Trek to Yomi

Wake the heck up, Samurai! Welcome to Trek to Yomi! If you are looking for an outstandingly stylish revenge tale that pits you, a samurai, against a massive onslaught of enemies who dare stand in your way, you are in the right place. Trek to Yomi is a visually impressive title that offers simplistic but engaging, side-scrolling gameplay while retaining a story that is, without a doubt, an homage to the classics of its genre and the movies that inspired it. Let’s gear up and jump right into it.

Gameplay

So, Trek to Yomi is a side-scrolling hack and slash and it never really breaks from that tried and tested gameplay. From start to finish, the game maintains its rhythm very well. You will progress through the story with naught but your wits, your sword, and a few projectile weapons to boot. You will encounter many enemies, and the combat follows a simple theme of mixing light attacks, heavy attacks, and parries to defeat enemies. Light attacks are weaker but faster, heavy attacks are stronger but slower, and parrying an enemy’s blow can knock them off balance allowing you to perform a devastating kill move which often behead them.

Much of the combat is about studying your enemies and finding their weak spots. Not a glowing red button that you throw a bomb at, but a moment where their defense drops or a second where they take a break between swings. Its amazing fun and once you have mastered it, you feel like a god of death in a straw hat. At the start of the game, you feel like you’re playing a 2.5D version of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and by the end of it, you feel a lot more like you’re playing Ghost of Tsushima.

The game has you follow the story mostly, but there are a few simple side quests that have you looking around sections of a map. As a side scroller, these side quests don’t have very much depth or provide much gameplay diversity, but they do make the world feel a bit more alive.

Story

The story is a pretty straight forward revenge tale that looks like it could have been pulled from a classic samurai movie. Now, that is not to say it’s bad, but, rather, its more like an homage to the classics. You take control of the young swordsman Hiroki, and you must avenge your dying master while protecting your town and loved ones against all threats. This is a riveting story about tragedy, honor, compromise, and justice.

Visuals

Easily the most stand-out part of the game, the visuals are utterly stunning from start to finish. Presented as though it was an old black and while samurai movie, Trek to Yomi’s cinematography is fantastic with each scene looking like it could have been pulled from an old painting. From the dreamlike sequences in a strange world to walking the streets of the city, you will find yourself in awe of how this game presents both its battles and its slower moving sections.

Pros

• Incredible Visuals
• Engaging story

Cons

• Combat is a bit too simple
• The game is very short clocking it at around 3 hours