Trek to Yomi is included with PlayStation Plus and since I’m bogged down with Bloodborne, I thought I would give it a wee shot.
I didn’t know if I would like it: 2D platforming combat, very beautiful 2.5D backgrounds… I thought perhaps it might be a little reminiscent of Playdead’s INSIDE, which I greatly enjoyed, but I still wasn’t 100% sure if I’d love this. The one thing I did know from the trailers was that it looked astonishingly beautiful, obviously influenced by 50s Japanese Samurai movies.
So I gave it a go and I found that my predictions were correct: after a few hours, I’m enjoying the gameplay and combat, although it relies too heavily on memorising combos for my taste. (That’s also why I bounced off the Insomniac Spider-Man games. I can’t really remember square, square, circle, while you’re backing away; I don’t think my brain is is suited for that sort of thing.) That said, I memorized enough to get me past most enemies, at least in these early stages, and despite those reservations I am finding it utterly compelling, just by virtue of how extraordinarily beautiful it is to look at. So I’m just kind of basking in its beauty, and I’m happy to do that for a while longer.
After one session, I’m a third of the way through the game so there’s a good chance I’ll just finish it and see how the story ends. The story is isn’t the most original I’m not particularly desperate to to see its conclusion from a narrative point of view. Coming straight from Bloodborne, although there’s a similar stamina mechanic, i-frames when you roll, and parrying, it still doesn’t really scratch that same itch.
Nevertheless, it is so beautiful, so well presented—the sound design is extraordinary and the music is just enchanting, I think I’ll I’ll play it to the end just to experience all of its beauty.
I got it included with PS Plus as a monthly game, but it’s also on Game Pass for XBoxers, and it’s not a full price game if you’re buying outright. I think at the moment it’s only £15.99. If I bought this for 16 quid I would fee I had more than got my my money’s worth.
It’s time well spent: utterly beautiful, tremendous audio and music, with engaging enough story and gameplay.
A good game to have a wee fling with.