Like A Dragon on Xbox Series X is wonderfully farfelu, strange and smooth

Complete disclosure. I am not a Yakuza type. Of course, I tried one or two yakuza demos, but that s about everything. I can understand how much the franchise has a huge success, but for one reason or another, the series has somehow evaded me. So you get my impressions from the point of view of a yakuza noob. Last week, those who were fortunate to get an Xbox Series X non-definitive (read my first impressions here) had access to the Yakuza demo: Like a dragon, optimized for Xbox Series X. Certainly, I was Hesitant Given my lack of familiarity with the franchise but fortunately Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a brand-new entry point for the series. This is not your typical Yakuza game. NOOBS, like me, should have no problem skipping without any prior knowledge of the other Yakuza games. And I can confirm, that s the case.

For the purposes of this preliminary version, I started in Chapter 5, which apparently is about 5 to 7 hours in the game according to the asset package sent to me. After a long segment involving a ton of dialogs (what I will say, the dialogs do not miss in the game), I was thrown into the streets of Yokohama, where I played wild mini-games, engaged in Battles with street thugs and jumped into various substations. One thing is clear from the beginning, Yakuza: Like A Dragon offers a ton of content and depth.

Although the main story remains the heart and soul of experience, exploration is encouraged. I liked walking with my group of three people, chatting with various citizens who hid in the city, engage in the many battles around the turn and to soak up everything she has to offer. The framework of the open world is certainly a culmination, and it is visually beautiful.

It is not surprising that on Xbox Series X, it works perfectly. I did not know any type of tearing from the screen, offset or extended loading time. Everything takes care in a few seconds. I had only one waiting of 2-3 seconds between kinematics and gameplay. It s impressive and offers fluid experience.

The gameplay in turn is super indulgent. I will not consider myself at all like a veteran in turn, but I have never had any difficulties in combat. Many round-turn games can be a bit difficult and battles can last for eternity. This is not the case in Yakuza: Like a dragon because it uses a RPG combat system in turn dynamic and fast.

By wandering in the streets, enemies appear at every street corner. Get closer to them immediately triggers the fight, which can be a little boring when you simply want to reach the next goal. You can use basic attacks, which do the job, but frankly, these attacks are boring with the variety of beautiful skills at your disposal. You can invoke pigeons or launch a violent flame launcher using PMs. The results are glorious and satisfactory. During the fight, you also invoke a postdate that appears astonishingly and that only species all the remaining enemies on the battlefield. It s very fun and very easy to understand. Some lap-around games can be confused. This game will not be.

Although the fight is wonderfully indulgent and fast, we can not say as much about dialogue. It s sometimes endless and really kills any momentum I established. Too often, I just wanted the characters to be silent to be able to return to action. For me, it was really the only disadvantage of the demo. That said, I m sure that many will love this ridiculously deep story.

Things to do are not lacking. You can visit restaurants where you will restore HP and MP for all your holiday. There are mini-games where you are trying to stay awake by looking at a movie or test your knowledge in a vocational school. You can travel quickly by taxi; Shop in equipment stores; And there are heroes quests. There is also Hello Work which is a key area where you can change your work, which radically changes the way you and your group work in combat. There is so much to do, and I have not even approached the 50 sub-themes of the game.

Although Yakuza: Like a dragon may not be suitable for everyone, one thing is safe, it s an incredibly robust experience that will take you for months. The turn in turn is nice, inclusive and smoothly takes place on the Xbox Series X. The loading times are at a minimum, which I must say is glorious. Yakuza: Like A Dragon may not be a system seller at launch, but the amount of contents of this package is without a doubt impressive. For incredible videos, go to our YouTube page here. Follow us on Twitter here. Our Facebook page here. Our Instagram page here. Listen to our Podcast on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you are a fan of cosplay, discover more of our Cosplay features here.