There are games that first of all push on the element artistic, instead of the playful one. Titles that, net of their video game value in the strict sense, manage to return that something primarily dictated by visual and aesthetic beauty. Trek to Yomi, which we analyze today in review, is one of them. In fact, we are talking about a game that focuses heavily on visual refinement, placing itself as a clear homage to Akira Kurosawa’s cinema. Realized by Leonard Menchiari And Flying Wild Hogthe game is in fact a very classic action and adventure product, as well as very linear, but not uninteresting for this.
Traveling for love
Before getting to the heart of the review, let’s start by introducing the story of Trek to Yomi: this tells the story of the young man Hiroki, committed to a truly dangerous and out of this world journey in order to protect the people he loves. The young man will in fact be called to lead the village after him loss of his teacher, killed by a group of unscrupulous bandits. Together with his partner Aiko, and now grown up, Hiroki hears the story of a leader capable of razing villages without mercy: the idea is therefore to anticipate and defeat him, thus keeping the promise to protect those he loves (we will not spoil you other so as not to spoil the surprise).
With a nod to some classics from the past, Trek to Yomi is subdivided in real internshipthus giving shape to Hiroki’s journey, complete with boss to close the level. The combat system of Trek to Yomi departs quite far from what is seen in games set in a similar historical period, such as Onimusha or Ghost of Tsushima (here our review), although the use of the katana and the white weapon combat will still be the masters.
This is therefore a game that focuses almost everything on immediacy, although some defects affect the final result (such as, for example, a slight input lag in the most agitated situations). Light years away from Sekiro: Shadows Die TwiceTTY still bases part of the mechanism on deflecting the opponents’ blows in time, a technique that goes alongside in a rather intelligent way compared to the traditional parry (which, among other things, consumes part of the stamina and makes us vulnerable to counterattacks by enemies).
Another flaw related to the combat system is that we will often struggle to understand where the enemies are positioned, despite it horizontal scrolling of progression: this translates into clashes at the limit of unfairness, in which we can suffer repetitive damage only for the fact that two opponents have the habit of “overlapping” and start hitting repetitively without giving us a way to recover stamina. This is not a problem related to our incompetence during the clashes, but a way sometimes too much incorrect to face duels.
It is also true that every enemy can in fact be stunned and eliminated with a real one final executionalthough this technique nullifies part of the fascination induced by the duels with the katana, reducing everything to a mechanical process that after a couple of hours will have given everything it is able to offer.
A dance that repeats itself
Boredom, combined with a certain one repetitivenessare in fact the two main defects of the game: the presence of different combos that try to vary the situation are really too easy and unsatisfactory to perform, which leads to an inevitable stagnation of the fighting and thus sliding Trek to Yomi into the trap of monotony.
Forget therefore virtuosity with the sword or particularly stylish techniques, even and especially during the boss fights: in this case it is clear that the developers have tempted to return the typical feeling of soulslike, with enemies of enormous proportions that appear at first glance really difficult to knock down, although the duels then turn to our advantage in no time, without particular problems (in fact, it will be enough to have a good supply of energy, take the blows as much as possible possible, and that’s it). The adventure is also very short (we’re on five hours of intense gameplaynecessary to complete the main campaign) although Trek to Yomi has its own multiple endings capable of varying the experience just enough to raise the replay value bar.
Where Trek to Yomi doesn’t miss a beat, is in the will of to recover from the tradition of Japanese cinema of the 50s / 60sboth on an aesthetic and conceptual level: the hero and his journey, spiritual even before the physical one, marked by choices and responsibilities that can change the destiny of Hiroki and his loved ones, are all things that work more than well, given the ability to take themselves enormously seriously. Trek to Yomi is an indie product, although the technical limitations are completely obscured by one really curated artistic direction: the work of the Flying Wild Hog is in fact a gem to behold, thanks to an attention to detail (as well as a soundtrack) able to send every lover of Japanese culture into a jujube soup. Too bad that the entire production is based first of all on the aesthetic aspect to the detriment of the game played, since a balance between the two parts would undoubtedly have made Hiroki’s odyssey truly unforgettable.
Review
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Trek to Yomi (Tested on PS5)
7Total Score
Even before being a good game, Tret to Yomi is a surprising stylistic test, further confirming that a video game can be beautiful to look at, even before it can be played. Of course, a greater commitment on the gameplay side by the development team would not have hurt, especially with regard to the variety of the combat system, but it is true that the brevity of the experience will be enough to make you enjoy one of the most delicious Japanese-themed adventures of this 2022.
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