Shenmue III

Rejoining Ryo Hazuki's quest to avenge his father is exciting, but Shenmue 3 feels like a game that has ignored the innovation and progress of the last 20 years of video game development.

Shenmue III hasn't changed much from its Dreamcast-era roots--and it can't reach its full potential as a result.

A bewitching time capsule that transports us to late 80s China, and to turn-of-the-century video games.

A seamless continuation of the series that makes up for its limitations with pure heart. It's like Ryo never left us.

It’s not the lack of elegant dialogue or the glitches that make this game so disappointing, but the idea that a series that was so obsessed with what would be possible from gaming in the future has turned into a way for people to attempt to revisit the past.

A magnificent, authentic, totally uncompromised sequel that crucially ignores virtually every gaming trend of the past 18 years.

Exploring small towns is still fun and rewarding until you have to engage in battle and dialogue. Then it falls apart

For better and for worse, Shenmue III is a perfect continuation.

Despite these annoyances, despite the fact that it’s a game designed with decades-old sensibilities, I enjoyed my time with it. It doesn’t have the conclusion we’ve been waiting two decades for and it barely drives the story forward at all, but the climactic battle is as satisfying as that 70-man tussle in the first game’s harbour.

I was torn writing this review as I went back and forth multiple times on whether or not Shenmue III's adherence to the past was worth the squeeze. In spurts, it's not. But as I walked back to Shenhua's cottage to turn in for the night after a hard day's work, earning back the money I had gambled away, it hit me: people just aren't making many games like this anymore. We may never even get something like this again if Shenmue IV isn't greenlit, which would be a shame.