YIIK: A Postmodern RPG Review – Intergalactic Reality

It’s rare that a developer comes along that I root for whenever I see what they are working on. I first became aware of Ackk Studios in 2012 during their Kickstarter for Two Brothers. The game came out to little fanfare, as the game was littered with bugs. But it had so much potential, and I wanted to believe they just needed more time, or perhaps funding. YIIK: A Postmodern RPG feels like a spiritual successor to Two Brothers, both in its pros and cons.

Like their previous game, YIIK (pronounced Y2K – like the event) has a lot of promise and is banking on your nostalgia of yesteryear. Instead of a Gameboy aesthetic, they go with 3D, low poly models, and animations that do not appear to be on 1s unlike most CG these days. The themes are much more existential than most JRPGs choose to be, with musings of souls, other dimensions, and intergalactic travelers. But amidst this is a world in the 90s, with quite a bit of meta to make this experience postmodern.

The game is quick to point out that the development of this game killed the creators, as they can be seen in a graveyard. Not literally, as the game launched, but a lot of one’s life goes into making a game like this. And naturally, they took it upon themselves to reference their previous game as much as possible in the hopes of gaining some retroactive sales. It’s brought up in story progression and can be seen in different parts of the game, including Alex’s clothing. The game also pokes fun at Kickstarter, stating that if you donate any money to an NPC’s cause you’ll have the right to essentially belittle him and ruin the rest of his life – this is no doubt something Ackk Studios has dealt with thanks to Two Brothers.

So let’s get into the game itself. The main protagonist Alex is an unlikeable hipster. He’s a jerk to the people he’s around, is annoying to listen to with his college philosophy interpretations, and is horrible at combat. It sets him up for a big progression arc, much like Steiner from FFIX, but it never pays off. The game is well aware he’s awful, as he’ll listen to different versions of himself for introspection that put him down.

The other characters you meet and add to your party are far more interesting, as well as useful in battle. They progress the narrative as Alex presses for answers in the only way he knows how: acting like a dick. And the story has a lot of intrigue, with touches of religion, a theme not used too often in video games. Truly, the story is the reason to press forward, negating Alex and the excessively drawn out battles.

Turn-based combat is my bread and butter having grown up on JRPGs. YIIK adds in the mini games from Mario RPGs and many things that have come after to avoid it being mindless and button mashy. This is all well and good at first when enemies die in a single hit, but once you get your first companion things ramp up. If you fail a respective attack, it misses. On top of the attack mini games, there are defensive ones that allow for added defense or dodging.

The game doesn’t take long to elongate battles to 5-10 minutes each, with Alex doing a whopping 1 point of damage with a decent combo, but doing 4 regularly when only getting one successful hit on his record. This never made sense to me, but was frustrating to say the least. Regardless of which stats I changed when leveling up (which is a convoluted process), nothing showed an actual change other than health and the game’s equivalent of magic. Luckily, the rest of your team improves without issue. Unfortunately, this means the solo sections are painful to the point of being downright unfair.

If you can see past the combat issues (and length of the bosses once you head into the sewers) and Alex’s annoying personality, writing, and voice acting, there’s some cool stuff to dig into. There’s even a Bible verse that isn’t about walking through the valley of the shadow of death, although anyone unfamiliar with the crucifixion will probably think its gibberish. YIIK: A Postmodern RPG is a step above Two Brothers, but still falls short of being truly good. If the trend continues, the next game from Ackk should finally be what I’ve been waiting for since 2012. I just hope they are able to make it.

5 out of 10

Pros

  • Aesthetic
  • Fun Throwbacks
  • Interesting Themes

Cons

  • Combat
  • Self Indulgent Writing/Voice Acting
  • Alex

YIIK: A Postmodern RPG was developed by Ackk Studios and published by Ysbryd Games. It is currently available on NS, PC, PS4, and PS Vita for $19.99. The game was provided to us for review on PS4. If you’d like to see more of YIIK: A Postmodern RPG, check out the game’s official site.

Here at GBG we use a rating method that you are more than likely familiar with – a scale of 1 to 10. For clarification, we intend on using the entire scale: 1-4 is something you should probably avoid paying for; 5-7 is something that is worth playing, but probably not at full price; 8-10 is a great title that you can feel confident about buying. If you have any questions or comments about how we rate a game, please let us know.

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