Trek to Yomi – Game

Trek to Yomi received “mixed or average” reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. Reviewers concluded that while Trek to Yomi excelled in terms of its aesthetics and visuals, its combat, exploration, and narrative were underwhelming.

Zoey Handley of Destructoid gave the game a 7 out of 10, writing, “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.” Michael Goroff of Electronic Gaming Monthly commended the game’s visual presentation, saying, “It’s a beautiful game, crammed full of detailed backgrounds, dynamic camera angles, and lighting that understands how to make the most out of a black-and-white color scheme…What makes Trek to Yomi so visually striking is how its various camera angles give you the sense that you’re looking at a living diorama.” Jill Grodt Game Informer wrote that the tedious gameplay loop and visuals were reminiscent of a “…PlayStation 2-era game, with all of the faults and little of the nostalgia.” Jason Faulkner of GameRevolution likened the game to a Kurosawa film while praising the game’s grayscale visuals and music, but criticized its lack of character, writing, “…Trek to Yomi [is] missing a lot of the human element that made films like Yojimbo so endearing to audiences…Trek to Yomi is a Kurosawa film with all the close-ups and choreography removed, leaving only the pretty wide-angle shots to sate viewers.” Richard Wakeling of GameSpot similarly praised the inspiration Trek to Yomi drew from Kurosawa films, calling it “an excellent homage” with its use of weather effects, fluid camerawork, and framing of monotone visuals, concluding, “The faults of its gameplay are especially disappointing given that Trek to Yomi is such a gorgeous and spellbinding game to look at.” Jon Bailes of GamesRadar+ similarly lauded the game’s unique aesthetic but unfavorably compared the title to Sifu due to its repetitive, shallow, and unengaging combat.

Travis Northup of IGN criticized the game’s side quests and puzzles, deeming them filler while writing, “It’s just too bad these ideas weren’t taken a little further as it’s currently all incredibly straightforward and opportunities for environmental kills almost never come up.” George Yang of PC Gamer panned the inconsistent and janky combat, stating, “The controls and wooden animation just can’t live up to the fluidity of the film duels Trek to Yomi so badly wants to emulate.” Robert Ramsey of Push Square gave the game 7 stars out of 10, concluding, “Trek to Yomi is a decent samurai action game, elevated greatly by its superb presentation. Clocking in at only a few hours, this is a brief but ultimately satisfying tale, stitched together by some simple but very effective environmental design, and a combat system that rewards careful play.” Ozzie Mejia of Shacknews praised the unique presentation, crisp swordplay, and abundance of checkpoints and recommended the game to fans of Kurosawa films.