Yakuza 0 made me believe in the power of story driven, dialogue heavy games again. I can't remember the last time I found a game with 'traditional' storytelling (read: one which emulates film) so riveting from start to finish, and so cleverly conceived and arranged at that. A key to that is its great , personable writing, of course, but with this many cutscenes (+ the more frequent, less animated dialogue scenes) it helps that they're actually directed in some meaningful way, always finding interesting shots or camera moves to portray a scene, or zooming in perfectly to amplify its most comedic moments. A small thing, but we're always engaged because of it.

Yakuza 0 would already be an amazing game for that alone, and that's without even mentioning the other couple of games that happen to be crammed in there too, some being the most delightful of surprises (Cabaret Czar stans, hello); or its world, ready-made to woo you with its charm and personality, and inexplicably suck away hours on end; or its tonal mastery, oscillating between compelling melodrama and absurd comedy seamlessly.

It's all here, fellas. A game for the ages.