Lee is a masterclass character.

A tense adventure where your choices have consequences.

Protecc Clemm at all costs!

Yakuza 5 Remastered Reminds People How The Franchise Continued To Grow And Improve

Yakuza 4 Remastered saw the franchise get back on track after Yakuza 3 Remastered was a slight misstep. Yakuza 5 Remastered continues that trend, being a quality offering that will leave Ryu Ga Gotoko fans satisfied once they’ve had their fill of Kazama Kiryu and co.

First off, Yakuza 5 Remastered looks pretty fantastic. It’s clearly a step up from Yakuza 4 Remastered and Sega were doing all they could to crank out a quality looking game. Graphics are sharp and more vibrant. There is still pop-up issues that said and while it’s quaint to see some restaurants you enter use pre-rendered backgrounds, it does take away a little from the overall presentation. But overall this is still an impressive game to look at. The cities, Kamarucho, Tsukimino, Sotenbori, Kinecho and Kamurocho, have their distinct look and feel, especially Tsukimino because its taking place during Christmas.

The UI interface has once again been tightened up. They’ve decreased the sizes of text and boxes but it’s still very readable and just as importantly allows you to see and view more. Plus it looks really slick and impressive.. There is still has that weird design choices such as only being able to select one item at a time mechanic e.g. when getting reward items from a store) and now you can’t advanced conversations with the B/Circle button meaning you can easily select an option you don’t want, making it somewhat easier to fail sub-stories/sub-missions.

This is all topped off by the fantastic music with a lot of emotional scores, as well as diverse ranges you expect from the series (playing as Haruka will expose you to some catchy bangers). Another audio triumph us that we now have speech for the majority of the important in-game scenes. It makes the story seem that much more important.

Once again we are now playing as not just Kiryu, but as three other characters; charismatic money Lender Shun Akiyama, gruff but kind-hearted Taiga Saejima, the naive but determined adopted daughter of Kiryu, Haruka Sawamura, with dreams of being a Japanese Idol and newcomer, disgraced former baseball player, the somewhat sleazy but lovable Tatsuo Shinada. Once again we have different fighting styles with Kiryu being the all-rounded powerhouse, Akiyama being speedy and technical, Saejima with strong man moves and great crowd control and Shinada with weird grappler style backed up by being a weapon master of sorts.

This sees the side-stories back. Similar to Yakuza 4 Remastered, but they are much more involved. Kiryu drives a Taxi (it makes sense in context) in not just getting fares but also providing customer service via conversations and engaging in speed racing (again, it makes sense in context,) Saejima gets to go hunting! Haruka goes through the trials and tribulations of being a Pop Idol and new character Tatsuo Shinada rediscovers his baseball groove (and makes the baseball mini-game fun!) Only Akiyama lacks one. At least he gets a dance battle against an old lady as a sub-story.

In terms of story, Shinada may seem like an odd duck, but as per Yakuza game, he ends up fitting well and its another interesting well-executed story with the usual Yakuza story beats; you kind of know what to expect but you still feel rewarded for going through it. The main story cutscenes are longer than usual but they don’t feel dragged out.

Gameplay has been refined once again. We’re now using a hybrid of Yakuza 3 Remastered and Yakuza 4 Remastered experience system; With now having to choose from Soul, Tech, Body and Heat to increase (Yakuza 3 Remastered) but instead of spending experience points, you now spend soul orbs you gain from levelling up (Yakuza 4 Remastered). While it’s somewhat restrictive compared to Yakuza 4 Remastered, it’s nowhere as bad as it was for Yakuza 3 Remastered, thanks to experience points gain being less stingy. That said, you can’t max out your level until the late game (and only if you complete a sidequest) so it can be frustrating to see your growth stall.

Speaking of levels, you now have “weapon skills” that gain levels depending on how much you use them. Not only do you do more damage the higher the level, but it’s required to use many weapons with have a level requirement. This actually encourages you to NOT avoid fights, as many places will have a weapon of some kind to build up those vital experience and unlock cooler and much more useful weapons, but to also use weapons you own constantly, even the least effective ones and not just chuck em away once you’ve done their heat actions. A nice improvement is that each character can now use all weapons. Some characters start with levels in different weapons categories.

This ties into the modding which is less of a hassle. Now you can repair and reload more than one item at a time. Now Kamiyama does everything, rather than having to run around different vendors trying to find bits and pieces. You have to unlock his wares through investment but this brings a happy medium of working towards unlocking powerful and effective equipment while not sandbagging you and making it feel restrictive as it did in Yakuza 3 remastered (and to a lesser extent, Yakuza 4 Remastered.) That said, you still have to wait till near end-game to fully take advantage of it. At least now you can fix weapons without having to go to the modding shop!

The main meat of the game, combat, is much faster. Enemies encounter happen either almost instantly or at the very least a lot more quickly (no more weird dialogue from enemies to fight you), it feels faster and the heat Actions are revamped for the better. They look more visceral and violent and there’s more of them, with weapons sometimes having more than just one Heat Action belonging to it. There’s also some new mechanics which is nice, with the Dragon Spirit making Kiryu go all Super Saiyan for a limited time, as well as activating (for him and the other playable characters) a Super Extreme move that does good damage (but it’s held back by the fact that its a pain to refill, relying on doing heat actions, meaning its best for bosses or really tough encounters)

There is some additional quality of life improvements with combat; It’s easier to avoid being thrown by enemies, they can now be targeted by weapons on the ground and you can pocket

However, we have something different. Enter Haruka Sawamura, the adopted daughter of Kiryu. For the first time, we control her in her own exciting journey and story. Does she take on guys twice her size and beat them down like fools? Well no. Instead Haruka’s scenario focuses on her rise to being a Japanese Idol in the music industry. Cue Dance battles, concert singing, handshake events and even miscellaneous side gigs like interviews, quizzes and being in a show panel. While its nice beating the crap out of thugs and smug villains, its relaxing and refreshing to see this side of the story. Of course, it being a Yakuza game, its not smooth sailing and has the usual tense, whiplash and bittersweet moments alongside the positive upbeat moments.

The substories for each characters feel a lot more involving, not just gameplay wise but story wise too. As stated in past reviews, they feel like the soul of the Ryu Ga Gotoko games and each instalment seems to improve on them and Yakuza 5 Remastered is no different. A nice handy addition is there is now markers for where they are (as well as where to go next). It may take the exploration fun out of finding them but for others, it can feel like making doing them less frustration.

Really the biggest drawbacks with Yakuza 5 Remastered are the usual pains with any Yakuza game before this one; weird design choices, some mini-games being just pure pain, save points being far apart making doing so a hassle.

But Yakuza 5 Remastered has shown that Sega can put love and care into an established franchise such as the Ryu Ga Gotoko games, trying new things, learning from past mistakes and still making sure it carries that insane charm, energy and great execution, it’s still a joy to play.


Rating 9/10

Cyberpunk 2077 Redeems Itself By Becoming The Great Game It Promised To Be Years Ago

When Cyberpunk 2077 was released two years ago, to massive hype, it was seen as a letdown. But make no mistake, Cyberpunk 2077 was not an awful game back then, merely a very good game that failed to promise to be a great game.

Two years later, with CDPR refusing to give into the negative press and call it a day, buckle down to make what they felt they should have released, eerily similar to The Witcher: Enhanced Edition. The result isn’t as night and day as their first break out title, but it’s noticeable enough to push it from a very good to a fantastic game.

This review won’t go in-depth into the changes, instead looking at it as if this was the first time someone played Cyberpunk 2077.

When it comes to presentation, Cyberpunk 2077 does a great job. Night city shows one side of the glitzy and glamorous city it prides itself on being as well as the dark and grimy (arguably the true version of Night City) thanks to excellent use of colours and shading, some really imaginative art and varied NPCs. It also helps that level design is pretty solid with very few locations looking the same.

So its a good thing that this all runs without having to need an ultra-expensive PC. There’s many graphical options that you can adjust so while some will need to sacrifice a few things, you can still get a good looking game that will play very smoothly. There is some odd bugs here and there but nothing game breaking and it’s doesn’t happen enough to factor into the game’s enjoyment.

The main cast is really well rounded, with excellent voices that really help show how they view their lives and Night City and they look pretty damn good (except for the feet. For some reason we’re still barely above 32-bit era in that regards) with the animation being on point, with the surprising highlight being their facials. This isn’t exaggerated gaming facials but ones that really do a solid job of just showing what the character is feeling about the moment or what has been said. And their personalities really do shine through, even with the ones you only interact with for a short moment. And the romance is really well done, feeling like it’s natural instead of rushed.

The music is excellent. Stand out is “Never Fade Away” by Samurai but there’s an excellent mix of genres (with many songs being a satirical stab at said genres) and the atmospheric pieces are perfect too. The ambient sounds are well done to.

Finally, it should be no surprise that CDPR have banged out a fantastic story with a lot of excellent world building via all kinds of missions and other side stuff, as well as the advertising and news bulletins you get and interacting with characters. No one is a saint but there are those who, even with selfish motives, are decent people at their core. To talk about it in-depth is potential for spoilers but one should not jump to assumptions about any situation or character until everything is played out.

So presentation is great, the story is fantastic but what about the gameplay?

Well thankfully it holds up well alongside the graphical and audio side. It’s nothing revolutionary and you don’t quite have the power fantasy element of say Skyrim but the fact you can switch around perks allows for a LOT of experimentation (tempered by the fact you can only switch stats around once) and also to somewhat undo a build you think isn’t working.

For those who like to be gung-ho, the combat itself is very fun with a fast pace that encourages you to be aggressive but also allows you to be mindful of your health and current situation and allow moments of retreat or to gather breathing room. You can even be an aggressive hacker. Stealth also allows various options and you can either be aggressive or take your time and slowly and carefully take enemies out without alerting them.

Overall you feel the power of becoming a legendary merc, who’s one man heroics feel earned as you continue to play and build up V.

Other good stuff include the photo mode being pretty damn good. It has odd hiccups and can be a bit fiddly to get the angle if your using the drone view but otherwise its really fun to capture what you view are key moments (or great views).

Also its neat that many missions are named after famous songs or other pop culture references.

So how about the negatives. Well they aren’t deal breakers more like “I wish…” kind of things.

It’d be nice if there was more romance options. The fact your choice is even more limited by your gender kind of sucks too. People may feel that quality over quantity would mean having more choice would dilute it, but CDPR have shown they are great at writing major and minor romances.

Vehicles are a missed opportunity and it would be great if there was more to do with them. The moments where you get to control a flying tank (The Basilisk) are few and far.

Another missed opportunity is lack of viewable fictional BD’s (at the very least being moddable.) There are many that are advertised but its a shame you can never view them.

The Wardrobe function is really nice but it is a bit finicky and the limited slots as well as you can’t change it on the fly is a bit restrictive. It can be fussy to create your ideal outfit as well. Still its a welcome addition

It would be nice if there was more ways to finish a main mission or side gig. Talking your way to completion would be really fun.

Crafting is pretty limited. Unless you really go out of your way, it’s really better to either loot or just do missions, where you will see that you will find or be rewarded some of the best stuff

A way to distract people without having to rely on a netrunner’s skills would be ideal as well.

At the end of the day though, these are very minor niggles that annoy you for a moment but disappear as you come to realize that Cyberpunk 2077 is a worthy Open-World game that fans of the genre should get to playing. Is it a masterpiece after all these years? Not quite but it’s been elevated to a great game and one of the best comebacks since No Man’s Sky.

Rating: 9/10

An Engaging And Brutally Emotional Spy-Thriller

The first (and last) major DLC for Cyberpunk 2077 from CDPR, Phantom Liberty sees V given a lifeline in regards to surviving the life-ending degradation brought on by the Relic. The mission? To save the president of the NUSA from Dogtown kaiser, Kurt Hansen. Of course, this being Cyberpunk 2077 and a spy-thriller story, its never that simple.

To go into details would spoil the amazing narrative that CDPR have cocooned and manifested but suffice to say it’s fantastic what they have done. The Opening of Phantom Liberty to the opening title being displayed is one of the best intros to a video game. Up there with God of War 2’s opening level. And it’s not afraid to gut punch you. Several times. Then kick you in the balls. Several times. And then curb stomp you as you lay withering on the ground. Several times. Phantom Liberty drives home the fact that there is always a price for what someone wants and its rarely cheap.

The characters are fantastic and every engaging and again even minor ones have a charm and personality that makes them memorable. Again, no one is a saint but selfish/bad motives don’t make a person evil or unlikeable. Idris Elba, as Solomon Reed is indeed the star of the show but he does not outshine and leave the rest of talent to be inferior and its a testament to CDPR’s direction (and Elba’s talent to be grounded and allow others to breathe) that this is pulled off. Other positives things are nice call backs and cameos (depending on how far you got in the base game, Muamar “El Captain” Reyes gets a nice “day in the spotlight” quest if you do enough of the annoying car jacking side hustle (more on that later) and Mr. Hands becoming more of a presence and being fleshed out too. And of course the world building is awesome.

Visually Phantom Liberty is amazing, as to be expected. Dogtown really does stand out on its own as a different location. Whereas Night City hid its grime beneath bright lights, here Dogtown shows it off with pride while still offering false (or pricey) hope with the few locations that aren’t gone to hell. Another notable location is Night City International and Translunar Spaceport (NCX) with gorgeous bright colours that just revel in the beauty and vanity of space travel. Even the roads leading to it have a quiet beauty to them.

Credit should also go to the visual work with the key NPCs (as well as those were important to any degree in the base game) is fantastic. The expressions Reed does sell just how he’s feeling more than words could.

Add to fantastic set-pieces and cinematic-style events (which make for some great shots via photo mode) and well lets just say the amount of time you’ll be tempted to use photo mode is very, very high.

Music is on point. One is only half-joking if they said the best bond music is the end-credits theme for Phantom Liberty

Gameplay wise, not much has changed (for obvious reasons) but what’s new is interesting. New loot and the increased chance to get more powerful loot via “Airdrops” is awesome. There’s also additional challenging “Criminal Activity” that is fun and a little tense (though with the right build, is not that hard) and worth it for the loot.

There’s also a new mission involving involving vehicles with Muamar “El Captain” Reyes side gig of car-jacking and delivering vehicles. It starts out novel but gets really aggravating. Worse is you can’t save mid-mission (unless you cheese it by getting out of the vehicle). It’s less of a pain if your running a netrunner build that has the ability to affect vehicles but overall its a pain and something of a missed opportunity. This leads to the fact that exiting Dogtown by car gets tedious. Thankfully you will only have to do this via the above side-gig.

The Relic system, which sees you gain points to choose from abilities that enhance your playstyle is a mixed bag. What it offers is good but there’s just too few, even when considering a “quality over quantity” standpoint. Makes hunting Relic machines only worthwhile for achievement and 100% hunters, as you’ll bump into enough of them without even trying (plus a key character gives you some for free)

Outside of that, the only really other noteworthy gameplay criticism is a forced stealth section you encounter if you go after certain endings. Though it’s tempered by the fact that 1) it’s really well done, being very tense and legit scary and 2) saving is actually quite generous, so messing up won’t set you back. It can be a bit puzzling to figure out what to do but overall I think the good and bad balance each other out.

Phantom Liberty, alone for the story, is a must play. The execution is well done and very memorable. The fact it’s backed up by excellent gameplay just makes this one hell of a DLC.

Rating: 9/10