Trek to Yomi is a title from Flying Wild Hog and Devolver Digital and one I’ve been looking to get my hands on. I’m sure many of you have recently seen this being shown during a prior PlayStation State of Play, so now the game has a lot of buzz behind it. Thanks to a particular PR firm, we were given an opportunity to get hands-on with an early Trek to Yomi preview build.
One of the biggest things that smacked me in the face when I started playing was the visuals. This looks like an old black and white Samurai shows that I used to watch when I was younger. It’s so damned visually appealing, and I loved that Flying Wild Hog not only chose this visual design but was able to pull it off. While I knew I was playing a game, my mind was like, “This is a film, put down that controller.”
As I played and progressed through the slice of the game, the amount of immersion and interaction was equally impressive. Walking through the opening town segment and being able to watch and listen to as townspeople went about their daily activities, I thought, was really cool. As I continued to move through the town, some of those townspeople would interact with or watch me, which helped the game’s overall atmosphere. Rounding it all out, the game is voiced in Japanese, with subtitles. There’s no English voiceover option available, and while that might be a concern for some, I felt it added to the authenticity of what Flying Wild Hog was trying to accomplish.
While the first part of the preview introduced me to basic movements and attacks, the second slice allowed me to dive deeper into Trek to Yomi’s combat and introduced new attacks. I initially tried to do some of these attacks before I was granted them, yet I wasn’t able to do so. Meaning, that despite knowing the correct button presses, the game gates any advanced moves until you reach the point where they’re unlocked. And I don’t mean unlocked as in doing something to gain access to them. Once I reached a certain spot or killed an enemy in the preview, a newer ability was presented to me.
Combat is handled on a 2D plane, as enemies can attack from the left or right. Based on my time with the game, I’m guessing that enemies may have the ability to attack from both directions at once, though I’m hoping I’m wrong. I’ll get to that in a moment. As the player, I could attack in those directions, but I could dodge, block and parry, leaving enemies open for a quick attack. Do enough damage on more significant enemies, and you can stun them, opening them up to a finishing move that looks cool and provides you with some gained health.
When attacking, you can turn your back to the enemy for either attacking in the other direction or using a combo that allows you to do a rotation attack. However, I noticed that at times when I tried to switch directions quickly, there was a delay that resulted in me getting hit multiple times. That was a bit frustrating, but the only flaw I had with the combat system. There’s also a stamina system, with does restrict how much you can do at once. Block or attack too much, and you’ll leave yourself wide open for nasty damage.
One small thing to point out is that the game, that I’ve noticed so far, does feature exploration that can benefit you. In addition to finding items and collectibles, spotting an alternate route can also be a way to avoid confrontations or getting the drop on enemies. These locations aren’t obvious, and unless you’re looking for them, you’ll easily bypass them.
All in all, this small slice of gameplay has captivated me, and I’m looking forward to playing the full game whenever it gets released. Trek to Yomi does not have a release date, but it is slated to be released in 2022. It will be available for the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. I initially thought this was also coming to the Nintendo Switch, but I don’t see a confirmation that it is. This is a shame, as this game would be right at home on the Switch as well.
Once again, I want to thank Flying Wild Hog, Devolver Digital, and the PR firm that made this early hands-on possible.
