Trek to Yomi (PS5)

Trek to Yomi ist ein gelungenes Samurai-Actionspiel, das durch seine großartige Präsentation ordentlich aufgewertet wird. Mit einer Spielzeit von nur einigen Stunden ist es eine kurze, aber dennoch zufriedenstellende Geschichte, die durch ein simples, aber atmosphärisches Umgebungsdesign und ein Kampfsystem, das achtsames Spielen belohnt, zusammengehalten wird.

The faults of its gameplay are especially disappointing given that Trek to Yomi is such a gorgeous and spellbinding game to look at. Its visuals are evocative of classic samurai cinema in a way few other games have managed, successfully capturing the look and feel of Kurosawa's masterpieces with aplomb.

Sadly, Trek to Yomi looks and feels noticeably outdated for such an aesthetically pleasing game. And its archaic gameplay can’t be completely covered up by its artistic black-and-white filter. Trek to Yomi tried to reach the heights of lauded Japanese filmmaking, but unfortunately, it falls almost as flat as its 2D combat plane.

The gameplay is just overwhelmingly underwhelming. Poor exploration, unimpressive combat, and a merely passable narrative can’t be made up for by aesthetics. Which is too bad, because the aesthetics are terrific. The backgrounds have a stunning amount of variety to them and are of almost poetic quality.

Trek to Yomi feels like a victim of its own cinematic inspirations and artistic ambitions. While satisfying at times, the combat is ultimately pretty one-note and begins to outstay its welcome by the time you’ve reached the end of Hiroki’s journey.

Trek to Yomi is a game that really does evoke the style of Kurosawa films, with a good story and good characters. However, it is let down by a combat system that can feel clunky and unresponsive against enemies that are a little too straightforward to defeat. If you enjoy sidescrollers and samurai then it may be worth spending the few hours it takes to play through it.