Yakuza: Like a Dragon review

Need to know

What is it? A fresh JRPG-inspired take on the Yakuza series.
Expect to pay £55/$60
Developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio
Publisher Sega
Reviewed on RTX 2080 Super, Intel i7-9700K, 16GB RAM
Multiplayer None
Link Official site

Playing a Yakuza game without series stalwart Kazuma Kiryu in the leading role takes some getting used to. But luckily for Yakuza: Like a Dragon, the seventh game in this long-running series of Japanese crime epics, it’s easy to warm to new hero Ichiban Kasuga. He has all the strength and determination of his predecessor, but with a goofy sense of humour, a wild haircut, and an endearing enthusiasm for everything he does—whether that’s taking on the might of the Korean mafia or employing a chicken to run a sweet shop.

Ichiban starts out as a low-level yakuza in Kamurocho, the Tokyo red light district that serves as the main setting for most of the Yakuza games. But after a series of unfortunate events, he ends up homeless in Yokohama, banished from his yakuza family, and betrayed by the person he trusted most in the world. Yakuza: Like a Dragon is about Ichi piecing his life back together, reckoning with his past, and beating a lot of people up along the way.

(Image credit: Sega)

In many ways, this is a classic Yakuza game. It features an immersive, detailed urban Japanese setting filled with minigames, absurd sidequests, oddball characters, and karaoke bars. The story is an unlikely mix of criminal conspiracy, heartfelt melodrama, and slapstick comedy. And when a problem arises, it’s usually solved with outlandish violence. If you’ve played any Yakuza game before, its distinctive rhythms and quirks will be instantly familiar. There’s something comforting about how this series stubbornly resists change, even if it does mean it occasionally feels like it’s stuck in the past.

source: gamezpot.com