Yakuza: Like a Dragon isn’t the best Yakuza game you can get. It is, however, maybe the best you can get on the Xbox Series X and S, since it’s the first to have been released with next-gen systems in mind, and is also the perfect place to start with the series if you’ve somehow never played one before and were put off by previous games’ reliance on real-time brawling. This one replaces that action gameplay with JRPG-style turn-based combat, which results in a far more chilled experience—or as chilled as kicking bikes into people’s faces before crushing them with a giant vibrator can be.
A Good Match For: Yakuza fans, Yakuza newcomers, and anyone in between.
Not A Good Match For: The time-crunched; this is one massive game.
Study our tips for the game.
Purchase from: Microsoft Store | Amazon | Target | Best Buy
Want more of the best games on each system? Check out our complete directory:
The Best PS5 Games • The Best PC Games • The Best PS4 Games • The Best Games On PS Now • The Best Xbox One Games • The Best Games On Xbox Game Pass • The Best Nintendo Switch Games • The Best Wii U Games • The Best 3DS Games • The Best PS Vita Games • The Best Xbox 360 Games • The Best PS3 Games • The Best Wii Games • The Best iPhone Games • The Best iPad Games • The Best Android Games
How has this list changed? Read back through our update history:
Update 7/12/2023: Said bye-bye to Shredders and welcomed the next-gen version of The Witcher 3, Hi-Fi Rush, and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.
Update 4/27/2021: Bid farewell to Immortals Fenyx Rising and say hi to Elden Ring, Shredders, and Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga.
Update 1/18/2021: Gone is the 12-game limit! We’ve removed Halo: The Master Chief Collection. Though it’s terrific, Halo Infinite is clearly the place to play Halo right now, so that game joins alongside Forza Horizon 5, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Life is Strange: True Colors as new additions to our current list of 13.
Update 2/8/2021: We’re closing in on that 12-game limit! Agent 47 hit the mark in Hitman 3.
Update 12/25/2020: The recent add-ons and next-gen optimizations of Destiny 2 and Gears 5 make both old games feel brand-new and worthy of inclusion. We’ve also immortalized Immortals Fenyx Rising.
