Flying Wild Hog's ode to the samurai films of the mid-20th Century caught my eye from its first showing, evoking Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece Seven Samurai (as intended). Trek to Yomi lives up to that initial promise, not just in aesthetics but in heart, narrative, and expert presentation. While the combat mechanics feel slightly off and the repetitiveness grows tiring quickly, the gorgeous and faithful dedication to the samurai and authentic Edo period Japanese culture holds this action game together.
Trek to Yomi is a narrative-driven action game that sees a young warrior, Hiroki, take up the mantle of a samurai after ravenous warlord Kagerou invades his hometown. Aoki, Hiroki's lover, is killed on his watch after he swears to protect her at all costs. On a rescue mission that ends in certain death, he follows the literal path to hell (Yomi) to bring her back from the afterlife.
This is a pretty straightforward action game, and while I would qualify it as a side-scroller if I had to, there's a lot more 3D movement than the trailers led me to believe. I also didn't expect a Silent Hill style fixed-camera that changes when you enter a new room, but it does wonders for controlling the cinematic stylings of Trek to Yomi. Most rooms without combat allow for 3D movement, where you might find collectibles or ammo for one of your three ranged weapons. Every few rooms, you'll hit a checkpoint shrine that refills your health and is a place to restart when you die. Much to its benefit, this game is entirely linear - there is no backtracking or picking which direction to go.
As this is an action game, combat is critical, and I must admit, I'm not impressed with it. Throughout the game, you'll gain new combo abilities using directions and the X and Y buttons as you naturally progress - you won't need to go out of your way to unlock any combos. My main issue is that most of them feel useless. But, as I reached Yomi, the various abilities started to make sense. By the end, I had two combos I stuck to and was able to tear through every enemy with barely any resistance.
In addition, the button press timing windows feel much too small. Almost half the time I would try to execute a combo, it wouldn't register. It was incredibly annoying to press the button in time, only for nothing to happen. When I played through the game, the parry windows were too small, and the hitboxes were not registering correctly. However, after a day-zero patch was applied, I found these features had been dramatically improved. Parry windows feel 100% accurate in the launch version.
I loved using the ranged weapons (kunai, bow and arrow, and a hand cannon) as much as possible, but I will confess it was to avoid actual combat when I could. It may seem damning to say that I flat out didn't enjoy the combat in an action game, but so many of the other elements of the game are so impressive that I ended up enjoying the experience anyway.
My other major complaint is that the first hour and a half of this roughly four-hour game is pretty mediocre. While the story kicks off hard and fast, and the excellent Japanese voice work for Hiroki evokes compassion for the character, you are basically running along a path fighting the same bandits repeatedly. Every enemy was the same, maybe with a slightly different weapon sometimes, and all of them required a perfect parry and two short strikes to kill. It is tedious and exhausting. I was worried that the entire game would be this way until I reached Yomi (hell), where the tone did a 180, and I was introduced to an amazing slew of mythological Japanese monsters with unique magical powers.
In this second act, I had to start utilizing some strategy to fight off ogres, wraiths, oni, and demonic beasts. In addition, while I loved seeing Edo Japan with the classic black and white vignetted film grain aesthetic, I grew tired of seeing the same buildings over and over during the first act. Yomi introduced grand, majestic structures, trees, rock formations, and weather systems that couldn't exist in our natural world. Flying Wild Hog's artists did a phenomenal job shaping this landscape, and during my time in Yomi, I wanted to look around each area just for the sake of seeing it.
If it weren't for doing this review, I'm not sure if I would have made it through the monotony of the start of the game. However, it takes a fantastic turn, leaving me feeling like the developers saved literally all of the good stuff for the back half of the game that few players will likely see.
Trek to Yomi is a powerful cinematic experience, and I genuinely feel like the themes echoed the ones I'd find in the old black and white samurai films. The music is gorgeous and, to my knowledge, utilizes traditional Japanese instruments from this time period. The sound design works greatly to the benefit of this game, especially with the intelligent use of the sounds of an old film reel turning.
This narrative centers around the choice between love and duty. Hiroki must make several tangible choices during the story that change its direction, choosing between his love for Aoki or his duty to his people. The well-thought-out narrative and impeccable atmosphere of Trek to Yomi are its great triumphs. And, if you can learn to love (or bear) the repetitive combat, I think it'll be a thrilling epic worthy of its cinematic inspirations.
[A review code was provided by the publisher for the purposes of this review.]
Trek to Yomi is a narrative-driven action game that sees a young warrior, Hiroki, take up the mantle of a samurai after ravenous warlord Kagerou invades his hometown. Aoki, Hiroki's lover, is killed on his watch after he swears to protect her at all costs. On a rescue mission that ends in certain death, he follows the literal path to hell (Yomi) to bring her back from the afterlife.
This is a pretty straightforward action game, and while I would qualify it as a side-scroller if I had to, there's a lot more 3D movement than the trailers led me to believe. I also didn't expect a Silent Hill style fixed-camera that changes when you enter a new room, but it does wonders for controlling the cinematic stylings of Trek to Yomi. Most rooms without combat allow for 3D movement, where you might find collectibles or ammo for one of your three ranged weapons. Every few rooms, you'll hit a checkpoint shrine that refills your health and is a place to restart when you die. Much to its benefit, this game is entirely linear - there is no backtracking or picking which direction to go.
As this is an action game, combat is critical, and I must admit, I'm not impressed with it. Throughout the game, you'll gain new combo abilities using directions and the X and Y buttons as you naturally progress - you won't need to go out of your way to unlock any combos. My main issue is that most of them feel useless. But, as I reached Yomi, the various abilities started to make sense. By the end, I had two combos I stuck to and was able to tear through every enemy with barely any resistance.
In addition, the button press timing windows feel much too small. Almost half the time I would try to execute a combo, it wouldn't register. It was incredibly annoying to press the button in time, only for nothing to happen. When I played through the game, the parry windows were too small, and the hitboxes were not registering correctly. However, after a day-zero patch was applied, I found these features had been dramatically improved. Parry windows feel 100% accurate in the launch version.
I loved using the ranged weapons (kunai, bow and arrow, and a hand cannon) as much as possible, but I will confess it was to avoid actual combat when I could. It may seem damning to say that I flat out didn't enjoy the combat in an action game, but so many of the other elements of the game are so impressive that I ended up enjoying the experience anyway.
My other major complaint is that the first hour and a half of this roughly four-hour game is pretty mediocre. While the story kicks off hard and fast, and the excellent Japanese voice work for Hiroki evokes compassion for the character, you are basically running along a path fighting the same bandits repeatedly. Every enemy was the same, maybe with a slightly different weapon sometimes, and all of them required a perfect parry and two short strikes to kill. It is tedious and exhausting. I was worried that the entire game would be this way until I reached Yomi (hell), where the tone did a 180, and I was introduced to an amazing slew of mythological Japanese monsters with unique magical powers.
In this second act, I had to start utilizing some strategy to fight off ogres, wraiths, oni, and demonic beasts. In addition, while I loved seeing Edo Japan with the classic black and white vignetted film grain aesthetic, I grew tired of seeing the same buildings over and over during the first act. Yomi introduced grand, majestic structures, trees, rock formations, and weather systems that couldn't exist in our natural world. Flying Wild Hog's artists did a phenomenal job shaping this landscape, and during my time in Yomi, I wanted to look around each area just for the sake of seeing it.
If it weren't for doing this review, I'm not sure if I would have made it through the monotony of the start of the game. However, it takes a fantastic turn, leaving me feeling like the developers saved literally all of the good stuff for the back half of the game that few players will likely see.
Trek to Yomi is a powerful cinematic experience, and I genuinely feel like the themes echoed the ones I'd find in the old black and white samurai films. The music is gorgeous and, to my knowledge, utilizes traditional Japanese instruments from this time period. The sound design works greatly to the benefit of this game, especially with the intelligent use of the sounds of an old film reel turning.
This narrative centers around the choice between love and duty. Hiroki must make several tangible choices during the story that change its direction, choosing between his love for Aoki or his duty to his people. The well-thought-out narrative and impeccable atmosphere of Trek to Yomi are its great triumphs. And, if you can learn to love (or bear) the repetitive combat, I think it'll be a thrilling epic worthy of its cinematic inspirations.
[A review code was provided by the publisher for the purposes of this review.]