Completed in 2022

I find it difficult to put into words how much i've enjoyed playing this game. There are few games I can play endlessly from start to finish, without becoming bored of the gameplay or story. But Yakuza 0 had me in a tight grip and I just wouldn't let me go.

The main storyline is absolutely heartbreaking and gutwrenching at times, while the side-stories provide some great comic relief. The gameplay itself is easy to get into, though completing the game 100% is pretty much impossible for a casual gamer. Some of the minigames, like JCC, are an absolute nightmare, but that would be my only critique.

Absolutely worth playing. 84 hours well spend on my part.

Finished in 2024

Absolutely phenomenal game! This game has it all for me: horror/thriller theme, interesting characters, fun gameplay and a conceptually strong story. It vaguely reminds me of my favourite show Hannibal, like somehow the vibes been incapsulated in a game.

I have to be honest: i got the first Alan Wake game in a steam sale once YEARS ago, played it for a bit, shelved it and forgot about it. Ended up seeing the Herald of Darkness gameplay on my fyp and that immediately drew me in. It’s so incredibly camp - decided I’d go back and give this franchise (and other Remedy games) another go. Played Alan Wake 1 and followed up with this one immediately after.

I’m absolutely sold on this universe. I get it now. I’m gonna continue om with Control…

The game is a big mess, but everyone knows that already. For me the only truely fun part of the game was discovering the new Pokemon & also the difficulty at times. Other than that, the game has great ideas but the execution is either "ok" or just doesn't work.

My thoughts:
(+ = (mostly) positive; - = (mostly) negative)
+- Gameplay;
The gameplay at times is pretty addicting. Looking at every corner to find something new. Only to realise after a while the game doesn't really reward you for doing so. You either find a regular item or a gimmighoul. Finding koroks in botw for example was way more fun to do.
The different areas didn't do much and especially the snow mountain was super disappointing. Usually the snow areas are my favorite, but in this game it's just nothing, like really really nothing.
The battles were hard at times, which I enjoyed. I also liked that you could """"choose """" your own path. There wasn't really much to choose, because the game pretty much forces you to choose a different path when Pokemon are suddenly a much higher level than yours. I have to admit the variation in missions and such was a nice attempt. Has potential to become something great.

+ Music;
The music is very nice like every Pokémon game. Only this time it didn't have as many bangers compared to previous games. When you get to end game, the music gets a lot better imo.

-- Graphics;
Don't even think I've to explain myself here. You can count the frames, random pop-ins, lighting is horrible, textures are arse, areas like the snow mountain and desert are just empty. But can't blame them, they're a indie studio after all.

+- Story/Characters;
I'm a bit mixed about the story. The start was super slow, which made me lose interest in the story really fast. But the further i got into the game, the more "interesting" it got (for a Pokémon game). The main characters were more involved than in any other Pokémon game before I feel like and that's a good thing.

Recommend?
Only if you like Pokémon. Otherwise there are plenty of other open world games who can give you a better experience.