Thank you ARVORE Immersive Experiences for sending us a review code!

There’s not much of a story to Yuki. Upon launching the game, you’ll be dropped into a girl’s room with a closed chest on her desk. Inside, you’ll find an action figure (Yuki) that flies around the room and transports you into its world once you grab hold of it. I wish my toys were this cool growing up!

Once you’re in Yuki’s world, you get to select Patrol Mode or Endless Mode. I highly recommend doing Patrol Mode first to unlock some upgrades before embarking on the Endless Mode. No matter which mode you do, you'll be battling aliens since there’s been a Yokalien invasion. Your mission is to defeat as many aliens as you can on each patrol.

Many aliens will drop blue orbs. You’ll want to collect these as they are used for currency (Creative Drive) to purchase temporary and permanent upgrades. Throughout each level, you’ll also come across pods that will give you a choice of upgrades. Some of the options include increasing your firing rate, having a drone, getting a lump sum of creative drive, or increasing/restoring your health.

As a bullet heck game, getting to these pods and spheres is easier said than done as you’ll have to dodge and maneuver around bullets and other floating obstacles. Doing this in VR is a new and exciting experience for me.

There’s a lot of variety in enemies and you’ll have to contend with powerful bosses too. The different types of enemies have shooting patterns unique to them. Like many boss battles, you’ll have to learn and dodge their attack patterns while exploiting their weaknesses.

Chances are that you’ll die on your patrols. Unfortunately, you’ll have to start over from the beginning each time, but the enemies and obstacles present will be different during each run. The bosses remain unchanged though.

All is not lost when you die. You’ve most likely picked up some creative drive and you can put it to good use in the workshop where you can purchase permanent upgrades to make future patrols easier. Some of the permeant upgrades include the ability to charge your shots, or permanently increase your vitality.

The gameplay is broken down into episodes and if you can clear them during your patrols, you can unlock new wings for Yuki to change up her attack pattern. I really like the second pair of wings which has homing orbs that lock onto enemies and take them out faster.

The music is uplifting and gives you hope in the midst of chaos. There’s some energetic voice acting while collecting power-ups and clearing levels. There’s also stoic voice acting that says phrases like “We must keep going”.

There’s not much to complain about on the morality front. There are hostile aliens that will shoot at you regardless so it’s best to take them out first. Violence is a given in shoot 'em up games.

Overall, Yuki is a sold VR experience. If you like collecting Steam achievements, this game offers twenty of them. Anyone that enjoys rogue-likes and shoot ‘em ups should add Yuki to their Wishlist.