Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth Review: Gameplay Impressions and Videos

Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth is one of 2024's early projected Game of the Year contenders.

The latest entry in the series formerly known as Yakuza from developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio is the sequel to 2020's Yakuza: Like a Dragon and the 2023 spin-off Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name.

And given how the latter dramatically leapfrogged the former despite being a "smaller' spin-off, the hype for Infinite Wealth is more than justified.

Promising another grand tale, unforgettable characters, dense cities and some new game modes that could be their own releases, Infinite Wealth has the potential for bringing the series to new heights, which is impressive considering the groundwork laid by predecessors.

Graphics and Gameplay

Despite the series being known for its densely packed, smaller cities and even Gaiden's brilliantly fun cargo ship area, Infinite Wealth's star of the show is Honolulu City, Hawaii.

Boasting a dynamic weather system that runs through the paces in gorgeous fashion, there's a huge vacation vibe that feels much bigger than any of the past locations.

Make no mistake, those dense Japanese cities make a return too. The lived-in feel of the environments, varied NPCs and the sheer number of things going on at a moment's notice here is an outright series best.

But it's the mixup that really shines, as the island life that is taking long strolls on beaches, zipping around on a scooter, seeing just how great the shadow work is in a super-bright environment and so much more is a treat for the eyes and senses.

Overall, the series has always low-key been one of the best in recent years at facial animations. When paired with the strong sound design and voice acting, few games can elicit the same amount of emotion, be it serious or hilarity, on a scene-to-scene basis.

On an important presentation note, the game's User Interface (UI) has received a high-quality upgrade, especially in combat view. There, streamlined menus and important mechanics like tag moves are more at the forefront of the action.

After a brief detour, the turn-based combat from Like a Dragon returns with some modern tweaks that boost the experience.

This time, players can freely move party members around during battle, which permits them to close in for close attacks, use the enemy's position to the player's advantage with knockbacks and even set up combos with other characters. There are even notable exceptions, with one character able to break out of the turn-based format briefly to deliver beatdowns in prior Yakuza style.

Over the course of a battle, players build a Hype Meter through combat that then unleashes the powerful Tag Team Attacks. These aren't uncommon in this type of game, but the combination of their presentation and impact, plus the actual damage inflicted make them feel super rewarding.

Infinite Wealth even tackles the idea of grinding experience against lower-level enemies in an interesting streamlined fashion. The Smackdown mechanic lets the player one-hit enemies. While this gives less experience than a normal fight, it goes much faster and still offers the normal item drops.

Outside of combat, the series once again goes overboard in a good way when it comes to rewarding players who explore the carefully crafted environments.

Besides basic rewards and things to see, there are fun minigames in Hawaii such as the expected karaoke, as well as more memorable items like Crazy Delivery and Miss Match.

At a tour agency, players can even change the jobs of characters, permitting new abilities and therefore more depth to party construction. That's underselling it though, because some of the side activities to earn these jobs are very fun and can come with hilarious cutscenes.

It's all, in a word, synergistic. Going off to experience the world has a positive impact when players do loop back to the main story. And now that fights while exploring are easier to avoid or blow through, there's more incentive than ever to dig up that small charm seemingly tucked into every nook and cranny.

Story and More

Ichiban Kasuga and Kazuma Kiryu take center stage together in a bit of necessary fan service through strong narrative ties that indeed form the best tale of the series yet.

The former is on a quest to find his mother after getting his freedom back, while the latter is off to tackle a bucket list. There's a lot more than that, of course, but those stick out as spoiler-free hooks that really stand out.

It's heartfelt and silly all at once in a way only this series manages to do with a sense of charm. The long run time is more a boon than a detriment, with side content really piling up the hours in a hurry.

Like other games in the series, there are droves of hilarious side storytelling going on in the non-story content. Players will again meet unforgettable characters and do wild things like, serve a beatdown on the beach to a... shark.

Then there are some of the notable mini-games, though "mini" is becoming an incorrect term.

Take... Dondoko Island, a resort island building simulator that feels like Animal Crossing in a sense, what with the ability to place down items and furniture while also juggling NPCs who offer the player tasks.

It's an incredibly fun time, going from an island filled with trash and taking a baseball bat to it all to gathering up resources and seeing the space evolve into so much more. Some players might think it feels clunky compared to the main game, but for those familiar with grid-based simulators, it's pretty much on par.

After launch, would-be-players are going to hear a lot about how Dondoko Island "could be it's own separate release" and while it's going to get tired hearing that, it's undoubtedly true. It even feels like one of potentially a handful of games that were in development and influenced right as Animal Crossing: New Horizons took the globe by storm in 2020.

And then there's Sujimon trainer, which is effectively a take on Pokémon. It's surprisingly stout despite the obvious influence, with the ability to catch, train and battle in a three-on-three format. There are also raids out in the world, too.

Not to mention, of course, that Crazy Delivery is a take on Crazy Taxi and Miss Match is essentially a phone dating app. Satire and/or parody or not, there's also a sense of well-crafted fun dripping from each that is impossible not to admire.

If there's one big complaint about Infinite Wealth, it's the odd decision to put New Game Plus mode locked behind Digital Deluxe and Ultimate editions of the game. Not only is it a potentially dangerous door for games to open that costs players even more money, but in the case of a game this gigantic, it's probably only hurting the most dedicated of fans who want to go the 100-plus hours for a second or third time.

Beyond that, a well-featured set of options rounds out one of the most robust gaming offerings of the last decade-plus.

Conclusion

Hilarious and yet somber, vain in its satire and yet profound in its serious moments, Infinite Wealth fittingly wears many hats to strong results, a reflection of just how different—but alike—the two protagonists are.

Had the game just finally given out the ultimate fan service by bringing the two together and called it a day, it would have been a fantastic sequel.

But Infinite Wealth set sights on something much higher and in the process, manages to live up to its namesake in an intriguing way, boasting, indeed, a wealth of things to do that indeed feels infinite, especially early in the lengthy runtime.

Given its predecessors, Infinite Wealth is more expected than shocker, but that certainly doesn't disqualify it from GOTY conversations.