Yakuza 5 Critic Reviews

As playgrounds for the adults, the wealthy, and the risk takers, they are full of excitement and a little bit of danger, and so filled with exotic sights and sounds that I could almost smell the food vendors or rain on the asphalt after a storm; that’s how effective this game is at bringing me back to Japan for just a little while.

A complex storyline with lots of twists, Yakuza 5 expands on the already hefty helping that was Yakuza 4. Beautifully-rendered CG cutscenes will keep players in awe, and a myriad of mini-games and side quests will give more incentive to keep playing once it is over. A fitting swan song game for the PS3 era in the west.

Yakuza 5 is one of the best games in the history of PS3. It is an incomparable piece of art that has everything: five main characters, five cities, an attractive script, lots of missions, a great combat system...

It may have taken a number of years to get here, but Yakuza 5 was worth the wait. It’s not only the most robust and well-executed game in the series, it’s also one of the best games of last generation.

Yakuza 5 is what it is expected to be. It hasn't changed its formula, and it still works for its fans. You'll love it or you'll hate it, but if you happen to love it, you'll find one of the best games PS3 has received this year.

Yakuza 5 is the best entry to the franchise so far. It offers more of the same, so it’ll please fans of the saga with its improvements in every aspect, but won’t win new fans among those who have tried previous titles and didn't like them. The amount of content packed in the game is impressive, and the detail put in the cities recreations is astonishing.

While it has its flaws, Yakuza 5 displays enough heart to overcome all of them. The over-the-top story will keep you wanting to know more while the gameplay is constantly changing so you're never bored. Yakuza 5 is a delight for both newcomers and veterans to the series.

It’s incredibly easy to plug multiple hours at a time into Yakuza 5, partly because it’s very easy-to-follow mission structure, and partly because the cut-scenes can take so long telling the story.

Yakuza 5 is a fantastic late addition to the 2015 line up of RPGs, and deserves to stand with the others, such as The Witcher 3, or Fallout 4. If you’re already a Yakuza fan, then you already know how great this game is. But, if you’re new to the series Yakuza 5 is a fantastic way to start out. Please, play this game.

It’s a shame that such an amazing game is trapped inside PS3 and therefore is condemned to frequent technical issues caused by the lack of power and will never gain the popularity it deserves.

Sure, the story starts to impede on the enjoyment especially towards the end of the game, but everything up to that point is nigh-on excellent. In the end, while it is a bit held back by the technical limitations of the PlayStation 3, Yakuza 5 builds a strong foundation with what is given and provides a substantial showcase for what the next entry will be capable of.

Yakuza 5 is a response to the complacency of Western development. While previous Yakuza games dabbled through extraneous minigames, divergent player-controlled characters, and eccentric sidequests, none sewed its threads together with the consequence and commitment of Yakuza 5. Bloat is the inevitable negative, and Yakuza 5 shows some superfluous heft, but it's such a mountain of effort and arrangement that it's tough not to stand in awe of its accomplishments.

A solid new entry for one of the best Sega franchises. Full of things to do, places to visit and characters to talk to. A really magnificent adventure.

Yakuza 5 looks fantastic... Delivers one of the best stories in the franchise.

Yakuza 5 is exactly the sort of game the expression "greater than the sum of its parts" was made to describe. Each facet of the experience, taken individually, leaves room for improvement, but, reflecting on my time with Yakuza 5, I can't conjure much in the way of disappointment. Some bumps notwithstanding, it's a hell of a ride, one that I heartily recommend.

Yakuza 5 comes to the west after three long years, but it still delivers a solid, deep experience, full of Japanese atmosphere and folklore.

Huge, varied, and endlessly fascinating.

We had to wait quite a bit for this game to arrive on our shelves, but it’s finally here, and it’s damn good. It’s the usual “Yakuza good” we’re used to, but this chapter is even shinier and choke-full of Japanese culture than the others. All with the typical over-the-top storytelling and fun gameplay. If you love the series (and there are a lot of reasons to do so), get it. You won’t be disappointed.

More is really more. Full of things to do, places to visit and people to meet.

An unique game, steeped in Japanese culture to the core and exciting in its multiple storylines... and it's also the best Yakuza played so far.