About once a year I return to Frostpunk to get a handful of playthroughs in, mostly in the main scenario, but this wonderfully weird combination of survival game and city builder always tends to pull me back when I'm lacking in something else to play. It took me a little while to wrap my mind around the intricacies of its systems but it's thankfully a game that's still fun to learn even in failure.

The biggest compliment I can give to Frostpunk is that I originally played this game in the middle of summer, and by the end of my first session, the unyielding oppression of its frozen scenario left me positively freezing in real life. There's a genuine psychological effect to it that makes you absolutely feel like you're cold, even when it's 90 degrees outside. Never experienced anything like that before.

For me Yakuza 6 undoubtly has one of the weaker stories in the series, if not the weakest. But it's nontheless also one that pulls at your heartstrings, because it highlights once again Kiryu and his strong bond to his loved ones.

While I do not like certain aspects of the story, like Haruka's teenage pregnancy and the long search for the father that followed after, I could still enjoy it for what it was. But mostly because it was great to see how committed Kiryu is to his family. Papa Kiryu in Y3 was a sweet experience, so Grandpa Kiryu in Y6 is just as endearing and heartwarming to see. Just like in Y3, I like how the game switches from grandpa simulator to the usual Yakuza stuff we're used to and I honestly couldn't ask for more.

Kiryu and his ties and strong emotions towards his loved ones is a strong component of the series, so it's only natural that family bonds, especially fatherhood, and blood ties are the main aspect of Kiryu's final journey....or so I thought.

With the announcement of LAD Gaiden and LAD 8 it's clear that Kiryu's journey seems far from over and honestly? I'm very happy about that, because Kiryu is one of my favorite characters in all of gaming. The fact that LAD Gaiden will also feature the traditional Yakuza combat, which I really love and will dearly miss in future installments, makes me even more happy and excited.