YIIK: A Postmodern RPG

 PlayStation 4
Metascore
59

Mixed or average reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 7
  3. Negative: 2 out of 7
  1. PlaySense
    Jan 18, 2019
    85
    A weird game in terms of concept but a good one nonetheless. If you grew up in the’90’s, there is a ton of references to that era. The length of the game is outstanding as well which makes for great value for money. The controls aren’t perfect all the time though and the music tracks can get a little bit repetitive but don’t let that stop you from purchasing what is a very original and fun game.
  2. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Feb 12, 2019
    80
    Between the unusual character arc at its core, funky beats, and rhythm-based beatdowns, YIIK has a lot more to offer the RPG genre than just doomsaying. J[Issue#159, p.83]
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  3. DarkStation
    Jan 24, 2019
    60
    I was annoyed by the writing and combat and a pervasive and unwarranted “too cool for school” attitude that began with the character creation screen and never really went away. Streamline the dialogue and expository overkill, re-tool the combat and YIIK: A Postmodern RPG would be closer to those classic games from which it draws inspiration.
  5. GameSpot
    Jan 16, 2019
    50
    Despite YIIK's stunning art direction, kicking soundtrack, and occasionally interesting plot point, it suffers as a result of its clunky combat, tedious grinding, and poor puzzle design. Postmodern texts aren't always enjoyable--Wallace's Infinite Jest features walls of text that list every chemical name for prescription drugs under the sun, spanning pages upon pages at a time. However, Infinite Jest has substance. For the most part, YIIK doesn't.
  6. Push Square
    Jan 16, 2019
    50
    YIIK: A Postmodern RPG, sadly, never shines as brightly as it does during its opening hours. There's enjoyment to be had here, sure, especially for anyone with love for the '90s – but all of the references to Chrono Trigger and Pogs in the world can't balance out the pleasure-less battle system and overly complicated levelling up mechanics.
  7. Screen Rant
    Jan 16, 2019
    40
    It presents a fun, podcast-ready story in a distinct world parallel to our own. But the game asks players to take breaks too often from the natural flow. Between constantly listening to Alex's sophomoric musings on life to repeating attack after attack on a smiley-faced monster, the 24-hour game feels a lot longer.
  8. PlayStation LifeStyle
    Jan 16, 2019
    40
    While I was on board at the title screen, it didn’t take long for the disappointment to set in. There’s an unearned self-confidence in the writing that is hampered by stilted dialogue and shallow characters, and the exact opposite in the gameplay, where YIIK feels afraid to actually be a 90s-style RPG. It’s obtuse and poorly balanced, making each encounter a frustrating exercise in attrition. YIIK has big ideas but they rest on top of a shoddy foundation, one that crumbles the more you try to stay on top of it. I’d rather just play EarthBound again.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
3.8

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 20 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 20
  3. Negative: 12 out of 20
  1. ExLight
    Jan 20, 2019
    3
    YIIK? More like YIIKES.

    Dissonant art style with what it is aiming for, tries to have a concept but ends up shallow, characters are just    YIIK? More like YIIKES.

    Dissonant art style with what it is aiming for, tries to have a concept but ends up shallow, characters are just cringy and boring, too pretentious, combat is an uninteresting rhythm game, story is random hot **** etc.    … Full Review »
  2. Calibur-X
    Jan 22, 2019
    10
    This game is amazing, not perfect but so far from the bad critics based on political views
  3. phoenixsaturn
    Nov 14, 2019
    2
    YIIK attempts to be subversive, but fails in its execution. The graphics are eye-searingly painful to look at, the characters are shallow atYIIK attempts to be subversive, but fails in its execution. The graphics are eye-searingly painful to look at, the characters are shallow at best and grating at worst, and the story is not only poorly written, but has entire sections of dialogue plagiarized from other sources.

    The battle system attempts to take cues from other video games and gives each character a unique method of fighting. Unfortunately, in execution this makes fighting enemies unbearably slow, as even a regular attack can take 45 seconds to execute. Bosses have large pools of HP, so expect to have to level grind in order to progress at anything resembling a normal pace. Even leveling up is painful, as it requires you to traverse multiple doorways in order to increase a single stat.

    YIIK is not worth your time or your money. Stick to the games it attempts to emulate, such as Persona and Earthbound.    … Full Review »
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