Trek To Yomi

We continue our D-GeneRate Game review and podcast with a little diddy called Trek To Yomi. This game starkly contrasts our first D-GeneRate A Game on Monster Boy and The Cursed Kingdom. The first thing you will notice about Trek To Yomi is that it is in black and white, baby!

Monster Boy was full of vibrant colors and very cartoony. In contrast, Yomi takes on a much more classic tone while using dope foreground background elements; rack focuses as you walk, and all-around great cinematography.

The Pick

Trek To Yomi is a story about a young Samurai looking to protect his village and his love from the ever-present danger of the outside world. The story is a classic tale of loss, vengeance, and a lot of crying. More on the crying later. Developer Leonard Menchiari worked with Flying Wild Hog, and publisher Devolver Digital to release this game in May of 2022.

What is this?

It's a side-scrolling action game focusing on parrying and combo-based sword fighting. The player takes over a young swordsman named Hiroki as he follows around his crush Aiko. Some asshole bandits are burning and killing everything in sight. Aiko's pops Sanjuro, is the village's protector, and Hiroki is his apprentice.

**Spoilers ahead**

If you got this far and didn't want to know more about what happens in the game, read some of our other shit or listen to our podcast OR our youtube best of.

Alright, kick off your Waraji (Samurai Footwear) and prepare as we Trek through Yomi Together. So Yomi is the Japanese word for the underworld. Trek is English for a long f****** journey on foot.

You follow around Aiko for a while as young Hiroki kicks bandit ass with the limited move set you have to start. The tutorial climax is a showdown with the head bandit, a noseless dickhead named Kaguro. Kaguro kinda looks like a pig or an orc with his nose all chopped off.

Anyway, you are but a boy at this point and can't take out a seasoned jerk like Kaguro. Master Sanjuro steps in and sacrifices himself while also killing Kaguro. Everybody's sad; Master makes apprentice promise to protect the village, anddddddd the title rolls. Now we are an adult Samurai.

Just the Tips(For First-Timers)

If you're thinking, "Hey, let's play on Ronin mode to start out," don't. I discussed with the other Degenerates how that decision led to a spike in my blood pressure. Speaking of health, I also don't suggest playing this game if the rest of your day consists of a baby crying at any point.

There was a lot of agonizing crying and yelling in the Edo Period of Feudal Japan. So the first tip is to prepare for sadness and don't start out on hard because it extends the sadness at the beginning of the game.

My second tip is if you come to a crossroad always take both routes. The most effective way to do that is to stop and look around as soon as you enter an area. If you see some sparkle(items) and a dead end, then proceed and collect your shit.

Every Bo-shuriken, arrow, and health and stamina increase is crucial. This game is very linear, like The Last Of Us. So if you miss something, you can't go back to get it if you get too far ahead.

Alright, I've prepared your mindset-- now for some combat tips. Save points are your best friends; they are the only way to regain your health. Throughout the game, you will unlock new combos. Make sure you test them out and use them.

My go-to for most of the game was the old Parry, Up light attack, light attack, strong attack. This is good for most enemies and quick enough to get you in and out.

When there is a group of enemies, always isolate projectile enemies first. The fellas with the big boom sticks should be taken out quickly because getting hit by them is devastating. Also take your time, you can't get into the next area without taking out all the enemies, so there is no point in bunching up enemies with your stamina low.

Kadhim Games Says: 7.2/10

Trek To Yomi is a beautiful game; let me make that clear. I've played a lot of video games, and I have never seen cinematography like this. As someone who has been a videographer for over a decade, I truly appreciate all the rack focuses, creative camera movement, and use of depth throughout the game.

Where the game lost some points for me was the story and combat. There is very little hope in this story, and its boss fights and lead up leave a lot to be desired. You run through a burning village in the normal world, and fight a few normal bad guys who have slightly different moves.

After a while, you die and Trek through Yumi, where there are skeletons and demons. For a second, I thought I was playing The Lord of The Rings Gollum, which I promised myself I wouldn't do after seeing that monstrosity of a gameplay reveal. I say that because in Yomi there are some dudes who look and act like Smeagol who actually are saying, "Mine, Mine".

The first really tough boss is a banshee, who it turns out, is Aiko's enraged spirit. The good ole roll button is the key to beating this angry swamp witch with giant swords. This fight took me several infuriating attempts, but it was satisfying when I took her down.

I won't give away the whole game, but there are specific dialect options you can choose that won't impact the game but do reveal one of three endings.

Overall, the barrage of screaming, despair, and simplified character progression made Trek to Yumi an average playthrough for The Kid. That's not to say the other Degenerates won't entirely disagree with me when/if they do their homework and beat the game.

Overall the game took my about 14 hours, but you could easily cut that time in half by not playing on Ronin difficulty. I spent about 3 hours trying to beat the final boss. This was just Kid Kadhim's thoughts on the game.

If you want to hear what D Block, Gizzi, and Cheech have to say, tune into Stuck On The Home Screen, where we will devote an entire episode to a new "D-Generate A Game" each month. Keep gaming guys!