from the first two chapters, maybe it would do better at "hooking" people, especially as a Game Pass title that people may dip into and drop after 20 minutes. Still, I felt that my patience was rewarded since it did get cooler as it went on.

I'd suggest that people give this a chance at least through the first 2-3 chapters. From Chapter 3-4 until the end are the coolest parts for sure. It's a pretty short game that has some really neat aspects. I'd like to see these people's next attempt at a game where they can combine this excellent presentation with a bit better pacing and polish to make something really great.

As someone who enjoys Akira Kurosawa's movies, I was really looking forward to this game. Visually, it absolutely delivers - fixed camera angles allow the developers to cook up some breathtaking vistas and atmospheric shots as well as hide away some neat nook and crannies filled up with goodies.

Gameplay is where it misses the mark. The combat is incredibly simple, boringly so even. Most of the enemies can be beaten with a single parry followed by a simple three button combo that will end in a finisher to give you some HP back, a strategy I was able to use on every foe so far with great success. The game showers you with new combos and tools that you will likely never need, as again, the combat system can be solved with light strikes, and SOMETIMES one or two heavies. It creates a sense of going in circles, every fight looks beautiful but plays the same.

At least the game is on the Gamepass, so you can go in with little risk if you have a sub. Still, it's a bummer.