In the aftermath of Alan Wake 2 and Control, there is a real "sophomore project" energy to Quantum Break. It's an almost obnoxiously of-its-time cinematic action shooter, complete with all of the requisite platforming jank and pixel hunting for too many hidden collectibles ("narrative objects," a name that's as great as it is bad).

Unfortunately, and evidently: this game was published by a version of Microsoft Studios that needed to sell the world on their Xbox One hardware and their bizarre vision of a directly television-inspired gaming medium. This narrative's "mass market" tone, casting, and "cool and detached" characterization felt so distracting to me. I sorely missed that "self-serious yet extremely not at all" demeanor that Remedy are known for. That said, what a gift it was to have Lance Reddick in here. Holy shit was he exactly as good as always in this! I miss him so much, still, as I'm sure all of us do.

Despite all of that, there is something here. The theming IS compelling, and zipping up to time-slowed enemies to blast them with a shotgun felt cool every time. I played with a controller, and the aim assist clearly kicks in when you quick scope...so that almost became its own mechanic to me. I'd blip about each arena, briefly stopping to pop shots while hammering the left trigger to "aim bot" my way through every fight. It felt right. But I don't know - unless you're a Remedy historian, maybe you should just go play Vanquish.

"I now realise what I search for is not revenge, but the truth."

A unique title that echoes the heights of the franchise. A Yakuza game to it's core and the first title to be shipped to the West under the Like A Dragon rebrand, Ishin Kiwami (I call it Ishinwami for short) has a lot to live up to., and it does for the most part.

On the gameplay side? I like it, boss fights are slower than the rest of the series but it goes great along with it's swordplay. It's your average day to day enemies you encounter that pose any real issue, enemies with the spear will give you a hard time getting back up and during long fights you're suddenly forced to fight these giant armoured enemies who you can't use heat actions against. While the combat isn't anything amazing, it works extremely well for it's setting.

One thing I do not like Ishinwami's character changes, they sell completely different images of the characters and during my playthrough there was always an itch in the back of my mind about how it doesn't feel right. Replacing fan favorites with other fan favorites was not the way to go, however, it's mostly ignorable and the average person will not mind. I'm just care for details like this. I just hope if they ever decide to release Kenzan here, the changes made aren't as major.

But story is what's always mattered in Yakuza to me, and for the most part it delivers very well. The game uses the Meiji Restoration era as a metaphor for our dual selves. Japan, much like us, projects an image of themselves which is how they want to be seen as. But just like us, it's plagued with infighting and conflict.

The story starts out slow and takes a while to get going but when it does it reminds me of why I love this franchise. The final fight especially is a great set piece about two men fighting over a legacy, their legacy. I just wish the rest of the game could've been like this too, because the cracks start to show very soon.
The ending especially veers so hard into Japanese nationalism out of no where that all it does is leave a bad taste in your mouth. It doesn't break the game but it certainly could've been handled a lot better.

Ishin reminds me of a lot of what I love about the franchise, but I can't deny that it occasionally falls into the same pits as some of the other games. Jarring reveals and awkward pacing, I still love Yakuza, or as it's now called, "Like a Dragon". I'm very optimistic for the future.