Unfortunately putting this one down. My star rating isn't really all that relevant here because my inability to really get into this isn't indicative of the game's quality, but of my own personal tastes. I've been playing this in short bursts since it came out and it's really just not grabbing me. I can't play it for more than 45-60 minutes at a time without wanting to do something else. The narrative seems really cool so far, but I'm starting to understand where I fit in with this series. I loved Yakuza: Like a Dragon, way more than I was expecting to. I've played a little bit of the original Yakuza (on PS2), a little bit of Yakuza 0, a little bit of Yakuza 3 and now with this I'm realizing that I'm the new fan RGG was targeting with the changes made in Like a Dragon. I like so much about this series. The contrast between serious and zany storytelling. The sidequests. The writing. However, I'm just not a fan of the staple gameplay.

A podcaster I listen to mentioned that he felt the gameplay was really stale for 2023 standards and I agree. It's just not captivating me at all. I've hit a point in the main story where I have to grind mini-sidequests to progress and I am feeling the grind. I did a ton of these in Yakuza: Like a Dragon. I did a lot of these in Like a Dragon: Ishin earlier this year. I don't have it in me to do these right now.

I'd really like to pick this back up some day and see the story through. I'd really like to go back and beat all the previous entries I haven't played before. But if I'm being realistic, I just don't know that these Like a Dragon games are for me. However, I can't wait for Infinite Wealth.