On March 24th, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth will finally be added to the service for Ultimate, Premium and PC subscribers. Guard Crush Games’ Absolum follows on March 25th, which also marks the acclaimed rogue-lite beat ’em up’s debut on Xbox Series X/S.

Nova Roma, a city-building title from Lion Shield, will premiere in Game Preview for Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers, coinciding with its early access release. Survival crafting fans can look forward to The Long Dark becoming available on March 30th for Premium, PC, and Ultimate. Finally, Resident Evil 7: biohazard will be playable on March 31st, joining the Resident Evil Village.

But wait, there’s more. Barbie Horse Trails kicks off next month alongside Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the latter finally available to Premium subscribers. If that wasn’t enough, Square Enix’s march to include every single mainline Final Fantasy title on Game Pass seemingly continues with Final Fantasy 4 on April 7th.

Surprisingly, only two games will be leaving the service on March 31st. Check them out below:

• Peppa Pig World Adventures (Cloud, Console, PC)
• Mad Streets (Cloud, Console, PC)

The other major addition is Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, the last mainline title in the franchise, which further embraced the turn-based combat introduced in Yakuza: Like a Dragon. Other notable additions include A Little to the Left, art of rally, Expeditions: A MudRunner Game, The Exit 8, and Darkest Dungeon 2 – all playable on PS5 and PS4.

Meanwhile, A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead is exclusive to PS5 players. Though not the best survival horror/stealth title by any means, it could be a worthwhile experience for those who like the movies. Meanwhile, Premium subscribers, only one PlayStation Classic is coming – Ridge Racer, playable on PS5 and PS4.

It features all the usual classic features, including quick save, rewind, up-rendering, and custom filters. And really, what more can you say, other than it’s Ridge Racer? Whether you’re playing through Time Trials or battling it out against the AI in, well, Battle Mode, it’s the classic arcade racing experience that you (hopefully) know and love.

This follows its addition to Game Pass Ultimate, Premium and PC on January 20th, so you can likely expect it to go live on the same day. With Resident Evil Requiem launching on February 27th, it’s the perfect time to catch up on the series, even if it’s more about revisiting the tragedy of Raccoon City than the Winters family.

PS Plus is also one-upping Game Pass by allegedly including Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. As you may recall, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio said there were no plans to add it to Microsoft’s subscription service. It seemingly has no issues adding it to Sony’s, though. Both titles will reportedly be available for PS4 and PS5.

Of course, that’s not all. You can also apparently expect Expeditions: A MudRunner Game, The Exit 8 and art of rally for the same platforms as well. Meanwhile, PS5 players gain exclusive access to A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead. The official announcement will apparently go live in a few hours, so stay tuned for updates.

As the series has often been known to do in the past, Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii will be taking many of assets and foundational elements of last year’s Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth and remixing them and blending them with new ideas of its own, hopefully to create something fresh, unique, and equally enjoyable. As you’d expect, that’ll mean plenty of familiar elements in Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii for those who’ve played Infinite Wealth– but at the same time, there’s also plenty that’s going to be different. The latter is what we’re going to focus on now- and there’s quite a bit to talk about.

PROTAGONIST

Let’s start off with the basics- the Like a Dragon series has cultivated a rich and diverse cast of beloved characters by now, but who’re we playing as this time? Primetime good guys Ichiban Kasuga and Kazuma Kiryu took centerstage in Infinite Wealth, but this time, another beloved fan favourite is stepping forward into the limelight in the form of Goro Majima. The Mad Dog of of Shimano did have a role to play in last year’s game, yes, but it’s been a while since he has grabbed the spotlight in more prominent fashion, so for series fans, getting a game where he’s the sole protagonist should be nothing short of a treat.

COMBAT

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth followed in Yakuza 7’s footsteps with its turn-based RPG systems, though just like the series’ last spinoff – Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name – the upcoming Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii will be returning to Yakuza’s roots. That means the game will feature real-time brawler combat, and yes, as was usually the case in past Yakuza and Judgment games, players will also have access to multiple combat styles. Between the agile and aggressive Mad Dog style and the fantastical Sea Dog style – which will turn Majima into a full-fledged gun-toting, cutlass-wielding pirate – combat promises to be a colourful affair.

NAVAL SECTIONS

Yes, piracy is the big central throughline in Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, as its name so subtly alludes to. Former Yakuza Majima has turned up in Hawaii with his memory mysteriously wiped, following which he sets off on a swashbuckling pirate adventure on the high seas, in search of a fabled treasure. Ridiculous? Yes. But a) “ridiculous” is kind of this series’ bread and butter, and b) this ridiculous setup will allow players to command their ship on the high sees in naval combat and traversal sections, complete with crew building and ship customization mechanics, on top of other bells and whistles. A little bit of Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag in our Yakuza wasn’t something we ever thought to ask for, but now that we’re getting it, we can’t wait to dive in.

LENGTH

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth was an absolutely monstrous game as far as its size is concerned. Depending on how much you engage with its substantial optional offerings, it can be anywhere between 80 and 120 hours long. Hell, even a rushed playthrough of the game is probably going to take you 50-60 hours. Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is promising to be a much more brief experience, however. Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has said it’s going to be about 1.5 times as long as Like a Dragon Gaiden, which would mean we’re looking at a 15-20 hour game. That’s not exactly a short game, obviously, but by mainline Yakuza standards, it is pretty short- then again, like Gaiden, this isn’t a mainline entry, so there’s that.

SIDE ACTIVITIES

Like a Dragon games are built on the backs of their side activities, and obviously, Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii will have plenty on offer. You can, of course, expect plenty of its roster to overlap with Infinite Wealth, with the likes of Crazy Delivery and karaoke confirmed to be returning, among others. Others, however, will be different. For instance, Dragon Kart, the Mario Kart-like activity introduced in Yakuza 7, sat out Infinite Wealth but is now returning. There’s also a whole suite of naval activities, such as upgrading and customizing Majima’s ship, the Goromaru, and expanding and leveling up his crew.

MAJOR SIDE ACTIVITIES NOT RETURNING

Let’s stick with Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii’s roster of side activities a little longer, because it will differ from Infinite Wealth in a few more key ways in this department. Some of the latter’s most significant side activities aren’t coming back, including the likes of Dondoko Island and Sujimon, as well as activities and mechanics that were related to Infinite Wealth’s RPG mechanics (such as the Ounabara Vocational School, Alo Happy Tours, and what have you).

NEW CHARACTERS

A bajillion games into a franchise, it can be hard to make truly standalone stories, which means Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii will obviously feature its fair share of familiar characters from past Yakuza games, in addition to protagonist Majima himself. Additionally, however, the game will also introduce a vast and varied roster of entirely new faces. Throughout his adventure in Hawaii, Majima will meet a number of new personalities, including treasure hunters, pirates, former yakuza, and more.

NEW LOCATIONS

Like a Dragon games are better than most at reusing locations, which is something that Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii will also be doing, with the entirety of Infinite Wealth’s Honolulu map returning as the main setting. On top of that, however, players can also expect plenty of new locations, including a secret island haven for pirates and criminals known as Madlantis, a secluded location known as Rich Island, and of course, the open seas themselves, where you can sail your ship around and get up to all sorts of trouble.

NEW GAME PLUS

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth made the mistake of locking its New Game Plus mode behind a post-launch paywall, and rightly enough, Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio were called out for it. Thankfully, it looks like lessons have been learned. The publisher and developer have confirmed that Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii’s New Game Plus mode – which is still arriving as a post-launch update – will be free for all players this time.

PRICING

Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio have been explicit in their messaging that Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is very much not a mainline entry, having been developed as a spinoff in the space of less than a year. As such, the shorter game’s pricing is going to reflect the same. Where Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth was the first game that Sega chose to sell at $70, Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is instead going to be sold for a cheaper price of $60. In comparison, 2023’s Like a Dragon Gaiden was $50 at launch.

“You can play through all the [Hawaii] locations that you saw in Infinite Wealth,” said Sakamoto. It is, however, worth noting that Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii will be a smaller-scale game than Infinite Wealth. As such, the number of side activities could be fewer than in the last game.

On the bright side, game director Masayoshi Yokoyama revealed back in December that it’s still a bigger game Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name. This is thanks to the fact that the game will feature quite a few places to visit, and according to Yokoyama, the story will also be that much longer.

Gameplay for Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii was shown off earlier this month, which gave us a look at not only the real-time action combat but also some of the game’s naval combat. When getting into fights, protagonist Goro Majima can use two styles, each with different weapons, including pirate-themed cutlasses and pistols.

When on a ship, however, players will have to manage a crew of over 100 people as they take down enemy ships. Majima’s ship can be equipped with many weapons, ranging from flamethrowers to lasers. Along the way, Majima will have to bond with his crew to get them to perform better in fights.

Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is slated for release on February 21, and will be coming to PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024

Launch issues, Career Mode bugs, performance problems (more so on PC than console) – even with all that in mind, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is a worthwhile new addition to the Xbox library. The sheer range of new aircraft combined with new activities in Career Mode, World Photographer – including walking outside your plane in multiple rich biomes – and additional aircraft systems offer a rich experience. And when it works, there’s nothing quite like soaring the skies and peering down all creation.

While next year looks even more jam-packed with incredible adventures, what are some of the best role-playing games from 2024 that deserve your attention? Join us as we sift through the dozens of choices and present the 20 best RPGs of the year that must be experienced.

Path of Exile 2

For all the complaints against its rewards, end-game, map layouts, etc., Path of Exile 2 is still an incredible action RPG, even in early access. Each class and their Ascendancies presented multiple new options; the Skills are impressive while combat feels visceral; and the bosses present some of the best encounters in the genre. The fact that such a sizable end-game is available right now, complete with pinnacle bosses, is also incredible. Yes, there are plenty of things to improve, but Path of Exile 2 is proving just as addictive as its predecessor and will receive double the amount of content before early access ends.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

After their success, many wondered where BioWare’s next game could venture. Few expected Star Wars; even fewer expected perhaps the best story in the franchise to date with Knights of the Old Republic. As an amnesiac Jedi, players explore well-worn and brand-new locations while becoming reacquainted with the Force. With stellar writing and companions, an excellent combat system, and the alignment system dictating one’s bent towards the Light or Dark side, Knights of the Old Republic is an iconic title for any RPG and Star Wars fan.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: HEART OF CHORNOBYL

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 made grand promises about its size and scope leading up to launch, and it makes good on those promises without a shadow of doubt. Even seeing the main story alone to completion requires a hefty time investment, but if you’re trying to experience every single thing the game has to offer, you’re easily going to clock in at least a hundred hours, if not more.

MICROSOFT FLIGHT SIMULATOR 2024

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is exactly the sort of game for you if you like pouring endless hours into a single game. Like its 2020 predecessor, it lures you in with the promise of a large, authentically recreated digital twin of our planet and flight simulation mechanics, while this time, there’s an even greater amount of content and attention to detail in general to be impressed with. Chances are, if the game gets its hooks in you, you’re going to keep going back to it for some time to come.

LIKE A DRAGON: INFINITE WEALTH

A long Like a Dragon game? Who’d have thunk, eh? Of course, almost dauntingly long runtimes have been a key characteristic of Yakuza games for a long time now, but even by the series’ standards, Infinite Wealth is particularly beefy. Even the quickest of playthrough of this colossal RPG can easily take between 50-60 hours, but players who want to experience everything in the game are easily looking at over a hundred hours.

FINAL FANTASY 7 REBIRTH

“Epic” doesn’t begin to describe the scope of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. Square Enix truly went all out with this game, as illustrated by just how much has been crammed into the experience. This is a massive open world RPG that – if, in addition to the main story, you’re also doing all of the side quests and every single side activity while taking the time to thoroughly explore each map – can keep you glued to your screen for upwards of even 150 hours.

PALWORLD

In its early access form, Palworld isn’t technically a “finished” game, but Pocketpair’s open world survival MMO is still a sizeable game. How sizeable exactly? Well, given its genre, it is designed around being highly replayabe, which gives it an inherent leg up in this area. Though a 30-40 hour playthrough is technically enough to get through the game’s critical path, Palworld has enough meat on its bones to keep you occupied for more than twice as long.

HELLDIVERS 2

The beauty of endlessly playable live service multiplayer games like Helldivers 2 (i.e. the good ones, which is admittedly a bit of a rare breed) is that you can play them almost infinitely. Not literally, maybe, but Arrowhead Game Studios’ co-op shooter is so incredibly well made and boasts such a strong core gameplay loop that many have already clocked an almost unreasonable amount of time into the game since it came out earlier this year.

ONCE HUMAN

Starry Studio’s open world multiplayer survival game Once Human is definitely a flawed piece, with issues such as some tedious mechanics, combat issues, rough storytelling, and more dragging it down. There is, however, plenty to enjoy here as well, and if that stuff does end up grabbing you, the good news for you is that Once Human has no shortage of content to get lost in.

THRONE AND LIBERTY

We’ve mentioned a few multiplayer-centric games here that find different ways to keep players coming back- but that is, of course, baked into the very DNA of an MMORPG. That is admittedly a genre with a historically low hit rate, and though Amazon Games’ Throne and Liberty is far from perfect, it does give players plenty of reasons to keep diving into its fantasy world. Grindiness may be an issue, but at least there’s plenty to do.

TEKKEN 8

A good fighting game has several tricks up its sleeve to keep players glued over a prolonged period of time, and Tekken 8 is one of the very best fighters out there, which means this is the sort of game that you can completely lose yourself to. You can technically see the game through to full completion in under 20 hours, but Tekken 8 delivers one of the most addictive and captivating fighting experiences out there, which means pouring in that amount of time multiple times over is very much conceivable.

DRAGON BALL: SPARKING! ZERO

Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO is a very different kind of fighting game from Tekken 8, but it, too, is not only good enough, but also substantial enough to keep players busy for long stretches. The core mechanics are immaculate, there’s plenty of content on offer, and the roster is stupidly crowded. Dragon Ball fans can spend days upon days just pitting an infinite combination of characters against each other.

RISE OF THE RONIN

Team Ninja’s open world debut did not go as well as many would have hoped, and Rise of the Ronin is certainly nowhere near as good as the Nioh games, but though it’s got its share of rough edges, it’s also undoubtedly a large game. It does suffer from rote and repetitive design, which means not everyone may have the patience for everything that the game encompasses, but given the fact that the combat and traversal mechanics always remain highly enjoyable at their core, spending close to a hundred hours playing Rise of the Ronin might have some appeal.

SATISFACTORY

Over five years in early access had assured many that Satisfactory would be good, and sure enough, it’s good. How good? Well, just its main story alone requires over a hundred hours, while a completionist run is going to take you roughly twice as long. And in spite of those daunting demands, this is still a game that those who’ve played it will heartily will recommend to you. That’s how good Satisfactory is.

DRAGON’S DOGMA 2

Sticking to the critical path to finish the main story will see you putting roughly 25-30 hours into Dragon’s Dogma 2, but honestly, that’s one of the worst possible ways to play this game. Capcom’s open world action RPG constantly begs players to go off the beaten path, mess around with its sandbox systems, follow your curiosity, and be distracted by the abundant optional content on offer. There’s lots to do in Dragon’s Dogma 2, the majority of which is a blast, to the extent that even a comprehensive 100-hour playthrough can pass by in a flash.

ELDEN RING: SHADOW OF THE ERDTREE

From Software has made it a habit of delivering expansive, action RPGs that can keep you busy for long, long stretches, and Elden Ring’s expansion Shadow of the Erdtree doesn’t buck that trend. From a lengthy critical path line to plentiful side content to a number of difficult to find secrets, Shadow of the Erdtree has no shortage of things to do- and thanks to its slick combat, engrossing boss fights, and eye-popping art style, you’re going to have an absolute blast as you’re doing all of it.

GRANBLUE FANTASY: RELINK

Simply playing through its main story is a solid enough way to get a taste of Granblue Fantasy: Relink, but Cygames’ action RPG is at its best when you truly dive into its co-op offerings, optional content, and its sizeable endgame. Repetitive quest design and grindy progression can be grating, but the game’s pros outweigh its cons, which is why so many of its players have happily sunk over a hundred hours into it.

Please note there are major spoilers ahead!

Black Myth Wukong

Developer Game Science produced a great action adventure in the form of Black Myth Wukong, taking the known narrative elements of the classic novel Journey to the West and crafting a thrilling sequence of memorable boss fights one after another. While the narrative beats follow a more traditional approach to storytelling, Black Myth delivers a fitting finale to the entire ordeal with a showdown against the Stone Monkey which is followed by a long sequence that puts an end to the tale of Wukong and his search for the Six Senses. Of course, there are multiple endings involved – but each of them is equally emotional in its own right.