Trek to Yomi: our first impressions

Hike to Yomi, the new action-adventure game from Flying Wild Hogdevelopers of shadow warriorIt’s a very special video game. Thanks to Devolver Digital, its distributor, we were able to test the game in its PC version.. Emphasize that this is not the final version of the title and does not represent its quality in its releaseplanned for this year.

different difficulties

when the engine starts you can choose the difficultyto be able to choose between Kabuki, it would become easyto get more out of the story. Bushido, regulara more complex experience. Ronin, difficult, it is already said to be really difficult, with quite intense fights. Finally we have Kensei, that we blocked him from the start, but that seems to be the way they kill us in one fell swoop.

The controls feel very good.

As soon as we start moving we will have a tutorial, in which the game feels like it has pretty neat gameplay. We have a light and strong attack. We each use at the same time we make different movements by moving the left joystick top, bottom or sideways. Be one more effective than another depending on the type of enemythat there are several. We can block enemy attacks and we have a parry system.

Parry correctly and make a critical attack we will have to press the lock button at the right timewhich also varies from enemy to enemy. By doing it correctly we will make a fairly powerful attack while recovering a little life.

Our character has a resistance barwhich empties while attacking, plus a life counter which is not a bar as such, but which is based on hits remaining, when we reach 0 we will die. Some enemies can do special moves to us that will make more than one cell disappear.

The game world

The game is structured in chapterswhich are full of secrets. He has collectibles that provide very interesting information as well as entertaining and side missions distributed over the level. Completing the optional missions we will get different rewards such as shuriken ammunition, upgrades and skills.

Having said that, we have a skill treebut it will not be us who will unlock it, but we will have to find them while we explore the scenarios and carry out side missions.

with the scanner we will also find improvements for life and resistanceas well as the number of shurikens we can carry.

Levels are full of shrines where you can save the game, in addition it will recover our life. You need to consider when to use them, because sometimes it is beneficial to use them after doing x thing or save them to recover life later.

Game environments feel alive, there is always movement and there are things to interact with, being able to use elements of the environment to make things easier, or more difficult, in our confrontations. It doesn’t feel flat at all. In addition, the game alternates between side cameras and fixed cameras, giving us different depths and freedom of movement depending on the area.. The fights, as far as we could prove, will be side-scrolling.

Graphically the title is quite successful without anything special. Black and white suits him beautifully, honoring the most classic films of the samurai scene like Yojimbo. The game in general draws a lot of inspiration from films by directors like Akira Kurosawa, a genius in the genre.

Variety of camera angles

the sound of the game

On the sound side, the soundtrack of Hike to Yomi honors traditional Japanese music, using typical instruments of the time and bringing a very special tension which perfectly complements its gameplay. Vocals are high levelwith several well-known Japanese voice actors, or seiyuus. You can really recognize some voices from other titles.

The ambient sounds are also very immersive, always relying on the sound of wind, birds, water, sand on the ground. If you can, we recommend playing Trek to Yomi with a good headset for more fun.

PC socket

The version we tested, the PC version, is compatible with ultrawide monitorstaking advantage of the entire surface of the monitors that support it. It also has quite decent configuration options.. We didn’t have more than a small drop in FPS although nothing remarkable. Remember we are before a preliminary version of the title and that will surely change.

We leave you a comparison between the resolutions of 1080 and ultrawide, which as we can see, eliminates the black stripes which give it a certain cinematic touch, but it’s not to everyone’s taste.

story

On a narrative level this doesn’t seem new, they murder our teacher and we swear to protect our people. A classic plot in the samurai genre, although here it seems to have one more twist and incorporates slightly more mythological themes, with demons and Yokai involved. We can tell you a little more without spoiling you, in addition, The little that we have been able to play is only the beginning of the title and there is surely a lot of wood to be cut that we will discover at launch..

Our findings

Hike to Yomi It gives a very good feeling, both mechanically and visually, it’s like watching a movie in which you are in continuous tension but at the same time you feel the strongest of all. It’s a movie you’ve seen before, but it feels more intense and with a different twist. Without a doubt, this is a title worth watching and following. Even with little play, our recommended victories.

Its launch is scheduled for this year.in spring, for all platforms and Game pass. Don’t forget to follow us here in Area Xbox so we can tell you more about this and other titles around the world.