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 much like satiate the thirst for these classics, it’s all the time a pleasing shock to seek 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 type and aesthetic simply splashes every thing Kurosawa imagined throughout the display, however this time, permitting the participant to make their manner by way 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 Swap {hardware} struggles to maintain up with the attractive visuals.
As a younger boy, Hiroki remains to be studying below 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, defend the lady, and search vengeance in opposition to the bandits who’ve mercilessly killed so many. Whereas Trek to Yomi doesn’t attempt to break the mould with out-of-left-field storytelling, it succeeds in every thing it tries to do.
The cinematic nature of Trek to Yomi is compounded by its storytelling, nevertheless it’s the visuals that actually make it one thing price seeing. Using a mode harking back to the unique Resident Evil video games, the place the digicam is about at sometimes-odd angles with a purpose to actually painting a cinematic high quality, Trek to Yomi does every thing it could to make the participant consider they’re in a film, sticking largely to a side-scrolling viewpoint. Despite the fact that this may trigger some wonkiness with the controls and the gap set can often be detrimental to performing some gameplay capabilities, the sport sacrifices in these areas to immerse the participant absolutely into its supposed visible type.
Moreover, the black-and-white tone and cutscenes take issues even additional, the place each second from starting to finish feels repeatedly just like the participant is melting into the place of Hiroki. The superb sound design and soundtrack hold the richness going and the right Japanese voice appearing is a should.
That is the place issues take just a little little bit of a flip, nevertheless, as Trek to Yomi’s Nintendo Swap port leaves lots to be desired. Whereas framerate and efficiency sustain with the combo-filled gameplay, the visuals themselves fall quick with the highly-detailed environments. The shifts in lighting from very shiny to fairly darkish are noticeably laborious to play by way of on the Swap, 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 Swap, 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 discovered and used to make every encounter simpler, however on the finish of the day, merely hacking and slashing by way of the fundamental enemies will normally get the job finished. 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 will need to discover around the globe, however so long as you’re taking the time to go searching, it’s fairly plentiful. Boss fights are rather more attention-grabbing by way of 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 programs.
Following that line of pondering, the world itself is stuffed with extra story factors to be discovered, however apart 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 discovered or some objects to be discovered. Traps will be discovered with a purpose to make upcoming fights simpler, equivalent to a dangling log that may be dropped on unsuspecting enemies. In any other case, the participant’s major aim is to seek out the following shrine, which capabilities 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 probably be absolutely 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 information. Sadly, these visuals are finest skilled on programs apart from the Nintendo Swap, which solely makes the monotonous gameplay extra evident. Unimaginable storytelling, although cliché, boosts Trek to Yomi in the direction of one thing price experiencing, particularly when the sport will be crushed in a day.
