You play two men climbing the ranks of 1980s Japanese crime, wandering lively city blocks and getting into brawls on the street. In between the serious story you sing karaoke, race toy cars, run a nightclub and help strangers with absurd problems. The tonal swing between heavy drama and silliness is the point.
Gameplay video
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Screenshots & review notes
Why it lands
The swing between serious crime drama and pure silliness is the whole appeal here, and it mostly lands even though the tonal shifts can feel jarring at first. Wandering the city streets and getting into brawls never gets old.
How it plays
You play two men climbing the ranks of 1980s Japanese crime, and between story missions you can sing karaoke, race toy cars or run a nightclub. Combat happens right on the street with everyday objects nearby.
Style and score
The city blocks are lively with neon signs and background chatter, and the licensed music suits the era well. It looks and sounds distinctly of its period setting.
Who it's for
There is a huge amount of side content beyond the main story to keep you busy. It suits players who enjoy both a serious story and goofy side activities.
Frames captured from the gameplay video above; notes are our own take on the game.
What it's like to play
You play as one of two men making their way through the lively, neon soaked streets of 1980s Japan, walking freely between shops, restaurants, and alleyways using the stick, and stepping toward almost any stranger causing trouble on the street will start a fistfight using a simple attack button and a dodge. Random brawls break out often just from walking around, usually against small groups of thugs, and combat feels blunt and physical, throwing punches and grabbing nearby objects like bicycles or signs to use as weapons. Within your first ten minutes you are as likely to be pulled into a side conversation about a lost cat as into a street fight.
The main story follows both men climbing the ranks of the local criminal underworld through a series of dramatic, often violent chapters, but in between those chapters you can sing karaoke, race toy cars, manage your own small nightclub, or help strangers with genuinely strange requests that have nothing to do with the main plot. Combat difficulty rises with tougher street gangs and story bosses who require learning specific attack patterns, similar to other action games, though early fights are forgiving enough for a first timer. The sheer number of side activities means the game rarely feels like just one thing for very long.
A session can swing wildly between a tense dramatic story scene and something as silly as an arcade minigame a few minutes later, and that whiplash between serious crime drama and outright comedy is really the whole appeal. It suits players who enjoy a long, story heavy game with plenty of side content to wander into, and less someone looking for tight, focused action throughout. The honest drawback is that the sheer volume of side activities and side stories can make the main plot feel like it stalls for long stretches if you get pulled into exploring everything else the city offers.