Definitely not as good as the first game. Has some pacing issues and the twist isn't really that good as it doesn't build up to it that well. The overarching story and plot I didn't find as engaging as the first and the twists along the way seemed kinda contrived, but the characters in this are insanely well written and are so charming it's genuinely hard to find things to dislike about them. The somniums themselves are much better and much more unique leading to better and actually engaging puzzle solving sections. Biggest gripe with the game is that it tries harder to be a bit goofier while the first game was more contained and knew when to be humorous and not.

A disappointingly shallow Hotline Miami-like experience. After about an hour or so the core gameplay begins to feel samey and it goes from being angry at the game but having fun, to being angry at how genuinely poorly designed it is. Enemies who clump up together in very small rooms in the later levels with little variations in tactics or core gameplay other than maybe 2 new enemies types and the levels being much larger, but unlike Hotline Miami, no shift-look feature to look around and zoom out of the level to see them from offscreen. It also doesn't help that the hotline miami styled trial and error gameplay doesn't work here since it's a one-life game. The smash-tv like formula hotline has just doesn't work for a rogue like.

One of the most overhated games due to internet contrarians trying to tell people that there's actually nothing enjoyable about the game, and you're wrong for liking it.
While I do agree this game isn't very deep or complex in its writing, and the main story isn't that interesting, the core gameplay and atmosphere of it really hits the tone. It has a fun core gameplay loop with interesting places to explore, while all of them not making much sense in the context of Fallout, let alone the setting. The DLCs are definitely the best part about this game, Point Lookout and The Pitt specifically. I'd say Point Lookout is a reason to replay this game alone. While it might miss the point of Fallout, there's still a ton of enjoyment to be had here.

Yakuza 7 is a weird game. One I still can't really put into words what I truly think about this game.

The story and general character writing in this game has to be some of the best in the entire franchise, bar none. Probably in all of gaming honestly. Ichiban is such an instantly likable and relatable character. He's a dude you wanna see succeed every step of the way, and it's always nice to see him succeed. There's only a handful of games that I can point to that has a main character that's just so likable and entertaining it's almost unrealistic how nice of a guy he is. Every interaction he has with the rest of the cast is just nice to hear because Ichi just has shit to say and it's always entertaining.

This game has had some of the best scenes in the whole series with some really entertaining and funny scenes that can be followed up with the most fucking heart wrenching thing you will ever see. The ending of this game really fucked me up, it's probably just my favorite ending to any Yakuza game ever.

With that comes my main problems with this game, which is for the most part the gameplay of it. It's not by any means bad, honestly it's really good, especially for a first attempt. But it's really only until later in the game where you get some better moves and gear where the combat just starts to click and becomes enjoyable. Some of the bosses can be really annoying damage sponges that you can't even hit with certain moves sometimes. The side content in this game is really lackluster with some really lame substories and side activities that are more just boring than anything. Granted, I don't think you can top anything side content related after 5, but I still wish it was better overall.

Issues aside it's really hard for me to say I actively dislike a good portion of this game, the last final chapters of it are really fucking good and is probably one of the best written in the series. Ichiban is straight up the best protagonist, he's number one.

I'm genuinely so mad that this game ends as good as it does because the combat in it can be really fucking unbearable at times. Every enemy can you start attacking you again mid combo and have hyper armor, so they won't give a shit about half the time. Agent sucks, if you play with the Yakuza playstyle you will have a MUCH better time with the game.
All the side content just sucks, anyone who says pocket circuit is fun is a fake human being created by sora ai.

It's such a shame because the final chapter of this game is actually written really well and is one of the best endings to any Yakuza game, every everything else about it is just mediocre or bad.

this game used to be my Go-To multiplayer shooter. Back when I still played it, it had some of the most fun gameplay and moments in any shooter that would honestly put all of them to shame. The mix of proper strategizing with your teammates, picking the best operators and gear using their abilities to your teams advantage, while at the same time still requiring good timing and reaction time to get good shots off. There was one time it was a 1v5 and I managed to pull the best fucking clutch-ace that I don't think I'll ever be able to replicate in a video game ever. Every operator was balanced, fun, and played to eachothers strengths.

So what the fuck happened to this game?
Like really, I don't fucking know what happened. I tried playing this game again and it felt like a fake mobile knockoff of itself. The UI is atrocious, there's insane bloat, the artstyle looks like dogshit now, teamplay is basically fucking gone and every new operator looks goofy and plays like a valorant operator.

If this game was in better hands than Ubisoft, or if instead they just made a Siege 2 instead of continuing to update this game, that would've been for the best, but here we are.

Fuck this game.