For a long while, any discussion of upcoming Wii U titles would inevitably entail how it would use the console’s GamePad controller in an interesting way. It’s something that we’ve grown to accept for the most part. Map and inventory screens are useful and really par for the course at this point, but it’s generally pretty rare that a developer actually does something more interesting with this extra touch screen the GamePad affords. Temple of YOG is one of these rare games, featuring a light world/dark world dynamic that works in a way that literally couldn’t be done without a second screen.
Starting with the basics, Temple of YOG is sort of a combination of a rogue-like and a twin stick shooter. Think something along the lines of Geometry Wars with a Rogue Legacy generational mechanic underneath. Each time you play you choose a class of character to send into the Temple, you will advance through levels, kill enemies and perform specific objectives to earn Boon. When your character inevitably dies (they’re even referred to in game as ‘sacrifices’) you can use this Boon to upgrade each class of hero and then take on the Temple anew. Similar to other rogue-likes, the Temple is randomly generated each time you enter which makes sure that at least layout wise, each session will be unique.
So far you could be forgiven for thinking that YOG sounds like nearly every modern rogue-like you’ve ever played and in a lot of ways you’d be correct. Temple of YOG’s defining feature however differentiates it from any other games in the genre. During gameplay, there are two parallel game worlds which can be switched between. The standard world shows up on the main screen, while an alternate world will show on the GamePad. By pressing a button, a character can (for a limited time) switch to this alternate world for various purposes. There might be a walled off path between you and an objective in the main world, but there might be a path to reach it in the alternate world. The alternate world is populated with enemies similarly to the main world so it is important that you can see it on the GamePad before moving there so you can avoid hazards.
The limited time you can spend in the alternate world makes it’s use more utilitarian than anything though. I only found myself entering the other world when I needed to in order to advance. When you run out of energy, you are automatically booted back to the main world which makes any sort of prolonged exploration tedious. When you’re booted out of the world and fall into a wall it can be infuriating to slowly watch your meter recharge before you can do anything else. It’s an interesting gameplay hook and one that couldn’t be done as effectively on a single screen, but ultimately it is a mechanic that is more interesting than it is fun.
As interesting as this mechanic is, it isn’t enough to make the rest of the game feel less bland. For all of their differences, all the classes feel very similar. Some will be faster than others, or shoot further with their attacks but in the end they all feel like a variation on the standard twin-stick shooter formula. Enemy types are few and usually either serve as traps for the uninitiated (those darn snakes can kill some classes in a single hit if you don’t see them coming!) or simply fodder for earning Boon and recovery items. Environment types are similarly uninteresting with very little variation. Apparently Temple of YOG is the start of a multi-episode series so the variety of levels and opponents could very well increase in the future but for now you’ll be battling through same areas for hours on end before finding anything new. Music too brings the game down. While what music exists ranges from inoffensive to ‘actually pretty decent’, the amount time you spend hearing the same old tunes can start to get grating, fast.
I guess these issues are indicative of my feelings overall of Temple of YOG. The gameplay is fine, the parallel worlds mechanic is neat in concept, the music isn’t bad, but none of it stands out to make the game as a whole feel interesting. There’s little to push you onwards, and a lot of the time when you try it can feel like hitting your head against a wall. I didn’t feel like I was getting better at the game as I went along like in Spelunky or Rogue Legacy, it just felt like I was doing the same thing over and over in the hope that it would become enjoyable. If you’re looking for a mindless twin-stick shooter you might have some fun for a while, but don’t expect to get hooked.
