Trek To Yomi

The death of Hiroki's teacher marks the life of our young swordsman. Revenge and the search for the executioner star in a story with shades of black and white reminiscent of the great works of Akira Kurosawa. Does the game live up to such inspiration?

The first thing to say is that Trek to Yomi is a modern approach to Jordan Mechner's classic, Prince of Persia, but in a Japanese style. Kurosawa's inspiration mustn’t be overpraised, even though the work of Leonard Menchiari and his team is stupendous. And of course, you will be able to enjoy some of the memorable sets of the most unrepeatable classics, from Los Siete Samurais to Ran through Yojimbo or Rashomon.

The story, battles, and settings, are what will get you hooked to the game. They have managed to tell a whole epic of revenge and redemption taking advantage of their black-and-white staging to do something truly unique and special. The possibilities in combat are somewhat limited in the final stages and the game focuses too much on aesthetics rather than gameplay, but this shouldn’t distract us from a very obvious conclusion: Trek to Yomi is a truly authentic video game.

Trek to Yomi puts us in the shoes of Hiroki, a young samurai apprentice who sees his life cut short after the appearance of a group of bandits that loot his village and end his master’s life. The hard blow will lead Hiroki to travel through Japan in search of revenge, improving his skills with the sword and taking the path of a ronin to find the executioners of his master.

The rhythm of combat is everything for Hiroki: We will be able to respond to the attacks by blocking the enemy, breaking the defense, and allowing us to execute enemies with steel swords. There are various threats, including weak enemies that can barely withstand two strikes from the protagonist and others that, armed to the teeth, will have to break through their defenses to kill them.

The title manages to create varied situations with few ingredients. From massive battles in which the stage itself is another enemy, to combats with surprising additions that add difficulty to the game. Being a game in which all the battles take place in two dimensions, it will be during exploration when we take control of Hiroki in three dimensions. There are collectibles and important items to succeed in the adventure, so it is worth being methodical when looking for clues and details to interact with and improve the gameplay and narrative experience of Trek to Yomi.

The commitment to black and white is a double-edged sword, but its developers have created a great visual finish and staging: the lighting seen in the village’s fire besieged by the wrath of the bandits; or the playable environments in which the aesthetics are combined with beautiful settings in such a way that it delights the most demanding users.

As for the sound, we must say that it is high-quality and includes a great soundtrack according to the title, along with outstanding Japanese dubbing. Melodies are slow and accompany the action of the game wonderfully.