REVIEW – Flying Wild Hog is known for Hard Reset and modern Shadow Warrior games. Compared to these, Trek to Yomi is different, and I dare to venture that it might be better, though not by enough to seriously stand out from the list of the studio’s works. It is a game I can recommend to fans of the Japanese style (and I don’t mean anime or manga…).

Leonard Menchiari (one of the game’s directors and writers) has done incredible work.

Authentic

Trek to Yomi is not an FPS but a sidescrolling action game. For those who don’t like the black-and-white style, sorry, look elsewhere: set in the Edo period, the adventure also pays homage to samurai movies with this artistic touch. The game’s story is based around a small Japanese village being overrun by bandits (a common element in the films I just mentioned). Hiroki wants to become a samurai and studies with his master Sanjuro, but the young one’s training is interrupted, and he seeks his master. Later, our hero has grown up and is sworn to protect the village and its inhabitants after repeated looting. Throughout the story, there will be decisions that will influence the plot. The execution of the style is perfect. I’m going to say this straight out: the story and atmosphere make Trek to Yomi one of the games of the year, which is because it uses Japanese voice acting (and not a subpar one either!), and the authentically performed music is just icing on the cake. The fixed camera positions may seem strange, but you can get used to them: it was an excellent artistic decision because, in a sidescrolling game, you can’t have the camera over your shoulder or behind your back.

Of course, there’s no shortage of combat (so swordplay is an essential aspect), with a few occasions where you can use the environment to defeat your opponents. Aside from those, we can use strong and weak attacks, dodging, blocking, and counterattacks, but we can also take up arms for longer distances. Later on, there will be new moves, so we don’t always stick with the same movements. During exploration and combat, you’ll also find combos that you’ll want to master as soon as possible, as most of your opponents will have distinct strengths and weaknesses. It’s worth taking a turtle approach, i.e. focusing on defending and counterattacking while keeping an eye on your stamina bar. This approach will work on the more challenging difficulty levels. Still, if you take it easy, you might be able to grind your way through the story except for the boss fights, but I don’t think you’ll get the best possible experience because I would consider the basics of the combat to be positive. However, there are problems with depth, and you won’t experience that on the easiest difficulty level. Not even when we are “on the other side” towards the end of Trek to Yomi. I don’t want to spoil what I am referring to with this statement.

Missing

So there are good moves, but I don’t think the depth of the combat system is outstanding. This game is not on par with Sucker Punch’s Ghost of Tsushima (there is a difference in genre, and you could put Trek to Yomi several centuries later…), but they could have taken the combat a bit deeper. I have no problem with the supernatural segment. Replayability? It is present, but it can suck when you willy-nilly take the route that carries the main story thread forward. We’d keep going around looking for collectables and power-ups, but accidentally oops, we have to keep going. It gets a bit confusing, and I’ll tell you, it is probably why Trek to Yomi failed to reach an eight-and-a-half out of ten for me because I seriously rate it at this level.

The other problem that makes me not give the game a nine is not the length (you can get through the story in about 5-6 hours), but I think the boss fights afterwards were a shrug of the shoulders. OK, it’s not a Nioh level (true, it’s _ALSO_ not the same era, but a bit earlier…), and I think the ending portion might have been stretched. Maybe it should have been a bit shorter?

Wow, what

I give Trek to Yomi an eight out of ten. I know; it’s a bit presumptuous. Still, on the one hand, IDGAF, on the other hand, I am somewhat biased (I appreciate Japanese art, the classical melodies with wind instruments are exquisite as a soothing soundtrack, for example), but it’s a good experience. Devolver Digital is exactly the publisher to expect such not full-priced but still exciting games. You don’t need to play with anyone else, you don’t need to connect to a server, and there is no live service. We get the whole experience as standard, which is very much at the cutting edge in terms of audiovisual quality. It lags in gameplay, but it will still be one of the most vital titles of the year. And I’m delighted to say that about it. It’s a pleasure to sit down with it on a long weekend break (if you have one). If it had been a little deeper or more varied, it could have been one of the secret blockbusters of the year. Akira Kurosawa, Yoji Yamada, and Hideo Gosha – just a few names worth watching at least one samurai film by.

-V-

Publisher: Devolver Digital

Developer: Flying Wild Hog

Genre: sidescrolling action/interactive samurai movie

Release date: May 5, 2022