YIIK: A Postmodern RPG Reviews
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.
Do not, under any circumstances, buy this game in its current state. YIIK is an aggressive yet sleepy-eyed assault on your money and your free time that needs a lot of work.
I may have been quite late in getting to covering YIIK, but in the end, was this worth the wait and time for me, as an RPG fan and a fan of 90s games and visuals? Honestly, I did come out really enjoying the art style for its cool quirky looks, and some of the music is legitimately awesome, but on the other hand, you have a horrid battle system and some voices that sound as if they were recorded from a tin can. It’s a weird mess all around, and even now, I don’t recommend you check this out. Just buy the soundtrack if you have to get anything out of this game.
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…
An old school RPG that falls short of its ambitions in both story and gameplay.
A unique story and modernized-retro appeal aren't enough to overcome its tedious dialogue, repetitive combat, and obnoxious main character.
YIIK: A Postmodern RPG is plenty ambitious, with designs to be both as quirky as the charm-filled RPGs of the 90s, and serious with substantive, heady sci-fi concepts. It calls itself “postmodern” after all, evoking the likes of Vonnegut, Pynchon, or Burroughs. While I was on board at the title screen, it didn't take long for the disappointment to set in. There's an unearned self-confidence in the writing that is hampered by stilted dialogue and shallow characters, and the exact opposite in the gameplay, where YIIK feels afraid to actually be a 90s-style RPG. It's obtuse and poorly balanced, making each encounter a frustrating exercise in attrition. YIIK has big ideas but they rest on top of a shoddy foundation, one that crumbles the more you try to stay on top of it. I'd rather just play EarthBound again.
YIIK: A Postmodern RPG tried to do something different on PS4 but just forgot to pack in the fun factor that someone expects when diving into a video game.
My issues with the story are that it tells you the specifics once, in large information dumps during key scenes, and then expects you to remember it all through the depressing dialogue and obtuse combat. I wanted things to be more fun, I wanted the dialogue to make me laugh and be full of hidden jokes and respectable interactions. Instead, everything is a chore to read and a punishment to experience. I really wanted a fulfilling journey for Alex and his friends, and I didn’t feel like we earned that goal based on most if not all of the dialogue in this game. It was all very depressing and felt like it had been written specifically with self-reflection in mind. I felt like YIIK was a game made to analyze. I wished it carried those critical elements of fun and enjoyment. Even though the world was beyond interesting to look at, its contents and message were just unnecessarily padded with inner monologue. It took me roughly 30 hours to beat the main story and begin some of the side extras. YIIK will cost you $19.99 on PC, PS4, or Nintendo Switch.
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 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
Which is why I find myself not angry with, but disappointed in YIIK. Where other games that draw heavily from the most celebrated of surreal ‘90s RPGs feel suffused with caring characters that carry the player through a harsh and weird world, YIIK comes off as callous, ignorant and (when the story finally begins picking up steam in its sixth or seventh hour) simply too late to be the groundbreaking experience that it so tries to be.
YIIK: A Postmodern RPG is certainly full of good intentions and it promises a lot in what it could turn out to be...nevertheless, intentions alone don't make a masterpiece and while its 1990s-tinged environment, its attempts at an innovative fighting system and a few of its musical tracks are certainly worthy of praise, the game drags itself for too long, feels frustrating and confusing too often and the experience is just too inconsistent for its own good. Something which could have turned out much better and whose potential can still be harnessed for something remarkable.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Conspiracies, depression, Soul Survivors, oh my!
YIIK: A Postmodern RPG, sadly, never shines as brightly as it does during its opening hours. There's enjoyment to be had here, sure, especially for anyone with love for the '90s – but all of the references to Chrono Trigger and Pogs in the world can't balance out the pleasure-less battle system and overly complicated levelling up mechanics.
Despite stunning art direction, a kicking soundtrack, and some interesting story points, it's not an enjoyable game for the most part, thanks to its clunky combat, tedious grinding, and poor puzzle design.
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.
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.
WORTH CONSIDERING - YIIK tries many new things to reinvent the JRPG genre only to fall flat. It’s a shame because there is a potentially good game buried under the pretentious main character, Alex. The music is great though!
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.