Chapter 3: A Gilded Cage - Yakuza 0 Wiki Guide - IGN

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Mafia IV story idea

Note: The particularly important details and music artist names are in bold text. Licensed music track names are in italics.
The year is 1973, five years after the events of the Mafia III, and 22 years since Vito Scaletta’s seen or heard from his old friend Joe Barbaro. The canon ending of Mafia III with this Mafia IV story is Vito taking over the city after Lincoln skipped town, however Cassandra and Burke are left alive and loyal to both Vito and Lincoln still. Burke was able to survive his liver cancer by getting a black market liver transplant in Mexico, like he did in his ending, except with Vito running the city. On Vito and Lincoln’s behalf, Burke and Cassandra agree to stay behind in New Bordeaux and keep the city locked down, incase Leo Galante and the Commission try anything.
The beginning cutscene is Vito answering his telephone after getting up in the morning in his new penthouse, on the top floor of the New Bordeaux casino he finished that was once Sal Marcano's, and grabbing a cup of coffee. It's Alma with some urgent news. Lincoln Clay came down to the cigar warehouse to visit her after 5 years of silence, and he has big news.
Joe is alive in Empire Bay and has been this entire time. However, as punishment for his actions, he's become Leo Galante's personal driver against his will and is forbidden from contacting Vito ever again, or else him and Vito will be killed. Alma then tells Vito to meet Lincoln at the airport to learn more, as he's already there awaiting Vito's arrival. When they're away from anyone who could listen in on their conversation, Lincoln tells Vito he has a friend named John Donovan he's going to introduce him to, hiding in the outskirts of Empire Bay, ready to help Vito and Lincoln with their new mission
Vito gets dressed in one of his signature trench coats with a suit and tie, ready to rain down hell on the Vinci crime family and their allies, and finally be reunited with his lifelong friend he previously thought was dead, Joe Barbaro.
Here is my idea for the kill list, all related to the Commission in Empire Bay and their allies.
I'm thinking Vito and Joe work with Lincoln Clay and John Donovan to split up Empire Bay and distribute territory to three other factions not unlike what Lincoln did with New Bordeaux. This time though, this is a much larger city in a much, much different part of the United States. The empire building mechanics would be a lot smoother, more robust, and streamlined compared to Mafia III. They would work similarly a more modernized version of how the hit city sandbox game Scarface: The World Is Yours handled it's empire building and management mechanics, minus the whole switching to other characters lower on the ladder to do your bidding. This would be ideal for a story rich organized crime game in my opinion. Here are my ideas for those factions, all close allies of the up and coming Scaletta crime family.
The Cuban mob led by Alma Diaz. Vito goes way back with Alma, and she does not hesitate to answer him and Lincoln's calls to save Joe's life and royally fuck both Leo Galante and the Vinci family.
Conti crime family, led by Enzo Conti. This Conti crime family formed sometime in late 1968, months after Lincoln helped Enzo flee New Bordeaux and drop off of Sal Marcano's radar. It turns out he fled north to Empire Bay and finally formed his own family, having more than enough years of experience in the underworld to handle the job. Lincoln's tight with him and manages to recruit him to Vito and Joe's cause.
The Yakuza, based out of Empire Bay's Japantown. Longtime sworn enemies of the Empire Bay Triads, with bad blood going back decades. They would greatly enjoy seeing Mr. Chu and his son's heads mounted on pikes, along with whacking everyone who's ever supported their organization. You don't know them well, and they're known to be very unpredictable and ruthless. Use these traits to your advantage when taking on the Commission of Empire Bay and their friends.
I should mention as expected, this entire 1973 section where you play as Vito is much shorter than Mafia III. Vito's takeover is shown much more quickly over time than Lincoln's, and there's time skips during it, to keep it short and sweet, and to show onscreen only what's important. There is also no option for your underbosses to betray you, as to reduce confusion and keep the story consistently the same each playthrough, like the first two Mafia games.
However, unlike Mafia III, after all of these tasks are completed and every single assassination target on Vito’s kill list is dealt with, the game does not end. In fact, it's not even anywhere near close to being over yet. Vito's 1973 section was merely the beginning act. It was really a lead up to an entirely new Mafia story, centering around a newcomer to the American mob. Fast forward two years following Vito’s rampage that led to him taking over Empire Bay and the Commission, in the year 1975 him and Joe now rule Empire Bay, with Vito as the Don of the Scaletta Crime Family, and Joe working as his loyal underboss. You play the rest of the game as a young up and coming soldato named Louis in his 20’s, who’s a rising star in Vito’s organization. Do right by Mr. Scaletta and Mr. Barbaro, understand kid?
My basic idea for the character and his backstory is that he's a young Italian-Canadian mobster from Toronto, Ontario, or whatever Mafia's equivalent of it could be called. Let's call him Louis DeSimone. His family hails from Tuscany in Italy and moved to Toronto, Ontario in 1939, shortly after World War II broke out in Europe. Louis DeSimone was born in July 1952 in Toronto, and was raised in Toronto's Little Italy. Being northern Italian and hailing from Tuscany, Louis has blond hair and green eyes, making him visually very distinct from past series protagonists, who were all dark haired brunets with brown eyes. Louis fled south to Empire Bay when the feds started cracking down on his old family and put his boss in prison, and he ended up finding a new home with the Scaletta crime family. The first few missions playing as Louis DeSimone involve shooting your away out of an arrest by a Toronto Police Service SWAT team in Toronto in December 1974, seeing the rest of the members of your old crime family either get arrested or shot in front of you as you make your escape. You spend the next two missions fleeing Ontario through Quebec and upstate New York, before finally arriving in Empire Bay in early 1975, late January to be exact. Winter is in full force with snow everywhere, Louis' arrival to Empire Bay for the first time in his life mirroring Vito's return to Empire Bay in 1945 30 years earlier, except under far different much more dire circumstances. Louis' older brother and his father, both capos in his old crime family in Toronto, are shown to be arrested by the TPS SWAT team in his first mission, the same one that attempted to gun him down when he resisted arrested. Louis knows someone had to have ratted out his old crime family, and he wants to find out who someday. The thing is though, he doesn't just want to kill them. He wants to get out of them why they did it before he kills them. More than anything else, he just wants to find out why his crime family was betrayed and served up to the feds on a silver platter, having most of his biological family sent to prison in the process. He’s out to uncover the mystery of why his family fell apart, and he’s more than willing to help people like Don Vito Scaletta and his underboss Joe Barbaro to eventually get the answers he seeks. In the end, he’s not even after revenge primarily, more than that, he wants answers and information regarding the fare of his old crime family, and wants to know why his family fell apart. I came up with the idea for this character because I figured that playing as a fugitive from the law made sense for the mob life, and I'm surprised we haven't had a fugitive protagonist in the Mafia series yet.
In the 1975 chapters while playing as Louis, the Watergate scandal, President Richard Nixon’s resignation, and the official end to the Vietnam War are all discussed on the in-game radio during news segments. In the last 1979 chapter, the beginning of the Soviet-Afghan War is also the subject of a news segment on the radio.
The story eventually transitions into the 1980's as years pass, with the scenery, cars, and music changing accordingly, and historical events of the time discussed in the game. In the 1989 section of the game, the murder of the infamous former Sinclair Parish Sheriff Walter “Slim” Beaumont is mentioned on the in-game radio, as just over 21 years ago Slim and his corruption ring were the top headline of national news. the time the game ends, it's 1992, and significant historical events from the past few years at the time that are covered on the radio in-game include anything from the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Gulf War, the collapse of the Soviet Union, to the 1992 L.A. riots. The rise of the internet and home computers are briefly touched upon during news segments on the in-game radio during the early 1990's section of the story, but not greatly delved into given their relative infancy in that time period. During this entire 1975-1992 stretch of the story, Vito is no longer playable, and Don Scaletta takes a backseat in the story as a main supporting character, similar to Don Salieri throughout Mafia: Definitive Edition. You now play as the Italian-Canadian Scaletta family soldato Louis DeSimone, who is later promoted to being a capo in 1985. At the end of the game in 1992, Louis is promoted to Consigliere of the Scaletta crime family, and it’s revealed in the epilogue that he became the don of the family in 2006 at the age of 54, and his now released from prison older brother serving as his underboss, and and Enzo Conti’s grandson Giovanni Conti serving as consigliere, taking over from Louis’ previous position which before that belonged to his father and Enzo’s only son, Lorenzo Conti from 1973-1992. It is worth noting that unlike Don Salieri, Don Scaletta has much more integrity, and has more genuine loyalty for his men and his associates. If you've beaten Mafia 1 or Mafia: Definitive Edition, you'll know this is something Salieri lacked in the end. Over time, Louis also goes from having a strictly business relationship with Vito and Joe, to bonding with them and becoming a genuinely close friend and trusted member of the family, seeing Vito as something of a second father, and coming to see Joe as the fun uncle he never had. Another major character development theme is Louis DeSimone adapting and assimilating into Italian-American culture in his new home in the Northeastern US, it seeming like something new mixed with the familiar Italian-Canadian culture he was raised in back in Ontario just north of the border.
The game will include a number of hit music from the 70’s that played on the radio back then, such as Bobby Womack’s Across 110th Street and Tony Christie’s (Is This the Way to) Amarillo, The Grateful Dead's Casey Jones and at least a few songs by the then new American rock band Cheap Trick, as well as popular songs from the 1960’s people still listened to at the time, such as Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs’ Wooly Bully, King Crimson’s 21st Century Schizoid Man, Zager and Evans' In the Year 2525, The Zombies' Time of the Season, and Nancy Sinatra’s These Boots Are Made for Walkin'. When you progress through the game, especially after you switch to playing as Louis DeAngelo for the rest of the story, years change, and the music changes. Different songs start playing on the radio, such as Sylvester's You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real), Randy Crawford's Street Life, and The Village People's Y.M.C.A., Cheryl Lynn's Got to Be Real, Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive, and the Bee Gees' Stayin' Alive start playing in the 1979 portion of the game. After you've completed the 1975 section of the game, Foghat's Slow Ride starts playing on the radio. Starting in the 1977 section of the game, Cheap Trick's I Want You to Want Me and Heart's Barracuda start playing on the radio. In the 1980's portion of the game, Thomas Dolby's songs Hyperactive! and She Blinded Me with Science, in addition to Night Ranger's Sister Christian also start playing on the radio. If Hangar 13 can afford the licenses, I also think a few Michael Jackson and Madonna songs should definitely be on the radio during the 1980's portion of the story, given the immense popularity and regular radio airtime those two had in that decade. If this ended up being possible, I imagine that Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal, Beat It, Bad, and Billie Jean being on the radio in the 80's sections would be a must, Smooth Criminal especially because of how well it suits the series. Madonna's Lucky Star, Burning Up, Like a Virgin, and Borderline would also be perfect for the 80's portion of the game to me. Also mentioned by NPCs and civilians in the game are topical events of the time period, such as the release of the groundbreaking 1973 horror film The Exorcist at the end of Vito's playable portion of the game.
Other music of the 1980's segment when playing as Louis DeAngelo for the remainder of the game includes hits of the era such as Joe Jackson's Steppin' Out, The Buggles' Video Killed The Radio Star, Corey Hart's Sunglasses at Night, Laura Branigan's Self Control and Gloria, The Weather Girls' It's Raining Men, A-ha’s Take On Me, Men at Work's Down Under, Kim Wilde's Kids in America, The Gap Band's You Dropped a Bomb on Me, Culture Club’s Karma Chameleon, Michael Sembello’s Maniac, Twisted Sister's I Wanna Rock and We're Not Gonna Take It, Bon Jovi's Wanted Dead or Alive and Bad Medicine, Soft Cell’s Tainted Love, Robert Palmer’s Simply Irresistible, Rick Astley’s Together Forever, Whenever You Need Somebody, and Never Gonna Give You Up, Cutting Crew’s [I Just] Died In Your Arms, Loverboy's Working for the Weekend, Dead or Alive's You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) and That's the Way (I Like It), Tiffany’s I Think We’re Alone Now, Daryl Hall & John Oates' Maneater, Aneka's Japanese Boy, Mötley Crüe's Dr. Feelgood, Girls, Girls, Girls and Kickstart My Heart, Billy Joel's We Didn't Start the Fire, Huey Lewis And The News' Hip To Be Square, Bill Medley's (I've Had) The Time of My Life, The Police's Every Breath You Take, Whodini's Magic's Wand, Guns ‘N Roses’ Welcome to the Jungle and Paradise City, Tears For Fears' Everybody Wants To Rule The World, Rockwell's Somebody's Watching Me, Regina's Baby Love, Nena's 99 Red Balloons, Earth, Wind, and Fire's Let's Groove and September, Billy Idol's Eyes Without a Face and White Wedding, Rick James’ Give It To Me Baby, Olivia Newton-John’s Physical, The S.O.S. Band’s Take Your Time (Do It Right), Kenny Loggins’ Highway to the Danger Zone, Wham!’s Everything She Wants, George Michael's Careless Whisper, Toto's Hold the Line and Africa, Blondie's Heart of Glass and Atomic, and Mai Tai's History.
**Note that not every single year and moment of the 17 year 1975-1992 section playing as Louis DeAngelo is playable or chronicled. My idea is it would be handled similarly to how the time skips in Mafia 1/Mafia: Definitive Edition were handled. Time skips of two or more years, or in this case, even longer such as 4 years sometimes, the game skipping from 1979 to 1983. This is to keep the game and story length ideal, and not risk it getting boring or repetitive, or going on for too long. Repetition was a big problem in Mafia III even if I still thought it was a superb game, so I think it'd be best to learn from that for the next big entry. The games story will skip ahead and show onscreen only what's significant, similar to the first Mafia game and it's remake, as well as certain aspects of Mafia II. Louis starts his section as a 22 year old fugitive soldato who got picked up by another crew south of the Canadian border, and in the epilogue of the game in 1992, is promoted to the consigliere of the Scaletta crime family at the age of 40, being set to take over the family once Vito and Joe become too old to run the day to day on a regular basis. Louis DeSimone is promoted to don of the Scaletta crime family following Vito and Joe being officially retired as of 2006. They’re both still involved and paid huge amounts of money by Louis out of respect, but keep a much lower profile by then since they have handpicked successors and aren’t worried about where the business is going.
The years chronicled in the main gameplay segments are as follows:
1973
1975
1977
1979
1983
1985
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
Much more of the rural areas and countryside outside of Empire Bay are included than what was available in Mafia II. The way rural environments are handled for this hypothetical Mafia IV is akin to how Mafia: Definitive Edition and Mafia III handled their rural environments outside the main cities, except much larger in scale, given the increased power of the current new consoles such as the PS5 and Xbox Series X. This region is based off of upstate New York and the surrounding areas across multiple states in the Northeastern US, and includes forests, fields, mountains, rivers, lakes, beaches, and small towns. Also included are other cities and towns, based off of other large cities in New York like Syracuse, Buffalo, and Rochester, where other story missions, business activities, and side missions take place, along with smaller notable places like Ithaca, Binghamton, and Utica. The entire states of New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Delaware, Maryland, and Ohio are also included, including places based off of all of their major cities and most of their notable towns in between. Large portions of Pennsylvania are included as well, including Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Scranton. All of the province of Nova Scotia including the city of Halifax, and Large portions of the eastern half of the Canadian province of Ontario are included as well, including cities based off of Toronto, Ottawa, and Niagara Falls. There's even a small portion of Quebec included, including Montreal and the surrounding countryside of the province outside that city, including a few small towns in southern Quebec. The player must pass a quick border patrol check when crossing the US-Canada border in a car or other ground vehicle.
Wildlife is present in the game, mostly to add to the background, scenery, and immersion in rural environments on the map. These are all animals native to the Northeastern US, ranging from white tailed deer, coyotes, bobcats, Canada lynxes, rabbits, hares, groundhogs, gophers, beavers, raccoons, opossums, bats, chipmunks, red and gray squirrels, mice, and rats to more formidable and potentially dangerous animals that may sometimes attack the player, such as grey wolves, black bears, mountain lions, and moose. These last four animals are known to spawn in the mountainous regions, especially in New York, Ohio, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Ontario, including the rural regions based off of the Catskills and the Adirondack mountains. Dogs are present in the cities, towns, and settlements where humans live and keep them as pets, being walked and sometimes found in people's yards. Some are used as guard dogs by enemies and are aggressive towards the player on sight. Domestic cats are also present in the background of residential areas, and both Louis and Vito own them as pets throughout the game in their safe houses, as well as other onscreen characters we see the homes of throughout the game.
Aircraft make their first usable appearance in the Mafia series too, from airplanes to helicopters. Vito cannot use planes or helicopters in his playable 1973 portion of the game, as he does not know how to pilot, being a paratrooper in World War II who never actually flew any of the planes himself. Aircraft are unlocked to use when Louis DeSimone gets his pilot’s certificate offscreen in 1977, and at the end of a chapter set that year, Louis has to fly Vito in a helicopter to a penthouse in Downtown Empire Bay acting as a family safe house, equipped with a helipad. Louis frequently serves as a personal driver and pilot for both Vito and Joe afterwards, having done a lot in his time serving the family to earn their trust and respect.
Melee weapons also make a return from Mafia: Definitive Edition, with even more variety this time. In their respective sections of the game, Vito and Louis may use anything from baseball bats, pipes, shovels, brass knuckles, golf clubs, police batons, switchblades, kitchen knives, bowie knives, ice picks, 2x4s, claw hammers, crowbars, tire irons, chain links, machetes, meat cleavers, pickaxes, hatchets, sledgehammers, to fire axes. This amount of melee weapons is so no matter what environment the player finds themselves in during a mission or any other game activity, there is usually a weapon of some sort nearby. If the player has obtained piano wire, you may also strangle an enemy to death with it from behind as a stealth kill, this being a classic assassination method infamous for being used by the Italian Mafia. Rope can also be found and used for similar strangulation stealth kills, appearing in the gameplay environments where piano wire can’t be found. There is a wide variety of new guns and explosives to use in this concept for Mafia IV, going with the new weapons of the time the game takes place that criminals quickly got their hands on. This includes the SPAS-12 combat shotgun, the Beretta 92 pistol, the AK-74 assault rifle, the mini uzi, the MAC-10 submachine gun, both suppressed and unsuppressed variants, the Beretta 92 pistol, the Taurus raging bull revolver, Glock handguns, the TEC-9 machine pistol, illegally modified to be full auto, the Ruger Mini-14 full auto variant, and even Vietnam war era flamethrowers, which I think is only natural given that as of Mafia III, we already have RPGs and grenade launchers. Late in the game from the 1989 section and onwards, the Benelli M3 combat shotgun becomes available. The Milkor MGL grenade launcher becomes available beginning in the 1983 portion of the game. Attached grenade launchers are also available for the AK-47, AK-74, and M16 assault rifles. More advanced rocket launchers of the 1970’s and 1980’s are naturally included as well.
Free ride makes a return in Mafia IV, with the player having the options to change the weather, time period, and an option to play as Louis, Vito, Joe, Lincoln, or John Donovan. Naturally, a multitude of new free ride missions are available as well.
I previously posted a much earlier and less detailed draft of this on the old Mafia3 subreddit 3 years ago back in 2017 as an idea for a hypothetical Mafia 3 expansion where you play as Vito, but have since updated and revamped it to a possible Mafia IV plot, and fixed any plot holes I noticed and made it much more fleshed out and in depth, and focus on more than just Vito in the end. You may view my original here if you so desire, to compare. https://www.reddit.com/Mafia3/comments/6sldhp/spoiler_mafia_iii_vito_dlc_basic_plot_idea/
Feel free to give me constructive criticism on this, as I encourage this discourse and believe it is integral to growing and improving, to build upon or improve these ideas I've come up with, or say whether or not you think something like this should happen in the future. Thank you for reading!
submitted by RichterTheRatman to MafiaTheGame [link] [comments]

I ALSO beat 35 Games in 2020 - And I'm gonna talk about them

Inspired by the other currently trending post, I was inspired by the sheer coincidental fact we both completed the same number of games to make my own thread talking about them.
This is the first year I've actually been keeping an active list and tracking what I'm playing and what I'm beating. And I'm definitely going to keep doing it in the years to follow, because it's not only fun but helps me prioritize my time better and give me a great sense of progress. So that's neat.
This list is *mostly* in order but I jump around a lot.
Life Is Strange 2 - I actually forgot that I beat this in 2020 until I went back and checked my trophy list and yep, January 8th, 2020. It has been so long I thought I had beat this before the end of 2019 but nope.
Anyway, I loved this game and found it to be a big improvement over the original, which I also liked but didn't love. I actually loved this story so much I made an entire video about it, which you can watch here; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ISwuIQVsEE
After all the hours I poured into that video, not about to repeat myself, lol. I swear I'm not gonna just be plugging videos this whole time.
Specter of Torment / King of Cards - I plowed through both of these expansions to Shovel Knight after going through Shovel of Hope and Plague of Shadows in 2019. I actually found Specter of Torment a little underwhelming given how much its praised. I liked it, but I didn't think the story was anything super special and while Specter Knight's playset is probably the coolest of the knights, it wasn't by a huge margin or anything. And I actually like Plague of Shadows more than most people because I find Plague Knight's customization and movement to be really fun.
King of Cards definitely has more content than Torment, having an actual map and its own minigame in Joust, which I found pretty fun to beat the optional challenges in. My least favorite campaign is actually the original Shovel of Hope just because I find his moveset the most difficult? Maybe I need to replay it, but I just remember struggling to get through Shovel of Hope whereas I didn't really have that issue with the expansions.
The Messenger - The first half of this game is a perfectly paced, challenging but fair platforming romp with incredibly entertaining and witty dialogue. Not to mention the soundtrack slaps. The second half, while sporting some amazing 16-bit art, isn't as good due to its lack of focus and half-hearted attempts to transform into a psuedo-Metroidvania when the map was only *kinda sorta* appropriate for that. But it's still great and has its own charms. Picnic Panic is alright too. A fantastic game any fan of 2D games needs to play.
The Turing Test - I like Portal a lot. I'm always interested in the many first-person puzzle games that have followed in its shoes. This one definitely scratches that itch but isn't as amazing as say, The Talos Principle... which I really need to finish one of these days. Anyway, The Turing Test has a pretty decent flow to it for most of its run, maybe veering a bit on the easy side for a lot of it but definitely complicated enough to make you think about it and find enjoyment and executing the solution, even if it comes to you fairly quickly. I will say there are some randomly very difficult puzzle chambers that require some batshit logic to figure out, but they are few and far between.
The story is interesting enough to keep your interest but you realize pretty quickly that everyone is a self-righteous prick and that might annoy some people but personally I enjoyed the banter between these flawed perspectives in an impossible situation. I don't think it's *great* but it certainly kept me engaged.
Call of Juarez: Gunslinger - Possibly the only good game in the series. Good arcade-y fun with endearing narration and style. Not much else to say, far from a top-tier FPS but if you've got a few hours to kill in the west, this will hit the spot.
Afterparty - From the creators of Oxenfree comes, I think a slightly more palatable romp through Hell. This kind of almost improv-esque writing won't appeal to everyone but I enjoy its sort of... faux-naturalism? It's very witty, perhaps to a fault but I liked it. And I don't think it overstayed its welcome either. If you wanna hear funny dialogue while holding the analog stick forward for a few hours, this is a pretty good time.
Coffee Talk - This game gets compared to VA1 HALL-A a lot but I'm not sure everyone who liked that game will enjoy this one. It isn't as stylish or memorable as its clear inspiration and it's a fraction of the length, but if being a bartender (or I guess a barista in this instance) appeals to you and you just wanna chill out to some lo-fi and listen to peoples's troubles, this is perfectly serviceable. You can plow through this in 3 hours, so its a good palate cleanser between bigger games.
Kunai - I *really* like Kunai and I'm upset a lot of other people on /metroidvania don't. I love its unique visual style (i have no idea how to describe it, it's kinda like if the original gameboy never stopped? But in widescreen? And with more color palates?) and its snappy gameplay. The movement feels really nice and the level design and bosses are good, it's a nice challenge with some fun abilities. It's too linear for me to call it a true MV but as a 2D platformer, I highly recommend it. Also the soundtrack is great.
Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir - If you've never played a Vanillaware title, I HIGHLY suggest playing Muramasa Rebirth before this. Odin Sphere is a lot more complex and if you play Muramasa afterward, it might feel disappointingly simplistic. With that out of the way, this was my podcast game of the year. Because the story is entirely contained to cutscenes, it was a great game to chill out with while listening to videos and podcasts, pausing for the cutscenes that bookend every stage.
I played this on my Vita 1000 and it looks AMAZING on the OLED screen. Definitely the way to go. The story is pretty engaging if a bit tricky to follow (I just started 13 Sentinels this week so saying that about Odin Sphere feels almost quaint but hey, it's all relative). I do gotta warn you though that this game is best played in bursts.
I treated each of the 5 campaigns as their own games almost and took significant breaks between them throughout the year because the combat does get a bit repetitive, even keeping in mind that every character plays differently. So I recommend pacing yourself. Thankfully the game is divided into these clear chunks so it's easy to do.
This game is also a huge nostalgia trip for anyone who watched a lot of dubbed anime in the 2000s because a lot of notable names are here. I liked this more than Muramasa for its more engaging story and more complex gameplay but they're both good and worth playing.
Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando - Not as good as the first and this is the game that made me realize I should stop playing this series on Vita, not because it doesn't run well, with overclocking it runs pretty good, but just because it's cumbersome to control in this form factor. I'll give more thoughts when I get to UYA below.
Knightin'+ - This is a short and sweet dungeon-puzzler in the vein of Zelda 1 on the NES. No bullshit, just 4 different dungeons to work through, each capped with a boss. I recommend it.
Ruiner - This is a fun and stylish game that really tests your reflexes. The gameplay feels very smooth and the difficulty gets the blood pumping. That said though, since the game is so dedicated to the Akira-esque aesthetic, environments quickly become samey, not providing much variety even within the cyberpunk space. And the story, while bringing up a lot of interesting ideas is too vague and detached to really be invested in. It gets you through the six hour romp, but not much else. Definitely get this for the gameplay and aesthetic.
Persona 5 Royal - I probably could've gone through a dozen other games if I hadn't played this in 2020. It took me about 140 hours to finish my max confidant run. There's more to say about P5R than could ever be fit into this post but I'll try to sum up my feelings.
It's a definite improvement on the original release in every way. I still think that narratively, Persona 5 suffers from some core conceptual issues that the earlier games didn't have and that keeps me from thinking its a masterpiece but that doesn't change that its still a very good and engrossing game.
I actually have a video discussing why I think Persona 5 lacks thematic applicability if you wanna check that out. I wrote it before Royal released in English, but Royal didn't really change much about the games' themes so it still holds up; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8BgEaHAwWI
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time - I played the HD re-release on PS3, which was a decent experience apart from the weird audio mixing and a distracting semi-frequent bug where sounds would repeat indefinitely every few rooms until you got far enough away from their source to de-load them. Otherwise it ran at a hard-locked 30fps and was pretty enjoyable.
It was actually very interesting as a long-time Assassin's Creed sufferer (calling myself a fan these days isn't entirely accurate, ha) to see where some of the core mechanics of that series originated.
Sands of Time has a simple story as a framing device for a very balanced mixture of platforming, combat and puzzle-solving. The adventure is well-paced though a bit unambitious, and it ends at a good spot just before it would've worn out its welcome.
Definitely going to be going through the sequels sometime soon.
Streets of Rage 4 - I haven't played this since launch, so the patches might have addressed some of my criticisms but anyway.
For the most part, I love how this game looks, sounds and controls. A very cathartic and stylish beat'em up that recaptures the essence of the era its imitating while modernizing it.
My only complaint is that the difficulty often felt cheap and unbalanced and varied wildly depending on who you playing as. Some characters were just too damn slow and had no real good options for mitigating damage, and trying to play effectively, particularly at higher difficulties meant playing in very unintuitive, restrictive and just plain un-fun ways.
Maybe that's been patched since, idk yet. I hope so.
Mark of the Ninja - This is an example of a game I started previously and just decided on a whim to return to and wrap up. And I really love this game, probably the best 2D stealth game ever made, to this day. And as we'll discuss later, I really enjoy stealth games. Great visual style, very intuitive UI for the genre, the story's kind of an excuse plot but the presentation is snappy enough to make it fun to go through. Have not played the DLC yet, I should probably get on that sometime.
Shantae and the Seven Sirens - The best Shantae game, in my opinion. Although this is coming from someone who enjoyed Half-Genie Hero more than the criminally over-rated Pirate's Curse so you're free to disregard my opinion if you want. Sleek presentation, funny writing, a return to a lite-metroidvania structure. It's fun to figure out how to traverse the map, which has a good variety of environments.
I think it does suffer from the difficulty being a bit too fast-and-loose. Some stuff feels designed to basically do cheap nearly-unavoidable hits just because "hey, the player has a ton of food and healing items so why not". I guess it's more about resource management? But it feels a little unsatisfying at times. But this has been a long-running problem in the series so it isn't exclusive to this game.
It definitely could've been more than it is, but they seem really intent on keeping things simple and light-hearted so it's hard to criticize them for that.
Chaos;Child - I played this visual novel on-and-off over a few months on some friends' recommendation. It is immensely difficult to discuss without spoiling it and I have a lot of nuanced thoughts, both positive and negative. I would definitely say it is a notable and interesting experience that has more pros than cons, so give it a shot if you're prepared to have your brain broken.
Death Come True - As the world's biggest Danganronpa fan, I am obligated to experience everything Kazutaka Kodaka works on, so here we are. This is definitely him watering himself down for the masses, but it still results in a decent product. Death Come True is an FMV game, weird as that might be in the modern era. I almost feel more comfortable talking about it as a film than as a game, because as a film I actually think it's pretty decent especially in the production and cinematography. It's definitely overpriced for what it is (you can beat this and see all bad ends in easily about 3 hours), but if you see it on sale, definitely worth checking out.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps - Huge step-up from the original game. More to see and do than just basic platforming, incorporating a lot of proper MV elements. I still feel it's too linear to be a *true* MV and a lot of the side content doesn't have really meaningful rewards but atleast that stuff is *there* as a fun distraction.
The artwork and music make for an almost transcendent experience. It almost makes Blind Forest feel like a tech demo. The artists employed by Moon Studios are so goddamn talented. I'm definitely on the watch for whatever they do next.
While I'm not as big into the narratives of the Ori series as some people (I think it's mostly carried by the cathartic presentation and emotional pathos, which is fine but some people talk about it like it's way more than it is and I just have to shake my head), these are absolutely a pair of games anyone fan of 2D needs to experience.
Halo CE Anniversary - I'm gonna be brutally honest... I think this might be one of the weakest games I played this year. I had never experienced the Halo franchise before, being a playstation guy, but when my brother left his Xbone with me over the summer, I decided to, well number one, buy Will of the Wisps, but ALSO pick up a used copy of the Master Chief Collection and see what the series is all about.
Halo CE... it has its moments but man, all I remember is just being consistently frustrated by random difficulty spikes, weirdly placed checkpoints, repetitive levels that were aggravating to navigate because of their lack of distinct landmarks. And some levels just absolutely starving you of ammo, causing you to need to just run past everything hoping you hit a checkpoint before you're killed.
I don't understand why this game is so revered, it's so incredibly average to me. Like this is a pretty flat 5/10.
That said...
Halo 2 Anniversary - A MASSIVE improvement. Fixes it pretty much every issue I had with the first. Better level design, better combat flow, less getting hopelessly lost, better checkpoint system, more interesting story. And the anniversary glow-up makes the game feel practically modern, especially those gorgeous cut-scenes.
There were a *few* troublesome sections and as I'm pretty sure everyone in the world knows, the ending is infamously abrupt, but overall, a much better experience than CE. I'm looking forward to playing Halo 3 in the near-future.
Superliminal - Definitely a unique game that manages to really capture the feeling of being lost in a dream. Sometimes I'd even forget I was awake while playing this, it was that convincing at times. Check this out if you want something experimental. It's just the right length too, bailing out before the gimmick got old.
Carrion - A good game, but a bit of disappointment, I think. I dunno, I guess I just assumed this would be more of a metroidvania from the trailers but the reality is that its a pretty linear affair moving from one area to the next, each new room something of a puzzle to figure out. There's a lot of catharsis to be had from being the monster in a horror film, but the novelty does wear off eventually.
What holds this game back is that its sometimes very confusing to navigate, since it lacks any kind of map, and that it sometimes feels like you never get to truly play around with your abilities, every upgrade you get is more to circumvent an obstacle than provide new fun toys to play with and that kinda deflates the fantasy a bit.
But the atmosphere is really well done, when you're in a groove, I don't know that any other game has succeeded in making you feel as vicious and unstoppable as this one. If you've ever fantasized about being a forty-foot long glob of biomass chomping on scientists for breakfast, this is the game for you.
Psychonauts - Where has this game been all my life, I love it. So weirdly at some point during the summer, this game was accidentally made free on the Xbox store for like a day. I managed to snag it during that period and I almost feel bad for not paying for it because damn is this game fantastic. So great I made a whole video to talk about it, which you can find here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AvY19p0v6s
Psychonauts 2 is one of my most anticipated releases of 2021, it can't come soon enough.
Styx: Master of Shadows - I actually tried this game about a year and a half ago and I dunno what it was but I just wasn't really feeling it at the time. I didn't get very far in before quitting. On a whim, I decided to start over and try again and Idk what my problem was before because the game immediately clicked with me.
This is a pure stealth game, getting caught isn't game over in most circumstances but depending on how exactly you were caught, you might as well reload because fighting your way out isn't a great option. Styx is half the height of the guards and while he can fight off one, maybe two of them if he's lucky, any more than that and they'll quickly bash his skull in.
Master of Shadows takes place exclusively in one big location that Styx sneaks his way into and then has to sneak his way out of it. This naturally means that the latter half of the game is mainly comprised of earlier levels, but played in reverse with some alterations. While this makes logical sense with the plot, it does come across a little bit like padding.
I personally didn't mind it that much since again, it does make sense and the increased familiarity with the level layout lets you more effectively traverse it. But it's definitely a notable annoyance some people have with the game.
The biggest issue I had, playing this on base PS4, was the loading times. As a pure stealth game, you're gonna be reloading saves a lot. It's part of the genre, it's what you do. But holy fuck, this game is gonna really test your patience. Now, to be fair, I had this installed on my 5400rpm external HDD. Which is slower than the PS4's internal 7200rpm drive, so that probably added unnecessary frustration that could've been avoided on my part if I thought ahead a little, but like I said, I returned to this game on a whim.
But in my experience, loading screens took anywhere from 25-40 seconds. Every single time. And depending on your skill level or just how much you wanna experiment, you could be reloading dozens of time per level. This adds up. I think the game is worth it despite this annoyance, but make sure to keep your phone handy because you're gonna have a fair bit of down time with this one.
Styx himself is a really enjoyable character that actually goes through a pretty satisfying arc over the course of this game. The world he inhabits seems really stock at first but it actually has some pretty imaginative takes on staple fantasy tropes. I'll talk about that more later, because spoiler alert, I went through every game featuring him this year, but suffice it to say that Master of Shadows is definitely something any stealth fan should check out, even if its rough around the edges.
Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit! - I feel like this game got lost to time. A 7th gen downloadable title that never quite made the headlines as far as I remember. I had always been fascinated with this game so I decided to give it a go after I installed a bigger, faster HDD in my PS3. And I gotta say, it's a fun time.
The setup is that you're Ash. Prince of Hell. The paparazzi snaps pics of you playing with a rubby ducky in the bathtub so now you need to kill the 100 monsters it was sent to before your embarrassing pics get leaked and ruin your reputation. If you've ever played Disgaea, the tone is kinda like that except without the actual serious storyline that creeps up on you through all the meta-humor and irreverence.
So yeah, in this game you gotta hunt down 100 monsters. They're spread through several different levels and each one has some kind of trick to killing them. Many of them also have brief amusing anecdotes to exchange with Ash, which are all a joy. The visuals aren't the highest resolution, but the artstyle is clean, sharp and vibrant and the soundtrack is surprisingly catchy.
The controls admittedly take a little getting used to but once you do, there's nothing really wrong with them, they're just a little unusual. If you enjoy quasi-metroidvania titles, this might be a hidden gem. There's little else like it. It's a very amusing game from start to finish.
Shadow Warrior 2 - I enjoyed the Shadow Warrior reboot quite a bit, rough around the edges though it was, but I held off on this one for the longest time because the idea of a shooter like this being procedurally generated didn't sit well with me. But I gotta say, it actually works pretty well.
The visuals look great and the gunplay is quite a bit smoother than the first game. The Borderlands-style loot system, I mean, I could've done without it but it has its charms. I enjoyed modding weapons with different effects and such. Some of the weapons are really badass looking and fun to use.
The story isn't as good as the first, largely because Kamiko, while an appreciably different companion than Hoji, doesn't have quite as enjoyable a rapport with Lo Wang. And I know the dialogue is really divisive in this reboot series, but I personally love it. The irreverence, the energy, it's great.
Now the procedural levels *mostly* work, but there were a few occasions where I'd see stairs that lead to nowhere or objectives that were kind of obtuse to figure out how to reach, but it wasn't the dealbreaker I assumed it would be. And I can't speak to how frequent the little issues are, because again, procgen. You might have a flawless experience, someone else might get a really weird buggy one, who knows.
Excited for Shadow Warrior 3. I actually don't know if the procgen levels are returning for that one, can anyone confirm?
Thomas Was Alone - So I actually wanted to play Volume because I was kind of on a stealth kick but figured, hey, why not play Mike Bithel's earlier game first? So I did, the puzzle platformer, Thomas Was Alone. A *very* engaging and brilliantly paced story about differently shaped colored blocks.
The narration makes this game. Like the levels are good and all but the added context makes going through level after level way more engaging. I'm actually really jealous of Bithel for coming up with this ingenius trick. Wish I'd thought of it first. Haven't yet played Benjamin's Flight though, I'll get around to it eventually.
Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal - A good time. I switched to PS3 for this one and I'm glad I did because it felt a lot better to control than on Vita. This is the weakest of the 'trilogy' in my opinion and I feel like I can just recommend Gaming Brit's video on it to perfectly encapsulate why. I pretty much agree with everyone he says. Good game, but has a lot of weird drawbacks probably owing to its rushed production.
Jak & Daxter - So I was kinda trapped in World of Warcraft during most of the sixth console generation so a ton of classics of that era past me by. That's why I've been gradually catching up with them through the HD collections on PS3. And this was a super enjoyable platformer.
I find it really interesting how this game is a more accurate successor to Super Mario 64 than any actual Mario game that came later. Not even A Hat In Time fully replicates the design of these games despite aping a lot of their style. (AHiT almost made this list but I did finish it in 2019).
There's some uneven difficulty spikes here and there but for the most part, I had a smile on my face the entire time I went through Jak & Daxter. Definitely going to go through Jak 2 soon, which I hear is really difficult, hopefully it doesn't turn me off from it.
Yoku's Island Express - A metroidvania-lite controlled ala pinball should not work as well as it does. This game is short, but a very fun and unique experience. You haven't played anything quite like this before. Now, admittedly, sometimes the pinball navigation makes it a little more challenging to figure out how to reach certain locations and it can make backtracking a little more involved than you'd expect, but otherwise, a good time all around. My only complaint is that by the time you can get stuff to customize your ball... the game is basically over. That kinda sucks.
Of Orcs And Men - This is the RPG that Styx originated from before Cyanide decided he should be the star of his own stealth series, which might be the wisest decision anyone's ever made. The existing Styx games are actually prequels to this game. I actually imported this from France since it never got a physical release in North America. Was it worth the $24 I paid for it? Well, for collection's sake, yes but as a game? It's pretty mid.
This game was actually primarily developed by Spiders, yes *that* Spiders. The notorious eurojank RPG factory who didn't get much of any real acclaim until their latest game Greedfall. And this is them *pre-Bound By Flame* just to give an example of the timeline.
Of Orcs And Men is a very strange affair. The world it presents is interesting but doesn't get expanded upon much. The strongest part of the game is the dynamic between Styx and Arkail, which is legitimately good and makes me wish for the big lug to get his own game at some point, maybe a God of War style hack'n'slasher? I dunno.
The gameplay is fairly clunky and unbalanced. There is some joy in figuring out how to effectively control both characters at once and strategize through the game, but not only does the adventure feel unpolished, it feels outright unfinished.
The game *claims* to have 5 Chapters, but really it has maybe 2 and a half in actuality. The first two chapters are fairly fleshed out with multiple missions, a number of sidequests and give the impression of a grander RPG than it ends up really being. Chapter 3 is basically a bunch of cutscenes, a short dream sequence and a quick escape sequence. Chapter 4 takes place on a really cool looking island but it's essentially one slightly-longer-than-average level. And than Chapter 5 is a dashing sprint to the finish line, fighting your way up two floors of a tower before the final boss fight.
It really gives off the impression that Spiders had much bigger plans but just ran out of money and had to scramble together than second half of the game. I've never seen a game rush to an ending like this before. There's also features that feel kinda pointless, like the equipment. There's... barely any of it. Lot of the time you'll talk to a new trader and they just have nothing new to sell you, it's so bizarre.
There's some heart to the writing, which carries over into Styx's own games. But you don't *really* need to play this to understand the Styx games, and even if you're curious, I'd recommend watching a Let's Play or something. It isn't the worst, but it's a very mediocre game overall.
Shadow Complex Remastered - I decided to plow through this after hearing it wouldn't be compatible on PS5 for whatever reason... not that I'm getting one anytime soon because the US government won't give adult dependents stimulus checks but whatever. Anyway, this game is good. Shorter than I expected it to be, honestly, but I see why it became a hit in the early XBLA days.
My only real complaint is just that shooting at enemies in the background is really finnicky, which is everyone's complaint about this game. Otherwise, pretty solid Super Metroid clone.
Tokyo Xanadu EX+ - Another game I started on a whim. I'll just start by saying that if you've never heard of this game, that the promotional artwork is WAY more epic and edgy than anything in the actual game. It's borderline false advertising.
I'd never played a Falcom game before and rather than dive headfirst into the massive Trails series, I figured this standalone game would be better. All in all, I liked it, enough to finish it, which took me about 65 hours. But be warned, it is exceptionally anime. This might be the most anime game to ever anime.
By which I mean, it's pretty standard fare stuff. I did grow to like the characters, but none of them are especially complicated people. The game is so easy-going it's difficult to feel a sense of tension even when there's clearly supposed to be. If you go into this expecting Persona, I think you'll be a little disappointed. It just isn't that good, it plays itself too straight and too safe.
They should definitely make another Xanadu game though. I think a new game with a different cast and more ambition poured into it could be really good. As it stands, this game *is* decent, but can I really recommend you pour 65 hours into something that's just "alright"? That's a hard sell, I think.
What I did find interesting about this game is its design. Instead of long, arduous grindy JRPG dungeons, the game plays more like an arcadey brawler with short stages that you're encouraged to speedrun your way through. It doesn't overcomplicate itself, and I found it a joy to plow through because of that.
Also Hazy Moon might be the best track I've heard all year, give it a listen.
Styx: Shards of Darkness - I was actually going to save this for later but I got a new display and figured, what the hell, right? This game is a BIG improvement on Master of Shadows, basically everything about that game that didn't work was either improved or removed. The janky old engine is gone, replaced with a pretty-looking and slick-feeling UE4 game.
The gameplay is smoother, the level design is better, but the biggest improvements are quality of life stuff. This game reloads VERY quickly, even on PS4. I'm talking about 7-10 seconds, it's good stuff. The menus are snappier, you can actually see your progress in the various challenges rankings as you're playing the level, no longer restricted to the results screen.
I felt compelled to replay levels immediately after beating them to experiment with new abilities or go for different challenges and I can't say that about a lot of games. This is a stealth classic.
The big thing fans debate about this game is the different direction they took Styx himself. While he doesn't do it constantly, he now seems keenly aware that he's in a video game and routinely makes meta jokes and breaks the fourth wall. After two fairly straight-laced games, this is a little jarring but I actually don't really mind for two reasons.
  1. It is MOSTLY contained to the death screens, which mock the player ala the Arkham series.
  2. As far as I recall, Styx NEVER breaks the fourth wall when talking to other characters, only in his internal narration during gameplay, which keeps it between him and the player, so to speak. The actual storyline is not derailed by the existence of this Deadpool-esque humor.
Shards of Darkness does end on a bit of cliffhanger, so I'm really hoping for a third game. Arkail even makes a brief cameo in this one, which makes me think Cyanide might not be done with him either. They seem pretty busy with other projects these days, but one can dream, right? I'm glad I gave this series another shot because Styx is awesome.
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*phew* And THAT is the 35 games I beat this year. There were other games I spent substantial amounts of time in but I won't discuss them since I haven't beaten them yet. (Games like SMT IV, Yakuza 0, Dicey Dungeons, the MediEvil remake, Hades, and Ghostrunner).
Currently, I'm going through the Destroy All Humans! Remake and 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, both of which I'm enjoying immensely. There's a LOT of stuff I'm looking forward to in 2021 which will be a struggle to balance with the backlog. My most anticipated games atm are Hollow Knight: Silksong, Psychonauts 2 and Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny. But there's like fucking 20 Metroidvanias planned for release this year which makes me nervous as that genre is my obsession.
Lemme know what you thought of any of these games. I'm definitely going to keep keeping track of my progress so I might make more posts here in the future.
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My "2020 Gaming Year in Review" + goals for 2021

Welcome to my "2020 Gaming Year in Review" post. This is the fifth instalment of this Year in Review series of mine, going all the way back to 2016, a time that feels so long in the past now. This year, this post will probably be shorter than in years past (he says, before even beginning to write the next couple thousand characters), because I'm now officially in law school and boy, it's a lotta work already. I'm five weeks in, I still don't know shit (as expected), it's easily the hardest challenge I've ever taken on in my life (and that includes failing to beat Dark Souls) and I won't back down from it. This means that most of my day is spent with studying, lectures and the sort, while my limited free time mostly is spent with friends, family and a casual game of FIFA or Football Manager. I barely played any single player games in November and December and this will probably not change until Christmas (and then until March) but I will try and keep reading your posts and hopefully interact with some of you still, time permitting.
As I start this journey of reliving the worst year in most of our lives, I'm currently "zooming in on" the worst lecture of my week but at least it gives me the time to write this I guess :D. Even though I've said this post will probably not be as long, I've already written a ton. Let's go!
Table of Contents
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End of Year Stats / A look back on 2020's 12in12 list
Last year, I had my "worst" year in terms of games beaten with 29 (46,86,45 before that) and in 2020, I managed to beat 31 games somehow. This does include only 2 games beaten in April, May, June, August, November and December COMBINED. I'm usually beating the most games in January, a month that has come clutch YET AGAIN in 2020, with more than 33% of my beaten games completed in the first month of the year. Let's look at some overall stats first off.
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This number includes 42 "pure" additions and 16 games that I've re-added. This number would've definitely been higher, if I weren't broke for most of the year. Looking at next year's lineup + all the free games that we're still given from multiple sites, I'd expect next year's number to be close to this year's, even though I won't be gaming as much.
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Most games I've purchased came from Humble Bundles or on big sales. Everything else was free or my brother bought it and I can play it through Steam Sharing.
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The reasons for this year's and last year's low numbers are 1) my brother gets some games 2) majority of these games are freebies 3) the rest is mostly from Humble Bundles.
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This number is getting lower and lower but for the simple reason that I haven't actually played as much as in years past. Expecting this to be lower again next year.
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Somehow this number is higher than last year. If I had to guess, I'd say it's because I've beaten shorter games. (not calculated the below number yet as I write this part). Let's see, if that's true...
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Aaand I was right. 60 hours less for 2 more games. 296 hours would 49 minutes per day. I think that's pretty interesting because 49 minutes per day on average would definitely be doable, with law school and all, so I'm definitely intrigued as to how 2021 will play out.
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Yey, 4 games lower than last years. At this rate, I'll be done 2041. Seems about right.
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Original 12in12 List for 2020 (10/12 completed)
Last year I beat 5 of 12, so this was a more successful year in that sense. I started Batman Arkham City when I started uni and didn't get much time into it since, so it'll find a spot in next year's list. Mass Effect 2 might be a bit ambitious for next year, especially since I plan on playing Cyberpunk 2077 for a while when I get my hands on it.
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Other Goals for 2020
Lol at that second goal.
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2. Interesting (or maybe not so interesting) Facts
- Overcooked
- Assassins Creed (kinda)
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  1. Top 5 Best Games
5 of 31 games seen as the "Top" games of the year might seem a bit much, but all these games on this list are worthy of the praise.
Honorable mentions go out to Detroit Become Human and Prey. Here we go!
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I got this game back when it came out in 2016 because I had played the first game (of the reboot) weeks or months prior. If you're a fan of strategy games at all, you're doing a disservice to yourself by not playing the XCOM series. For a story in a strategy game, XCOM's is pretty good imo but where this game really shines is in its ruthless but fun and engaging turn-based combat (though you miss 90+% shots way too often), its base building and the way it makes you attached to your soldiers, who sacrifice their lives to save the Earth (and also your ass as the commander). I don't remember his name unfortunately but I had one female sniper who'd destroy everyone and it didn't matter it she'd have a 50% or 90% chance to get a hit. She would get it. That's the kind of connection that you don't have in most strategy games.
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It's actually criminal to list Bioshock Infinite as #4 on my list but that's a testament to how good the 3 games/series above are. That doesn't take anything away from Bioshock Infinite however, which is a masterpiece in its own right. I really enjoyed Bioshock 2 back when I played it as a teenager. I REALLY enjoyed Bioshock when I played a year or two ago. But the story in Bioshock Infinite is on another level and I'd say that Columbia is just as beautiful as Rapture. There was one scene in this game where you have to escape from the Monument. If you've never seen it and you don't care about a minor spoiler, check it out on YouTube. The music, the thrill of it all. Unmatched by just about anything I've experienced in games.
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I don't have much else to say about the Witcher 3, one of my all time favorite games. I've started playing The Witcher 3 when it came out in 2015, not knowing anything about the series, only finding the game interesting. And the journey came to an end in February of this year, after about 300 hours of playing it. If Cyberpunk 2077 is even half as good, it's going to be an amazing experience but if it matches the quality of The Witcher 3, I might just have to find a way to maximize my free time as best as I possibly can. To think that a game like The Witcher 3 had 2 DLC's worth 40+ hours of playtime for only $25 when it came out is ridiculous. Kudos to CDPR.
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I first played Half-Life back in 2017. It was amazing. It did age a bit but not nearly as much as most games from its time. Half-Life 2 made a damn ridiculous jump in cinematics, graphics, setting and gameplay. With each episode, the game got more and more insane, culminating with one of the best experiences I've had this year, Episode Two. This series is just so pure. I'm a fan of collectathons like Far Cry if the gameplay is fun at least but there is nothing like a game with (next to) no collectibles where you just keep moving forward, focus on the main story and experience one epic moment after another. Some gameplay elements in these games are still not replicated to this day or at least not on the same level, which is crazy considering that the game came out 16 years ago. The engine for this game is truly amazing. And also, I love the gravity gun.
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If I were to be 10 years old again, I'd be losing my damn mind at this game. I'm in my mid 20's now and I STILL lost damn near lost my mind at this game. I've played it solo some and my little brother sat next to me in a few sessions as well. We probably had the same joyful expression in our eyes because this game is as close to perfect as I've ever played. The web swinging is awesome and fun until the end. Combat is smooth and easy to understand, but takes a while to master. Gadgets and special moves all are useful and fun to use. You can unlock all costumes just by playing, which is unheard of these days. The story is good. Side missions are fun to do. I don't really have anything bad to say about this game. Can't wait to play Miles Morales next year.
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4. Top 3 Worst Games
This list is a bit difficult to create these days because I don't usually finish games that I find to be bad. I will list 2 games that I've actually finished and one that deserves a spot regardless. Other than that, I will have a few dishonorable mentions.
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This might not be fair because it's the story mode of a fighting game but I do think Injustice: Gods Among Us is worthy of a spot here. Mostly because I just want to mention again that superhero movie plots are dumb and selling their fans short in the way that today's movies are all about action but the worst, most stupid and obnoxious plots there could be. With some superhero fans spending so much time trying to find every Easter egg in a movie, I'm surprised how they don't find those 15 obvious plot holes also. Though I have to admit, Avengers: Infinity War was pretty good mostly. And then End Game completely shits the bed with a fat Thor (like fuck off) playing Fortnite (fuck off for real).
Anyway, similar issues can be found in the story mode of this game, one of which I've explained in my main post on this game. (like the scene where Flash is somehow slower than The Green Lantern, Aquaman and someone else, just so>! they get sucked into a portal and not Flash, because that would be an inconvenience within the story they're trying to tell!<).
Do I sound bitter? Yes I do. All I'm saying is that if End Game is the best movie ever (or just a good conclusion to the series even), expectations are really low and, as seen with Infinity War and so many other superhero movies, these movies can be way better.
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Last year I had A Way Out in this spot. I just want to reiterate how shit of a game A Way Out is and how it makes less sense then everything I wrote about superhero movies above. "Oh, they escaped prison? Cool... What was that? Why we don't have 20 police cars camping in front of their homes, because of course they will return to their families? Well, ehh."
This time I choose Vampyr, which should be a bit less controversial for anyone who's reading this section (and I am sorry if you're annoyed by how I annoyed I sound but it's the worst games section, what did you expect :D). Anyway, I didn't finish Vampyr but I've played enough of it to be disappointed as hell with it.
The game is mostly talking to characters to unlock dialogue options with other characters to solve some quests while fighting in a pretty average combat system whenever you're not in a conversation. The combat system being average is fine. The dialogue system though is complete shit. I've explained it in my main post on this game and all I can say now is that it truly is too broken to be the main feature of this game. I was really excited to play this but as I said, ended up just disappointed.
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A 4 rating might seem high for "worst game of the year". Based on my rating system though, I can't really give anything below a 3 for a game that is functioning and not just a dumb parody or something like that. I wouldn't define Pokemon Sword quite as a "dumb parody" of past Pokemon games and it definitely is functioning. I also actually liked two things about this game, which was my first Pokemon game ever by the way. 1) The arena battle music was nice. 2) The wild area can probably be a fun area to just walk around in, if you're looking for a chill gaming experience. Plus the idea behind the Dynamax system was pretty cool but it didn't really seem to add any tactical value.
I won't continue on without mentioning first that Hop is a little bitch and the worst "companion" in any game ever and that includes Ashley in Resident Evil 4. And now I shall continue.
I guess me ranting about it could never be taking as seriously as when a long time Pokemon fan would. Then again, that depends on if you want the series to be accessible to new potential fans, which, fair enough if you don't. But why the hell is it OK for Nintendo/Game Freak to do what it's doing? First of all. Two separate versions? It's not a big issue I guess but locking different Pokémon to each version is kind of a dick move. Is there a reason for it or is it just because 1) It's always been like that (which isn't a real reason) and 2) Nintendo is hoping to sell both versions to people who'd like a new/different Pokemon experience, which is basically exactly the same but with gyms looking different, arena fights being against different opponents (woah) and different Pokemon being locked to each version.
Way worse than that is the fact that there doesn't seem to be any difference in a Pokemon game from one title to the other. Are they really selling you the same game every few years just with a graphics update, minimal new additions and a new, shitty story? I don't think there are microtransactions in these games but once they're introduced, these games won't really have any difference to sports games.
As it stands, the game was lacking life, sympathetic characters and any features that didn't make the game feel repetitive as hell but I guess that's by design. A good story might have saved this for me but this game had one of the worst collections of characters in any game I've played.
I personally think Pokemon fans deserve better but again, this is the first Pokemon game I've played, so this is just my opinion on it.
___________
5. Award Ceremony
So far, the two "winners" are Marvel's Spider-Man as my GOTY and Pokemon Sword as the Worst Game of the Year. Here are the winners of all the other awards.
​
[Previous Winner: Mario+Rabbids: Kingdom Battle - Phantom]
The boss fight in the Blood and Wine DLC wasn't one that you'll find many "best boss fights in video games" compilations and I didn't think it was mind blowing either. Admittedly, there weren't many good to great boss fights in the games I've played this year but rather a bunch of games with epic conclusions. I do not have a "most epic conclusion award", however.
Still, the boss fight against Dettlaff, which I don't remember vividly to be honest with you (a lot of stuff happened since February, you know), it was a more than satisfying conclusion to a great DLC to a masterpiece of a video game. Very gory and atmospheric.
RUNNER UP: Marvel's Spider-Man - Otto Octavius
​
[Previous Winner: Red Dead Redemption 2: Arthur Morgan]
I've given this award to two characters this year and it's well deserved imo. These characters were extremely well written, had great chemistry and character development and all the twists and turns throughout the story of the game gave me more appreciation for them. Kudos!
RUNNER UP: Detroit Become Human: Markus, Kara and Connor
​
[Previous Loser: Resident Evil 5: Chris and Sheva]
If you read what I wrote about Pokemon Sword, you might've picked up on how much I disliked the games characters, Hop in particular. All he would do is show up before and after big story events, run his mouth about becoming great, challenge the player to a fight, get his ass handed to him and repeat. He'd never wait for me either, always telling me to catch up. There was no value ... actually, negative value to him even being in the game. Apart from being the brother of the Champion, he didn't have any relevance. Not that that fact made him any relevant or anything but it's like they forced a partner on the player who was just not likeable at all.
RUNNER UP: Pokemon Sword: Olivia
​
[Previous Winner: No Winner in 2019]
Last year, I only played Resi 5 in coop but that sucked, so I obviously couldn't award it. This year, I've played 2 games from the same series. First Overcooked 2 with my bro who's a couple years younger than me and then the original with my little brother who's 3 years old. Both were different experiences but I definitely preferred the one where I didn't have to work overtime just to have enough stars to advance another level. I had a blast with both games though and I'll probably get the PS5 edition, which adds a bunch of nice features to make the game more accessible to little kids (e.g. no timer).
RUNNER UP: Overcooked
​
NEW AWARD
I've never played a game with a timer like this before but I do know there are a few others out there. Basically, you have 60 seconds to do as many things as possible and after 60 seconds you die and respawn. The things you've done will remain done however. If you found a sword for example, it will now be in your inventory. It's a very short game, so the mechanic doesn't get old and is definitely making the game a unique experience.
RUNNER UP: Blair Witch - Cassette tapes allow you to change reality
​
[Previous Winner: The Outer Worlds]
As I said, didn't play a single game that came out this year, though I do have Mafia. Will probably buy and perhaps play a few games that release next year though.
RUNNER UP: /
​
NEW AWARD
Did I create this award for just that quest? Yes. And I should probably name the award after it. I guess the setting the quest (I call it level because it works with most games) takes place in is called "Land of a thousand Fables". That should give you an broad idea about it. It's just such a weird and fun detour from the rest of the game and the quest in this world is pretty interesting (as per usual with quest in TW3).
RUNNER UP: Half-Life 2 - Ravenholm
​
NEW AWARD
Both the "winner" and runner up deserve praise for the best "fuck up the pacing" job of all time. In AC II, they've apparently added two sequences via DLC and in 13, you are basically just mindlessly supposed to kill 8 million targets to then kill the main target. I didn't get anything from it and it's just prove that more content doesn't mean good content.
In Blair Witch, a horror game that wasn't great but not the worst in the genre out there, you enter a spooked house. And then you run around in it for over an hour. Any kind of good pacing or atmosphere the game had just vanished by that point. To me, scary is something that is unknown and just making me run around in a small house for 60 minutes is the opposite of that, even if I technically don't know what's coming. At times, it seemed like even the devs didn't know what's coming.
RUNNER UP: Assassins Creed II - Sequence 13
​
NEW AWARD
I've described it when I talked about Bioshock Infinite above but man, this whole event was just awesome. Go on YouTube and type Bioshock Infinite: Monument Tower escape if you're curious.
RUNNER UP: Half-Life 2: Episode Two - Ending
​
[Previous Winner: D'Angelo: Unshaken / Red Dead Redemption 2]
As much as a lot of games have flaws in their storytelling, I think it produces the most beautiful music out there. Last year's winner is a song I still listen to from time to time and the same goes for the famous intro song to AC II, which I've fallen in love with immediately. I criticized the game for a lot of things (and stand by that still) but the soundtrack is beautiful. Exemplified by this song.
RUNNER UP: Philip Sheppard: Little One - Detroit: Become Human
​
[Previous Winner: Red Dead Redemption 2]
Listen to the Runner Up of the award above. Songs don't often make me emotional but the way that song was used during this game, the way the entire soundtrack was put to use, got me close to tears regularly. Beautiful.
RUNNER UP: GRIS
​
[Previous Winner: Red Dead Redemption 2]
After all I've already written about this game, this shouldn't come as a surprise. Rarely do games leave me this shook and the Bioshock series has done it twice. It's a storytelling masterpiece in my opinion.
RUNNER UP: Detroit: Become Human
​
NEW AWARD
The game is obviously universally praised for its visuals, so this award isn't a surprise. At the start, I thought "just because you made the game more and more colorful, doesn't mean you it's art" but once you figure out what the game is about, it makes sense.
RUNNER UP: Detroit: Become Human
​
NEW AWARD
As someone who loves comedy and funny games, I had to add this award. I don't know why I find the Deponia series as funny as it is (might be my German side) but yeah, out of all the games I've played this year, this was an easy W for Deponia Doomsday. Not the funniest out of the 4 games but still funny.
RUNNER UP: Marvel's Spider-Man
​
[Previous Winner: GTA IV]
You obviously expect a bit more out of one of the most popular series in the world, so I was very disappointed with the end product. I'd say the game lives more off of nostalgia than being a decent game by any definition.
RUNNER UP: Divinity: Original Sin
​
[Previous Winner: Mass Effect]
My brother and I just were bored one day and decided to try this via Game Pass. It looked fun but we didn't think it would be that fun. I still play this and Overcooked with my little brother from time to time because he really enjoys it as well. Good little game if you're looking to spend an afternoon playing games with a friend, relative or your SO.
RUNNER UP: 11-11: Memories Retold
___________
6. 12in12 List for 2021 + Other Goals
I've nearly completed all 12 games this year. I'm going to be mostly going with shorter games for 2021 because otherwise completing it is just not realistic. There will be one veeery long game though.
​
Well, this list ended up being filled with longer games than expected. I had to add Cyberpunk 2077, a game I don't own yet, for obvious reasons. It's the game I'm most hyped about since Fallout 4. Unlike with that game however, I will wait for bug fixes first and not watch any gameplay videos before starting it. I've done a good job up until this point. Will probably get it around Christmas, if some technical issues that were mentioned are mostly fixed by then.
AC: Brotherhood, Batman Arkham City, Layers of Fear 2 and Yakuza 0 are sequels to games I enjoyed mostly, so I had to add those as well. I'm about 70 hours into Persona 5 but stopped (again). It's my #1 goal to finally beat it in 2021, even with the limited amount of time in my hands.
The rest are a mix of short and medium length games and I expect to be able to beat them all.
___________
I hope next year we'll slowly but surely be able to return to our normal lives, I hope you all have a great holiday season and am looking forward to reading your Year in Reviews as well. I'll have no lectures for a two week Christmas coming up next week, so that'll free up a bunch of time to read through your posts and also play more games. I don't expect to finish anything else this year though (1) time 2) Cyberpunk 2077), so I'll see you all with a monthly progress post in January.
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Supervillainy and Other Poor Career Choices - Chapter Seventeen

Great big thanks to all my patrons!
​
I don’t know whether to be relieved or horrified, Erich wondered as he saw lights bobbing in the distance.
It seemed that true to form, the New Brotherhood had far more information than they should, and were entirely aware of the 'secret' escape tunnel.
Either way, the prospect of imminent violence was a welcome reprieve from sitting in the dark waiting nervously for something to happen.
For the last few minutes he’d been listening to the sounds of fighting going on above.
By all indications it was going well for the defenders. All of the entry points were holding, and so far there had been no indications of a meta human presence amongst the attackers.
Whether that meant that the New Brotherhood had none remaining beyond the Hangman, or that they were being held in reserve, no one knew. Either way, it was giving Hard-Light’s crew ample time to cut down the attacking chaff.
Should I even call it that anymore? He pondered as he trained his weapon on one of the flashlights bobbing in the distance. With Hard-Light missing, isn’t it Bronte’s crew?
He supposed, if the man really was missing, their wasn’t much point in renaming the gang. Even with Sarah’s leadership, it probably wouldn’t be around long enough to warrant a name change anyway.
"Wait for them to come into range." Grey’s voice whispered over the comms. “With any luck we can take them all in the first salvo.”
Just like his, her hard-light barriers were offline. The powerful protective system would have been obvious in the pitch black of the cellar, and would have given away their planned ambush.
Normally, that would have been a perfectly fine trade off, but given that none of the other people with them had the advanced barrier system, Grey decided that blanketing everyone with concealment was better than leaving two people with great protection and everyone else without any.
Erich didn’t quite agree with that line of thought, but he was willing to concede that he was a less than objective observer, given that he would have been one of those amply protected people.
The most amply protected, he thought grimly as he watched the lights come ever closer.
Not that they were all he could see. His suit had built in night-vision as a given, so he could see the approaching Brotherhood gangsters in reasonable detail.
Despite being part of what should have been a surprise attack, they were little different from the other thugs he had come across in his time with Hard-Light. They were dressed in casual clothes, wielding an assortment of weapons, and moving as more of a mob than a disciplined unit.
No rocket launchers, he noted with relief.
Just the usual assortment of small-arms. Which he promptly relayed to Grey, along with a rough count of their numbers.
The olive-skinned woman nodded, “Get ready.”
Erich whispered into his suit, “Aim assist on.”
“Acknowledged.” Gravity’s voice intoned through the suit's speakers, Erich’s arm locking up as the limb moved to follow the reticule linked to his eye.
Erich centred it on a young woman who was near the front of the pack. She was covered in tattoos affirming her allegiances and prejudices to the world, but in that moment he could only think of how young she looked.
He would be surprised if she was even a day over eighteen.
“Fire.” Grey’s voice echoed loudly through the darkness.
Erich felt the recoil shoot through his arm as his weapon fired, the bolt of energy released striking the young woman straight in the midsection. Given the tightly packed nature of their foes, he had overcharged the weapon in advance, so the resulting blast struck not just his target, but people behind her as well.
He found to his surprise that he felt nothing as he surveyed the gore. No shame. No horror. No guilt.
Even the nausea was a tired muted thing.
Humans are such adaptable creatures, he thought*.*
Still, he felt some small tinge of envy for the lackeys to his left and right. Given the darkness of the tunnel, they saw none of their handiwork as they opened fire. Hell, they didn’t even really see what they were shooting at. They shot at distant lights rather than people. Intellectually of course, they would know they were shooting at people, but it was still a very different sensation to see a light falling in the distance rather than a human being.
By the time he was ready to fire again, the short firefight was all but over. Caught completely out in the open, the Brotherhood members had been massacred to the last within moments of the first shot ringing out. A group of ten reduced to zero in seconds.
He had to give credit to her, Grey knew what she was talking about.
I wonder what her history is?
He dismissed the idle thought as soon as it came up. It didn’t matter. He was going to be gone soon enough. A new identity.
Perhaps he would go by John this time?
"Right." Erich said once he was sure every one of their attackers were dead - something only he could confirm with his night vision, "That’s that.”
Rather anti-climactic really.
“Don’t.” Grey said as she heard the telltale sounds of someone fumbling for a torch. “More may show up.”
Which meant the lackeys were going to be sitting in the dark for even longer. Alone with their thoughts.
Erich wasn’t totally sure that was a good idea.
The people with them weren’t soldiers. They hadn’t killed before. Even with just a quick glance around, he could see similar symptoms to what he experienced after his first kill. Fear. Nausea. Disgust.
Not the kind of things you wanted the people you might need in a few minutes to be dwelling on.
“Don’t you think it might be a good idea to give them a breather?” He asked as he heard the telltale sounds of someone throwing up.
Hopefully they didn’t do that right next to their cover, otherwise we’re all going to be stuck with that smell for a while.
And considering the stagnant nature of the air down in the cellar - and the fact that they had an open door to an old sewer system right next to them - the air quality was pretty piss-poor where they were at to begin with.
Grey shrugged, “They don’t have to be happy. They just have to shoot when I tell them to, at what I tell them to.”
Well, I tried.
If Erich could have shrugged within the confines of his suit, he would. It wasn’t like he cared about anyone's mental health beyond his immediate needs. He just didn’t want an emotional breakdown taking one of their fighters out before the next attack happened.
Although we might get lucky and have there be no next attack, he hoped.
Although given that he was stationed down here, he doubted that would be the case. It wasn’t like Sarah would keep him out of the fight as a result of their ‘relationship’.
The suit was now the gang’s heaviest hitter, given that Hard-Light was gone. Sarah didn’t have the luxury of keeping it out of the fight even if she wanted to.
Which she definitely didn’t.
Tentative feelings of… affection he may have felt for the unstable woman aside, he was well aware that she was using him. Any affection she might display was probably faked. A ploy to pull him over to her side.
There just wasn’t a hell of a lot he could do about it besides ride it out.
…or get the hell out of dodge, he thought as his mind swung back around to his burgeoning escape plan.
A plan he could put into motion the second Hard-Light was confirmed to be dead.
...Maybe Gravity might want to come with? She’s not exactly enamored with the whole villainy thing?
He ruthlessly slapped down that line of thought as soon as it registered.
It would be a stupid risk. An unneeded one that could have dire consequences if Gravity was even slightly more loyal to her father’s organization than he thought.
Never should have thought of it, he groused.
All this… social contact was making him strange.
Weak.
“We’ve got another wave incoming.” Grey hissed, as more lights filled the tunnel.
“Great." Erich sighed.
I really need to get out of this place, he reaffirmed in his mind, as his targeting reticule centered over another person’s face.
An older man this time.
​
----------------------------
​
Gravity sighed as she gunned down another target, which proved to be enough to send the rest scampering back into the trees surrounding the estate. Around her, other members of Lopez’s team continued to fire at the fleeing skinheads, but Gravity refrained.
She hated the racist punks as much as the next guy, but she found something inherently distasteful about shooting someone in the back.
"This is Gravity, we’ve repulsed the assault on the west servants entrance. Still no sign of Meta presence.” She said into her comm unit.
“Confirmed.” Sarah’s business-like voice answered, “They’re pulling back from the main entrance hall as well. No Metas here, and Grey says it’s much the same down in the cellar.”
So, they had known about the escape tunnel. That was worrying. She had always known the gang was something of a sieve when it came to information, but the escape tunnel’s existence was very much on a need to know basis.
Still, that was Sarah’s problem to worry about. Not hers.
“Stay vigilant everyone,” Sarah said over the mansion wide line, “That first attack was probably a probe to test our defenses. We can expect whatever Metas they have to come in with the second attack.”
Still, it took a good five minutes of tense waiting for the second assault to come.
It was an unusually long amount of time given that most conflicts between criminal factions were brief and bloody affairs. An inevitable result of the attacker’s need to be in and out before a police or Guild response was mustered.
The cops might drag their feet when it came to responding, but they would show up eventually; if only to maintain the rapidly disintegrating fiction that law and order was being maintained within the city.
“Should we redeploy?” Lopez asked deferentially as shadowy figures flitted through the treeline across from them.
“Nah,” Gravity shook her head carelessly, “If Sa- Bronte, wants us to move, she’ll tell us. We can pull out when that happens.”
Besides, she’d much rather be doing something useful, as opposed to sitting around waiting for the call.
This time their enemies were far more cautious on their approach. Rather than striding across the lawn as if they owned the place - assuming it to be all but defenseless with Hard-Light missing – they mostly stuck to the cover of the tree line and took potshots.
“Not going to do you much good though,” She said as she eyed one particular figure who seemed to be yelling orders to the others. “John, you ready?”
The team’s best marksman nodded, bringing his scoped laser rifle smoothly up to his shoulder as he rested the cruck of it against the window frame.
Gravity felt her power pass through her, her mind turning blank as she focused on the sensation of lifting the distant body up into the air. As her power worked, the world became simpler. Not a place of humans, grass and trees. Just mass.
Mass and movement.
Distantly she heard a crackle of ionized air and felt the mass she was lifting lessen as some of it dissipated explosively into vapor.
Recognizing the signal for what it was, her power faded, and once more she was back in the regular world. Things were more than abstract concepts of shape, size and weight once again.
“Good job,” She breathed, as she spied the distant downed figure that mere moments ago she had lifted into the air.
“Ready for the next one?” She grinned.
The man nodded.
“Right,” She said, firing up her power once more as she spied her next target.
It was around the fifth such repeating of this pattern that Sarah’s voice came over the comms, disrupting her concentration and sending her target clattering to the ground before he had even really been lifted.
The blonde woman yelled, “Trucks incoming! Approaching the front entrance at speed! Mechromancer and Gravity, get the fuck over here!”
Gravity hissed with irritation, before scooping up her gun.
“That’s our cue people!” She yelled, crouch walking back toward the hall, “Reserve team, relocate to the main entrance immediately!”
​
---------------------------
​
“Fucking run!” Sarah yelled as she realized with horror what the truck’s plan was.
Already her people were scrambling back, and she joined them just in time.
The first truck crashed into the front steps of the mansion and continued onward, momentum carrying it into the front door of the mansion with enough weight and force to crash through them, and much of the wall they were attached to.
The entire mansion shook with the impact, Sarah and her people being sent sprawling as dust and debris flew through the air as the truck – now tipped onto its side – slid to a screeching, agonizing, stop.
Just a few meters from where Sarah had fallen.
“Everyone, ok?” She shouted as she tried not to cough from all the dust that had been thrown up.
There were a barrage of 'yes’s' to her question, but there were a few pained no’s interspersed throughout.
Cursing, she brought her gun up to peer at the now thoroughly wrecked entrance hall, and truck wedged within it.
“Gun’s up people, get to cover!” She yelled, “They’ll be coming through any minute.”
To their credit, her people were quick to react, moving to nearby bits of cover while dragging their wounded allies with them. She noted as she dived into her own bit of cover, that most of their injuries were centered around the legs; a place the vests barrier system didn’t cover.
Well, at least they can still shoot, She reasoned as she aimed her laser pistol at one of the two places one might squeeze past the wrecked truck to gain entrance to the mansion.
“Christ, I thought were fighting Neo-Nazi’s not the Yakuza!”
Sarah whipped her gun around in alarm, only to curse as she saw who had spoken.
“Gravity get your ass down here!” She hissed, zero tolerance for his sister's mildly racist remark, “I need every gun I’ve got squared on the entrance."
“Yeah, fine.” The woman in question huffed as she started directing Lopez’s people to spread out. “Where’s the second truck?”
Sarah shrugged, “It pulled up short of the mansion. We expected the second one to do the same, which was why we were caught off guard when it accelerated instead.”
She had been expecting many things from this ‘New Brotherhood’, but a kamikaze attack was not among them. Olivia's Yakuza remark certainly held a small grain of truth to it.
We’re criminals for god’s sake, she raged. It’s hard enough to get ahold of decent fighters in the first place, let alone ones willing to martyr themselves.
Gravity clattered into cover next to her. “Seems that Mechromancer's not-”
A loud clang interrupted whatever Gravity was about to say, drawing gun barrels from all over as her people honed in on its origins.
The turned over truck.
“Hose it.” Sarah said without preamble.
Gunfire ripped into the truck from all angles in a continuous spray of laser fire and bullets, filling the vehicle with holes.
This wasn't the movies. The vehicles exterior provided zero protection from small arms fire.
Which was why, only after a full ten seconds of continous fire did Sarah raise a hand for people to stop.
Even then it took a few extra moments for the last trickle of fire to die down. This was not a room full of disciplined soldiers, after all.
Silence filled the room, broken only by the clangs of metal cooling after being rapidly heated by high intensity beams of light.
“No one's coming in.” Gravity said warily.
Yes, Sarah had noticed that as well.
“The question is wh-”
The weakened metal of the truck’s bed burst open as a massive furry thing leapt out of it.
“Shoot it!” Sarah shouted with alarm, putting actions to words as the thing bounded towards her.
Gauntlets, she thought, dropping the gun even as the creature bore down on her.
The gunfire started, but the shock of the creature's reveal had delayed it for too long. The creature was right on top of her, teeth glinting in the light as it’s maw opened wide.
She wasn't going to be fast enough.
​
As ever, despite my best efforts, a few errors always seem to slip through. If you see one, don't hesitate to point it out. I'll fix it post-haste.
Also, as always, two extra chapters are always available on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/soggyredtoast
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Yakuza 6: The Song of Life - Review Thread

Game Information

Game Title: Yakuza 6: The Song of Life
Genre: Action-adventure
Platforms: PlayStation 4
Media: E3 2017 Trailer
'Fight, Explore, and Play'
'Previously on Yakuza...'
Take a Break with Yakuza 6: The Song of Life Minigames
Clan Creator Trailer
Developer: Sega Info
Publisher: Sega
Price: $59.99 USD / €59.99 EUR / £49.99 GBP
Release Date: JP - December 8, 2016
WW: April 17, 2018
More Info: /yakuzagames | Wikipedia Page
Review Aggregator:
OpenCritic - 85 [Cross-Platform] Current Score Distribution
MetaCritic - 83 [PS4]
Curiously arbitrary compilation of main entries in the Yakuza series -
Entry (Japanese Name) Score (Platform, Year, # of Critics)
Yakuza (Ryū ga Gotoku) 75 (PS2, 2006, 58 critics)
Yakuza 2 (Ryū ga Gotoku 2) 77 (PS2, 2008, 34 critics)
Yakuza 3 (Ryū ga Gotoku 3) 79 (PS3, 2010, 77 critics)
Yakuza 4 (Ryū ga Gotoku 4: Densetsu o Tsugumono) 78 (PS3, 2011, 59 critics)
Yakuza 5 (Ryū ga Gotoku 5: Yume Kanaeshi Mono) 83 (PS3, 2015, 34 critics)
Yakuza 0 (Ryū ga Gotoku 0) 85 (PS4, 2017, 86 critics)
Yakuza Kiwami (Ryū ga Gotoku: Kiwami) [Yakuza 1 Remaster] 80 (PS4, 2017, 69 critics)

Reviews

Website/Author Aggregates' & Critic's Score Quote Platform
Eurogamer - Martin Robinson Recommended ~ Recommended Perhaps not the greatest Yakuza game, but Kazuma Kiryu's farewell certainly makes for the most human. PS4
Digitally Downloaded - Matt Sainsbury 100 ~ 5 / 5 stars If there’s any justice in the world Yakuza 6 would sell millions of copies. It’s smart, sharp, often surreal, and always hugely entertaining. The game maintains the series’ penchant for reproducing the experience of being in a Japanese city to exacting details, and then overlays a brilliant, labyrinthine, wildly funny B-grade yakuza drama over the top. It’s the kind of game you just “live” in, and the perfect example of open world game design done right. PS4
Expansive - Ray Willmott 100 ~ 10 / 10 Without question, Yakuza 6 is one of the most enviable platform exclusive titles ever made because it just has everything you could ever wish for and more. A perfect send off for one of the greatest video game characters and gaming series of all time. PS4
CFG Games - Maximillian Ringgenberg 98 ~ 4.9 / 5 Yakuza 6: The Song of Life is an emotional bookend to a fantastic series. A few minor issues are overshadowed by a great story, fantastic game play, and a ton of side content. It's sad to see the main line games end but it gets a fitting ending. PS4
CGMagazine - Lane Martin 95 ~ 9.5 / 10 Yakuza 6: The Song of Life is everything I want in a Yakuza game, plus a baby… and a cat café. PS4
PlayStation Universe - John-Paul Jones 95 ~ 9.5 / 10 A rip-roaring conclusion to Kiryu's tale and the best entry in the Yakuza series to date, Yakuza 6 is a triumph that effortlessly cements its place in the pantheon of all-time JRPG greats. PS4
ZTGD - Jae Lee 95 ~ 9.5 / 10 It's an absolute emotional rollercoaster ride, packaged together with some of the best content the series has offered to date and polished to an absolute shine. PS4
PowerUp! - Leo Stevenson 95 ~ 9.5 / 10 Like a good book or a new show on Netflix, Yakuza 6 is something to be binged. Writing this Yakuza 6 review was a challenge because it forced me to stop playing. I really didn't want to. I mean I REALLY didn't want to stop playing. Yakuza 6 is the kind of game that lodges itself in your brain and doesn't let go. PS4
Geek Culture Podcast - Josh Garibay 95 ~ 9.5 / 10 Yakuza 6: The Song of Life brings Kazuma Kiryu's long-running tale to an end and does so on a high note. This is the wacky-yet-serious Yakuza vision fully realized, or at least it is damn close to it. Newcomers and established fans alike will find plenty to love in this father figure's quest for answers and revenge in a world where everything can be resolved with shirtless brawls. This powerful conclusion to the Dragon of Dojima's story must not be missed. PS4
Game Informer - Jeff Cork 93 ~ 9.3 / 10 Yakuza 6 delivers both quality and quantity, so saying goodbye to Kiryu doesn't feel rushed. PS4
Hobby Consolas - Hobby Consolas 93 ~ 93 / 100 We love Yakuza's story, its locations that seem "alive" and its many minigames (including classic Sega arcades such as Puyo Puyo, Virtua Fighter 5 or Super Hang On). The song of Life is the perfect ending for this saga. PS4
VGProfessional - Nazih Fares 90 ~ 9 / 10 The most beautiful experience in the series, YAKUZA 6: The Song of Life is great way to close the Kiryu's story in style, with a fun and long adventure, full of content and side activities. Even if you didn't play the previous games, you shouldn't miss this goofy yet also mature and serious game. PS4
GamingBolt - Pramath 90 ~ 9 / 10 Debates about whether or not Yakuza 6 is the best game in the franchise will probably rage on for a long time to come- but if nothing else, The Song of Life represents a franchise, a developer, and most of all, a character, at the peak of their talents. PS4
PlayStation LifeStyle - Tyler Treese 90 ~ 9 / 10 While it's slightly disappointing to see so many members of Yakuza‘s great ensemble cast take a back seat in Yakuza 6, it ultimately works out for the best. Song of Life is Kiryu's story and focusing on something larger would only be a disservice to one of gaming's most fully realized characters. It's only fitting that he bows out in Ryu ga Gotoku Studio's most mature and focused game. PS4
Hardcore Gamer - Jordan Helm 90 ~ 4.5 / 5 Aside from the most nitpicking of complaints, Yakuza 6 is but another declaration to the well-documented notion that Sega's decade-long series remains one of the finest, most consistent outings in the medium. PS4
EGM - Mollie L Patterson 90 ~ 9 / 10 It's taken me a long time to experience the Yakuza series, but Yakuza 6 makes me so thankful that I finally have. The insurmountable badass Kazuma Kiryu is surrounded by a fantastic cast of characters and some gripping drama—it's just a shame that the "game" portion of this video game isn't quite what it could be. Still, this is a superb adventure from beginning to end, and further proof of the magic that Japanese developers can weave when they put their minds to it. PS4
Game Revolution - Jason Faulkner 90 ~ 4.5 / 5 stars If you've played Yakuza in the past, I think you'll get a tremendous amount of enjoyment out of this game. If you haven't, do yourself a favor and grab Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami and play through both of them, then grab Yakuza 6 when it comes out. PS4
Gameblog - Rudy Jean-François - French 90 ~ 9 / 10 We could not have thought of a better way to end Kiryu Kazuma's adventures. More than a simple GTA clone, Yakuza 6 is a generous game which will provide you with hundred hours of an amazing gaming experience. You will never be bored with the never ending amount of content available in this game. Moreover, Japanese culture enthusiasts will have a great time hanging out in a very well modelized versions of Hiroshima and Kabukicho. A must have! PS4
GameMAG - xtr - Russian 90 ~ 9 / 10 Yakuza 6: Song of Life is a very deep and exciting game with a great sense of humor and strange, but fun side quests. Fans for sure won't be disappointed. PS4
TrustedReviews - Jordan King 90 ~ 4.5 / 5 stars Yakuza 6: The Song of Life is a wonderful crime thriller that embraces everything that made the series great, refining it further with new technology – it blew me away. I’m not ashamed to say that the closing minutes of Kazuma Kiryu’s final chapter brought me to tears, acting as the culmination of a story in which I’ve lost myself for more than a decade. Don’t let this legacy dissuade you, though. Yakuza 6 is perfectly suited for newcomers thanks to its excellent reminisce feature alongside combat and exploration that’s easily the series’ best yet. Combine this with a deep, engaging story and Yakuza 6 offers an experience I can’t recommend enough. PS4
Push Square - Robert Ramsey 90 ~ 9 / 10 Yakuza 6: The Song of Life tells a truly gripping tale – a story that blows most games out of the water. Combine that with a refined combat system and a new engine capable of making the game's world feel more alive than ever, and you've got a stellar Yakuza title. Although the experience does feel a little stunted in places outside of the main plot, this is still a fitting final chapter. Yakuza 6 is a gloriously dramatic send off for one of the greatest characters in modern gaming. PS4
Gamers Heroes - Captain Camper 90 ~ 9 / 10 Yakuza 6: The Song of Life builds on every asset of the franchise, and improves it without sacrificing the games character and individuality. Whether you’re a first-time player or a long-time veteran, Yakuza 6: The Song of Life is arguably the greatest Yakuza game to date. PS4
GamesRadar+ - Alex Avard 90 ~ 4.5 / 5 stars A touching finale for Kazuma Kiryu, Yakuza 6 manages to surprise and delight in equal measure. PS4
Gadgets 360 - Rishi Alwani 90 ~ 9 / 10 All in all, thanks to its fantastic story, memorable cast, and more than competent gameplay, Yakuza 6 is an apt send off for the hero of one of the more criminally underrated franchises. PS4
GearNuke - Khurram Imtiaz 90 ~ 9 / 10 Yakuza 6: The Song of Life is a good example of how to handle a series with multiple sequels. It builds on its strength to offer a satisfying conclusion to the story of Kazuma Kiryu. PS4
God is a Geek - Chris White 90 ~ 9 / 10 Yakuza 6 is a fitting end to a great saga, with fantastic combat and lots to do outside the main story PS4
Backlog Critic - Jonathan Lightwood 90 ~ 9 / 10 Sega have crafted an experience that rarely falters, whether in regards to its story, its characters or its gameplay. This isn’t just a brilliant Yakuza game. Yakuza 6: The Song of Life is a superb game in its own right, and may very well be an early contender for the best of 2018. PS4
Quillstreak - Jordan Oloman 89 ~ 89 / 100 Overall, Yakuza 6: The Song Of Life is a feature-length absurdity-laden romp that is the perfect silly antidote for first-timers and a pleasing development of the series for fans. With a multitude of systems, meaningful progression and side quests to fill your boots with, you will struggle to get bored and always find yourself craving your next knockout fix. PS4
Gaming Nexus - Eric Hauter 88 ~ 8.8 / 10 Yakuza 6: The Song of Life wraps up the story of Kazuma Kiryu with the same sense of style and attention to quality the series has always maintained. By alternating erratically between deadly serious crime stories, and wildly goofball side activities, Yakuza strikes an entertaining sweet spot that few other series manage. Players should set aside a lot of time before engaging with Yakuza, because like the mob, this is a game that will keep pulling you back in. PS4
Gaming Gamma - Gaming Gamma 88 ~ 8.8 / 10 Yakuza 6 is easily the most immersive video game I have ever played, and is just a lot of fun. The amount of times I couldn't help but smile while playing this game is a testament to the fact of how much I enjoyed myself. While the game does has its flaws, SEGA has once again delivered a fantastic game that is easily one of the best games currently out this year. PS4
DualShockers - Giuseppe Nelva 85 ~ 8.5 / 10 Ultimately, it's a great sendoff for one of the best characters of the history of Japanese games (and of gaming as a whole), and while Kazuma Kiryu isn't going to disappear due to the upcoming remake, I can definitely say that I'm going to miss my stern and stoic best friend with a heart of gold. PS4
Polygon - Jeffrey Parkin 85 ~ 8.5 / 10 Even with my criticisms of the admittedly optional and inconsequential aspects of the game, Yakuza 6 succeeds because its core story is so compelling. PS4
Easy Allies - Michael Huber 85 ~ 8.5 / 10 Yakuza 6 is undeniably one of the best entries in the long-running series. Memorable side quests and engaging mini-games offer countless diversions and emotional encounters. The combat becomes routine, but the personal struggle of Kazuma Kiryu brings a satisfying and remarkable conclusion for the legendary Dragon of Dojima. Written PS4
IGN Italy - Francesco Destri - Italian 85 ~ 8.5 / 10 Yakuza 6 does not invent anything new compared to the past and the lack of many iconic characters of the saga shouldn't be understimated, but despite this the final chapter of Kazuma Kiryu's adventures remains one of the best Yakuza ever. PS4
The Games Machine - Mirko Marangon - Italian 85 ~ 8.5 / 10 Like its predecessors, Yakuza 6 is a beautiful, engaging and deep title. Nonetheless, after seven main chapters, countless spin-offs, remastered versions and remakes, a slight whiff of deja vu is almost inescapable. Having said that, The Song of Life is a great conclusion for an unforgettable saga. PS4
IGN Spain - Javi Andrés - Spanish 85 ~ 8.5 / 10 The Yakuza series is held again in its 3 main pillars in this The Song of Life: many activities and mini-games, deep combats, and a wonderful storytelling that ends the era of Kazuma Kyriu and it serves to draw the new horizon towards where Sega goes to. PS4
GamingTrend - Patrick Rost 85 ~ 85 / 100 Yakuza 6: The Song of Life is a beautiful game, plays smooth, and has a story that is genuinely compelling and driven by top notch dialogue and dynamic characters. The fighting is complex but easy to learn, and the game provides tons of great content in the form of mini-games, town exploration, and side storylines. There is lots to look at and take in as you play, and the game packs a lot of good into a nearly flawless package. PS4
RPG Fan - Robert Steinman 85 ~ 85 / 100 Yakuza 6 keeps the focus on what's important and also shows a lot of great potential for what's to come next. PS4
Sirus Gaming - Gareth Newnham 85 ~ 8.5 / 10 It’s a new era for Yakuza, both in game and out. Yakuza 6; The Song of Life may not be the grandiose send-off that some fans may have wanted, but it’s a fitting conclusion to Kiryu’s story and thanks to the new engine one that not only makes old favourites feel new again but make me look forward to the future. PS4
GBAtemp - Krista Noren 83 ~ 8.3 / 10 Yakuza 6 is a wonderful, heartfelt conclusion to Kiryu's story, offering a hilariously fun and unique experience for both long-time fans and newcomers. While this isn't the best entry in the series, it's still an incredibly solid title that anyone with a PlayStation 4 should pick up. PS4
COGconnected - Patrick Anderson 82 ~ 82 / 100 This may be the Dragon of Dojima’s last kick at the franchise, but he leaves on a high note that will satisfy the yakuza in all of us. PS4
Worth Playing - Chris "Atom" DeAngelus 80 ~ 8 / 10 Yakuza 6 is a solid entry in the franchise. It's carried by a strong story and excellent visuals that make up for the fact that it's a fairly bare-bones Yakuza title that has less content than other titles in the series. Fans of the franchise should find a lot to like in Yakuza 6. It's not the best entry for a newcomer due to it being the end of Kiryu's story, but it's a solid and enjoyable game. PS4
USgamer - Mike Williams 80 ~ 4 / 5 stars Yakuza 6: The Song of Life might be the end of Kazuma Kiryu's story, but it represents a new step in the series. PS4
GameSpot - Edmond Tran 80 ~ 8 / 10 Exciting changes to combat and an endearing narrative see the final chapter in Kazuma Kiryu's decade-long saga refine what has made the series great. PS4
Gameplanet - Ben Wilson 80 ~ 8 / 10 Yakuza 6 delivers the series' signature poignant story, and is probably the best Yakuza has been narrative and production-wise. However, the game's trademark diversions have been trimmed back. PS4
RPG Site - Kazuma Hashimoto 80 ~ 8 / 10 In the end, I found my experience with Yakuza 6: The Song of Life to be incredibly satisfying when everything came together. The final chapter in the story of the Dragon of Dojima was a compelling experience and remained just that even a year after the original release. Yakuza 6: The Song of Life has an incredibly bittersweet ending, and the narrative twists and turns that brought me there, left me feeling satisfied with the close of Kazuma Kiryu’s story. PS4
The Game Fanatics - Tyler Chancey 80 ~ 8 / 10 Yakuza 6: The Song of Life has a formula that works and sticks to it. The main adventure can be completed in about twenty hours. Both Kamurocho and Onomichi pulls you in with such distinct and eye-catching content. And while the developers go right up to the line with it, how they treat Kazuma Kiryu’s departure from the series is treated with just enough ceremony and dignity to be an event for fans that stuck with him since the beginning. If you can groove on a game that takes its time with cutscenes and characters, ignore some subpar visuals in some spots, and have a love for gangland crime thrillers mixed with high-octane martial arts madness, this is the game for you. PS4
Spaziogames - Jgor Masera - Italian 80 ~ 8 / 10 The story, contents and gameplay are unquestionably of a good standard, but it was not what we wanted from the final game of Kiryu Kazuma, who we were so fond of during these 12 years. PS4
Rice Digital - Opale 80 ~ 4 / 5 stars Overall, this sixth episode is a nice conclusion for Kiryu storywise, but I felt many things were lacking in gameplay compared to Yakuza 0: lifeless face expressions, less variety of combos and fighting styles, fewer mini-games, and so on. On the other hand, seamless battles and exploration are welcome changes in the series. PS4
Guardian - Chris Schilling 80 ~ 4 / 5 stars Kazuma Kiryu's final outing is an emotionally charged tale of familial bonds and the violence that threatens to rip them asunder. PS4
VideoGamer - Colm Ahern 80 ~ 8 / 10 Fighting and exploring is more free than ever, and the story, while wanting in certain areas, introduces a few great characters. Some activities and side missions lack a punch, but how many games do you get to wear a giant orange on your head? PS4
Cerealkillerz - Daniel Schwab - German 80 ~ 8 / 10 Yakuza 6: The Song of Life convinces with excellent storytelling while staying true to the Yakuza-formula which worked well in the past. While repetitive combat prevents it from being one of the greats, it is still a definite recommendation for action-adventure fans and players who enjoyed the previous titles in the franchise. PS4
GamesBeat - Stephanie Chan 75 ~ 75 / 100 Yakuza 6 has an ambitious narrative, alternating between lighthearted and dramatic. Unfortunately, it doesn't give its characters enough love and care to truly pull off the pathos. But its sense of humor is impeccable. Its protagonist is lovable. And Sega has created a world with plenty to do. PS4
TechRaptor - Georgina Young 75 ~ 7.5 / 10 Yakuza 6 is a great game because it's a Yakuza game, but it's not a great Yakuza game. It still has the great brawler action the series is known for, and a tight put together story. However, the tightening of the narrative in no ways makes up for all the great things I missed out on from the previous game. PS4
IGN - Tristan Ogilvie 75 ~ 7.5 / 10 Yakuza 6: The Song of Life presents the most detailed virtual chunk of Japan the series has managed to date, and its story provides a satisfying end to the Kizama Kiryu saga. However, as far as gameplay goes, Yakuza 6 doesn't make enough of an effort to break new ground, making it weaker overall than last year's Yakuza Zero. PS4
Stevivor - Matt Gosper 75 ~ 7.5 / 10 All in all, this is a Yakuza game – and while that may seem like a trueism, it holds up. PS4
Attack of the Fanboy - Jelani James 70 ~ 3.5 / 5 stars Yakuza 6: The Song of Life brings a satisfying end to Kazuma Kiryu's story, but it's not quite the send off I expected. Between its convoluted systems and cut content, it didn't feel like the saga ended with a roar, but with a whimper. PS4
Destructoid - Peter Glagowski 70 ~ 7 / 10 Given more development time, this could have been the definitive entry in the series, but what we're left with is good enough. Hopefully Kiwami 2 can make some necessary improvements, because the groundwork set by the Dragon Engine is just awesome. PS4
Metro GameCentral - GameCentral 70 ~ 7 / 10 A slightly underwhelming end to the legend of Kazuma Kiryu, but the changes in gameplay and graphics do hold a lot of promise for the future. PS4
Slant Magazine - Steven Scaife 60 ~ 6 / 10 Yakuza 6 isn't just billed as running on a new engine; it's also meant to be Kiryu's last starring role. Sega is clearly trying to capitalize on last year's newcomer-friendly prequel and remake to sell this newest installment, hoping that the franchise will get a serious foothold in the West. In many ways, the game is a transition. But despite maintaining the endearing parts of the franchise that make it so refreshing amid a glut of solipsistic sandboxes, Yakuza 6's many concessions show that it isn't an entirely comfortable one. PS4
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yakuza 0 chapter 3 smooth criminal video

How to unlock the Smooth Criminal achievement in Yakuza 0: Successfully negotiate ideal terms with Yamagata. This achievement is worth 15 Gamerscore. Yakuza 0 Wiki Guide; Things Yakuza 0 Doesn't Tell You; Walkthrough; Walkthrough; Chapter 1: Bound by Oath; Chapter 2: The Real Estate Broker in the Shadows; Chapter 3: A Gilded Cage; Chapter 4 ... How to unlock the Smooth Criminal achievement in Yakuza 0 (Win 10): Successfully negotiate ideal terms with Yamagata. This achievement is worth 15 Gamerscore. Welcome to IGN's Walkthrough for Yakuza 0, continuing with Chapter 3: A Gilded Cage. In this chapter, you play as Goro Majima. This guide will help you For Yakuza 0 on the PlayStation 4, a GameFAQs message board topic titled "How to get 'Smooth Criminal' trophy?". Chapter 2 Rich Taste During Chapter 2 you'll have to buy some booze for a group of homeless men, one of them will ask for Champage. Go to Don Quijote and purchase the Gold Champage worth 20k yen and give it to the homeless man. Chapter 3 Smooth Criminal In Chapter 3 you'll need to get info on another Cabaret Club for story reasons. There are many different trophies and achievements that you can unlock within (Y0) Yakuza Zero, two of which are Smooth Criminal and Rich Taste Smooth Criminal requires players to Successfully negotiate ideal terms with Yamagata .Whilst Rich Taste requires players to Treat a homeless man to a ¥20,000 bottle of booze.. Both of them are story related and thus missable. How to unlock the Smooth Criminal trophy in Yakuza 0: Successfully negotiate ideal terms with Yamagata. This is a Bronze trophy. ... The trap here is that the game prompts you to save at the end of chapter 3, and if you overwrite your save, you won't be able to retry if the trophy doesn't pop without starting a new game. Chapter 3: Smooth Criminal In Chapter 3 you’ll need to get info on another Cabaret Club for story reasons. Do not enter the cabaret club immeditalely, there will be 3 NPCs you need to talk to for info, one is on the left bridge, another on intersection south of the right bridge and lastly one south of the club near the save point and taxi. Easy "Smooth Criminal" Achievement or Trophy Guide. In Chapter 3, you will be asked to head to the Odyssey to prepare for making some negotiations with the manager, Yamagata. Majima will getting some intel before talking to him.

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yakuza 0 chapter 3 smooth criminal

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