Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties Review Summary

Improved combat mechanics: The combat system has seen significant improvements, making it more enjoyable and fluid. Players appreciate the enhanced mechanics and the fun, smooth combat experience.

Positive overall game experience: Players consistently report enjoying the game, praising its graphics, soundtrack, and dubbing. Despite some flaws, the general sentiment is that it is a fun and engaging experience.

Engaging substories and side activities: Substories and side activities are highlighted as fun and interesting, adding substantial content to the game. Players enjoy the variety and depth of these additional activities.

Enhanced graphics and visuals: The game features improved graphics, lighting, and visuals, contributing to a more immersive experience. Players appreciate the attention to detail in the visual presentation.

Faithful Yakuza experience: The game retains the essence of the Yakuza series, providing a familiar yet modernized experience. Players recognize it as a true Yakuza game with updated mechanics.

Combat system criticized: The combat system is widely criticized for being unoriginal, flawed, and disappointing. Players find it limiting and less enjoyable compared to other Yakuza titles.

Unpopular character recasts: The recasting of beloved characters, including controversies surrounding Kagawa's actor, has been poorly received by the community.

Less engaging story: The story is criticized for being less engaging and disappointing due to changes and plot conflicts.

Performance and graphical issues: Players report performance issues, lack of optimization, and poor graphics. There are also mentions of graphical glitches and inconsistent visuals.

Excessive visual filters: The game is criticized for its excessive use of visual filters, such as a blue tint and lens flare, which some players find annoying.

Diverse combat mechanics and styles: The game offers a variety of combat styles and mechanics, including stance fluidity, parrying, dodging, and different fighting styles reminiscent of various other games. This includes perfect evades, perfect guards, and criticals, as well as Heat Actions and dynamic enemy attack patterns.

Exploration and detailed environments: Players can explore detailed neighborhoods and environments, with activities such as finding hidden boxes with random items and engaging in various side missions and minigames.

Side content and minigames: The game includes a variety of side content such as substories, minigames, and side activities. These include new minigames and missions, as well as activities for upgrades and customization options.

Story and narrative elements: The game's story has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the fast-paced and good story moments, while others criticize it for being polarized, retconned, or soap opera-like. The narrative includes retcons and celebrity inserts, and some players feel it ruins the plot of the Yakuza series.

Criticism of combat impact: Some players feel that the combat lacks impact and is watered down, with criticisms comparing it unfavorably to other games or describing it as messy and simplistic.

Performance issues and optimization: Players experience performance issues, including stuttering and poor optimization. However, some players report good performance on specific platforms like the Steam Deck.

Graphical glitches and issues: There are reports of graphical glitches, lighting issues, and visible PS3 assets. Some animations during cutscenes also appear off.

Technical regression compared to Yakuza 8: Players feel that the technical performance is a step back compared to Yakuza 8, with engine limitations being noted.

Mixed graphical feedback: While some players praise the graphics, others note that they are worse than the original or have specific issues like lighting problems.

Sound issues: There are reports of sound mixing issues, particularly during combat.

Recommended for new players: The game is often recommended for those who haven't played the original or are new to the series.

Wait for a discount: Many reviewers suggest waiting for a sale or discount before purchasing the game, indicating that the current price may not be worth it.

Must play for Yakuza fans: Fans of the Yakuza series or Like a Dragon are highly recommended to play this game.

Recommended despite changes: The game is recommended despite changes, scandals, and negative feedback from some fans.

Mods recommended: Several mods are recommended by reviewers to enhance the gameplay experience, including lighting mods and combat mods.

Steam Deck: The analysis of user feedback reveals significant issues with the Steam Deck experience, including frequent crashes, anti-cheat software problems, performance issues, and graphical quality concerns. These issues collectively impact the user experience negatively.

Kagawa's replacement issue: Players are unhappy with the decision not to replace Kagawa, which has impacted their experience and perception of the game.

Delisting of Yakuza 3: Players are upset about the delisting of Yakuza 3 from the platform. This has caused dissatisfaction among fans of the series.

Lack of Okinawan actors: There is criticism for not using actors from Okinawa, which affects the authenticity and representation in the game.