YIIK: A Postmodern RPG

Yiik has been a guilty little pleasure of mine for a while now, something I've looked on and laughed about, something that brought me much joy in how bad it was.
When I heard they were reworking the game AGAIN I knew that I had to give it a go. the initial trailers for the new update also intrigued me. were they remaking the story?
so when the update dropped, I bought the game immediately.
and then didn't play it
for 6 months I didn't play this game until finally I decided I must see what it had become.
I expected to find a slog of game who's only redeeming grace would be how hilariously bad it was.
I was wrong,
I was oh so wrong.
This game is a masterpiece.
Conceptually it is brilliant and I feel appeals only to my sensibilities.
They built not one, but two games upon the corpse of Yiik, a corpse they were able to breathe some new life into with additional story beats and an entirely new (and admittedly quite fun) battle system, so while the festering carcass of old Yiik dwelled beneath, the new additions were more than enough to entertain and engage me.
I found myself enraptured, and with each hour that passed I sunk deeper into the mire.
This game is brilliant.
Upon completion, I thought "wow, that was excellent, it was still a bit shoddy, and the old story still has many of the same problems, the new additions are clearly a lot better and more interesting, overall, decent game."
and then new game plus begun,
and that sealed it.
This game is a masterpiece and a mastercraft in meta-narrative exploration.
I laughed and I cried
but most importantly
I yiiked out.

This game's a window to another universe's Evangelion, where it was made by Atlus, directed by Suda51 and its OST made by a bad ending version of Dingaling.
It's PIIK.

They apparently "fixed" it with the gameplay and narrative changes in the 1.5 update, but it's still really janky and awkward so the true experience has not been lost.

YIIK: I.V might be one of my favorite games, and if not one of my favorite games, it's definitely one of the most impactful games I've experienced.
I think I had a similar experience as most people with Yiik, where the game was laughed at and ridiculed relentlessly online on it's initial launch, so much so that it wasn't really a game, but more just a meme to laugh at. But I saw my friend streaming the I.V. update and hopped in, and was instantly asking questions, keeping track of what's happening, analyzing our favorite protagonist Alex like a specimen in a lab. I was taken aback at how interesting this story was, and how unique it's presentation was, and even more so when stumbling across Hellkrai's analysis videos on the first game, where there's a distinct point made that the analysis was based on the first version of the game. I had no idea that the story always had this much depth to it from the very beginning, and it had gone passed up and laughed at for years until it finally got a second breath with I.V.
I.V. improves on many aspects of the original game, one of which is the gameplay itself. I personally haven't played the original version, but I know the combat was rough and slow. That is not true at all with I.V's Karta system. Throughout the multiple breakthroughs I've done and watched of I.V., I feel like I rarely saw the same Karta decks or party layouts. Deciding when to discard your karta for its active effect vs. when to keep it around and try to keep it healed up to get as much out of its passive as you can, there's a lot of depth between cards, and even more-so when incorporating character specific abilities/passives (e.g. Rory being a pacifist who only counter attacks getting multiple attack/crits up to be a strong glass cannon, buffing Michael before blinding the party for his mechanic and turning into a one-shot machine).
The edits made to the story and its presentation are astounding. Some of the most cinematic shots I've seen from a game, and they had me and my friends discussing each cutscene to death, and each story beat. There's so much that can be learned from as early as the first alex monologue, and even moreso with what follows. One example that stands out (that will be spoilered, just to be safe, but it's from the cutscenes in the factory hotel section of the story at the beginning), is that during one of Alex's monologues, he ask's Sammy where she's from, and she responds that she's "from here, where else?". Alex takes this to mean that she lives in the factory, but what I think she's actually saying is that she's from Alex's mind, as all of his monologues take place in a place in his own head.
I don't want to say too much, but play the demo to see if you vibe with the gameplay and presentation, as it shows the first chapter of the game (including the first of many Nameless Child sections), and lets you play a little bit with the karta system. We love you Alex Yiik, and thank you Allanson's for such a solid game!!

play this game with your friends in vc. its cinema. its peak. it ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ sucks. its one of THE experiences of all videogames. you will not forget it.

Floored. Absolutely floored.
This game is genuinely a piece of art. Had me charmed at the beginning, hooked two chapters in, and just wouldn't let go until I finished the entire thing. It's the kind of game where once you reach the end, you sit back in your chair, silent, staring into nothing, until you finally mutter "...wow".
The game tricks you with a seemingly pretentious main character and his eh-to-iffy squad, and then keeps peeling back the layers more and more and more, until it is a sincere, genuine, heartfelt adoration of these characters.
I didn't like Alex at first, I've come around to both forgive and love him.
I thought Michael was suspicious as all hell, then I've come to understand him and feel empathy towards him.
I honestly just didn't vibe with Chondra at first, but I couldn't help but salute her by the end.
And I gotta reiterate how surprisingly sincere and hopeful this game is.
The entire idea of Original Wins, and specifically the idea of a Benevolent Psychosis, is just... wow. And I'm aware how goofy that sounds, this game made me not react that it's trying to sell me "Original Win" as a genuine philosophical concept -- the sincerity it sold it to me with, I couldn't help but genuflect in response.
That is not to say that the game is lacking in the, well, game department, oh no no no. The Dark Game, the combat system introduced in the I.V update, is both snappy and tactical. Karta being your "shields", and stat boosts, and having extra passive benefits, and also having effects when you use them makes for a surprisingly strategic game of how and when you need your Karta broken. Despite what you might expect though, the game never becomes too complex to be fun, nor too difficult. I think I only had a few segments where I was vastly overpowered compared to the enemies, and when died, it was honestly my fault.
Finally, let me leave you with a quote from the game:
My faith in nihilism is broken. Life has played a terrible trick and revealed itself to be meaningful.

YIIK: A Life Changing RPG
On June 7th at 12:09 PM I was reminded of this games existence on Spotify, because the OST for the game had been recommended to me. I'll be honest and say that I wasn't impressed by what I had heard except for two songs. Into The Mind and I Don't Know (what I'm doing with my life) were the two songs in particular that caught my attention. I kept listening to them on repeat to the point that I actually wanted to give the game a chance. I'm sure you all know how much YIIK got hated on back when it launched so I won't go into detail about it, but I will say it totally turned me off from wanting to play it at the time.
So on June 11th my then best friend and now boyfriend gifted me the game after I talked about wanting to play the game to him.
To say that day changed my life is an understatement. No joke this game is an absolute masterpiece in my eyes. I don't even know how to put into words how much I love this game and how much it means to me as a person. I seriously think anyone who was turned off by this game during release should give it a shot now. It's not even the same game anymore, and I am both immensely shocked and impressed by Ackk Studios for not giving up on this game when everyone was against it, but instead persevered to make it the game it is today. This game isn't made for everyone, and if you still don't like it that's okay! I just think that more people should give it another chance because I seriously can't state enough how different this game is compared to how it was on launch.
Oh and remember how I mentioned I was not impressed by the OST when I had first listened to it? Yeah well it turns out I was a complete idiot, because listening to the actual OST play in game completely changed my entire perspective on it. It's such an underrated soundtrack that more people should listen to. As of writing this review I have 1,525 total plays on the OST alone. I think you'll appreciate the soundtrack way more once you hear it in game, because that's exactly what happened to me.
Now I can't say much about the old battle system, but I can say that the new battle system is one of the most unique battle systems I have ever played in any RPG. I'm not joking when I say that this games mechanics made me remember why I love turn based battles so much in the first place. It was so much fun experimenting with all of the different Karta to see what worked best on each character for my play style. It's a bit hard to grasp at first, but once you get the hang of it all it's so much fun. Just remember to do the tutorial before going to a Monster Den or you will be totally confused, because that's exactly what happened to me.
The story and character's are absolutely wonderful. I won't go into to much detail because I really think the story should be experienced spoiler free, but I absolutely adore the characters. Now it doesn't really take a lot for me to get attached to a character, but I can confidently say that you will more than likely have a favorite by the time you meet everyone. RORY MANCER I LOVE YOU PLEASE MARRY ME
I also absolutely adore the graphics for this game. The characters all look so cute in their 3D models and the environments can look absolutely stunning at times. The area where you meet Sammy for the first time is the one that first comes to mind. I seriously stood there in that room for a few minutes just looking at everything. There are more areas like this in the game though, and they're all amazing in their own right.
Anyways, I could go on and on about this game, but I doubt anyone wants to read a college essay on the Steam store page for YIIK of all games. As of writing this review I am currently still playing through NG+ which oh yeah I forgot to add that after you beat the game there is essentially a sequel in NG+. Very neat stuff.
I'm going to end my review here but not without a final message. Thank you to both Brian and Andrew Allanson and EVERYONE who worked so hard on this game to make it what it is today.
And thank you to my boyfriend for gifting this game to me. I have had so many good memories talking about my love for this game with you. I hope when you play the game for yourself you can appreciate it as much as I did.
Thank you to anyone who made it this far. I hope you give this game a chance after reading my review.
I'M YIIKING OUT!
- CompariSin
EDIT: I changed a bit of what was originally written on my review, but for anyone wondering... Yes I am still obsessed with this game. It has been 5 months and this game has not left my mind. I would say I need help, but in all honesty I love this game too much to even want to consider ever putting it down.