# YIIK: A Postmodern RPG YIIK: A Postmodern RPG is a 2019 indie turn-based RPG from Ackk Studios that became infamous online for its smug protagonist Alex, grinding combat, and a plot beat lifted directly from the death of Elisa Lam. The game turned into a long-running punchline in gaming circles. ## Origin YIIK: A Postmodern RPG was developed by Ackk Studios and published by Ysbryd Games, built in Unity, released January 17, 2019 on Microsoft Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4, PS Vita, and Nintendo Switch[3]. The story is set in the 1990s and follows eight friends trying to work out what happened to a woman who vanished in an elevator[3]. The Elisa Lam parallel was baked into the plot rather than added later. Lam's 2013 death became a true-crime fixation years before YIIK's release because of the eerie elevator footage police circulated, and reusing that imagery for a video-game disappearance set piece drew objections on day one[3]. - **Platform:** PC / PlayStation / Switch (release); Resetera and gaming press (viral spread) - **Creator:** Ackk Studios (developer) - **Date:** 2019 ## Overview Alex, YIIK's self-styled hipster protagonist, became shorthand online for insufferable indie-game writing after critics tore into his dialogue over the game's 20-to-25-hour runtime. The PS4 release landed a 54 on Metacritic[1], putting it in "mostly unfavorable" territory, with reviewers piling on the plodding turn-based combat, the fiddly leveling grind, and what they described as a forced hipster aesthetic. The controversy that stuck came from the game's handling of Elisa Lam, the student found dead in the Cecil Hotel's water tank in 2013[3]. YIIK's character Sammy vanishes in an elevator while crying out "Alex, don't let them take me," which lines up almost one-to-one with the surveillance footage of Lam before her death[3]. The parallel was impossible to miss, and the game earned a second wave of criticism focused on taste rather than mechanics. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is YIIK: A Postmodern RPG? An indie turn-based RPG by Ackk Studios and Ysbryd Games released January 17, 2019[3]. The PS4 version scored 54 on Metacritic[1]. ### Where did YIIK: A Postmodern RPG come from? Ackk Studios built it in Unity and Ysbryd Games shipped it in January 2019 across PC, Mac, PS4, PS Vita, and Switch[3]. ### What does YIIK: A Postmodern RPG mean? The title stylizes Y2K using Roman numerals, matching the game's late-1990s setting and plot about eight friends investigating a disappearance[3]. ### How do you use YIIK: A Postmodern RPG? Gaming conversations bring it up as a shorthand for pretentious indie-RPG writing, and critics still cite the elevator scene as a case of a game crossing an ethical line with the Elisa Lam case[3]. ### Is YIIK: A Postmodern RPG still popular? Not as a game people play, but it still turns up in retrospectives on failed indies and in debates about tasteless true-crime references in games[2]. ## References 1. [https://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-4/yiik-a-postmodern-rpg]() 2. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwR_aBerxDA]() 3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/yiik-a-postmodern-rpg]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/yiik-a-postmodern-rpg Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library