Yakuza: Every Game Ranked From Worst To Best

The fifth instalment of the main series took Yakuza 4’s multi-protagonist approach, and tripled its content. Not always for the better, your reception really comes down to what you enjoy most out the franchise; the storytelling, or the exploration.

Certainly, if you're enamoured with the open-world aspect, you’ll have plenty to dig into, with thoughtful side-stories that open up your specific character, four massive and detailed cities to explore, and loads of unique things to do within them.

If you're about the main campaign though, prepare to be disappointed. The mystery plot is a convoluted mess, the pacing a slog, and the broad strokes on auto-pilot, with the writers trying to mask their lacking inspiration by just chucking quantity at the gamer e.g. you don't get one, but three dramatic Boss showdowns on top of the Millennium Tower.

That's better though than when something new is tried in jarring fashion, the most obvious offenders; an unnecessary sojourn as hunting mountain man, or a fifth of the game spent as a Pop Idol sim by way of Dance Dance Revolution. The choices at some points are just plain baffling - and not in that crazy fun way the series is usually known for.

It’s not a disaster, but it’s definitely the most uneven out the main series and was a signal that the developers needed to reignite their passion and focus for future releases.