Plus a Trek to Yomi

The PlayStation Plus monthly game lineup for June 2023 is out, and it's got a? strange mix of titles. Sports fans, archaeologists, and sword aficionados will all have som??ething to look forward to in June, at the least.

For June 2023 PlayStation Plus is getting NBA 2K23, the most recent entry in the basketball series, for PlayStation 4 and PS5. Reviews on this particular entry seem medium-warm, though I'll admit, I haven't played some virtual hoops in quite a while. My go-to is NBA Street, personally. But if you want to? play?? the modern-day, professional basketball, this a cheap way to try it out.

Otherwise, if you're a bit more keen on dinosaurs, Jurassic World Evolution 2 is also on this month's docket. These dinos (probably) can't play basketball, but they can cause havoc for you and your parkgoers. Ever think you could run Jurassic Park and have it not turn into a terri??fying mess? Well, this is your shot.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=g76Zx7zydXQ

If you just want a cinematically inclined, action-driven story about a swordsman, Trek to Yomi can cover that. Following Hiroki, a blademaster who fails in his vow to protect the people he cares for, you can expect a lot of slicing and dicing in this 2D action-adventure game.

Of course, a new month means we se??e some old games depart. If they look appealing, make sure to get them before they're gone. Here's everything coming and going on the PlayStation Plus monthly lineup in June 2023. You've got until June 6 to lock them onto your account.

Coming to PlayStation Plus monthly games in June 2023

• NBA 2K23 (PS4, Ps5)
• Jurassic World Evolution 2 (PS4, PS5)
• Trek to Yomi (PS4, PS5)

Leaving the PlayStation Plus monthly games on June 6

• GRID Legends
• Chivalry 2
• Descenders

The post June PlayStation Plus lineup incl?udes includes basketball and dinosaurs appeared first on Destructoid.

Lady Switchblood

Devolver Digital has announced that its vengeance-fueled samurai slasher Trek to Yomi will be released on Nintendo Switch Monday, January 30, following on from its previous appeara??nce on PlayStation, PC, and Xbox in the summer of 2022.

Developed by Flying Wild Hog, Trek to Yomi is a love letter to the bloodthirsty-but-stoic samurai epics of yore, and tells the tale of a young swordsman who sets out on a pilgrimage to the titular town, with?? the aim of confronting the ancient master who razed his village to the gro??und. Featuring intensely violent side-scrolling action, Trek to Yomi attempts to capture the balletic carnage and aesthetic violence of the many movies that poured out of Toei Studios between the '60s and '70s

//www.??youtube.com/??watch?v=Kexl_PrUeFo&ab_channel=DevolverDigital

Unfortunately on launch, Trek to Yomi didn't quite receive the smash hit reviews one might have hoped, but it was universally praised for its presentation style, great soundtrack, and fine, if unremarkable gameplay. For fans of the samurai genre, Trek to Yomi is still more than worth picking up, and remains a fine example of a modern-day, Edo-era release �alongside fantastic titles such as FromSoftware's  Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and Sucker Punch's Ghost of Tsushima.

Trek to Yomi launches January 30 on N??intend?o Switch. It is available now on PLayStation, PC, and Xbox.

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Like Kurosawa I make mad films, 'kay I don't make films

Yomi is a concept that is so depressing, th??at it’s largely not followed in contemporary Japanese society, even among those that still observe the rituals of Shinto. It doesn’t matter what you do in ?your life, the mythology says you were sent to the land of darkness to rot for eternity. It’s no wonder the Japanese were quick to merge their indigenous religion with Buddhism.

Nonetheless, it’s central to the romanticized image of the Samurai, which I never really got. Sure, you sent your foes to Yomi, but you’re going to wind up there yourself. It doesn’t matter what a great s?wordsman you are, everyone is equal in the way they’re goin?g to rot.

But, like Hades, it works from a mythological standpoint. Are you a bad enough dude to head to Yomi and back? Doomguy has a vacation home in Hell, which shows the theme still works, and that’s exactly what Trek to Yomi is about. Visiting the afterlife, I me?an. N??ot Doomguy's vacation home.

Trek to Yomi (PC [Reviewed], PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S)
Developer: Leonard Menchiari, Flying Wild Hog
Publisher: Devolver Digital
Released: May 5, 2022
MSRP: $19.99

It’s probably fairer to say that Trek to Yomi is about old post-war Samurai flicks. The whole game is presented in black and white with heavy film grain effects. Rather than just being a filter, however, Trek to Yomi takes great care in its use of shadow, contrast, and framing. You could play Ghost of Tsushima with a black-and??-white filter sla??pped over top, but that just doesn’t have the same effect as a game that was built with it being central to its aesthetic.

It tells the story of Hiroki, a samurai whose sensei is, rather predictably, killed. Years later, history repeats itself and Hiroki’s village ??is again attacked by bandits, but this time he’s going to have to go further than just learning to murder to reach his destiny.

Honestly, it’s not the best story. It works well as a framework for the aesthetic, but?? it’s awkwardly paced and thematically muddled. It has its interesting points, but you can tangibly feel it pushing you through visually interesting setpieces.

[embed]//youtu.be/xIkDGlPa-3c[/embed]

Trek to Yomi shu?ffles between fixed camera “explorationâ€?sections and side-scrolling combat. It utilizes its dominance of the camera to give you the best views of ??its beautiful and haunting backgrounds.

The exploration feels a little forced. Trek to Yomi is a ??restrictively linear game, but there are opportunities to probe the margins for collectibles, upgrades, and traps that can be triggered against groups of enemies. It has a habit of saying, “hurry, everyone is in danger,�while also pushing you to check every doorway for ??knickknacks. It can also be difficult to discern what direction is a secret and which way you’re supposed to go. Often, I wouldn’t find traps until I had already killed the enemies standing beneath them. It’s hard to pick the correct doorway when you aren’t clairvoyant.

It’s something to spice up the gameplay, I suppose, which it badly needs. Combat isn’t very interesting. It follows the Assassin’s Creed/Batman/Ghost of Tsushima style in putting focus on parrying, dodging, and s??taggering. Where it fails in its tactility. Enemies don’t react very satisfyingly to being hit. Even when you manage to stun them, they just stop what they’re doing and slacken their shoulders, waiting for you to either deliver th??e death blow or screw up and press the wrong button.

It’s not helped that all combat is on a 2D plane. While I think it could work, it largely means that enemies either attack you one at a tim?e, from a range, or from both sides. I get that the Samurai code of honor put emphasis on one-on-one combat, but it doesn’t lead to much excitement.

There’s also a combo system that takes some getting used to, but when I did, I found a combo that worked and largely used it for most of the game. Pressing back doesn’t make your cha??racter turn, which is awkward; you need to press a face button or perform a turning combo. Itâ€??™s not horrible, but it’s just unintuitive enough to result in a few stabs in the back.

So, it’s fine, but it’s really all there is to gameplay. A few (v?ery simple) puzzles crop up, but the design is ?more focused on framing the awesome stuff going on in the background. The combat is the only challenge to it, and it’s not that interesting. I even won most boss battles by just being aggressive and hammering on that one combo that seemed to work for me. Hold up, press X, X, Y. The end.

This was on the default difficulty; the game’s medium mode. I suppose things would be different on its ultra-hard equivalent where you die in a single hit, but I generally reserve my over-achieving for games that really impact me and suck me in. Trek to Yomi didn’t do that.

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. I suppose if you saw Trek to Yomi and this is what grabbed you, then you’re all set. ??However, if you want strong gameplay to back that up, then it just isn’t worth the trek.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Trek to Yomi appeared first on Destructoid.

Swordfighting in black and white

The Kurosawa-inspired Trek to Yomi has set a date. The samurai action game unsheathes the blade on PlayStation 4,? PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on May 5, 2022.

News of the date arrives alongside an extended gameplay video, where developer Leonard Menchiari and Flying Wild Hog showcase a 15-minute chunk of Trek to Yomi. Alongside the side-scrolling, sword-slicing action, there are some light environm??ental puzzles to solve too. Or at least, a tree to chop for a makeshift?? bridge.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FnqP8K-s7w

The visual style is the big draw though, and Trek to Yomi looks pretty gorgeous in motion. The black-and-white look obviously brings Akira Kurosawa movies to mind, but the touches I like are the foreground and background movement. Things?? popping in and out and of the foreground, changing up the frame, look really cool as the player ventures through each area.

On the path of vengeance

Trek to Yomi will follow young s?wordsman Hir?oki, voyaging on a quest after giving a vow to his dying master to avenge him. It looks like the focus is on the swordplay in combat, with both style and some streamlined swordfighting at the center.

Also confirmed today is that Trek to Yomi is coming to Game Pass. So if you're still unsure about the monochromatic action but want to try it out, the Game P?ass avenue is always open.

Trek to Yomi has been looking impressive since it was first revealed, especially thanks to its commitm??ent to the style that Flying Wild Hog is working towards. Something about the way it flows from scene-to-scene, and the use of depth in a 2D frame, is a really cool look. Whether the melo?drama and action comes together in the end, we'll find out soon enough.

Trek to Yomi sets off on its journey for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Seri?es X|?S, and PC on May 5, 2022.

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Japanese voice cast revealed at State of Play

During yesterday's Sony State of Play presentation, Devolver Digital released a new story trailer for what is shaping up to be my most anticipated game of 2022: Trek to Yomi. The new trailer focuses on? the dark sting of death and violence that will fuel our protagonist's road to vengeance.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YSWKW-Pwmo

In a typical tale of cinematic samurai lore, Trek to Yomi sees a young ??sensei abandon their own fortunes in order to slay the assassin that killed his sensei. With blade in hand and steel in eyes, the young samurai crosses the war-torn countryside of ancient Japan, as each and every hazardous step brings them closer and closer to their destiny �a trail of bloodied and broken bodies laid in their wake.

The trailer ends with the reveal of Trek to Yomi's Japanese cast, which includes anime and video game veterans such as Masayuki Katou, Hiroki Goto, Hiroshi Shirokuma, Sarah Emi Bridcutt and the legendary Japanese voice actor Akio Otsuka, whose voice work has emboldened four decades of film, TV, animation, and gaming. As a Toei cinema devotee, I certainly like what I see in each of the title's trailers, and I'm certainly looking forward to getting my hands on Trek to Yomi when it finally cuts loose.

Trek to Yomi is scheduled to release in 2022 on PlayStation, P??C, and Xbox? platforms.

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