Yakuza 0

Yakuza 0 is a unique experience with an engaging and complex story that is kind of a mix of everyday struggles and larger than life events, I really enjoy. However, to get maximum enjoyment out of the game (or all Yakuza games, it seems, tgis is only my second one), I feel you have to approach it in a certain way. There are countless substories and minigames, which can be overwhelming at first and if you're someone like me, who doesn't really care for most minigames, it's tempting to ignore them, cause I don't really see the point. Thing is, in Yakuza 0, they are often linked to the business storylines and if you've never engaged with them, it can become frustrating at certain points. Long story short, try out everything the game has to offer and don't be overeager like me to get back to the mainstory as quick as possible.

This is one of the greatess entries of this saga! If you are interested in Yakuza, it is probably the best one to start!

This is a game with a very heavy story, but its side missions are on a completely opposite spectrum. It pulls no punches (pun intended) with its narrative, character dynamics and crazy shenanigans. Combat may be something one would need to get used to, but the fighting styles add enough variety to ensure entertaining encounters. There's also minigames.

It's got some grind to it but it's not necessary. Don't try to 100% it, it will not help your enjoyment of the game. Super good gang soap opera that is also whacky and insane. You probably already know that though.

I've played through this game on the PS4 console, but when the Yakuza game pack went on sale on GOG, I couldn't pass it up. So now I'm replaying the series from the start on PC. Combat is a big part of the game, and thankfully it's fluid, fun and the battles don't last long. I feel like that's also been a factor in keeping the combat fun: The battles are bite-sized and you don't have time to get bored. You get multiple different battle "styles", ranging from quick, to flashy, to stronger but slower. You're likely to find a favourite among the few options, and the game does encourage you to experiment and use them all. The plot had me gripped with each new chapter, but I'm not powering through the main plot on my rerun. There are dozens of side quests that each have their own little story. I had a 2-hour game session today and all I did was run around town, working on side quests and fighting. And I had a blast! The soundtrack is among my all-time favourite game soundtracks. The boss fight themes in particular are great. The game has a load of minigames such as darts, pool, Mahjong, shogi, karaoke and dancing. So whenever I feel like I'm not in the mood to be reading a bunch of dialogue (there's a lot in the main quest & side quests), I just wind down with a minigame for a bit or explore the map. This game gets a full 5/5 from me. It's a great game to just lose yourself to for a few hours. It rewards you heavily for exploring and engaging with side content, and even trying out the various minigames. The devs did a great job with this one.