Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth Review Summary: A Hawaii Yakuza, or Not?

The grand reformation of the Yakuza franchise on PC has been a thing to behold over the past couple of years. From mainline releases all the way to niche offshoots, SEGA and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio have successfully rebranded Yakuza games in the West into Like a Dragon titles, and it has stuck. This all started with Yakuza: Like a Dragon, of course, and its fluffy-haired protagonist Ichiban. The game's direct sequel, Infinite Wealth, builds upon these renewed foundations with gusto. Has it all worked out, though?

Let's circle back to the very start, first. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is the all-new franchise entry that's only just come out today, on January 25, 2024. It is a turn-based action RPG with two main protagonists: Ichiban Kasuga and Kiryu Kazuma as they discover their destinies in Honolulu, Ijincho, and the series mainstay Kamurocho. As the second turn-based Like a Dragon title, and the first

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What do Reviewers Say About Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth?

As ever, our first stop here is to consult the broader Meta/OpenCritic scores before getting into the nitty-gritty of the game itself. It should, perhaps, come as no surprise that Infinite Wealth is scoring some mightily impressive reviews from the very start, with a 'Mighty' OpenCritic rating (duh). More specifically, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth has received a grand total of 80 critic reviews at the time of writing this article, with the aggregate score sitting at 90/100. Further, a whopping 100% of critics recommend the game!

These scores already paint a remarkable picture: what we've got on hand is nothing short of a modern classic, instantly. Naturally, Infinite Wealth isn't a perfect game and, as we're about to learn, it's not even necessarily a good on-boarding point for Yakuza newcomers. It is, however, precisely what the fans want, and precisely what the franchise needed at this point. And, when all is said and done, isn't that the most a game could possibly strive for?

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"...a massive game brimming with things to do and say." - Game Informer

Game Informer's Blake Hester had a remarkably insightful review in mind when writing up Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. "In one of the final moments of Infinite Wealth," Hester writes, "one of the characters falls exhausted into the street, beaten down by everything that just came before. As he does so, he looks satisfied and happy, even though arguably nothing is going right for him at that moment. In a lot of ways, I felt the exact same by the end of the game. I was tired. And yet, I was also ready to see what this crew would get up to next."

Hester scored Infinite Wealth with a remarkable 8.5/10 score, his critiques having to do with some of the game's arguably superfluous side content. "Some of it's pretty dang good," he explained. "I just hope I never have to go back to Dondoko Island ever again."

These were all fairly minor and, heck, even optional tidbits to begin with. Broadly, though, Hester was very fond of his time with the game, explaining that "Some of this is the best work the developer has ever done, a new watermark for the series going forward. And some of it is some of the studio's worst. Like everything in Infinite Wealth, it's complicated."

"The grandest vision for the series to date..." - Digitally Downloaded

For Digitally Downloaded, Infinite Wealth was reviewed by Matt S, and they gave it a 5/5 with only minor qualms to keep in mind. "From a fun riff on Crazy Taxi to the more traditional board and parlour games that appear in all Yakuza titles, it is easy to lose sight of the main narrative by being distracted by so many fun things to do," they said. "Side quests are where so much of the best humour is found, too, so if you’re too focused on the main narrative you’ll miss much of the joy of the game. If only enemy encounters weren’t so frequent and so difficult to avoid."

In closing, Matt explained that Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is "the grandest vision for the series to date." Though the reviewer felt that it may be time for RGG Studio to finally retire Ichiban and Kiryu for the time being, they had no doubts that the developer would "hook us in all over again" no matter what the company does next.

"...addictive, campy, and a game to easily lose oneself in." - RPGamer

"Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is a huge game, and with both Kasuga and Kiryu at the helm, there are a lot of story beats that need connecting and the game does a great job of this," writes Sam Watcher for RPGamer. "After sinking over fifty hours into Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth to get to the story’s end, the game is an easy recommendation. The story is over-the-top bananas in the best way possible, and the twists and turns are definitely gasp-worthy."

Watcher was relatively critical of Infinite Wealth, it's worth highlighting. He disliked the amount of plainly recycled assets that pop up over the course of the game, for example, and the turn-based combat still appears to be having problems with how it handles collisions. Still, players can expect a stellar experience for the most part: "Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is addictive, campy, and a game to easily lose oneself in, " Watcher concludes.

Grab Your Copy of Infinite Wealth Now!

In summary, then, we're looking at the new golden standard of a modern, turn-based Like a Dragon title. Infinite Wealth is essentially an impeccable package that'll easily keep you busy for dozens of hours on end. Though, we'd like to circle back to the Game Informer review, where one of the questions posited in the article was whether Infinite Wealth was a good onboarding experience for franchise newcomers. The answer, sadly, is no. Blake Hester recommends that players at least get through Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, and Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name to be able to make sense of what's going on in Infinite Wealth.

A less-than-ideal situation, we think, but it is what it is. Besides, there's something to be said about the franchise's longevity in the first place, and whether RGG could afford not to rely on any of its prior developments to begin with.

None of this takes away from the grandiosity of success that Infinite Wealth now enjoys, of course. We think Yakuza fans could not have asked for a better game, and for those who are eager to jump into the experience, 2Game's got a special early bird discount going for a limited time only. Make use of it while you can!

Play Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth on PC today - at 11% off!

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