YIIK: A Postmodern RPG | Switch Review

February 5, 2019 Scott Clark

I was intrigued immediately by Ackk Studios’ YIIK: A Postmodern RPG. This game is basically Earthbound meets The X-Files with Lynchian elements sprinkled on top for good measure. You play as a recent college graduate named Alex who returns to his hometown in 1999. Alex is soon thrown into a world he never knew existed after he explores an abandoned factory and a mysterious woman he meets is abducted by strange, alien creatures. He and his friends have to find a way to save this woman and end the weird events that are wreaking havoc on the world before Y2K comes to fruition.

It’s the End of the World

I adored the quirky, unique story of YIIK. Learning more about the supernatural phenomena that are unfolding is utterly fascinating, and the game throws in plenty of humorous dialogue that lands. The homages to other well-known properties is loving and tongue-in-cheek and set your geek senses tingling. The graphics are simple, yet strikingly nostalgic, and the soundtrack enhances the experience. Each character is fleshed-out with their own personalities, and they’re all likable…besides Alex. He does redeem himself somewhat later on, but he starts off being haughty, pretentious, and even a tiny bit perverted. It makes it somewhat uncomfortable to listen to his inner dialogue, which is a shame.

Party Like It’s 1999

The combat system sadly leaves a lot to be desired. This is a turn-based RPG, but instead of selecting an attack and having the chosen character perform that action, you have to complete the same minigame every time you engage in combat. This is cool the first few times, but quickly becomes tiresome, especially when the battles become more difficult and prolonged in the later stages.

Also, some of the boss battles are extremely unfair and sap away the fun and charm during their duration. These battles are hard just for the sake of being hard, and don’t really have any strategic elements. You just have to keep fighting until you’re lucky enough to completely whittle away their health.

Another element that irks are the constant loading screens. They usually only last a few seconds, but it’s annoying to have to go through a door or start/finish a battle only to face another loading screen. They break the immersion that YIIK is striving for.

YIIK: A Postmodern RPG Final Verdict

The story, dialogue, graphics, and soundtrack all make this an intriguing, fascinating experience that will definitely make you nostalgic for an earlier era. Sadly, all of this is hampered by the annoying main character, the repetitive combat in battles, the insanely difficult bosses, and the way too frequent loading screens. If you can look past these issues, you’ll find a supernatural treat. If these sound like deal-breakers (or you just don’t enjoy quirky games), you’ll probably want to avoid YIIK like, well, Y2K.

This review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy of the game provided by Novy PR for coverage purposes. The game is also available on Windows PC, Max, iOS, and PS4.