Watching samurai flicks from Akira Kurosawa is synonymous with having fun with John Wayne westerns, Jean-Luc Godard French cinema, or Alfred Hitchcock horror—reveling in an artwork type of yesteryear. Whereas rigorously looking for one thing just like satiate the thirst for these classics, it’s at all times a nice shock to search out somebody who simply will get it, particularly when given in a distinct medium. Trek to Yomi is one such instance, the place the loving artwork fashion and aesthetic simply splashes all the things Kurosawa imagined throughout the display, however this time, permitting the participant to make their approach by means of the story first-hand. Whereas the builders nailed the identical vibe because the supply materials, the gameplay can go away lots to be desired, and the Nintendo Change {hardware} struggles to maintain up with the attractive visuals.
As a younger boy, Hiroki continues to be studying underneath his grasp on the dojo. However when marauders assault his hometown, his grasp loses his life, and Hiroki vows to guard the village from right here on out. Alongside along with his grasp’s daughter, Hiroki grows up, continues his coaching, and turns into a lone samurai in opposition to whoever stands at odds with this nice hamlet. Reuniting in battle along with his grasp’s killer, the journey of revenge begins throughout the countryside, the place Hiroki should save the city, shield the woman, and search vengeance in opposition to the bandits who’ve mercilessly killed so many. Whereas Trek to Yomi doesn’t attempt to break the mildew with out-of-left-field storytelling, it succeeds in all the things it tries to do.
The cinematic nature of Trek to Yomi is compounded by its storytelling, however it’s the visuals that actually make it one thing value seeing. Using a method paying homage to the unique Resident Evil video games, the place the digicam is about at sometimes-odd angles so as to actually painting a cinematic high quality, Trek to Yomi does all the things it will possibly to make the participant consider they’re in a film, sticking largely to a side-scrolling viewpoint. Though this could trigger some wonkiness with the controls and the space set can often be detrimental to performing some gameplay features, the sport sacrifices in these areas to immerse the participant totally into its supposed visible fashion.
Moreover, the black-and-white tone and cutscenes take issues even additional, the place each second from starting to finish feels constantly just like the participant is melting into the place of Hiroki. The wonderful sound design and soundtrack preserve the richness going and the proper Japanese voice appearing is a should.
That is the place issues take slightly little bit of a flip, nonetheless, as Trek to Yomi’s Nintendo Change port leaves lots to be desired. Whereas framerate and efficiency sustain with the combo-filled gameplay, the visuals themselves fall brief with the highly-detailed environments. The shifts in lighting from very shiny to fairly darkish are noticeably exhausting to play by means of on the Change, whereas plantlife and objects get a tough edge to them that isn’t discovered on different {hardware}.
Whereas the visuals take a knock on the Nintendo Change, particularly, the gameplay is monotonous whatever the system you play it on. Very similar to different combo-based titles, Trek to Yomi has a fight system headlined by assaults, dodges, parries, and blocks. By means of these, combos will be realized and used to make every encounter simpler, however on the finish of the day, merely hacking and slashing by means of the essential enemies will normally get the job achieved. This turns into much more evident when the range-based weapons are introduced into the fold, with shurikens and a bow-and-arrow at your disposal. These assaults take ammunition that you could discover all over the world, however so long as you’re taking the time to go searching, it’s fairly plentiful. Boss fights are way more attention-grabbing when it comes to the fights themselves, in addition to the backing from the story, however all in all, Trek to Yomi is right here to allow you to play in a samurai film, not wow you with its methods.
Following that line of pondering, the world itself is crammed with extra story factors to be discovered, however aside from that, it’s largely a straight-forward, linear trek from level A to level B. Collectibles can be found to be found with both a brand new combo to be realized or some objects to be discovered. Traps will be discovered so as to make upcoming fights simpler, akin to a dangling log that may be dropped on unsuspecting enemies. In any other case, the participant’s major objective is to search out the following shrine, which features as a save spot, à la Darkish Souls’ bonfires.
Trek to Yomi is a love letter to basic Japanese cinema. Followers of the style will likely be totally immersed and giddy about having the ability to expertise one thing like this, and it’s one thing to behold visually even for individuals who don’t include prior data. Sadly, these visuals are finest skilled on methods aside from the Nintendo Change, which solely makes the monotonous gameplay extra evident. Unbelievable storytelling, although cliché, boosts Trek to Yomi in direction of one thing value experiencing, particularly when the sport will be crushed in a day.
