Divinity: Original Sin II is by far the best multiplayer RPG I've ever played. Not top three or top two. It takes the crown for being #1 with no other contenders even coming close.

Besides running seamlessly in co-op, I'd imagine the game is equally, if not more, immersive while playing alone. Graphics are visually stunning on the 2021 iMac (4.5k retina display, M1, 16GB unified). It surprisingly runs quite well despite the intricate amounts of detail and, well, because it's on Mac.

Great concept that is executed so well it should be considered a gold standard for RPGs everywhere. Tactical gameplay is engaging and in-depth, the story is complex with compelling character development, a remarkable class system, and the player is given almost too much freedom in an extensive open world. Wonderful music. Class and character building are highly customizable. Skill points and other attributions can be modified/redistributed mid-game with the Respec Mirror mod. Also recommend the Sprint mod given that sprinting is not offered in vanilla.

The game is very long, but there's never a dull moment. It's one of those games that'll get you hooked and have you binging for dozens of hours. Exploration is largely rewarding. High level of replayability because it's impossible to experience all of the characters, their lore, classes, and abilities in one playthrough. All RPG fans MUST give this game a go.

The biggest compliment I can give Yakuza: Like a Dragon is just how much it reminds me of Yakuza 0. More than any other Yakuza title I always felt 0 had this perfect balance between emotional drama and hilarious bizarre situations. I remember an interview with one of the developer team who described Yakuza something along the lines of "doing silly things extremely seriously". This is the perfect description of the series as a whole but I feel Yakuza 0 and Like a Dragon perfected the balance of these that no other game managed, as great as I think they all are. Even Like a Dragon's conception originated from an April Fool's video in 2019 where they showed the game as a turn based RPG (which it wasn't actually at the time). The prank was so popular that they decided to change the entire gameplay mechanics for the Japanese launch 9 months later. Silly things, extremely seriously.

Honestly as both a JRPG fan and a Yakuza fan everything about this game was an absolute smash. The new protagonist Ichiban Kasuga is just wonderful. I wasn't sure at first, even for a Yakuza game I felt the start of this game was a slow burn and retread some ideas from the very original Yakuza game but once it gets started I fell in love with not only him but all the characters he meets. Not every story beat quite works but the cast and the fantastic voice acting (I played in Japanese) absolutely carry it in those rare moments. Interestingly I'm probably more attached to the cast in this game than other Yakuza games just because you spend so much more time with them all due to it being a party based RPG rather than a solo beat 'em up. I especially liked Adachi and Saeko but they are all fantastic. Also having a JRPG with a purely adult cast was such a refreshing change of pace.

The combat system is so full of imagination being both hilarious and paying homage to classic JRPG's in a lot of ways. Ichiban is a huge Dragon Quest fan and even being part of the Yakuza always wanted to be a hero. I'm not sure if he took too many hits to the head but in battle he sees some of the enemies as RPG type enemies. Drunks turn into beer knights, Fire Jugglers, and other weird enemies. The game has a job system such as Final Fantasy implemented but to change jobs you actually have to go to the job center to do it. I love the way they incorporated that into a real life scenario. Also the fact that apparently the job center in Yokohama advertises for Dominatixs, Break Dancers, Bodyguards, you know.....standard vacancies. My only complaint about this system (and game generally) is that for most of the game there is little need to change jobs. You become hugely weaker going from a level 30 Homeless Man to a level 1 musician involving a lot of grinding to catch up just isn't worth it stat wise, only to learn a few skills. I would like to see better balance and encouragement to change jobs and experiment as I only found that worth doing grinding for the end game dungeons.

Combat aside this is a standard Yakuza game, this isn't an insult. If you've never played one before it's essentially mini open world's set in cities. They aren't massive but tend to be dense and memorable which is how open worlds should be. Size isn't everything (snarf snarf). During these explorations there are substories or side quests and mini games many of which are hilarious. Some examples involving Japanese men in business suits and power ranger helmets, a whole kart racing game, running a business with a chicken, collecting cans in a rickshaw among others.

I spent 120 hours playing this and getting the platinum trophy. Watching a woman smack a yakuza in the face with her leaden handbag +2 simply never got old and with Ishin and two further Like a Dragon titles announced coming it's never been a better time to be a series fan.

+ Characters are great with fantastic voice acting.
+ Combat system is full of imagination.
+ Tons to do. Great mini games and substories.

- Job system needs slightly refining to encourage using other jobs.