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  • Retrospective | Kingdom Come: Deliverance

    Kingdom Come: Deliverance was a surprising joy to play this year. I bought it at deep discount during a sale on PSN. I’d always heard good things about it, even from friends, but the initial appeal was lost on me. The combat seemed overly difficult with a penchant for realism over fun, the save system sounded burdensome, and the setting just wasn’t doing anything for me. No judgement against it, but it just didn’t seem like something made for me.

    Still, I bought it at a super discount with the intent of trying it out. Eventually, I did, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Something that immediately stood out to me, and was surprising, is that with all the systems-based gameplay, it immediately felt like an immersive sim. If you’re not an immersive sim player or familiar with them, they’re games that are heavily systems-based, with lots of freedom to approach situations. Examples of immersive sims would be games like Deus Ex, Prey (2017), Dishonored, BioShock, etc. I’m not saying KCD is an im-sim, just that it felt like one to me. Pitchforks down please, im-sim fans.

    So, what is KCD? Briefly, it’s an open-world first-person RPG set in medieval Bohemia, in the year 1403. There’s a war of succession and an invasion. As Henry of Skalitz — son of a blacksmith — your hometown is utterly destroyed by an invading Cuman army, your family is killed, and you barely escape with your life to a nearby town with a keep. Throughout the game you build friendships, hone your martial prowess through training and combat, and uncover more information about the invasion while in service to a local lord. That’s a very surface-level summary of the story to avoid spoilers. 

    I was originally going to go into discussion about the cast of characters you’ll meet along the way in greater detail, but I think much of the joy of this game is in experiencing the moments that define those characters for oneself, rather than being told in advance what the characters are like. I will simply say that there is a wide cast of characters that I think are both well-written and well-performed, each with their own rewarding storylines and interactions with Henry.

    Throughout the story and in different towns you will find bandits, invading Cuman camps, conspiracies, schemes and scams, love interests, merchants, trainers, etc. The open world really shines here. 

    This feels like a difficult article to write for a couple reasons: 1. I played and finished the game many months ago at the time of writing this article. I began this journey of 12 games in 12 months in January, and it’s now October. 2. So much of the main draw of the game is the story, in my opinion, that I feel compelled to write more about systems and experiences that are representative of the whole, rather than key moments in the game.

    Starting off in a more general and wide scope, I’ll say again that the game feels very much like an immersive sim, and that the interplay of different systems feels great. Not every system felt great to me, and there’s certainly room for improvement in the systems I did like as well. Across the game you’ve got what I found to be fun systems with armor and weapons; combat; lockpicking; alchemy; horse riding; and fast travel. There’s also a pickpocketing system, but I found it both overly challenging and unrewarding. There’s also a system where you can fence stollen goods, but it just felt burdensome and not worth the effort. Stealth also feels very unrewarding.

    The most robust and probably most relevant system is the combat and progression system. Closely intertwined are armor and weapons. Combat is all first-person view, where you have a 5-point star in your HUD, and you both strike and block in one of each of the five directions. There’s also a dodge mechanic, and a system for setting up combos, parrying, riposte, etc. It’s a very deep and rewarding combat system once you get used to it. It’s intimidating at first, and while I felt like I got better at it through the course of my playthrough, I never felt like I quite mastered it, so much as I mastered the basics and then was carried by good gear.

    Speaking of gear, it feels very rewarding, and you get a strong sense of power and progression from acquiring and wearing better armor and weapons, along with levelling up your character. I mention the progression system in the same breath as weapons and armor because the progression system allows you to get the most out of your gear with abilities such as unlockable combo moves, and special advantages that come with increased stats in strength, blocking, etc.

    Once you get the ability to train with a weapons master, you can really increase your in-game stats as well as your personal prowess with the combat system easily. Not only that, but I found the training/sparring system to be a lot of fun. It’s nice going from practicing with wooden weapons and getting your ass kicked, to being able to beat up your trainer. 

    You’ll need to get good at combat to enjoy the game. So much of it is based around combat. It’s not like a traditional or “actual” immersive sim since there aren’t ways to circumvent a lot of combat scenarios. Many moments in the game center around battles and raids. You’re very heavily incentivized to clear out all the bandit and Cuman camps because there’s no level restrictions on what gear you can use, only stat restrictions and even then, only on weapons from what I remember. So, if you can manage to wear down a powerful enemy, you can take their gear.

    This is how I encountered a significant power-scaling situation that was initially very much against me, and I turned it into something in my favor. 

    There’s a section of the game where you approach a town that has been ransacked by Cumans. When you approach, you come upon a pitched battle of about a dozen combatants on foot. If you’re not prepared for that fight, it’s best to just avoid it. It took several save scums, but I eventually was able to wait out the two factions fighting, then opportunistically take down the remaining fighters who had been weakened in the battle. Doing this afforded me not only much better gear than I’d had up to that point, but lots of items to sell to vendors.

    Gearing yourself up like a knight really paints a clear picture of how powerful and valuable they were on battlefields in real life history as well as in the game. Once you gear up to full-metal plate with chainmail, surcoat, full helmet, brigandine, etc. you can feel untouchable at times. Where I had once been intimidated by single combat against unruly townsfolk, I felt almost guilty cutting down a group of peasants-turned-bandits who ambushed me on the way to the ransacked town I just mentioned. They made the mistake of knocking me off my horse and attacking me with crude tools and weapons, and it was quite literally a slaughter by the time I was done.

    When you become adept at combat, there are many weapons available to you: maces, shorts swords, longswords, war hammers, daggers, bows. There are three different damage types: blunt, slashing and piercing. For my money, the war hammer was best because blunt damage and piercing damage are effective against both armored and unarmored targets. There’s nothing quite like waylaying an armored opponent in the head and seeing them crumple into a pile of flesh and armor.

    Not everything in the game feels as good as the combat, though. There’s a great alchemy system in the game. You follow actual recipes to produce poisons, healing tonics and an item called savior schnapps, which must be consumed to save your game. There’s a way around this, which I think involves sleeping and/or quitting to menu, but if you want to save freely before pivotal moments or just without having to make a potentially dangerous trip, then you’re going to need savior schnapps, and it’s much more affordable to make them than to buy them.

    Some other small but immersive moments are needing to bathe and dress properly which will affect how NPCs in the world perceive you and interact with you; learning to read so you can read books and increase skills while resting; cooking and preparing food for travel; horse riding skills and outfitting your horses; etc.

    There are a few moments in the game where you must engage in stealth, and I found them quite annoying. Steal is affected by what you’re wearing, which makes sense. However, when you dress for stealth, it leaves you very vulnerable if you are attacked, which I found frustrating because the detection by NPCs felt inconsistent to me. I wouldn’t even say that a stealth “build” feels very viable in the game, although you could technically do it. 

    Travel in the game is enjoyable. Riding the horses around the countryside is fun. You can fight while on horseback as well, which can give a distinct advantage in combat. Just don’t get thrown from your horse. Travel is also an opportunity for conflict. Not only will you come across bandit camps and Cuman camps, but you’ll encounter Nere-do-wells waiting along the road to ambush you and scavenge your corpse for valuables. It’s quite satisfying to dismount and thrash would-be assailants, then rob their corpses.

    There is a system of crime and punishment in the game. If you’re caught stealing or committing crimes, you’ll be approached by the local authorities and you’ll either have to buy your way out of punishment like any self-respecting person of means throughout history, or you’ll end up in the dungeon, withering away for a time.

    KCD is a great game. I wouldn’t put it up there with some of the near-perfect titles I’ve experienced in the past, but it’s very well-made, and it can be very fun to play. The freedom of choice in many instances, as well as the openness of the world, the sense of immersion, and world traversal, even the vagueness of instructions on some quests harkens back to what would now be considered “old” RPGs from my youth. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowwind comes to mind. In Morrowind, you’re plopped into a large open world where you can go where you want and do what you want, build your character and advance according to how you play, and you can encounter various factions and events with sometimes multiple ways to solve a problem. If you replaced “Morrowind” with “KCD” in that last sentence, it would still be accurate.

    There’s enough new here, or perhaps a return to form for open world RPGs where what was once old is now new again, that I think Warhorse, the makers of KCD, could take the crown of open world RPGs from Bethesda, makers of The Elder Scrolls series, including the legendary Skyrim. 

    I was skeptical about KCD at first, but it became one of my favorite gaming experiences of the year, and I’ll definitely be buying and playing the sequel when I am able to, probably sometime in 2026. 

    It’s a great first-entry into a series, and just a great game in its own right. It’s a unique gaming experience with a lot to offer, and it felt revitalizing to the open world RPG formula, even if it’s bringing back some older design sensibilities for a new era.

  • Retrospective: The Witcher 3

    The Witcher 3

    Finished: February 2025. Article: June 2025.

    Spoiler warning: this article may include what you would consider spoilers for various story and character moments.

    The Witcher 3 is one of the most lauded games of all time. Based on the fictional works by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher 3 stars Geralt of Rivia, the titular Witcher. For those unfamiliar, witchers are humans who have undergone mutation to tolerate alchemical potions that enhance their physical abilities, but which would be fatally toxic to a non-witcher.  Witchers undergo years of rigorous training in combat, hunting and tracking, and alchemy to prepare to hunt monsters that roam the countryside and occasionally the cities. They offer their service as monster hunters in exchange for coin, like paranormal bounty hunters. Witchers are often scorned by society for being non-human, seeing as relatively akin to the monsters that plague civilization, tolerated only for their utility. 

    Thus is the background of the protagonist, Geralt. The backdrop for the game is a vaguely medieval/renaissance era dark fantasy world filled with all the political intrigue and drama of an HBO series, even including some of the steamy bits as well. The main plot follows Geralt searching for his ex-girlfriend, Yennefer, (a sorceress of dubious morality and ethics) to help track down his adopted daughter Ciri, who is on the run from a cosmic interdimensional group of bandits called The Wild Hunt. Over the course of the game Geralt uncovers conspiracies, fights the wild hunt, is entrapped in royal court intrigue, various optional romances, and of course he hunts and slays monsters. Along the way you are given many opportunities to make choices in how to apply justice as your Geralt sees fit, although I find that the truest feeling of Geralt to me was that of a merciful slayer, staying his hand at times and offering succor to the downtrodden non-humans who are often wrongfully demonized by humanity. There is a strong overt story of oppression and pogroms throughout the game. 

    The Witcher 3 contains many memorable characters. Geralt himself is a stoic, often terse, crass, nomadic warrior. There are of course choices in how you can behave as Geralt and everyone’s results may vary. For my time, I found him a very compelling and complex character, but perhaps that’s just how I played him. Accompanying Geralt is a large cast of supporting characters including three (or more?) romance options, and various allies and enemies.

    The other main characters are Yennefer, Triss and Ciri: two love interests and Geralt’s adopted daughter. The love triangle aspect of the game can sometimes get tiresome, and it offers some potentially surprising outcomes depending on how you direct Geralt to engage or not with Yennefer and Triss. Ciri is a constant object of pursuit until near the end of the game.

    The enemies and allies, both true and of convenience, are very compelling. Some principle enemies are a trio of witches who are the Crones of Crookback Bog – ancient beings of mystical and druidic power that sustain themselves through sacrifice and cannibalism; The Church of Eternal Fire – a cult based on xenophobia and persecution of the other; The Wild Hunt – a group of cosmic interdimensional bandits who raid villages to shanghai recruits for their piracy and who are after Ciri for her powers to jump between dimensions. Most of the game entails following different trails of clues to trace Ciri’s whereabouts, which leads you to run-ins with these various antagonists. 

    I found all the main antagonists intriguing. They are all steeped in some kind of mystery that you can uncover as you play the game. I found the use of European mythos as a basis for the dark fantasy setting to be quite refreshing. Yes, it’s often used as a basis for fantasy settings, but the game bases its mythology in Slavic and eastern European folklore and mythology, which I think is rarer in western-facing media. 

    Probably the most intriguing story beats to me were the moments where you will hunt a monster, only to realize that the monster is sentient, and just trying to live their life, and is potentially a victim themselves – giving Geralt the opportunity to choose between coin and benevolence. I don’t want to offer specific examples because they are often a surprise in themselves. It’s an “old” game by today’s standards, but it’s still one that many may not have experienced.

    The last thing I’ll say about the main story is that I wish I had experienced it sooner, as the potential payoff is quite large, depending on what choices you make as Geralt along the way. There are multiple endings available depending on key decisions throughout the game. I thought at the end that I had obtained the “worst” ending, when in-fact I had obtained the “best” ending in my view. It was very rewarding. I’ll admit that I did use guides to obtain the best ending because at my age I just don’t feel like I have time to dedicate to replaying an 80+ hour game to see all the endings without having to use YouTube.

    As far as gameplay itself goes, I found it quite enjoyable. There are moments where it feels almost more like an immersive simulation rather than an RPG.  I say that because as you venture along, you are given opportunities to forage materials from enemies, plants, and pilfering various homes and locations throughout the game. The materials collecting system is one of my nitpicks with the game. I am annoyed when I feel like I am compelled to scour every square inch of a location to wring it dry of every resource available so that I can craft the best items in the game. I know that’s a common factor in games, especially RPGs, but I greatly appreciate it when there are optional mass-collection actions so that I’m not spending extra unnecessary time rooting out every resource in each location. That said, the crafting and itemization in the game is extensive and fun!

    If you’re playing the game as I think it intended, you’re reading in your bestiary, researching the strengths and weaknesses of the various minions you will encounter throughout the game, and devising plans to take them down effectively. The game is notoriously difficult on its hardest difficulty, Death March, which I will no doubt, never attempt. Kudos to those who can best its most difficult mode, but that’s not for me. I am certain that in Death March, one must use every advantage they can in a fight. As it was in my normal playthrough, I still made use of every poison, beneficial potion, bomb, trap, etc. that I could use. The need to prepare for a fight helps create the illusion of living as an actual witcher. Touring the countryside, traveling from town to town, speaking with residents and business owners, negotiating fees for services rendered, tracking the monster, preparing for and ultimately slaying the monster for coin and a trophy, well it’s compelling gameplay. I could see a game being successful that uses these systems with a more procedural generated world and quest system, solely to create the immersive simulation that’s brewing here.

    There’s more to itemization than just the alchemy. There’s armor and weapons that can be crafted, as well as runes that can be slotted into items to offer further benefit. I found this to also be compelling – searching for recipes in the world which gives incentive to explore remote and mysterious locations, then crafting ever better and more advanced gear to become stronger. By the end of the game, it felt like the power curve was very appropriate and you do feel like a badass at many times in the game, but especially towards the end. An enjoyable power fantasy for sure.

    Combat in the game is a bit hit or miss, in my opinion. Maybe it’s a skill issue for me. I found that combat eventually boiled down to learning a moveset of the enemy, and dodging until an opening appeared, hitting the enemy and repeating. At times when surrounded by enemies, even with an optional camera setting that pulls the camera further back from the action, it was easy to become overwhelmed. There is a definite rhythm to combat that at times feels very good, but by the end of the game it felt somewhat tired. Maybe that’s just my experience when I do all the optional side content and I burn out, or maybe it’s a personal taste situation – I don’t know. In general, as you level up your Geralt and learn more alchemical formulae, you are encouraged to optimize your loadout for every enemy. For me, this included pausing the game frequently to apply the proper poison oil to my blades, switching between the steel and silver blade depending on enemy type, etc. frequently. To be clear I think the combat is very good, but it’s not without its quirks.

    Traversal is pretty good in the game. Players can navigate between different open zones, which are quite large even though the entirety of the game is not open world. The open zone aspect does not feel limiting like in some other titles. Players can walk, run, ride horseback, pilot a boat, and fast travel to and from specific locations. Traveling manually is encouraged as you’ll find various enemies, special locations and items, but eventually fast-travel is a good option so you’re not needlessly retreading the same area for no benefit. I found horseback combat to be very frustrating, but when hist are well-timed it can feel almost like cheating. 

    Overall, I would say The Witcher 3 is a fantastic game. It’s not a unique opinion, but still one worth sharing, I think, and I hope. It feels like it would be potentially worthwhile to replay the game making different decisions, particularly in the love triangle between Geralt, Yennefer and Triss (optionally a third choice in Keira). The Witcher 3 offers many moments with rewarding payoff throughout the game. Compelling stories and character developments are not confined to the main story, which I think is one of the most compelling reasons to play the game. Much like another title, Cyberpunk 2077, developed by the same company that made The Witcher 3, the interstitial spaces between major events and plotlines are where some of the most interesting moment occur. Indeed, The Witcher 3 was made prior to Cyberpunk 2077, and so it’s not much surprise to see similar design philosophies between both games, but it still bears mention. For fans of dark fantasy, complex morality and ethics, and hunting, The Witcher 3 is a fantastic game no matter how you slice it.

  • Yakuza 0: Down and Out in Kamurocho

    Game completed: January 2025. Article written: June 2025.

    The year is somewhere between 2017 and 2020. I’m seated on my couch, almost certainly night and I’m deep in my nightly routine of unwinding from life with some time on my PlayStation. In my endless need to self-medicate with retail therapy in the form of an ever-expanding backlog of games that I’ll never get to, I’m pulled by my weeaboo sensibilities to the often on-sale Yakuza series. “Hmm, that looks interesting,” I think to myself as I pull the trigger on yet another game I won’t get to for years. I’m a sucker for deals, especially on video games. Since I already have several other games in the Yakuza series (thank you PSN sales and Steam sales) I figure I might as well get Yakuza 0 for when I eventually get around to playing this underappreciated series. Just as predicted, I pull the trigger on my purchase, and there it sat in my PSN library of 829 titles to collect digital dust as I ground for new gear in Destiny 2 for the next four or more years.

    Fast forward to 2025 and now I have a new kid (my first, although I’m a stepparent) and my life has significantly changed. Although I’m not working at the time and have plenty of time to play games (fuck around while I’m overwhelmed by depression). Trying to get my life together but not give up on what has been my main hobby for my whole life, I resolved to start finishing games. You see, at that point in time I had finished the campaign for The Final Shape, Destiny 2’s conclusion to a ten-plus years long story arc. After sunsetting Destiny 2 from my life, like how Bungie has sunset numerous weapons both treasured and hard-fought by their fans, I decided my life still had time for games, but not for MMO type games. I decided I would try to finish one game a month in 2025, without any real pressure – after all, there are more important things, like oh you know, finding a job. But I would still try to shoot for the goal.

    After some thought, I decided I’d give Yakuza 0 a try and see if it grabed me. After all, I had heard from numerous sources that it was a series treasured by fans and often unsung in many conversations. I’m not typically a fan of brawler games and I am unfortunately one of those who often prefers dubs to subs in my foreign-language media. I know, I know. I am aware of all the arguments against dubs and for subs – I’m just a slow reader when it comes to things like this. I would rather focus on the imagery, body language, shot composition, etc. However, I did acquiesce to subs for Yakuza 0 out of necessity. I’m glad that I did! I didn’t know it at the time, but I was about to start what would be one of my favorite games of all time, and I would say my new favorite game series.

    For those not aware, Yakuza 0 takes place in a fictionalized version of two Japanese cities: Kamurocho – a fictionalized version of Kabukicho, an entertainment and red-light district in the Shinjuku ward of Tokyo prefecture and Sotenbori – a fictionalized version of Dotonbori, another entertainment district in Osaka. The story follows the exploits and adventures of Kazuma Kiryu, a member of the Yakuza, a Japanese organized crime organization. The story follows Kiryu and his friends and associates. Notably, Yakuza 0 features two protagonists. Majima Goro is the second protagonist who is almost like a dark twin of Kiryu, if not by blood, then by deed and character arc. Without giving away too much of the story, Kiryu is framed for a murder, and he must prove his innocence while uncovering a conspiracy for control of Kamurocho and navigating the constantly shifting tides of the criminal underworld. Along the way we alternate between Kiryu and Majima as their stories intertwine. Yakuza 0 is a prequel to the other games in the Yakuza/Like A Dragon series. There is much debate online as to whether one should start with Yakuza or start with Yakuza 0, but I would say based on my experience starting with 0 and then continuing onto the first Yakuza game, I think it’s a good starting point.

    While playing and immensely enjoying my time, I couldn’t help but feel like I was enjoying a soap opera for weeaboos. In-fact, I think that’s a large part of what makes Yakuza 0 and by extension the series, so awesome. Everything about Yakuza 0 pulled me further into its world. The more I played, the more I felt compelled to spend more time there. Yakuza 0 pulls the player into its world with a highly detailed and immersive setting, intense action combat, fun minigames and side-plots, and zany humor juxtaposed against soap-opera drama.

    Kamurocho and Sotenbori are these almost perversely inviting locales. While there are differences in tone and layout, both locations are brimming with a recreation of 1980s Japan that is more than merely a façade. Strolling down the streets day or night, you’re greeted, nay compelled, to soak in the glitz and prosperity of 1980s Japan. On nearly every street are neon signs coating nearly every two-dimensional surface of businesses, calling to the player to enter and sample their wares, be it coffee, sushi, pasta, beer and cocktails, hostess cafes, phone dating clubs, adult video stores, pawn shops, arcades, jewelry stores – you name it. The streets of Kamurocho and Sotenbori are alive with NPCs having conversations, walking around and going about their daily “lives,” along with thugs and ruffians who are just waiting to pick a fight with you, so you can inevitably beat the shit out of them for money which can be spent to level up your characters and live lavishly like a Yakuza at the forementioned businesses. There are numerous locations for the player to visit when not focusing on the main story and their inclusion makes the world of Yakuza a fun playground.

    I mentioned earlier that I’m not really into brawler type games. I can’t recall the last one I played before Yakuza 0 – maybe one of the remastered/re-released old Ninja Turtle games I accessed through PlayStation Plus. It’s not that I don’t like them or can’t. I just hadn’t played any for a long time, especially after playing Destiny 2 for so long and in such a dedicated fashion. That said, I think the combat in Yakuza 0 really shines. Yakuza’s combat entails brawler style fighting in what amount to small arenas, whether you’re fighting in the street or an alleyway, a plaza, or an office room. There are four fighting styles to use for each character – three main styles and one unlockable style. Players can enjoy a combo system with RPG-like character progression, allocating points into different styles for new moves, combos and stat boosts. I don’t think I ever really mastered the combat, but I got the feeling that advanced players could string together moves among different combat styles and really feel like a badass. While I’m not feeling confident enough to brag about my prowess in Yakuza 0’s combat, I will say that I still enjoyed it immensely. It’s almost hyper violent at times with blistering combos and quick-time-event sequences, smashing opponents faces with fists, pipes, traffic cones, motorcycles, car doors and anything else the player can get their hands on. While very violent (I mean, why wouldn’t a game about Yakuza be violent?) the fighting comes across as almost comical at times, but in a good way. There were moments where I laughed out loud at the comic nature of the beatdowns I was handing out like condoms at a university health center. 

    Speaking of comic misadventures and fun distractions, I immensely enjoyed the mini-games and side-stories in Yakuza 0. I would say it’s what I enjoyed most about the game, along with the story and characters. Gameplaywise, it was my favorite part. The businesses I mentioned earlier that one can enter offer actual activities. Granted that restaurants merely have you choosing from a menu and watching your character eat, the locations like arcades, bowling alleys, batting cages, RC car racing, adult video stores and more include numerous fun distractions. Because Sega is the publisher and owner of the developer, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, they can include real Sega arcade titles in the in-game arcades. Maybe it’s my age showing, but being able to go into a virtual arcade in a faithful recreation of 1980s Japan and then play crane games for prizes and sit down and play Space Harrier and Out Run, which are actual games I played in an actual arcade in the 80s and 90s, is a real nostalgia hit that just can’t be beat by much else. Is it necessary? No. Does it add a lot? Absolutely. 

    Besides the arcades and other sports-related activities, there is a whole optional “mini-game” where you run a cabaret club. I say mini-game in quotes here because while it is a mini-game, it has a series of side stories attached to it that could make a whole game in its own right. The Cabaret Club Tsar mini-game involves scouting out and recruiting hostesses to work at what’s basically a hostess club, then managing them and their productivity, being a floor manager and maître di when the club is open and even taking the ladies on dates to help them grow their conversational skills and gain confidence. Now, with the adult video stores I’ve mentioned previously and the cabaret club, you’ll have figured out by now that the game includes a fair amount of fan service. It does – no question. Whether or not this appeals to you is entirely individual, and I’d say that the fan service is almost entirely optional. I’m writing this six months after finishing the game, but from my memory, there isn’t much in the main story that is sexual in nature or even adjacent, really. If you do all the side stories, there definitely are, and at times it’s even a bit uncomfortable. That may be due to being from a different culture with different sensibilities – I’m not here to question the artistic decisions of the studio. Suffice to say if you like beautiful women, there are plenty in the game, and in the cabaret club portion of the game, many of the characters you interact with are based on real-life adult video stars in the Japanese adult entertainment industry. Regardless of any fan service or attempts at titillation, the cabaret club portion of the game is well worth pursuing on its own for the fun gameplay and the story elements.

    There is a second optional mini-game called Real Estate Royale where you can acquire different real estate properties around the city and “manage” them to a degree. It’s another management game; however, it lacks the same charm and appeal that the Cabaret Club Tsar has. There are people to recruit for your business around the game, and they boost stats and performance of different properties. There are boss fights of a kind in both Real Estate Royale and its counterpart. These optional portions of the game offer a lot of added character and depth to the world in addition to money, which is crucial for progressing in the different combat styles and their related skill trees.

    Yakuza 0 is filled with melodrama of the best kind. It really does feel like a soap opera and after the initial realization, I found it amusing in a way. Many of the characters are bombastic and larger than life, oozing with a bravado and presence that leaps off the screen. Despite not speaking Japanese, I found the Japanese language voice-over to be of very high quality and the performances to bring an intensity and sincerity that elevated the presentation of the game. My need to read subtitles along with the voice-over didn’t diminish the quality of the performances in any way. 

    The actors had good material to work with as well. The story introduces numerous memorable characters throughout the game, and they all have their own unique charms and appeal. No characters really felt too tropey to me. Kiryu, the main protagonist, perhaps felt the most this way in his rigid stoicism and insistence upon following a code that seems to necessitate his own suffering at every turn. Thankfully though, his character grew on me. I did follow up and play Yakuza Kiwami 1, the remaster of the original Yakuza later in the year, and at that point I had developed a real affinity for Kiryu. This is probably the only real point where I can understand the perspective of fans who recommend playing the Yakuza series in release order, rather than their chronology in the story itself. Players who had already played several of the Yakuza games prior to Yakuza 0 would probably already have a greater appreciation for Kiryu and his personality quirks. Although having played Yakuza 0 already and having that context, I think I got more out of Yakuza Kiwami 1 than I would have otherwise. 

    All told, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Yakuza 0 and the game turned me into a fan of the franchise. I had bought probably the first 6 games twice, once on PSN and once on Steam, before even playing any of them. The temptation to buy them on deep discount on both platforms was too much to turn down. I’m glad that I have them, though. I wish that I had tried them earlier, but I get the sense that I’m not the only person in that situation. My intuition and understand from seeing the series continue and seemingly perform well, is that the deep discounts, collections offering multiple titles, and being featured on Xbox Game Pass all helped Sega to build a bigger audience for the franchise. 

    When I found myself loading into Yakuza Kiwami 1 and even later in the year, Yakuza Kiwami 2, I found myself feeling like I was returning home. The moody, damp neon streets of Kamurocho now feel like home in a way, and Kiryu no longer feels like a stubborn blowhard, but a loveable protagonist who lives and dies by a code of honor. I have not previously experienced a series or singular game that had such a memorable supporting cast alongside an excellent main cast, nor such a memorable setting. I’m eagerly anticipating returning to the world of Yakuza and finishing Yakuza Kiwami 2 and really, all the other titles in the series.