Yakuza 0

Yakuza 0 is another sprawling entry in the open-world series, packed with an extraordinary amount of things to do and centred around a genuinely compelling crime story. Since it’s a prequel, it’s also unburdened by the series’ increasingly intricate backstory and thus far more approachable for newcomers than the last few Yakuza games. While its melee combat may lag slightly behind modern genre standards, Yakuza 0 still hits far more than it misses and is a big, bold and bruising tour through the Japanese underworld.

Yakuza Zero's humorous world is packed goofy quests and minigames, but the story cuts through it with powerful characters and high-stakes drama.

Bruising, bonkers and frequently brilliant, Yakuza 0 is Sega's cult favourite at its very best.

Comfortably the best, funniest and most heartwarming game about a desperate battle over real estate, now available on PC as a good port at a generous price.

Yakuza 0 has heart, despite some significant shortcomings

While a bit disappointing on the mini-game front, Yakuza 0 remains as strange and charming as ever, with the best story and combat the series has seen in years.

Don’t be intimidated by the series’ long history – this is an accessible starting point that’s likely to convert you into being a full-fledged fan

It features all of the best aspects of the series with very little of the negatives, making for a game that I’ll probably still be digging through by the time Kiwami releases over here.

Yakuza 0 is the closest thing video games have to a prime-time soap opera.

At this point, the property's trademark formula is seriously starting to wear thin, but when it comes down to it, there's nothing quite like Yakuza 0. It combines unapologetically mature themes and violence with brilliantly dumb minigames and hysterical side quests, resulting in a thoroughly memorable experience. Bolstered by a gripping story that's packed with great characters, fans of Japanese games or even Japanese culture owe it to themselves to give this a prequel a shot. Yakuza 0 is fantastic place to start a love affair with Kamurocho's finest, and what's more, it's one of the best entries in the series to date.