Yakuza 0

If you've played the most recent GTA (5 at the time of writing), you will know that it is a game which doesn't take itself all that seriously, instead opting to be more of caricature of the real-life city it is based on, and the people within it. As a result of this, I struggled to take its story seriously, even at those moments when it was trying to strike a more serious tone... while Yakuza is the exact opposite. => Story You are straightway thrown into a mystery-thriller, in which powerful individuals are each trying to use both the protagonists as pawns for their own interests. Interests, which they are only able to gradually uncover as the story progresses. From the start it is clear that the story is not just fun and games, but a serious matter about doing what you need to do, all while walking the fine line of maintaining loyalty to the clan, while protecting your family's standing, and also keeping yourself alive. In a tale of intrigue, betrayal, moral uncertainty, and many twists and turns, our protagonists must rise to the challenge in order to make it through in one piece. => Side quests These tend to be more lighthearted and often times even comical, and serve as a nice change of pace from the main quest whenever you need it. Do you want to teach a dominatrix how to berate people properly? Or how about saving a young woman from a cult by joining it? No matter how goofy the quests get however, they still retain a serious core, thus preventing a situation in which the characters turn into caricatures, as I described at the beginning. The dominatrix who can't berate people, for example? She started doing it as she has always struggled with being assertive, and wanted to better herself. => Mechanics I'm hitting GOG's character limit now, so briefly: A decent beat 'em up, though once you found a combination that works, you can spam it without much thought, except for bosses (the last 4 I found rather tedious to fight, so I'm removing 1 star).

what a ride - great game, didnt enjoy the side content much tho - its fun and stuff, but i just cba to redo the club mini game 2000 times for the whole story line

This game is now in my top 10 favorite games and I will definitly be playing the rest of the games in the series. The combat is fun and the story has some of the best writing I've experienced in a minute. Every twist and turn literally has me on the edge of my seat. I hope more people take a chance on these games and fall in love with them like I have.

In my opinion, this is the best game of the saga and also where everything begings. I can't believe SEGA is selling the game without DRM for only 5$!

But still great. Story, gameplay, all are a lot of fun