Release
Friday, February 17, 2023
Critic score
80/100
Platform families
3
Editorial overview
Inside Like a Dragon: Ishin!
What it is
Like a Dragon: Ishin! is an action-adventure game developed by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and published by Sega. Released in February 2023, it is a remake of the 2014 Japan-exclusive Ryu Ga Gotoku Ishin! and reimagines the Like a Dragon series in a historical setting. Set in the Bakumatsu period of Japan (mid-1800s), the game follows Sakamoto Ryoma, modelled after Kazuma Kiryu, as he navigates political intrigue, conspiracies, and samurai combat while seeking revenge for his mentor's murder.
The gameplay combines swordplay, gunfighting, and hand-to-hand combat, with a mix of main story missions and side activities, including minigames and historical recreations of series staples.
The premise
Like a Dragon: Ishin brings in familiar faces to tell this epic historical tale. Fans will recognize our protagonist as Kazuma Kiryu from earlier entries in the franchise. In Ishin, Kiryu is cast as Sakamoto Ryoma and brings the rest of his crew along too. Goro Majima and other Yakuza celebrities join Ryoma as friends and foes in this fictional world that trades the flashy streets of Tokyo for the chaotic bustle of 1860s Kyo. These new character dynamics are as thrilling as they are unexpected, with a series of mind-blowing twists and turns in a story only RGG studio can tell.
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