It was a little over a month ago that I had the chance to play a preview copy of Trek to Yomi. With visuals inspired by the likes of Akira Kurosawa and a story that combines timeless samurai cinema with Japanese mythology, I was intrigued as soon as I heard about it. As much as I felt that certain elements of the gameplay needed some fine-tuning after playing the preview, every ounce of the presentation fueled my interest and left me with a lot of excitement heading into the full game.

Trek to Yomi can best be described as part 2.5D side scroller and part 3D adventure. The side-scrolling sections are primarily used for combat which is the more involved part of the game. On the flip side, the 3D exploration is for exploring the areas in each chapter and occasionally solving puzzles. When it comes to combat, it’s best to imagine this as almost the opposite of a hack-and-slash.

As tempting as it is to go in with your sword swinging against a common bandit, that’s an easy way to send you back to the previous checkpoint. You’re instead meant to take a more methodical approach by observing enemy attack patterns. Knowing when to block, when to attack, and most crucially when to parry and counterattack is the key to surviving each battle. Thankfully, the window to parry isn’t too tight and it won’t take long for most players to create their own opportunities to attack.

One of my biggest issues with the preview copy was how slow combat felt. I thankfully did not feel that way playing through the full game. I want to say the basic attack comes out quicker or at least counterattacking off of a parry feels quicker, but I can’t say with certainty. It could be that any changes were slight enough to not be obvious, but still impactful enough to make a difference. Maybe it was just all in my head. Either way, combat felt quicker and I enjoyed it a lot more this time around.

All the different skills you learn help a lot in this regard. Whether it’s an extension to an existing combo/skill or something new entirely, the gameplay becomes a lot more fun the farther you get into the game. Ranged weapons with limited ammo you pick up also add more options to deal with enemies. I mostly relied on it to get out of any difficult situations I found myself in, such as when I was low on health or felt a little overwhelmed. Ammo isn’t abundant, although you could use the ranged weapons more than I did without worrying about running out.

An important mechanic for combat is stamina. Attacking, guarding, sprinting, and rolling all drain the available stamina. Forgetting to keep an eye on it can lead you into a brief tired state that limits you to only a slow attack or parrying. It’s a weighty disadvantage to have, especially when you’re up against multiple enemies or one that you’re not used to yet.

In fact, I felt it was more common in the latter half of the game when I would often be dealing with enemies on either side of me. The 2.5D combat means you’ll mostly only be dealing with two enemies at a time. However, enemies with ranged attacks do present an additional challenge.

The best way to prepare yourself for the difficult challenges ahead is to explore everything you can during the 3D-movement areas. It really can’t be understated how much you can miss if you stay on the typically obvious linear path. Although you’ll still find some items as you tackle the occasional puzzle or interactable object, it’s in the out-of-the-way rooms and paths that you’ll commonly find collectible artifacts or upgrades that increase your health, stamina, and ammo count.

Some of these are hidden in areas with stray enemies. Getting through these isolated enemy encounters may not only reward you with a nice upgrade but also with new skills as well. Unless you’re a glutton for punishment or love to limit yourself, even on the Bushido (normal) difficulty it feels vital to find everything. I imagine it feels even more vital in the Kensei difficulty which makes the player and all non-boss enemies capable of dying from one hit.

If you’re not looking for a deep challenge, the Kabuki difficulty is essentially an easy mode that lets you relax and enjoy the story without the added stress. It follows the samurai Hiroki as he deals with tragedy, failure, and the struggle of determining what matters to him. Fulfilling what the title of the game promises, his journey takes him to Yomi, the land of the dead in Japanese mythology.

It’s a simple story that got me invested once it started exploring the mythological mystique side of it. Something that intrigued me was a few select moments that gave you dialogue choices that implied different paths/endings. An achievement description that popped up after I beat the game solidified this.

Before I talk more about that though, I need to give praise to the game’s visual presentation. This is meant to look like a classic samurai film and it absolutely nails that aesthetic with superb lighting. All of the different locations in the story, from burning villages to the ethereal Yomi look fantastic. It’s just an absolute joy to watch and seeing it in motion when you’re playing is even better.

Taking it a step further towards that cinematic quality are the fixed camera angles. Moving into another area causes an immediate switch to another camera angle. The areas of combat typically switch to the 2.5D perspective and evoke the classic samurai duel visual. Outside of combat areas, there is a lot more variance in the camera angles that helps keep the visuals fresh.

The audio certainly pulls its weight too. Every bloody slash sounds visceral and hearing swords clash against each other is always satisfying. Even the environmental noises do a lot to characterize each area. Crackling fires with distraught villagers screaming make for a much different atmosphere than facing down an enemy in heavy rain.

Although there weren’t any tracks that specifically stood out to me, the overall soundtrack feels very authentic to the setting. I thought it complimented everything from the introspective scenes to the intense battles. English voice acting can be turned on as an option, however, the default Japanese voice acting with English subtitles does help a lot in making it feel like a Japanese film.

There’s so much I liked and my biggest issues with the preview copy weren’t felt with the final build. I wish I could say that means the game is utterly fantastic, but it isn’t without its detriments. In particular, the place where the game sorely lacks is its replay value.

This might seem a little at odds with a lot that I’ve talked about so far. After all, stuff like collectibles and multiple endings would normally promote repeated playthroughs or at least replays of each chapter. I know that’s what I was looking forward to as the end credits rolled because I wanted to see the different endings. I’d also missed a handful of artifacts that I wouldn’t have minded replaying a chapter or two to find, including some which seemed to be revealing important information about the characters.

Imagine my surprise when after the credits I was only greeted with the option for a fresh new game with no carryover. It does feel a little silly to nitpick over this, but I also feel like it’s been quite a while since I played a linear game that doesn’t have a chapter select feature or some sort of new game+.

I suppose it may not have seemed necessary in consideration of the game’s length. My first playthrough was a little under seven hours and that was with me doing my best (not good enough though) to find everything. That time could easily be shortened on a repeat playthrough.

On the other hand, I’m not sure I would be willing to go through everything all over again just for what I assume is a different ending cutscene. The game is at its most fun at the end when you have so many different attacks and tools at your disposal, some of which are unlocked near the end. As a result, you might not have a lot of time to use them. Having to lose out on all of that versatility to start a new game from scratch lowers my desire to do so.

This doesn’t change the quality and experiences of playing through the game, it’s just unfortunate that the best part is so fleeting. Even if I wanted to play through just to get specific achievements it seems like it would be a real pain. Since I have to start fresh I have no indication of which artifacts I missed in my first playthrough. I’m hoping any unlocks are remembered in the background across all new games, but I wasn’t able to confirm that for sure.

I also happened to miss some skills along with some upgrades. It’s easy to track the artifacts that I’ve picked up or missed in a chapter because they are listed out in the order that you’re meant to find them. Nothing else is as easy to track. Sixteen skills can be learned and they all unlock haphazardly in the skills menu for some reason. Upgrades don’t even have trackers at all, so there’s no way to tell if you missed any until you found them or it’s too late.

Unfortunately, what adds to this is the fact that you can’t even restart a chapter you’re in. The most you can go back to is the previously saved checkpoint. If you’re trying to collect something and you know for a fact that it was before your last saved checkpoint, you’re likely out of luck. Some may not mind this as it does bring about nostalgia for older and more limited games. For those simply looking to collect everything or knock out some achievements, these omissions don’t feel the most friendly or modern.

Moreover, I also think there are a lot of players who would love to challenge one or any of the bosses again with all of their available moves. The best that can be done is carefully playing through the whole game and fighting the final boss. It’s a shame because I know I’d be happy at the very least to be able to replay a whole chapter just to fight a boss and their unique moveset again.

I had a lot of fun from the beginning until the end credits rolled and I’m not discounting that experience. It’s just that the game promotes reasons to play more without offering convenient or different ways to do so. For a linear title such as this, which is more limited in how interactive it is compared to something like an RPG, that’s typically accomplished with the basic features that have sadly been overlooked here. I’m hoping that some of these features manage to be added in an update or a patch further down the line.

Trek to Yomi is a wonderful tribute to samurai films with satisfying combat and authentic presentation that’s spearheaded by incredible visuals. There are a lot of elements that encourage more playthroughs, but it’s all at odds with the lack of common features such as new game+, chapter select, or even the option to restart a chapter. If you’re just looking to go through it once or maybe twice for the unlockable one-hit mode, it’s a fantastic game to check out (especially with Xbox Game Pass). If you’re looking for any additional experience beyond playing the linear journey again, you might come away content and a little soured.

A PC Review Copy of Trek to Yomi was provided by Devolver Digital for this review

Phenixx Gaming is everywhere you are. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

Also, if you’d like to join the Phenixx Gaming team, check out our recruitment article for details on working with us.

Phenixx Gaming is proud to be a Humble Partner! Purchases made through our affiliate links support our writers and charity!

Trek to Yomi

$19.99

7.9

Score

7.9/10

Pros

• Incredible Visuals
• Progressively Fun Combat
• Satisfying Audio
• Great Range of Difficulty Options

Cons

• No Chapter Select/Option to Restart
• No New Game+
• No Trackers for Upgrades