Trek to Yomi, an upcoming samurai action-adventure game from Devolver Digital, looks like it came straight from the mind of movie director Quentin Tarantino. Though little has been revealed about the game so far, a dark, bloody gameplay video has revealed just how violent it will be. Between the new gameplay footage, its original release trailer from June of 2021, and another game trailer showcased at PlayStation's State of Play event, it appears to share a similar tone, style, and level of violence typical of the best Tarantino movies.
Initial reactions to Trek to Yomi immediately likened it to Sucker Punch's hit samurai game Ghosts of Tsushima, as well as comparisons to the works of the massively influential film director Akira Kurosawa. These comparisons were apt, as early previews of Trek to Yomi show it essentially appears to be a playable Kurosawa movie. Kurosawa's body of work essentially wrote the book on samurai stories, and has influenced tales of honor and revenge for decades. Tarantino's own tales of samurai, ninjas, honor, and revenge have adapted Kurosawa's themes for a new generation, and Trek to Yomi appears to do the same.
In Trek to Yomi, players control Hiroki, a young samurai who swears to defend his village and his loved ones after his master is killed. As Hiroki grows, he takes on invading raiders with his katana, bow and arrows, and even a crudely designed gun. Hiroki puts these weapons to good use, as seen in a trailer showcasing Trek to Yomi's brutal combat. The brutality, combined with its moody atmosphere and gritty narrative style looks like classic Tarantino.
Trek To Yomi Looks Like It Was Directed By Quentin Tarantino
The comparisons between Tarantino's signature directorial style and Trek to Yomi's aesthetic are uncanny. Its story of a lone samurai seeking revenge and honor calls the narrative of Kill Bill to mind, which also prominently features a gritty black and white sequence not unlike Trek to Yomi. The trailers for the game also feature cryptic voiceovers in Japanese, another important feature of Kill Bill. Its most recent, bloodiest trailer has enough gore to recall scenes from Kill Bill, Inglourious Basterds, and Django Unchained.
Trek to Yomi is set to become Devolver Digital's side-scrolling answer to Ghost of Tsushima. It's stylish, dramatic, and terrifically violent, and clearly inspired by iconic samurai tales. It's been almost a decade since Tarantino's Kill Bill redefined samurai tales; Trek to Yomi could certainly do the same for samurai games in 2022.