I love an RPG set in the real actual world most of us live in. There's something deeply comforting about the way they make modern life more magically real, transforming it into a place featuring experience points and monsters, where you never, ever have to go the dentist or fill out a tax return. RPGs set in the real world are still so rare that they tend to be called 'Earthbound-inspired', and to be fair they often are to a large extent. This description fits pretty well with YIIK: A Postmodern RPG, but I can also detect a bit of Persona in there, a bit of indie beard, and it's shaping up to be as strange as you might expect.
From the website, which hasn't been updated yet with the game's new moniker, YIIK is "a Japanese-style RPG developed by Americans. [...] The game contains action and platforming elements, as well as meticulously designed story-based dungeons. In addition to these story-based dungeons, [YIIK] will feature randomly generated dungeons called "The Mind Dungeon" that contain puzzles, story elements, and opportunities for the characters to level up beyond the standard leveling experience that is expected from battle".
Having more JRPG-style games on PC always feels like a Very Good Thing, particularly when they're this interesting, and they give rise to trailers as unusual as this one:
I mean, what's going on there? I've no idea. But I'm intrigued to know more. YIIK, developed by Ackk Studios and published by Ysbryd Games, is coming to PC later this year.
[Note: one of the game's producers, Cassandra Khaw, is a PC Gamer contributor.]
