In recent years, the video game industry has seen an increase in works set in ancient Japan, where samurai are the center of the plot. Obviously, thanks to the freedom that this medium provides studios to explore different ways of capturing these settings and these stories, we have been able to enjoy completely different works, as is the case with this Trek to Yomi or Ghost of Tsushima. Throughout this text, we will see the positive and negative points of the work of flying wild hog. Now sit back and enjoy this Trek to Yomi review.
Kurosawa’s cinema as the core of the game
When we talk about the Japanese ancient world in different media, it is mandatory to talk about the importance of the films of Akira Kurosawa, the iconic Japanese film director. His filmography (among which we find works such as “The Seven Samurai” and “Ran”) was very influential, so much so that even George Lucas was inspired in many ways for the creation of Star Wars.
And so many years later, Kurosawa’s work is still very much in the minds of many creators, as we have been able to see since we first saw Trek to Yomi in motion. The work of Flying Wild Hog drinks a lot from that cinema both visually and artistically (You only need to see the shots he uses, the black and white filter or that “grain” of old film). This does it excellently, and makes the title that much more unique.
The typical samurai story, but with an interesting twist
In Trek to Yomi we play the young Hiroki, who as a child sees how his teacher is killed by a group of bandits who raided his village. Before dying, his teacher asks him to become a samurai, and protect his people and his daughter, with whom Hiroki has a special relationship. Years later, we relive another traumatic episode in Hiroki’s life, and this time, the plot will take us down a path that, a priori, we did not think was like this.
Trek to Yomi is a journey into the underworld of the Japanese world, where our protagonist must make his way among the dead and corpses of his past life, while looking for a way to find his purpose in life, and carry out revenge. A priori, it seems the same story that we have always seen, both in video games, movies and literature, but where this Trek to Yomi really shines is in the phases where, forgive the redundancy, we are touring Yomi.
The concept of hell is introduced to us little by little in the plot, and when the time comes to get into it, it is where the title shines brightest, both for its visual design, and for the gloomy and dark setting. In addition, we see how Hiroki is facing himself in a way that, although not entirely original, fits the title like a glove, and contributes a lot to “THE election”.
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For a samurai, Hiroki leaves a lot to be desired…
Mechanically, the title presents very few novelties, since in the 4 hours of play that it lasts, we will only fight and, rarely, we will do the odd puzzle that is not difficult at all. And since the title is played by a samurai, we expected the combat system to be, at least, something decent and fun… But it seems that it has not been like that.
From the first moment, it is already noticeable that, for example, the animations are not as polished as they should be, and the “hit” sensation that the blows with the katana should have does not exist, taking away a lot of feedback from the combat. In addition to the fact that the counterattack is not very well done, since the enemies attack with a very strange pattern, There is a very little combat system left, and that leaves the experience “very poor”.
Despite this, Hiroki’s journey is a delight in many ways.
The Devolver Digital title is a delight for lovers of the Japanese world and of Kurosawa’s cinema, and it is possibly one of the most overwhelming titles on an artistic level that we have seen this year. The story, without being something very original, works, and invites replayability thanks to its collectibles and its different choices that make the plot change.
Unfortunately, the combat system is a huge nonsense, and it is without a doubt the worst part of the game, something that shouldn’t be like that, since we spend all the time fighting to make our way through the different chapters, something that in the long run it becomes very heavy and tiring. In the end, Trek to Yomi eIt is a game of «lights and shadows», and we, the user, will be the ones who will have to choose whether to ignore its failures, or not. That, as in Hiroki’s story, is left to our own choice.