Fun game. I generally enjoyed it.

What I did not like:

- The normal route - We all came to play horror and spooky ARG. I also found some reviews saying the start is very slow. But honestly, to me, the normal route was way too short. When you hear the in-game dev logs, they talk about how many things they work on. And yet, we only get a handful of locations, a few tasks, and the intended game can be finished in about 30 minutes with no speedrunning. I know this part of the game is not that important, it's just an illusion that there was some game intended for shelves, but it took out the immersion. I wish they told in the story there were more quests, characters, etc. but some softlock disabled discovering it or something. Anything to show that there is more than 30 minutes of the real game.

- Some puzzles - Many puzzles were okay. Though, I think there were too many based on finding 4-digit codes and the beaverscratch. A few puzzles felt too difficult. Combining it with the dread of an approaching danger made it almost impossible to decipher. I had to check the answers online on these few instances. And I'm glad I did because I would never figure it out.

- Jumpscares - Once I entered the Plaza, I felt fear I have never experienced in any video game. That's a good thing, that's what horror is supposed to be. But I hated when this fear had its climax on a jumpscare. First 2 jumpscares got me and after all the atmosphere was gone because I got used. I wish it was maintained longer. Jumpscares are great when used right in the right moment. Not in this game though.

What I enjoyed:

- The story - Mysterious, spooky, full of weird events begging the player to find the answers. I loved it. I still don't know everything and will have to check the theories online, but I got the general idea of what was going on.

- Clue hunting - To find answers to puzzles and the story, you can't rely only on the game you downloaded. There are many other mediums thrown at you, and I think it was quite original. After all, it's an ARG, and you have to look in many places to progress.

- Fear - I felt so scared to progress. I just did not know what to expect. Dark open locations, lack of music, only Bucky and his steps can be heard. The unknown was horrifying, and I constantly felt like I was being watched. Awful. Loved it. And then the jumpscares came, sadly.

- Art style - I never had the N64 console when I as young, but even without it the game gave the impression of being made quite some time ago, in the 90s, just like the story is telling you. Simple and nostalgic style. Very immersive.

- Music and sound design - Amazing tunes in the normal playthrough, great fitting scary sounds on further layers. Even such a simple thing like lack of music created moments of overwhelming dread. I rarely pay attention to audio in video games, but here everything is very memorable. Even after finishing the game, I can hum the tunes.

Final grade: 3.5/5

I took me 156 hours, but eventually I have it - 100%, all achievements. And there is a lot I can say about this game now that I completed everything.

Let's start with the bad things:
- Unfair fights - Probably the worst thing about Yakuza Kiwami is how frustrating the gameplay can get at times. It is especially present while playing the Legend difficulty. Obviously, the game is supposed to be hard at the highest difficulty, but the developers focused on the wrong adjustments. You may have practiced fighting for hours, you may know how to and when properly dodge, block, and attack. But the enemy will always find the gap and get you in the most annoying way possible - a gunshot, a knife stab, a kick that will knock you against the wall that will knock you against another kick that will knock you against the wall again... And you can't do anything, only watch the same animation over and over because once you get up, you get hit by the same thing again. Kiryu's "OUGHEEEUGH" scream after each stun is engraved in my brain forever.
- The car chase - a shooting sequence in a fighting game done poorly - the crosshair moving slow, dynamic camera movement affecting your crosshair, short time to react, high enemy damage vs your low damage, and the cherry on top, on Legend difficulty when you lose, you have to start over the whole chapter because there is no savepoint! I finally gave up struggling with it on my Steam Deck and switched to mouse and keyboard on PC
- The "anime" moments in the main story - I love the main plot of this game. It was interesting and full of great characters. But sometimes I couldn't help but cringe. A dying character always has their 5 minutes before death to explain everything. People point guns at each other and talk even though they want to kill each other. Just shoot them already. What's stopping you if you want to shoot anyway after the conversation? What's the point of the conversation if you want to kill the person you are talking to? I know why - the anime energy and the power of talking over common sense. And the classic "if you are here, you know what happened". Yeah, I know because the story led me to this point, but if it was not so linear, I would be in that place by pure accident and wonder what happened, and then hit with a message "if you are here, you know what happened". Such a goofy thing. People may say that this is the essence of Yakuza games. That it is basically anime just with a realistic art style. But I would love the goofy, anime, unrealistic events to take part in substories because there it actually fits. The main story always feels serious, and these small things I mentioned make it look less serious.

Now that good stuff:
- The story - As I mentioned, the story is interesting, with many great characters. Certain chapters get emotional when you get to know the characters better and realize why they act the way they do. I cared for many characters and was engaged in their stories.
- Majima Everywhere - It was such a great mechanic. Its introduction was justified by the main story events, it was fun seeing Majima in many weird places and roles and I never felt annoyed when he appeared out of nowhere, even when I urgently needed to go somewhere. Even though Majima does not play that important role in the main story, he is crucial for the Dragon Style training, the most OP fighting style in the end game. The training is done well, even if it all goes to fighting Majima. Different settings, Majima changing his outfits and fighting styles, and losing does not kill you or make you stagger after.
- Music - A great selection of songs. Fighting music kept mu pumped up, sad music made me feel more compassion toward characters in their serious moments. Every time I came back to karaoke I had a great time even after playing the same song several times. I am definitely going to listen to some tracks in my free time.
- Fighting - It felt great. Rush Style is probably my favorite, but I was using all of them all the time and before maxing out the Dragon Style, none felt less impactful than the others. Yeah, the maxed out Dragon Style takes the spot, but it takes a while before you get to that point. And before that, you need to rely on these 3 styles.
- Side content - For casual playing, side content is amazing. Many substories, minigames, collectables, and they are often connected in some way so it's not always boring. For the completion list, it gets annoying at some point (looking at you, acquiring weapons). But I enjoyed the grind nonetheless.

Also Mahjong > Gambling Hall