A truly conflicting game for me. On the one hand, I want to gush about how this game captures the spirit and flare of Akira Kurosawa's films. Especially within the later chapters, the visuals and atmosphere of the game are mind-boggling and beautiful, and I find myself wondering, "how in the world did such a small studio put together such a massive project?"
On the other hand, the game's combat design is frustratingly boring, but it has the groundwork to be quite good with proper tweaking. The lack of enemy types, the lack of interesting ways to take down said enemy types, and the overall lack of challenge this game poses even on the highest difficulty is incredibly disappointing. You will find yourself using the same overpowered tactics to dispose of your foes (stun then execute) since the game never challenges you to try anything else. Then, you have to completely shift whatever you "learned" through the combat to fight the lackluster bosses that can either be spammed to death, or you have to kill quick enough before they become a nuisance. Some of the bosses flat-out ignore the rules of parrying and blocking, which makes for a very frustrating battle without an optimal way to finish the fight quickly. For a game so short, it feels so long, due to how repetitive each challenge feels. Only one enemy type challenges the player to engage with all of its combat mechanics, but it is introduced in the final chapter of the game, which was a far too-late addition.
After finishing the game, I wanted to give the game at 5 and call it day. However, there is an extra difficulty mode unlocked once you beat the game that makes every enemy (besides bosses) one shot as well as yourself. Now, this is where the game shines. When everyone is one shot, you no longer have to engage in the lackluster combat. Now you flow through each encounter, picking who to take down first with a quick swipe of your sword, parrying enemies that are easier to take down through parrying, as well as utilizing your ranged weapons as a counter to ranged opponents or as a "get out of jail free" card. Even the bosses get an upgrade since now you must learn how to beat them, without getting hit. I utilized high-damaging combos while weaving in and out of their attacks, so I could finish the fight as quickly and safely as possible; something I never even thought of on my first playthrough. Overall, certain aspects shined in this mode, while others became pointless, but I had a blast trying to beat the game as fast as possible. it made me feel like the game was originally designed with this sort of difficulty as the norm. It's a shame it's locked behind game completion. However, this alone bumped up my score
Trek to Yomi will stick with me, because its visuals are there, and the potential is there, but its execution is lacking. I recommend giving it a try almost solely on its presentation alone, and its one-hit difficulty setting. But do not expect any mechanical design to awe you as much as its visual and audio design does.
6.5/10
On the other hand, the game's combat design is frustratingly boring, but it has the groundwork to be quite good with proper tweaking. The lack of enemy types, the lack of interesting ways to take down said enemy types, and the overall lack of challenge this game poses even on the highest difficulty is incredibly disappointing. You will find yourself using the same overpowered tactics to dispose of your foes (stun then execute) since the game never challenges you to try anything else. Then, you have to completely shift whatever you "learned" through the combat to fight the lackluster bosses that can either be spammed to death, or you have to kill quick enough before they become a nuisance. Some of the bosses flat-out ignore the rules of parrying and blocking, which makes for a very frustrating battle without an optimal way to finish the fight quickly. For a game so short, it feels so long, due to how repetitive each challenge feels. Only one enemy type challenges the player to engage with all of its combat mechanics, but it is introduced in the final chapter of the game, which was a far too-late addition.
After finishing the game, I wanted to give the game at 5 and call it day. However, there is an extra difficulty mode unlocked once you beat the game that makes every enemy (besides bosses) one shot as well as yourself. Now, this is where the game shines. When everyone is one shot, you no longer have to engage in the lackluster combat. Now you flow through each encounter, picking who to take down first with a quick swipe of your sword, parrying enemies that are easier to take down through parrying, as well as utilizing your ranged weapons as a counter to ranged opponents or as a "get out of jail free" card. Even the bosses get an upgrade since now you must learn how to beat them, without getting hit. I utilized high-damaging combos while weaving in and out of their attacks, so I could finish the fight as quickly and safely as possible; something I never even thought of on my first playthrough. Overall, certain aspects shined in this mode, while others became pointless, but I had a blast trying to beat the game as fast as possible. it made me feel like the game was originally designed with this sort of difficulty as the norm. It's a shame it's locked behind game completion. However, this alone bumped up my score
Trek to Yomi will stick with me, because its visuals are there, and the potential is there, but its execution is lacking. I recommend giving it a try almost solely on its presentation alone, and its one-hit difficulty setting. But do not expect any mechanical design to awe you as much as its visual and audio design does.
6.5/10