Trek to Yomi is a platform action fighting game developed by Flying Wild Hog and published by Devolver Digital, the same group that brought us Shadow Warrior 3. You play as Hiroki who watches loved ones die and picks up his Samurai sword to protect the village. It has an exciting story with blistering beautiful graphics that will keep you hooked.
There are some interesting combat mechanics and plenty of elements I didn’t expect to see in a platform game. I have a deep love for the Japanese voice acting in the game, while I’m glad there are English subtitles. You’ll find plenty more details of what I did and didn’t enjoy in my Trek to Yomi review below.
Trek to Yomi story
The most remarkable aspect of Trek to Yomi is the story. It weaves a mystical tale in ancient Japan that calls to the heart. Here are the elements I enjoyed the most while playing the preview version I got access to.
A young samurai warrior
When you first start as Hiroki, you’re simply a child. You quickly connect with him on a personal level, especially when things fall apart around him. You can feel the heat of anger and passion as you head out to defend the village.
At the core of the tale is when Hiroki loses someone close to him (won’t spoil who it is). The expressions and pitch of his voice show you just how angry he is, but somehow, he channels that into his combat abilities. You’ll also love how every aspect of Japanese lore is placed within the game as you progress through the story.
Crossing ages
Trek to Yomi doesn’t linger on one stage of Hiroki’s life. As you move between chapters, there are many years that pass. It shows how much he’s developed in that time, which is also how you unlock new skills.
Each chapter has missions you need to complete before you can progress further in the story. There are sometimes puzzles you need to complete, like in the form of moving objects. When you want to save progress, you’ll visit shrines along the way.
Finding collectibles
Progressing with the story isn’t the only fun element in Trek to Yomi. There are collectibles you’ll find along the way, but sometimes you need to discover secret areas or pathways to obtain them. As you complete a chapter, a new page will appear in your journal showing you what to look out for.
How long to play Trek to Yomi
If you take your time to play the game as I did for this review, you’ll spend at least six to eight hours, if not more, completing the story. I’m sure there are speedrunners that will attempt to do it faster, but I feel that’s a generous amount of time if you want to soak in the story.
Trek to Yomi gameplay
Now that you have a better idea of Trek to Yomi’s story, I want to delve into the gameplay aspects. I honestly didn’t think there could be so many elements in a platform game, but Flying Wild Hog and Devolver Digital have taken it to a whole new level.
Learning how to play Trek to Yomi
When you start playing Trek to Yomi, there’s a tutorial that fits in nicely with the story. Your Sensai or Master shows you the basics of attack and defend, which I found easier to use on an Xbox controller than on a keyboard. In some ways, the side-view fighting reminded me of Mortal Kombat 11.
The only tricky part was getting the parry right. You need to block and then time your attack right after. Even when I thought I’d perfected it in the tutorial, I still struggled to maintain that perfection in actual battles. Fortunately, when you unlock abilities at a later stage, the journal shows you how to pull them off.
Modes and difficulties
There are four different difficulties you can choose between, each one harder than the next. The first one mainly lets you focus on the story, so combat elements will be easier and almost non-existent. I played the second difficulty for my Trek to Yomi review, as I wanted to experience more of the fighting with the tale. The last two are even more challenging. As for the modes, you only have the campaign to play.
Saving checkpoints
As you play through the story, you’ll find shrines that you need to click on to save your progress. Fortunately, it saves any items you’ve already collected, so you won’t need to do that again. Also, it skips any cutscene videos you’ve already watched, so you only need to fight the same villains and bandits as before.
Combat mechanics
The combat isn’t too difficult once you get the hang of it. There are set functions for most of the Xbox buttons, and the trick is learning how to make the best of them in each situation. You can swing your Samurai sword, throw a spear-like Scorpion in Mortal Kombat, parry or block, or spin in the other direction.
You’ll need to keep an eye on your stamina bar. When it becomes empty, blocking and special moves are no longer valid. I found myself learning to watch that meter to stay alive in Trek to Yomi. You’ll feel a sense of satisfaction when you pull off the outstanding combos in later chapters, though.
Unique abilities
In our Shadow Warrior 3 review, we mentioned how very reminiscent the finishing moves were to fatalities in Mortal Kombat. Even though Trek to Yomi is a platform game, the developer somehow managed to incorporate the same mechanics. It sent chills down my spine seeing how I stunned the enemy and then decapitated him in one swipe of my sword.
As you move through later chapters, you’ll unlock new abilities and combos. They’ll help you with tougher enemies and bosses, and also put a smile on your face if you love martial arts as much as I do. Check your journal now and again to see how the movements work.
User interface
There are only a few menus to use in Trek to Yomi. The one contains your journal with the story chapters, while another has your abilities. You can also view your collectibles.
On the game screen, there isn’t much to distract you. There’s a small health section with bars that deplete every attack on your body. When you visit a shrine, your health restores completely. You’ll also see your stamina bar.
Gameplay performance
The PC requirements for Trek to Yomi aren’t that huge, and you can easily play it on a decent computer. When I get to the sound and visuals section of this review, these requirements will make a lot more sense:
- OS: Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10 x64
- Processor: Intel Core i3-4160 (2 * 3600) or equivalent
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: GeForce 9600 GT (512 MB)
- Storage: 3 GB available space
I played the game on Windows 11 with Steam, and there was no issue at all with performance. I saw no hint of lagging, and the graphics were superb every step of the way.
Trek to Yomi visuals and sound
In the final section of this Trek to Yomi review, I look into the graphics and sound. The game really surprised me, especially considering that it’s a platform game in most regards. I didn’t expect it to be this good when I first started the game.
Overall graphics
The visuals in Trek to Yomi are set in black and white tones. Since it’s set in old times within Japan, it works remarkably well for the game. The lighting and shadows are fantastic, and I really can’t stop staring at what the developer has achieved.
Character and world designs
The characters look so realistic, I honestly believed some video acting was done at one stage. It’s hard to tell if it’s CGI or real people in some of the motion videos. There are some incredible scenes that will leave your jaw-dropping.
As for the world design, the developer has gone the extra mile with Trek to Yomi. While most of the game features side-view platform visuals, there are times you’ll run backward and forward to access other parts; as in to and away from the computer screen. It really makes you feel like you’re playing in four dimensions.
Soundtrack and voice acting
As with the visuals, the voice acting and soundtrack are utterly amazing. They speak in Japanese, but you can hear the passion in their dialogue. The music sets the pace; slow and casual while investigating, fast and hurried while in battle. High praise to the developer for what they’ve achieved with Trek to Yomi’s music score and voices.
Final verdict of Trek to Yomi
Trek to Yomi is a platform action game that I enjoyed more than I expected to. There’s so much fighting that’s evenly balanced with the storyline, visuals, and sound. The collectibles are a nice touch, but you’ll find yourself pursuing the plot more than discovering secret items. There’s no reason you won’t absolutely love this game once the full version is released.
If you’re like to see more game reviews like this, check out the articles on Drill Deal Oil Tycoon and Minecraft.
Pros
- Intriguing story
- Stunning visuals and scenes
- Easy combat mechanics
- Impressive music score and voice acting
- Finishing moves
- Relatable and beautiful characters
- Added entertainment with collectibles
Cons
- The parry timing is slightly frustrating
Developer: Leonard Menchiari, Flying Wild Hog
Publisher: Devolver Digital
Game Modes: Campaign
Platform reviewed: Windows 11 – Steam
