Announced in June 2021, Trek to Yomi gained notice thanks to an extremely cinematic black and white trailer. But this unusual graphic style was not a publicity stunt reserved for the promotion of the game, because it is indeed the whole adventure that will present this aspect. Even if no precise release date has yet been communicated by Devolver Digital, apart from a simple “2022”, the publisher has already given us access to a preview version. We were therefore able to take control of the young samurai Hiroki for two promising chapters.
The cinematic tone is set from the launch of the game since even the introductory logos sport a black and white dress, embellished with a grainy filter and strewn with cracks and dust, thus simulating the defects of analog film of yesteryear. The general menu drives the point home and implicitly indicates the major influence of Trek to Yomi, namely the Japanese samurai films of the 50s in general, and those of Akira Kurosawa in particular. The different sections are presented vertically using Japanese characters, while the difficulty setting gives a choice of four modes titled Kabuki, Bushido, Ronin and Kensei. The first steps in the game itself confirm once again this particular atmosphere, since we are entitled to Japanese voices and horizontal black bands, the black and white image being in 21/9 format and not 16/9. Once again, grain or film skipping effects are present, while certain shots play successfully with the codes of cinema. The depth of field is deliberately shallow, resulting in nice blur effects. The camera automatically moves closer or further away from the action to show us the environments in the best possible light. And, of course, from torii gates to kimonos via shrines and pagodas, there are a whole host of elements that make up the charm of Japanese folklore. The screenplay is also inspired by the classics of Japanese cinema from the last century, since it revolves around the theme of revenge. Hiroki, the young samurai that we control, indeed sees the inhabitants of his village being exterminated before his eyes and therefore goes in search of the leader of the bandits. If the first of the two playable chapters of this preview version serves as a tutorial and places us at the head of a teenager Hiroki, it is a man in full possession of his faculties that we control from the second.
GHOST OF SIFU, SAMURAI SAUCE
Relatively technical, the fights involve a quick hit, a strong attack, a block, a parry, a roll, final blows to place on stunned enemies and various combos. If the camera offers different angles of view during the exploration phases, the fights always take place in profile and place our hero facing (or back) to one or more opponents. The gameplay requires you to carefully study the behavior of each type of enemy in order to block and avoid as many blows as possible, while getting out of the counter-attacks as soon as possible. In this, these first steps on Trek to Yomi reminded us somewhat of Ghost of Tsushima of course, but also the recent Sifu. The management of “Structure” of the title of Slocap is here replaced by an equally essential management of endurance. If the stamina bar is consumed too quickly, the hero then enters a state of fatigue which only allows him to parry certain blows and perform slow attacks. We can then very quickly find ourselves overwhelmed and die in a few seconds. Here, as in Sifu, the challenge is therefore relatively high, as the boss concluding this test proved to us. But the presence of several difficulty levels should allow players who are not very keen on “tryhard” to get by despite everything.
In this, these first steps on Trek to Yomi reminded us somewhat of Ghost of Tsushima of course, but also the recent Sifu. The management of “Structure” of the title of Slocap is here replaced by an equally essential management of endurance.
In any case, it seems important to explore the levels as much as possible. Even if the latter are essentially linear, certain more or less hidden detours still give access to potentially useful bonuses. While we were able to unearth a few collectibles serving only lore, we also came across very significant increases in health and endurance on several occasions. Exploration can also lead to the discovery of ammunition intended for throwing bo-shurikens (which do not “one-shot” enemies but allow them to be injured and destabilized in order to more easily place a saber blow) as well as to additional backup shrines. Knowing that these restore health and stamina in addition to serving as checkpoints, it is important to find as many as possible so as not to have to repeat the same passages too often.
Will Trek to Yomi meet with the same success as Ghost of Tsushima and Sifu, two games that seem to have inspired the developers of Flying Wild Hog? It is still too early to say since this preview version does not yet allow us to judge the difficulty and the interest of the scenario in the long term, the general lifespan, and the possible weariness that could appear facing a perpetually black and white screen. But it is already certain that the title will fully assume its “old samurai film” bias, whether in terms of content or form. For that alone we are rather optimistic about the final version, which we can’t wait to take in hand. Will it be in a month or in nine? We don’t know yet, but hopefully Devolver doesn’t make us languish too much and releases the game in the coming weeks.