Developer: Bitmap Galaxy
Publisher: Blowfish Studios
Reviewed on: Nintendo Switch
Also Available on: PC, PS4, Xbox One
At its core, YesterMorrow is a very intriguing game. A 2D single-player platformer that follows a young girl named Yui as she travels back in time to save her world from a Neverending Night. As a child, Yui’s village is attacked by shadows, a dark power that destroys her world and takes her family hostage. After many years, she discovers that she has the ability to Harness Everlight, a power studied by the Order of the Timekeepers, which enables her to travel between two eras, one prior to the attack and one after, in hopes of saving her family, village, and world as she knows it. I was interested early in this game's marketing and was looking forward to the opportunity to review it. Unfortunately, while I do enjoy Yui’s story and journey to save her family, the gameplay is plagued with technical issues that sour the experience.
Yui’s agility is key to navigating each level. Her wall jump and roll abilities provide great range in movement, and as you progress Yui unlocks double jump and light abilities. These complement the core abilities well and further expand movement later in the game. Level design requires well-timed acrobatic leaps and jumps from chains, ropes, walls, and ledges to progress, which can be formidable at times. Yui lacks a true offensive weapon so gameplay focuses primarily on avoiding enemies rather than defeating them.
Unfortunately there are a few points throughout the game where I experienced significant frame rate issues that made movement difficult. Additionally, I periodically experienced screen flickering early in the game that was distracting. I hope these issues are addressed in a patch soon.
I was disappointed to learn that time travel isn’t incorporated into puzzles and is only used in passing throughout the story. The two timelines are really fun to play through. Older Yui is easily identified by her long flowing hair that’s a great environmental touch to her movement. However, I believe an opportunity was missed to leverage time travel in a more engaging way rather than a passive part of the story.
The game isn’t pixelated, but the blocky character design gives a pixelated feel to the Japanese inspired world of Yestermorrow. I really liked the world design and thought the soothing/ominous soundtrack adapted to fit the moment well and made for a great experience.
Final Grade: C-
I liked playing as Yui and experiencing her journey. It’s a decent story with some really challenging levels. If the gameplay issues can be fixed, I’d recommend this game as a decent platformer worth a playthrough. Until then, I recommend holding off and keeping an eye on future updates. Eventually this is one you’ll want to play.