Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth Review-In-Progress - Turned-Based Brilliance

Ryu Ga Gotoku, the studio renowned for the Yakuza series, is gearing up to release its next mainline title, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, on January 26. Despite having a limited window to fully explore the game due to a review copy embargo, my initial 15 hours of gameplay have left me already enjoying this installment more than Yakuza: Like a Dragon, the studio's first venture into a turn-based RPG combat system with a new protagonist.

For those who've played Yakuza: Like a Dragon, diving into Infinite Wealth not only provides more context to the overall story following the 7th mainline entry but also offers a chance to appreciate the improvements made to the turn-based combat system.

Turned-based combat greatly improved

The most striking enhancement so far lies in the turn-based combat. Yakuza: Like a Dragon felt like the studio was navigating unknown territory with its comedic combat, setting the stage for a new era. While the previous game's combat felt fresh, Infinite Wealth doubled down on it, resulting in a more satisfying experience that entices me to charge into battle.

Infinite Wealth's combat introduces a strategic element through positioning. Normal attacks can knock enemies off their feet, damaging others in the process. Each character can now move within a radius, allowing players to strategically position them for added damage. Not only that, allies in the way can also take a hit if the enemies are pushed towards their direction and environmental objects can be used during attacks, adding depth and variety to the combat system.

This simple change in the turn-based system has given more thought to how I approach the combat, making the battle more interesting and fast-paced. It feels more interactive as you can still press a button the moment an enemy attack connects to a character to lessen the damage. Every action in the combat encourages little effort if you want more from the action as even skill still requires you to timely press a specific button or spam to do bigger damage. It feels more fine-tuned now that Yakuza: Like a Dragon will feel a bit outdated if you revisit the game after Infinite Wealth. 

The game so far

The combat so far has been a blast after going past the 15-hour mark, and I’m expecting it will go even deeper as I haven’t even unlocked the ability to change jobs yet. I won’t go into much detail about the game’s story as it is still taking its time to unfold, but I will say that it felt great exploring Hawaii, which felt larger than the usual maps we come to expect from a Yakuza game. 

In the first hours of being in Hawaii, it felt like every corner was designed to introduce the player to a new activity. I’m trying to focus on the story but the game tries hard to keep you distracted as I’ve come across the crazy delivery mini-game, the dating app min-game, and the expansive Sojimon league (pokemon parody). On top of all that, Infinite Wealth is packed with the typical crazy side stories, the typical Yakuza mini-games, and various new side activities. There are so many systems within the game that it’s impressive that the developers were able to jam so much into this game.

What’s impressive is it’s not intimidating as the game is doing a good job so far introducing each system slowly, making it feel like I’m not being bombarded with too much information. With a game this dense, the pacing done here goes a long way but it could change as it honestly feels like I’ve started a game that can easily clock 100 hours if I’m not careful.

Despite its packed content, the game runs smoothly on the PS5, with no frame dips or noticeable bugs. The performance has been consistently strong, and I look forward to discovering more of what the game has to offer.

As this will likely be the first of many entries in my review-in-progress, I can confidently say that Infinite Wealth stands out as a Yakuza game where the initial hours shine across multiple aspects. The story is captivating, the combat is enjoyable and evolves as it deepens, and the game is filled with distractions, each proving to be a blast. While it's premature to recommend the game without experiencing all it has to offer, if you enjoyed the turn-based combat in Yakuza: Like a Dragon, you're bound to appreciate the polish in Infinite Wealth.

This review-in-progress is based on a PS5 code provided by the publisher.

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More insight will be added in this article and will be updated in the future with a final verdict of the game.

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