Originally i was gonna leave a short review with a thumbs up saying something stupid like "this is a game i think", but upon actually finishing it and seeing it getting so much hate online, i decided YIIK deserves an encouraging review that actually depicts my thoughts and feelings about the game.

First of all, i would like to highlight the game's complex story (but still relatively easy to narrate through, thanks to Alex' confusion leading to situations getting explained in simpler terms later on) that includes general topics such as paranormal activities, 90's culture and refferences, vinyls and travelling through realities and the uniqueness of each soul. It also briefly touches deep real life topics like depression, racial discrimination, impostor syndrome and a loss of a dear loved one in an elegant positive way. The story is full of shocking discoveries and unexpected turns, glueing you to your screen, excited for whats about to come next.
A very important part of this game for me was also the huge variety of characters: from Alex, the hated protagonist that, to me, just felt overly emotional which made him feel human, his childhood friend Michael with often lighthearted satirical mindset, over to both fun and serious siblings Claudio and Chondra you can always depend on, through Rory, a stranger on the internet who often feels lost, and all the way to Vella, a mysterious badass arcade worker with a big secret. The main cast's personality grows and their background is revealed through the story and I think they're generally very well written. There's also plethora of interesting and fun background characters ranging through a golden alpaca with wings to also just a guy trying to fund a campain for his little magazine.
Oh and i need to mention the soundtrack: this game singlehandedly got me back into looking up individual OSTs to add them to my playlists! very memorable and intriguingly composed, some still randomly start playing in my head to this day.
I also loved the voice acting, which sucked you into the game even deeper, everyone's voices fit their characters really well.

I'll admit, the game does have some flaws. The combat is turn based, similar to pokemon or undertale, but with countless quick time events, and I found this repetetive and straight up annoying at times. The devs are reworking this and we should see it in the upcoming YIIK I.V game, so I'll keep an eye out in that. Also I'm not a big fan of puzzle games, and this game had a lot of puzzle segments, where i sacrificed many of my braincells. They werent bad puzzles, I even completed most of them without a walkthrough, but it was just too much for me, which resulted in me taking many long breaks from the game.
There is also a lot of dialogue that people seem to be upset about. Yes, some of it is literally useless and cringey, but I would be lying if I said I didnt giggle at how bad it was at times. So, for me, this was a positive, but I can understand the hate haha

TL;DR: YIIK: A Postmodern RPG definitely isnt a game for everyone, but it is undeniably a unique gem in the indie game scene that I will keep in my heart for years to come, and if you found my review intriguing i encourage you to get the game and see for yourself.

Originally i was gonna leave a short review with a thumbs up saying something stupid like "this is a game i think", but upon actually finishing it and seeing it getting so much hate online, i decided YIIK deserves an encouraging review that actually depicts my thoughts and feelings about the game. First of all, i would like to highlight the game's complex story (but still relatively easy to narrate through, thanks to Alex' confusion leading to situations getting explained in simpler terms later on) that includes general topics such as paranormal activities, 90's culture and refferences, vinyls and travelling through realities and the uniqueness of each soul. It also briefly touches deep real life topics like depression, racial discrimination, impostor syndrome and a loss of a dear loved one in an elegant positive way. The story is full of shocking discoveries and unexpected turns, glueing you to your screen, excited for whats about to come next. A very important part of this game for me was also the huge variety of characters: from Alex, the hated protagonist that, to me, just felt overly emotional which made him feel human, his childhood friend Michael with often lighthearted satirical mindset, over to both fun and serious siblings Claudio and Chondra you can always depend on, through Rory, a stranger on the internet who often feels lost, and all the way to Vella, a mysterious badass arcade worker with a big secret. The main cast's personality grows and their background is revealed through the story and I think they're generally very well written. There's also plethora of interesting and fun background characters ranging through a golden alpaca with wings to also just a guy trying to fund a campain for his little magazine. Oh and i need to mention the soundtrack: this game singlehandedly got me back into looking up individual OSTs to add them to my playlists! very memorable and intriguingly composed, some still randomly start playing in my head to this day. I also loved the voice acting, which sucked you into the game even deeper, everyone's voices fit their characters really well. I'll admit, the game does have some flaws. The combat is turn based, similar to pokemon or undertale, but with countless quick time events, and I found this repetetive and straight up annoying at times. The devs are reworking this and we should see it in the upcoming YIIK I.V game, so I'll keep an eye out in that. Also I'm not a big fan of puzzle games, and this game had a lot of puzzle segments, where i sacrificed many of my braincells. They werent bad puzzles, I even completed most of them without a walkthrough, but it was just too much for me, which resulted in me taking many long breaks from the game. There is also a lot of dialogue that people seem to be upset about. Yes, some of it is literally useless and cringey, but I would be lying if I said I didnt giggle at how bad it was at times. So, for me, this was a positive, but I can understand the hate haha TL;DR: YIIK: A Postmodern RPG definitely isnt a game for everyone, but it is undeniably a unique gem in the indie game scene that I will keep in my heart for years to come, and if you found my review intriguing i encourage you to get the game and see for yourself.