At first glance, the strikingly stylish samurai simulator, Trek to Yomi, might look like your typical side-scrolling hack-and-slash platformer. In truth, Flying Wild Hog’s trek through a neo-noir feudal Japan is gritty and punishing, with a nuanced counter-based combat system that’s merciless yet immensely satisfying. No, this is not a game for the faint of heart, so if you’re just plunging in, here are 7 beginner tips for Trek to Yomi to help you get started.
Trek to Yomi beginner tips
1. Parrying Heals You
Success in Trek to Yomi depends heavily on using positioning, parries, and counters, so let’s start off with the tip of tips: Parries are particularly useful. Not only do they throw your opponent off balance and open them up for a counterattack, but parries actually heal you too.
To successfully parry an enemy strike, wait for a glint of light on their blade, then hit the left bumper on your controller (L1 on PlayStation, LB on Xbox, or L on Switch). If you timed it right, you’ll heal up some of your lost life and have time to execute a killer combo.
2. Use the Environment to Your Advantage
Not every foe has to fall by the blade. Pay attention to your surroundings. Some areas have traps that you can utilize to remove opponents without a lengthy samurai duel.
Keep an eye out for chokepoints, too. In battles where you’re sure to be outnumbered, try to draw your opponents into places that will funnel them to you, forcing them into one-on-one battle conditions.
3. Explore Every Nook and Cranny
For many gamers, this goes without saying, but if you’re the type who likes to zoom through a stage, sword-swinging, here’s a reminder to take it slow. Make sure you spend that extra few seconds exploring every corner of a stage.
You’ll find all sorts of bonuses and rewards off the beaten path, including health and stamina upgrades. This is also the most consistent and reliable way to find ammunition for your ranged weapons, like shurikens and bows. Remember: once you’ve moved on from an area, there’s no going back, so be sure you’ve grabbed all there is to grab from an area before moving forward.
4. Modify Your Combos with Up or Down
Trek to Yomi features a unique control scheme that allows you to quickly modify a combo on-the-fly. This feature is covered in the tutorial, but it’s easy to forget in the heat of combat. To modify a combo, simply hold Up or Down on your left analog stick.
Spend a bit of time experimenting with the different combo modifications. Adding a modifier can make a combo land faster or hit harder, which can throw your timing out of whack. Once you’ve nailed the combo modifier, you’ll find it adds a whole new layer of depth and strategy to Trek to Yomi’s already satisfying combat.
5. Keep an Eye on Your Stamina
Managing your stamina becomes increasingly more important the further you progress in Trek to Yomi’s main story. When your stamina runs out, you won’t be able to perform any actions while Hiroki recovers, which leaves you vulnerable to attacks.
New players will often sprint throughout a battle, running in and out of range. While this works in the early game, it also develops an over-reliance on sprinting during combat, which will hurt you in the later stages. Only use your sprint when you’re in danger of being struck with a blade or need to quickly get in range to take advantage of an opening in the enemy’s defenses. Also, don’t be afraid to retreat to a safe distance to replenish your stamina.
6. Save Your Ammo
While most of your battles will begin and end with the sword, Hiroki unlocks three ranged attack options over the course of the campaign: the shuriken, the bow, and the gun. You need to collect the appropriate ammunition to use them, and this ammo can be relatively hard to find. If you do come across some ammo in your off-road excursions, don’t be too quick to use them.
Shurikens are really only good for stunning enemies, and they’re almost worthless against bosses. They’re very useful against armored enemies though, so you should only pull them out when facing those.
The bow and gun can deal some real damage, both to foot soldiers and big baddies. If you want to give yourself a fighting chance against some of the harder bosses, you should always have a ready supply of gun or bow ammunition.
7. Abuse the Heck Out of the Anti-Armor Rotation Combo
In chapter 5, Hiroki learns the Anti-Armor Rotation Combination, which is easily one of the most powerful moves in the game. This combo turns Hiroki around to stab the opponent behind him. While not particularly damaging, it guarantees a stagger on any non-boss enemy, which opens them up for an easy finisher. Since finishers also restore health, abusing the Anti-Armor Rotation Combination is a quick and dirty way to keep your health points near full at all times.
Once Hiroki learns this skill, even entire waves of enemies are no match for him. Just be sure to always maintain a safe distance, then repeat this combo until all the bad guys are dead.
Conclusion
Trek to Yomi is a sophisticated and layered action experience, and to truly master the game requires more samuari-knowledge than we can cover in this short guide. But hopefully, you’ll find these seven tips useful at the start of your adventure.
What other tips are crucial knowledge for a newcomer coming into Trek of Yomi? Share them with us below! Plus, if you’re in need of some Xbox Live Gold Gift Cards, feel free to head over to our friends at OffGamers here and get some.
Image credit: Devolver Digital
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