Trek to Yomi Reviews
Trek to Yomi often feels like it prioritizes looks over gameplay and to a certain extent, that's fine. The game flawlessly executes exquisite camera angles that give off a highly-cinematic feel that is a joy to both watch and play. While its close-up visuals are average at best, the game exceeds at framing scenes that look 'gram-worthy whenever the screenshot button is pressed. Its combat system, while decent, boils down to repeated patterns at easier difficulties but gets excruciatingly difficult at the next level, without finding a good middle ground that makes the experience feel satisfying. That said, it is very easy to pick up and play but will require players to prioritize timing over dexterity.
Trek to Yomi presents its world through the lens of classic Japanese cinema, reinforcing its thematic exploration of self-reflection and overcoming failure with masterful presentation and design to form a captivating experience. Combat presents a satisfying learning curve that rewards carefully studying your opponents and mastering the moves in your arsenal, and while overall it can falter at times due to uneven pacing, it's well worth undertaking the trek yourself.
Trek to Yomi is a compelling enough story that makes strong use of cinematic techniques to tell a samurai tale in a novel way. Its approach could easily be imagined on the silver screen but its interactive medium makes for a compelling combat-heavy side scroller with enough mechanical depth to warrant multiple playthroughs.
Despite being an undeniably beautiful piece of work, its identity as a weapon combat game lacks edge. I’m glad I stuck with it until the end – some of the late-game setpieces are certainly a sight to behold – but I left Trek to Yomi in a hungry search for something else that would give me the inherent satisfaction that comes from feeling the impact and hearing the sound of crossing blades.
Trek to Yomi is a stunning game, that goes above and beyond to pay homage to one of cinema’s greatest. It doesn’t shy away from depicting the brutality of war and each frame is full of details to create a grounded, and beautiful world. Despite its impeccable presentation, Trek to Yomi’s combat, and uneven boss fights get in the way of true greatness. It’s still worth experiencing for its visuals, and audio alone, with some caveats attached when it comes to gameplay.
Trek To Yomi may have a great narrative and an excellent visual design, however the stiff combat mechanics and tedious exploration sections may quickly diminish any desire to see the game through to the end. Despite having great potential, Trek To Yomi fails to deliver and instead becomes a very lackluster experience!
Trek to Yomi is, for me, just shy of a veritable masterpiece. Looking at it purely subjectively, I think this game is bloody brilliant, and certainly one of the finest non-AAA games I have played in a long time. Rich combat, striking visuals, a gritty narrative, and dynamic audio experiences blend together to make this game a true stand out of 2022 so far. Unfortunately, I feel the hyper-stylised tone and fixed Japanese language setting may prove a turn off for some and cause this game to be overlooked. However, if you have even a passing interest in Japanese culture, cinema, or just plain solid gameplay, then I implore you to give Trek to Yomi a look.
All in all, the game is impressive and an apt tribute to its cinematic roots. Blood spurts satisfyingly as you strike enemies down, burning arrows soar overhead ominously and supernatural sections are sufficiently eerie yet intriguing. Personally, I found certain sections of combat to be punishingly tricky due to the lack of nearby save points so I would recommend playing through using the Cinematic difficulty if you want a relaxed experience.
This tale of a ronin looks amazing with its warm and fuzzy film grain. But below the surface, Trek to Yomi suffers from repetition and a few tired mechanics.
Trek to Yomi has an astonishing film-like presentation that pays homage to Akira Kurosawa's samurai movies. Unfortunately, the gameplay fails to match its audio and visual excellence.
Although the game is still a good experience, every enjoyable aspect was brought with a caveat that diminished my enjoyment somewhat. It's a great idea, but its execution was not so much.
Trek to Yomi is a visual masterpiece with a solid story, unfortunately let down by its gameplay. Whilst there are some enjoyable elements, it doesn't hold up when compared to numerous recently released peers that do samurai combat better.
A masterful love letter to the films of Akira Kurosawa. Trek to Yomi’s inspirations are clear. It handles those inspirations with love and care. Ultimately standing on its own two feet as something unique in the current gaming space. Above all else, it is extremely fun to play!
Trek to Yomi feels like a victim of its own cinematic inspirations and artistic ambitions. While satisfying at times, the combat is ultimately pretty one-note and begins to outstay its welcome by the time you’ve reached the end of Hiroki’s journey. I’m a sucker for artistically driven indie experiences, but there’s got to be some strong gameplay forming a foundation for it, and I can’t say I overly enjoyed my time accompanying Hiroki on his quest for vengeance.
While it could stand to be longer, if only to deliver more when it come to some of its more ambitious elements, Trek to Yomi is an amazing action game that makes terrific use of its cinematic presentation, using Kurosawa vibes to impact both the gameplay and visuals in clever ways.
Know what to expect from Trek to Yomi before purchasing it. I had a great time with it, but that’s because I knew this wasn’t going to be a high-octane, indie equivalent of Ghost of Tsushima or Sekiro. This is the closest to a Kurosawa game we’ll probably ever get. Not only due to its phenomenal presentation, but also due to its emphasis on storytelling and world building, instead of nonstop action and ludicrous combos. Combat sections were more sparse and sluggish than anticipated, but that’s fine since it’s so easy to sink into the game’s world.
Fans of Kurosawa films or of Japanese samurai movies in general will dig Trek to Yomi. Anyone with even a passing curiosity for this genre should absolutely check this out. Trek to Yomi aims high and proves to be as sharp as Hiroki's blade.