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Yakuza Kiwami 2 (PS5) – Completed

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The continuation of a story with the same cast and locations is a very strong selling point to any entertainment medium. It gives you the viewer, reader or player familiarity, Yakuza uses this formula with Kamurucho & Sotenbori as it’s key locations and Kiryu Kazama as their main protagonist. You have some returning cast members but also lots of new characters to either loathe or enjoy in Yakuza Kiwami 2.

The story continues from the previous game with the introduction of the Jingweon Mafia and an interwoven plot which even delves into Kiryu's past and events that occurred many years earlier. There is also a nice recap at the beginning of the game which retells the events of the previous game. 

Gameplay also has some nice quality of life improvements in that you can now place a marker on the map which will point you the way and sidequests are now shown at the start of each chapter so you no longer have to walk around trying to find them.

Levelling up is much easier with you gaining experience points from almost every activity including eating. Combat is limited to one fight style but you can unlock a vast number of moves and skills. The hostess mini-game is back and a nice surprise is the new Majima Construction mini game which is tough to master, Yakuza game tutorials have always been poor with a wall of text and screenshots. So either watch a tutorial on YouTube or Trial and Error to figure it out. Talking of Majima he also gets a 3 chapter story which is separate from the main game to tie off his story loose ends.

The story is the main reason I am drawn to these games and Kiwami 2 does not disappoint. After playing Yakuza 0 to Kiwami 2 back to back, I will take a break for a bit before starting Yakuza 3 in the new year.

Yakuza Kiwami (PS5) – Completed Review

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I started playing Gris but I could not stop thinking about Yakuza after completing Yakuza 0. I obviously stopped playing Gris and started Yakuza Kiwami. Kiwami is a remake of the first PS2 released Yakuza game with some small changes, you play as Kiryu again and the story follows him having to deal with a decision made very early in the game.  Nishki & Yumi return and there are some new characters that get introduced and a few that also have their story wrapped up. The main story is what make these games a joy to play and Yakuza Kiwami does not disappoint. 

Majima is also back and has a unique task in the game to help Kiryu. These moments lead to some very funny sequences and is a highlight of the game outside the main campaign. Unlike Yakuza 0 this game is played out just in Kamurucho, you have a few missions in other locations but these are gated so you cannot explore.

The game mechanics are the same in terms of combat except this time you level up with experience points instead of using money. The mini-games are back but there is no main character mini game like the building game from Yakuza 0.

Compared to Yakuza 0, Kiwami is a much shorter game but I like that because it is more focused and not distracted by side activities. You can enjoy the main campaign in under 20 hours. I don't have the time to always play 60 hour plus games so give me a small concise experience anytime.

Next for me is Yakuza Kiwami 2, no only joking. I will be playing FIFA 22, I have a three year cycle with the Fifa Games mainly to enjoy playing Ultimate Team. I am also still playing Fortnite with my daughter & Nephew.

Yakuza 0 – Completed Review

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After enjoying Yakuza Like a Dragon I realised I made a grave mistake by ignoring the Yakuza series of games. I very much enjoy single player, character focus & story driven games. Yakuza ticks all those boxes and more.

The combat was my one concern because Like a Dragon was turn based and the other games were all action based. Would they be painful to play inflaming my RSI. Thankfully by dropping the difficulty down to easy and just focusing on enjoying the story the combat was fine, a few of the boss fights and longer sequences I had to pause for a rest but I had no searing pains unlike when I played Hades.

Yakuza 0 has a huge selection of mini games from Baseball, Pool to Karaoke and Disco Dancing. You play as both Kazuma Kiryu & Goro Majima and they each have a dedicated business mini game which allows you to collect money which you will need to upgrade your abilities and you will need a lot!

There are quite a few side quests in the game although it is difficult to know where they are because of a lack of quest markers. They will only trigger if you walk into a particular area of Kamarucho or Sotenbori, so make sure you spend some time wondering around the map exploring during each chapter.

I don’t want to spoil the story but I really enjoyed how it spends a lot of time with each character and their interactions with a huge supporting cast. Make sure you watch the end credit scene for a nice surprise.

I can’t wait to play the next game in the series Yakuza Kiwami but next for me is a couple of indie titles in Gris & Beyond Eyes.

Mutant Year Zero – Road to Eden (PS5) – Completed Review

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Mutant Year Zero - Road to Eden is a X-Com style turn-based strategy game. You start the game with two characters Dux & Bormin and more will join later but you can only have a maximum of three in the field. There are various unique skills for each character giving you abilities like mind control & double shot.

If you have played X-Com you will be familiar with the gameplay, there are some changes like you can walk around with the characters and initiate combat when close to an enemy. If you take out these enemies silently then you can go back out of combat and walk around to collect loot & survey the area to plan your next attack.

You can upgrade weapons at the base, unlock perks by collecting artefacts and purchase items from the shop like grenades, scopes and medical kits. The map is split out into different areas as the story progresses and when you level up you can visit side areas for rare loot like a new weapon or armour.  Occasionally you will also encounter a boss fight and these encounters will need careful planning otherwise you will die. The game can be tough in some areas but if you take it slow and pick off enemies in solo encounters with silent weapons & character skills you will quickly master the game.

X-Com 2 was very buggy for me on PS4 & I ended up with a save file that was corrupted after 25 hours. Thankfully I had no such issues with Mutant Year Zero and enjoyed completing the game.

Because I enjoyed playing Yakuza Like A Dragon earlier this year, I was interested in the previous games so next for me is Yakuza 0.

The First Tree (PS5) – Completed Review

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The First Tree is an indie exploration game with two stories, the first is the fox you play as trying to find it's missing family & the second is about Joseph who is dealing with the loss of a loved one, his story is told mostly through spoken dialogue.

Playing as the fox you have the ability to run & jump to collect orbs of light that guide you on your path through the world. Later on you can collect butterflies which allow you to jump higher. The gameplay is ok but does have a few frustrations in the later levels where I was unsure of where to go and some of the orbs were very difficult to collect. Be warn if you want to complete all the trophies in this game you will need to get all of the collectibles and orbs before completing a level, there is no chapter select option.

The game has a nice soundtrack but oddly only plays each track once so you spend most of the level wondering around listening to sound effects of the fox dashing or jumping.

What is impressive is that this game was made by one individual David Wehle, so whislt it is is rough in some gameplay sections it tells a story that is worth enjoying and can be completed in a couple of hours.

Next for me is Mutant Year Zero a turn-based xcom style strategy game.