YIIK: A Postmodern RPG Reviews
Unfortunately, YIIK ultimately fails to deliver in its execution, and it's difficult to recommend for anyone that isn't willing to sit through 25 hours of drudgery for a few hours of psychedelic brilliance.
YIIK: A Post-Modern RPG is an earnest love letter to the culture and video games of the 1990s. Its novel take on JRPG combat pairs with an abundance of style and a memorable soundtrack to make a charming yet familiar experience.
Conspiracies, depression, Soul Survivors, oh my!
The game’s main character, Alex, is a pretty major departure from a typical hero in the genre, a generally reluctant hipster of sorts, who has come back home from college...
YIIK is an ambitious little RPG with an intriguing premise and engaging battle mechanics that is ultimately let down by some poor pacing and a very unruly inventory management system. In a game where stats matter so much, this is a pretty big issue to have. Regardless, if you can see past its flaws, there's a kooky game here with a weird but wonderful plot and a lovable cast to enjoy.
YIIK has been a bit of a strange one for me. Whilst I enjoyed seeing the quirky story through to its conclusion and loved exploring the wonderfully crafted world, the repetitive battle system and poorly executed levelling up system left me feeling a little underwhelmed. Neither aspect was particularly game-breaking nor did they make YIIK end up feeling like a bad game, but they did stand out a lot as I made my way through the fairly lengthy adventure. It’s definitely going to be a divisive experience for gamers though and it certainly won’t tick enough boxes to warrant a purchase for everyone. For me though, YIIK did enough right to make it recommendable for fans of RPGs or those who like a truly surreal experience – it’s far from perfect, but it still manages to offer an enjoyably bizarre journey that I was glad to be a part of.
My hope for Ackk Studios is that they will take this criticism to heart in their next project. They are clearly bursting with creativity, and we need to see more of that in the gaming industry. Just be sure to back it up with solid mechanics that push the player’s experience forward. Being set in 1999 doesn’t mean we have to suffer through the worst of it.
YIIK might have been able to get away with some of its issues if other areas were able to pick up the slack.
It’s the sort of game that will gain a cult following. These super-fans will appreciate its millennial dread, imperfect friends supporting one another through crises both personal and apocalyptic, and a quirky style that draws on gamer culture, weird horror, and low-poly goofs without getting bogged down in uncritical nostalgia.
YIIK: A Postmodern RPG is a great game if you want an attractive story_driven game with some elements of RPG. The story is really unique and innovative which make you follow it to the end. If you can deal with a really simple graphic, YIIK: A Postmodern RPG is a nice choice for you to play.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Trying to bring the feel of a different era into the modern limelight is quite the task, and YIIK almost pulls it off. While it sports great old-school visuals, it just can’t overcome its other flaws. The shallow combat gets old quickly, the characters aren’t all that endearing, and the pacing doesn’t do the game any favours. You’d be better off playing one of the games that YIIK imitates. Those who want to go back in time may very well find a game they love, but I didn’t.
YIIK: A Postmodern RPG is huge achievement for Ackk Studios, it is so much better than their previous title, and maybe a little more attention to combat system and controls could’ve even made it one of the best indie titles in years. Nevertheless, A Postmodern RPG is a fun game that will probably worth your time and money.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Even though YIIK strikes out, there’s definitely some potential in the game’s overall design with a pretty solid foundation that leaves room for plenty of improvement, and I wouldn’t mind giving Ackk Studios another chance at making another Post-Modern RPG.
YIIK does something different, taking some of the best memories of classic games, folding it in with brilliant writing, and creating one of the most evocative RPGs I’ve ever played that didn’t have “Final” in the title. For fans of the genre, great writing, or supernatural mystery, this game should be immediately on a lot of 2019 Must Play lists.
YIIK is an ambitious and wacky RPG that despite having fascinating characters and a gripping surrealist narrative, falters in part due to poor pacing, a mediocre combat system and performance issues
YIIK is visually appealing, has a nice soundtrack and is pretty funny at times. But the battle system needs a little more polish and the main character was… not my cup of tea.
YIIK has an interesting story and an exceptional concept, that could've worked better if the game was idealized as a visual novel. Unfortunately, as an RPG, it doesn't work so weel since it ends up losing itself in an attempt to innovate the mechanics of the classic titles from which it draws inspiration.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Some criticize JRPGs for being weird, having too much talking, brain-dead gameplay, being pretentious, and even pandering too hard to be likable to nerds. I can think of one game that fits those criticisms, and it was trying to honor the best of them. YIIK? Yuck…
As boundless is the cosmos where alternate realities and selves may reside, so too is YIIK immeasurably unfun to play. This should have been a visual novel.
If you grew up way back in the olden days like me and can't stomach another anime RPG then YIIK is worth a look. YIIK: A Postmodern RPG is out now on Nintendo Switch.