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A college graduate investigates a woman's disappearance as reality warps around him, exploring surreal spaces and fighting with Karta-enhanced turn-based combat.
Released 17 Jan 2019
Turn Cards into Shields
Manage Bleeding Battles
Explore Dreamlike Spaces
Experience YIIK: A Postmodern RPG 1.5 (I.V) update with revamped battles and cutscenes. A child relinquishes her name for a birthday invite, hoping to find her brother. Alex's reality unravels, guided by a mysterious cat, witnessing a woman vanish, igniting an obsession that threatens his world.
Developed by Ackk Studios · Published by Ysbryd Games
Alex, a recent college graduate back in his hometown, becomes obsessed after witnessing a woman vanish from an iron maiden. Guided by a mysterious cat, he investigates events that blur the line between reality and his own mind. The story also follows a Nameless Child, whose journey is presented alongside Alex's.
Explore towns and dreamlike spaces, talk with characters, solve puzzles, navigate traps, and battle strange entities. Combat is turn-based and uses everyday weapons alongside Karta, cards that can provide protection and other effects. Taking damage can cause bleeding, making each action a race to keep your party from being defeated.
Build your party and develop its combat options as the journey unfolds. Karta choices shape characters' defenses and abilities, while equipment and character growth offer further ways to prepare for fights. The narrative shifts between its two protagonists as their separate stories intersect.
Players are sharply divided on YIIK's abstract, lengthy story and its central character. Some enjoy piecing together its surreal narrative and themes, and praise the updated combat for its brisk pace and Karta-based tactics. Music and distinctive visuals also recur as highlights. Other reviewers find the writing and pacing frustrating, and some feel the combat is unbalanced or lacks depth.
An unusual error manifests on April 4th, a day that echoes the enigmatic code 404. In a desperate act of innocence, a child relinquishes her name for an invitation to a birthday party, her hope tethered to the faint possibility of finding her brother. Meanwhile, Alex, a recent college graduate, returns home, only to find his reality unspooling like a threadbare tapestry. Guided by a cat which slips through the very fabric of his mind, Alex descends into the depths of his consciousness where he witnesses the impossible: a woman, locked away in an iron maiden, vanishing into thin air. A vision which ignites an undying obsession and threatens to unravel the boundaries of his world.
Combat in YIIK I.V is an arcane dance, a turn-based system where players use everyday weapons against bizarre entities, aided by the power of Karta. When players or enemies take damage, they start to bleed, and every action taken while bleeding brings them closer to defeat. It’s a race against time to outlast the enemy and stem the flow of blood.
Navigate landscapes that blur the line between reality and dreams. These spaces are filled with intricate puzzles, deadly traps, and odd adversaries that challenge your perception, pushing the boundaries of what you know to be real.
The narrative shifts between the perspectives of Alex and the Nameless Child, drawing you into their separate yet intertwined realities, each twist revealing deeper layers of their destinies.
The game’s soundtrack features over 200 tracks across a wide range of genres, from drum and bass to progressive rock. Much of the music is performed by live musicians, adding a vibrant and authentic layer to the experience.
| Platforms | Windows, macOS |
|---|---|
| Achievements | 26 |
| Age ratings |
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| Controller support | Xbox |
| Controller required | No |
| Content notices |
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| Metacritic | 64/100 View on Metacritic |
| Website | Official website |
