Game of the Year – Yakuza: Like a Dragon
Diego: I was dead set and ready with my GOTY pick, confident nothing could shake the confidence in my choice until Yakuza: Like A Dragon was tossed onto my lap. Within the first few moments of the game’s opening I was immediately hooked and in love with new franchise protagonist, Ichiban who was a welcomed breath of fresh air. With a drastically new combat system and what’s easily the series’ best balance of serious crime drama with absurdist humor, Like A Dragon takes the franchise in a bold new direction that I’m eager to see more of. If there’s one RPG you make time for, make it Yakuza.
Frank: I stand by that Will and Spencer planned this out. Have the rest of us decided on our GOTY pick, ready to go, and then BOOM drop this on us. I know me, Diego and Joe have spent COUNTLESS hours in our group chats talking about this game, reacting to its various plot points and gameplay mechanics. It took our gaming time nearly over our of nowhere. Full of fantastic Japanese crime drama in the main story, and hilarious side quest writing, Ichiban and the rest of the lovable characters will charm you. Marry that to an awesome RPG combat system, and you have a recipe for success. Without a doubt, the most flawless genre shift i’ve ever seen in a game series 6+ entries in.
Samantha: I haven’t played Yakuza: Like a Dragon yet, but only because I’m slowly working my way through the rest of the series. It’s hard to imagine that a series could so quickly go from something not on my radar at all to one I want to play every entry of, but Yakuza managed it. I’ve fallen in love with this series, and knowing a GOTY pick is waiting for me later down the line just makes me even more excited to continue.
