One more New Year’s celebration. That’s all gamers are going to have to wait before finally getting their hands on YIIK: A Post-Modern RPG. On January 17th, 2019, the indie Japanese-style RPG from Ysbryd Games and Ackk Studios will be available for the Nintendo Switch, Sony PlayStation®4, and PCs and Mac computers via Steam.
This writer fell in love with this title when I had the opportunity to play the demo earlier this year at PAX East. So much so that I awarded it one of my Writer’s Choice awards for the show. The game combines a unique ’90s polygonal art style and surreal storyline to do something unique in the RPG space. The story behind how the game came to be is also incredibly compelling.
Set at the turn of the millennium (YIIK is meant to be pronounced as “Y2K”), YIIK: A Post-Modern RPG follows college graduate Alex as he embarks on a quest to rescue a woman he saw vanish from an elevator. Alex’s search will lead him and his companions on a journey filled with traps, dungeons, and bizarre monsters as they seek to uncover the truth.
Battles draw a lot of inspiration from ’90s era JRPGs, but with unique minigame twists for each character.
The game features voice acting from such talents as Chris Niosi (Tales of Zestiria, Disgaea 5), and Clifford Chapin (Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, Attack on Titan, RWBY), and a soundtrack which includes contributions from composers Toby Fox (Undertale) and Hiroki Kikuta (Secret of Mana).
“YIIK is an unusual mix of almost hallucinatory imagery and cross-genre gameplay,” said Andrew Allanson, founder and co-director, Ackk Studios. “These elements will draw the player deep into a bizarre, dreamlike world as Alex pursues his quest for answers. But what truths will he discover? How many layers does the onion have?”
Sarcasm was alive and well in the ’90s.
Players interested in learning more about YIIK: A Post-Modern RPG can check out the game’s official website, and follow Ysbryd Games and ACKK Studios on Twitter. While the game will largely be available only via digital download, a limited physical run is available. A release date for the PSVita version of the game has not yet been announced.
