LI KE ADRAGON: INFINITE WEALTH

So money…

Mop till you drop: ‘Housekeeper’ is one of the roles available to players

★★★★★ OUT NOW PC, PS4/5, XBOX ONE/SERIES X/S

In 2021, Sega outlined plans for a ‘super game’, to be released within five years – implying that this mooted blockbuster would deliver an interactive experience of a standard beyond its big-budget peers. That project is still to be officially unveiled – yet two years before deadline, the latest entry in the series formerly known as Yakuza effectively satisfies that brief. After the comparatively svelte The Man Who Erased His Name, this is a beast of an adventure: a January release that many players will still be chipping away at come December.

The expansive story takes Like a Dragon overseas for the first time: as well as enjoying the nightlife of Yokohama, affable lead Ichiban Kasuga gets to soak up the sun in Hawaii. He’s joined by elder statesman Kazuma Kiryu, whose own journey appears to be coming to an end after being diagnosed with cancer – and as such, his side missions involve ticking off items on his bucket list.

But there are plenty more upbeat activities besides. Infinite Wealth has some of the series’ most refined asides to date, not least an entertaining riff on Crazy Taxi, in which pulling off tricks and stunts on your fast-food delivery bike is just as important as fulfilling orders in good time. Further homage is paid to its publisher’s arcade heritage with playable cabinets of Sega Bass Fishing, SpikeOut and Virtua Fighter 3. The two most comprehensive (and time-consuming) diversions, however, owe a debt to Nintendo: Sujimon is essentially Pokémon with recruitable human fighters, while Dondoko Island tasks you with steadily transforming a local dumping ground into an attractive resort, à la Animal Crossing.

But this wouldn’t be Like a Dragon without a selection of leather-faced gangsters to intrude on our heroes’ tropical getaway. The turn-based combat feels more dynamic than its 2020 predecessor, with character positioning and environmental features factoring into a wider selection of available attacks. You can assign outlandish new roles to your team, lassoing enemies as a Desperado before your Housekeeper (literally) mops up the mess, or paralysing them with an Aquanaut’s jellyfish so your Samurai can take aim with their bow. Kiryu, meanwhile, belies his ailing health with the ability to wade into the fray without waiting his turn.

The tone may pinball between silly and sentimental, but in committing so fully to provoking both tears and laughter, Sega has served up 2024’s first must-play game.