WATCH DOGS 2

The Watch Dogs franchise obviously has its own unique DNA with its pseudo-cyberpunk trappings and its hacking-centric gameplay mechanics, but there’s still a lot of GTA in Ubisoft’s franchise, and no game captures that better than Watch Dogs 2. If what you’re looking for is a large open world sandbox where you can have all kinds of chaotic (and criminal) fun with solidly implemented mechanics, in addition to a healthy dose of GTA-esque missions and side activities, Watch Dogs 2 offers that in spades.

SAINTS ROW 4

By the time the Saints Row franchise got to its fourth instalment, it had moved quite far away from how similar it used to be to the Grand Theft Auto games in its earlier days, and though that’s a stick that’s often used to beat Saints Row 4 with, on its own merits, as an open world crime action game, there’s a lot to love about it. From the bombastic, over-the-top mechanics that the game arms you with to wreak havoc with in the world to just how fun it is to simply explore the sandbox and mess about with its systems, Saints Row 4 offers a solid dose of open world action.

RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2

Let’s get to some of the painfully obvious picks now, because even though they’re obvious they’re well worth mentioning. Rockstar’s very own Red Dead Redemption 2 is, in fact, by far the best game on this list. Owing to its period setting, its more somber tone, and the added focus on character-driven storytelling, Red Dead 2 is obviously quite different from GTA in some key ways- but it’s a Rockstar open world. The sheer size of the map, the astounding variety and attention to detail it exhibits in spite of how large it is, the spectacularly designed content it’s brimming with, the complex web of systems that make the sandbox an infinitely enjoyable one- all of the hallmark Rockstar qualities you’d want in an open world game, Red Dead Redemption 2 delivers in extreme abundance.

GRAND THEFT AUTO 4

You don’t need us to tell you that you should be playing GTA 5 to scratch your GTA itch. More than a decade on from its launch, people can’t stop buying and playing it. That does mean, however, that some of its predecessors don’t get the retrospective attention that they deserve. Grand Theft Auto 4, for instance, has aged remarkably well. Not only does it have one of the strongest stories in the entire series, its open world is also one of the best-designed and most intricately detailed ones even today, so long after the game first came out. Do yourselves a favour and hop back into GTA 4, because it’s an absolute classic.

YAKUZA 5

Yakuza and Grand Theft Auto games might not be as similar as many often perceive them as, but particularly where Yakuza 5 is concerned, there’s a lot of GTA DNA in it. It is, for starters, one of the series’ larger games where pure real estate is concerned, while similar to GTA, it also offers a smattering of excellently designed side content that you can pour countless hours into. On top of that, you obviously have plenty of opportunities to commit outrageous crimes throughout the game’s world, and there are also multiple protagonists to play as, similar to GTA 5 (though that’s the case in several other Yakuza games as well, to be fair).

MAFIA: DEFINITIVE EDITION

2K’s Mafia franchise doesn’t put as much stock into the open world sandbox aspect of its experience as something like GTA does, instead putting the vast majority of its focus on storytelling. But even so, if you want to run and drive around an intricately crafted real-world (or real-world adjacent) city as a hardened criminal, Mafia: Definitive Edition is a game that’s likely to appeal to you. On top of that, it adds extra flavour of its own with an incredibly authentic and atmospheric period setting, allowing it to stand out in what’s clearly quite a crowded category.

FAR CRY 6

The Far Cry and GTA franchises have often had very similar sensibilities, in spite of how outwardly different they tend to be, and that’s abundantly evident in Far Cry 6 as well. Yes, having an open world that’s mostly wilderness and rural areas does give it a different flavour from Rockstar’s franchise (though Far Cry 6 does have way more urban environments than any of its predecessors), but from the systemic nature of its open world mechanics to the driving to so much more, Far Cry 6 does owe a lot of itself to GTA. 

GHOST RECON WILDLANDS

You might stand on the opposite sides of law in Ghost Recon Wildlands and Grand Theft Auto, but the former still borrows liberally from the latter in several respects. On top of offering a massive, systemic open world featuring third person shooter combat, Ghost Recon Wildlands is also a great game for someone who simply wants to get behind the wheel in a vehicle and cruise around the open world. And of course, it becomes doubly enjoyable if you’re doing all of that stuff in co-op.

JUST CAUSE 4

The Just Cause franchise has always been famous for its unique brand of open world chaos, and there’s plenty of that to go around in Just Cause 4 as well. Though the game is not without its issues in some key departments (like its storytelling and many of its bland missions), the actual sandbox itself is an absolute blast to exist in. From the explosive combat to the riotously fun wingsuit and grappling hook loop to the addition of extreme weather, Just Cause 4’s open world is brimming with opportunities to have fun of your own making.

CYBERPUNK 2077

Until quite recently, Cyberpunk 2077’s attempts to inject its open world with elements similar to the Grand Theft Auto games were unsuccessful ones, to say the least, but in the wake of Update 2.0 and Phantom Liberty, that’s certainly no longer the case. The open world is alive and buzzing, and the game does an excellent job of immersing you in its dense metropolis. From driving around in your vehicles to engaging in a variety of side activities to committing crimes to your heart’s content and wrangling with the cops, Cyberpunk 2077 and Phantom Liberty are the closest we’ve ever come to a futuristic take on GTA.

Battle for Helm’s Deep – The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

One of the most important battles in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, the Battle for Helm’s Deep is arguably the best in the films. Despite running on sixth-gen console hardware, the video game adaptation captured the desperation of fighting hordes of Uruk Hai, pushing ladders off the keep’s walls, and meeting them at the breached wall to stop their advance. The fight spills over into the courtyard, with a somewhat awkward but cinematic view.

Bloodborne

Let’s get the most obvious one out of the way first. FromSoftware is one of the best when it comes to offering a great new game+ experience, so much so that many consider it to be the actual game. Once you defeat the final boss and unlock any of the available endings, you can start a new game + which retains your stats, weapons, and most items. And in turn, the enemies have more health, the bosses are more challenging, and shop prices are higher. In short, a re-run across this game’s desolate landscapes remains challenging a second time through – and is a perfect option for those who want to remain in the Hunter’s Dream for a while longer.

Parliament Of Serbia in Belgrade – Half-Life 2

City 17’s European-inspired architecture and aesthetics are fairly easy to recognize, though the Overwatch Nexus is perhaps the closest to being based on an actual building. As the main building for the Overwatch forces, the Nexus was formerly a political building before the Combine invaded. It turns out that it’s actually inspired by the Parliament of Serbia in Belgrade. The similarities between the two buildings, from their general structure to the opening archway are noteworthy, though the signature dome isn’t as defined on the Nexus. Though it’s not outright confirmed in-game, browsing through the texture files reveals the word “parliament” which further hints at the inspiration.

Thus, Yakuza 3, 4, and 5 were remastered and launched for the PS4 last year; and now, to complete Kiryu’s story for the new audience the franchise found on platforms beyond PC, those games have also launched on Xbox and PC, finally allowing players on those systems to experience almost the entirety of the Yakuza saga on their platform of choice.

The Xbox and PC versions are pretty much the same deal as the PS4 remasters that were launched almost twelve months ago. All three games have been given minor facelifts, localization has been redone to remove some problematic or objectionable content, cut content has been restored, but all of that aside, these games are pretty much left untouched. There aren’t any new content or narrative changes or introductions like in the Kiwami games, and even in spite of graphical facelifts, these games look like a fair step back from Yakuza 7 or Kiwami 2 – because, obviously, they are.

"Thanks to the series’ rather simple but clean art style, as well as the fact that most Yakuza games are decidedly mid-budget affairs, if that, these three games, after their remastering, don’t look too far off from something like Yakuza 0."

Thanks to the series’ rather simple but clean art style, as well as the fact that most Yakuza games are decidedly mid-budget affairs, if that, these three games, after their remastering, don’t look too far off from something like Yakuza 0. Yakuza 3, which is the oldest of the package, is the one that stands out the most, largely because of how relatively empty its environments look, how stiff the animations are, and how straight and angular its architecture can be. Yakuza 4 looks like a significant step up over 3, and by the time we hit Yakuza 5, you could mistake it for Yakuza 0 running at lower graphical settings, at least at a glance. Graphically, these games won’t take too long to adjust to if you’re coming to them for the first time after having played the modern titles.

However, ultimately, Yakuza fans rarely play these games for their production values. Yakuza’s fandom has always come down to the games’ fantastic characters, soap opera style over the top crime drama stories, great locations that cater to a unique form of virtual tourism for fans of Japanese culture, their heartwarming sidequests and addictive minigames, and, until Yakuza 7, their unique brawler meets action RPG style gameplay.

All of that’s available here, delivering unto fans exactly what they want, with Yakuza 5, especially, representing the zenith of the formula with five distinct playable protagonists, each with their own moveset and playstyle, and five locations within it. Its story, though suffering somewhat from having to justify the contrivances necessary to get Kiryu involved in the Japanese criminal underworld again, is pretty damn fun to follow, and it has arguably the most distinct and impressive production values in the series to date, with a very unique and downplayed cinematography and storytelling style that still manages to hold true to the over the top spirit of the franchise.

"Yakuza 4, naturally, occupies the middle space. It’s not quite as modern or fluid feeling as Yakuza 5, but it’s a significant improvement over Yakuza 3, and feels closer to the former than the latter in all honesty."

Yakuza 5, which is also running on the same engine as Yakuza 0 and Kiwami, also feels the most satisfying to play, with the combat packing a visceral punch and the animations fluid and brutal.

Yakuza 3 lies on the other end of the spectrum. In terms of narrative setup, while it occupies an important niche in the series’ history, actually playing it can be an exercise in frustration. Even back when it first launched, Yakuza 3 felt a bit behind the times, and today, especially, its extremely stiff combat and awkward controls lead to extremely jerky and unsatisfying combat, which, coupled with the distinctly low budget animations for things such as the Heat finisher moves, deflates the whole experience significantly. Yakuza fans will probably still enjoy Yakuza 3, and want to see it through to the end, especially since it’s a leaner experience than most other games in the series, and its narrative significance – but honestly, this is the one game in the package that would have been better off getting the Kiwami treatment.

Yakuza 4, naturally, occupies the middle space. It’s not quite as modern or fluid feeling as Yakuza 5, but it’s a significant improvement over Yakuza 3, and feels closer to the former than the latter in all honesty. Combat, while still not quite matching the standards of 5, still manages to flesh out four distinct characters, all of which play differently, and controls are a mercifully needed upgrade over 3 as well.

Unlike Yakuza 3, the environments here also feel far more organic and densely populated, which goes a long way in selling what is arguably the series’ strongest selling point, which is its sense of place and virtual tourism.

"While for completion’s sake, dedicated fans will probably want to play through the entire series, if you are not quite sure you have the patience to go through three fairly long and similar games, Yakuza 5 is the one you should focus on."

While for completion’s sake, dedicated fans will probably want to play through the entire series, if you are not quite sure you have the patience to go through three fairly long and similar games, Yakuza 5 is the one you should focus on. It has the best story, the best combat, a frankly ridiculous amount of content, and it also feels modern enough to lack a lot of the jank that is otherwise endemic to the older games in the franchise.

The good news is that the three games are also available individually – so if you only want to play, say, Yakuza 4, and not the other two, you’re not locked into having to spend money on two other games you’re not interested in playing as well. While Sega has made many questionable decisions in its handling of the Yakuza franchise in the west, this at least is a pretty smart decision, which makes any of these three games far easier to recommend than they would have been otherwise.

In the end, if you have never played Yakuza, and want to start out, I would recommend none of these three games as your first one – Yakuza 0 or Like A Dragon are much better entry points (and much better games overall, in general). However, for fans who have been waiting to see all of Kiryu Kazuma’s story, Yakuza 3, 4, and 5 Remastered do a fine enough job of making these long overlooked installments accessible and available to a wider, modern audience.

This game was reviewed on Xbox One.

Along with updated lifetime sales numbers for Persona and Shin Megami Tensei, Sega Sammy also revealed that the Yakuza series hit 14 million sales in its lifetime. The company noted that the series was “highly evaluated by overseas users.” However, Sega feels that it’s still a niche series meant for a select market of players.

Thus, the current strategy going forward is to release for multiple platforms and services worldwide, with the PC platform playing a big part. This can be seen in the release of Yakuza: Like a Dragon which launched earlier this month for Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One and PC. Whether we can expect future titles to follow suit remains to be seen.

For that matter, it’s unknown whether Yakuza 3 to 5 and Yakuza 6: The Song of Life will be coming to PC or Xbox platforms in the near future. Ryu ga Gotoku Studio will host a livestream event on December 8th with announcements for “future developments” so we could receive more details there. Stay tuned in the meantime and check out our review of Yakuza: Like a Dragon here.

The Yakuza series backlog is slowly making its way to the PlayStation 4, with remakes of the first two games having released on the system and remasters of Yakuza 3-5 either announced or released. Yakuza 5 Remaster comes out this June in Japan, and today Sega released several screenshots to show off the game, many highlighting the series’ offbeat minigames and the day-to-day lives of the characters.

The screens highlight some of the more mundane things the cast get caught up in, namely getting stuck in a taxi job and having to do fares, as well as some batting practice. It gets a bit more wild though, with pop idol minigames that include karaoke and dance-offs, and fighting bears in the deep forest. The series director says he wants to take the series in a different direction for the future, but you can revisit some of its past with these screenshots in the gallery below.

Yakuza 5 releases on June 20^th for PlayStation 4 in Japan. As of now, there’s no western release date announced.

After announcing its Japanese release date yesterday, Sega has released the first gameplay trailer for Yakuza 5 on PS4. Check it out below and bask in the admittedly improved textures and resolution. The official Japanese website is also live for those interested.

Yakuza 5 is coming to PS4 in Japan on June 20th. It sees Kazuma Kiryu, everyone’s favourite gangster, dragged into conflict once more. However, this sequel features five playable characters (including Haruka Sawamura, Kiryu’s adopted daughter) and five locations. The remaster will feature the standard array of sub-stories, but also offers “Another Drama”, a collection of side-stories that focus on the various protagonists.

Over 30 minigames and improvements over the original, including a better frame rate, also await. Yakuza 5 isn’t currently slated to release in the West, but given the success of recent titles like Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, it seems inevitable. Sega has also recently confirmed the next major Yakuza title for PS4 with Ichiban Kasuga as the protagonist. No release date or official name have been provided yet though.

Yakuza 5 will be hitting the PS4 in Japan on June 20^th, according to the most recent issue of Weekly Famitsu (via Ryokutya 2089). It features Kazuma Kiryu once again, but throws in four additional protagonists to control and five locations – Tokyo, Osaka, Hakata, Nagoya, and Sapporo – to explore. This is in addition to an improved resolution and frame rate.

Other new additions include an “enhanced” battle system to allow for moving between Adventure and Combat modes seamlessly. Nightclub interactions have also been enhanced, and there are more than 30 mini-games to experience. “Another Drama” is also included, which contains sub-plots for each protagonist, developing their stories further.

Though there’s no word on a Western release date, an announcement isn’t completely out of the question. Sega was planning to release Judgment, a spin-off to the Yakuza series, in the West on June 25^th. However, sales for the game were suspended in Japan following the arrest of actor Pierre Taki in a drug bust. A Western release is uncertain as a result, but Yakuza producer Daisuke Sato has committed to making “the game rise back again.”

Characters Modeled After Real Actors

Getting the likenesses right for a group of bad-asses like the Yakuza cast isn’t easy. However, it’s interesting to note how many of the characters are modeled after and voiced by well-known Japanese actors. Takeshi Kitano, for instance, serves as the template and voice for Toru in Yakuza 6: The Song of Life. Meanwhile, Riki Takeuchi lends his face and voice to Daiki Awano in Yakuza 0.