Shenmue III

 PC
User Score
6.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 434 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 239 out of 434
  2. Mixed: 29 out of 434
  3. Negative: 166 out of 434

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  1. BoStarr
    Mar 6, 2021
    10
    I played the first two when I was younger, and I loved them! I was looking for something relaxing to play recently and this was perfect!
  2. 24Nathan
    Dec 30, 2020
    10
    I have been waiting for this sequel since 2002 when I first beat Shenmue II on the original Xbox. It is everything I wanted and then some. Thank you to everyone involved and on to #SaveShenmueIV! Definitely recommend this game as well as Shenmue I (Dreamcast) and Shenmue II (Dreamcast, Xbox, Xbox 360 backwards compatible), or the rerelease collection on Steam, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4!
  3. Nygaard88
    Sep 29, 2020
    9
    A great follow up to the original series. This is circa 20 years on and yes there is a lack of story progression in this game however it's an amazing open world game which delivers on its gameplay and enjoyment. Just sit back, take your time and enjoy this game
  4. segamaster
    Jul 26, 2020
    10
    Yu Suzuki and his team did it again.
    Thank you Yu Suzuki for everything you've done and I hope you still do through the years for the media. Literally nobody comes close to your work.
    Thank you YS Net for such an amazing game. You guys are the reason why I keep playing games nowadays.
  5. YotaXD
    Jun 27, 2020
    8
    Not quite as amazing as Shenmue 1+2 back in the day but still pretty good game tho.
    There is just one big down side. bide the graphic its pretty much early 2000 playing style.
    so if you dont like shenmue 1+2 TODAY you wont like this. I dont mind the clonky movement.
    If you a fan its a must have. If not... propably stay away.
  6. ec1ips3
    Apr 23, 2020
    10
    If you expected the saga to radically change with the third installment, then you will be disappointed. However, if you liked Shenmue I & II, then you will love Shenmue III. It´s just the same masterpiece with much better graphics and more depth in the everyday life stuff.
  7. dogeymon83
    Mar 27, 2020
    9
    Shenmue 3 is a gift from the past. People who review it low would just as well have done the same with the first two. If you don't get these games, then you probably never will. There is a unique charm and bewilderment to Shenmue. Yu Suzuki is almost as unapologetic in how he has pushed forward with bringing us an experience that feels inextricably connected with the first two way soShenmue 3 is a gift from the past. People who review it low would just as well have done the same with the first two. If you don't get these games, then you probably never will. There is a unique charm and bewilderment to Shenmue. Yu Suzuki is almost as unapologetic in how he has pushed forward with bringing us an experience that feels inextricably connected with the first two way so perfectly that it's more of a miracle that he's kept it the same than the fact the game came out in the first place.

    Shenmue 3 falls short in very few areas, but it definitely has it's flaws. It's a game that deserved a bigger budget to give us an even more polished Shenmue game. I would have wished Shenhua looked exactly the same as the first two games. And petty little things like no animation for drinking soda or the title screen not being the same plague my greedy little mind sometimes. But as a Shenmue fan, I got an experience that is above and beyond what I could have hoped for. With a series that is as niche as this, Shenmue 3 is a miracle of a game.    … Expand
  8. ratal
    Feb 23, 2020
    8
    Shenmue III is a very good game. Graphics are not too bad and story is amazing.
  9. ShenMoon
    Feb 13, 2020
    9
    I played the original on the dreamcast, and then many years latyer found number 2 on Xbox. Loved them both.
    Shenmue 3 is a very likeable game, but it's not without its flaws.
    I'l start with the positives first. It's a very faithful sequel to the original 2, with many things to do, and lots of collectables. Characters seem to have their own routines, but it's not as noticable as in    I played the original on the dreamcast, and then many years latyer found number 2 on Xbox. Loved them both.
    Shenmue 3 is a very likeable game, but it's not without its flaws.

    I'l start with the positives first.
    It's a very faithful sequel to the original 2, with many things to do, and lots of collectables.
    Characters seem to have their own routines, but it's not as noticable as in the first 2 games.
    I like how Shenmue 3 is based very much on the original concept drawings.
    There's loads of positives, but I would rather you go and find those out for yourself. I give it a solid 9 out of ten, and hope they make a Shenmue 4 and 5.
    Some bad points to note are that often the 'extras' that you see walking about town are there, but they're not. They often don't appear at all, and the street looks completely empty, but that won't stop them from blocking your path. It's not a game breaker, but it is annoying.

    Another =thing is, the side quests are so linear. You have to do them at the right point in the main story or they don't work, which would seem fair enough, but I went out of my way to collect all the collectables, and get everything else absolutely perfect on my first play-through, only to find that I had missed several quests and could only do them and get the platinum if I restart on an NG+ and follow a guide to make sure I don't miss any.    … Expand
  10. Shacklers
    Feb 1, 2020
    9
    If you're a fan of the original games, you'll most likely love this game! But if you're unsure whether you should buy this or not, I'll try to quickly explain what the game is all about.

    Basically it's a life simulator. What would it be like living in a chinese village and trying to avenge your fathers death? Now you can experience it! It's a realistic game in many ways. You got to earn    If you're a fan of the original games, you'll most likely love this game! But if you're unsure whether you should buy this or not, I'll try to quickly explain what the game is all about.

    Basically it's a life simulator. What would it be like living in a chinese village and trying to avenge your fathers death? Now you can experience it! It's a realistic game in many ways. You got to earn money cause you need food to stay alive. You spend time practicing your kungfu skills and you search for clues by either talking to people or perhaps by opening drawers and finding secret objects there. It's kinda like a detective game. There is fighting in this game too, but it's not really an action game. It's closer to an RPG.

    It's a relaxing game in many ways. You're not supposed to beat the game as fast as you can. You're supposed to explore places and try out different minigames. Maybe go to the arcade, or go fishing or pick up some herbs that you can sell later. There's a lot of things to do in the game.

    Every time I start playing a new game, one of the first things that I always want to do is to just go talk with random non-playable characters and see what they've got to say. Usually I'm always disappointed cause you can't talk to them, or because the dialogue is just plain text and it's not fully voiced. In Shenmue games talking to NPC's is more fun than in ANY other game. All the non-playable characters have their own personalities and they have something new to say almost every time you talk to them. And their responses are sometimes hilarious. So that's one of my favorite things about these games. Talking with random people and trying to find clues.

    I got to mention the music in this game too. It's so atmospheric and you really start to feel like you're in China yourself exploring exotic locations.

    If you've never played a Shenmue game before, this might feel like a strange game at first. Especially because the game continues right from where the last game ended 18 years ago. There is a video that explains everything that's happened before, but you might be a bit confused even after watching it. Still, there's nothing else out there that's comparable with Shenmue, so I do recommend the game, if you want to try something a bit different.

    Some people have criticized the game cause it feels like an old game. Now the game was made for fans of the original games, so most people are happy that they didn't change the game too much. The original games were way ahead of their times anyway.

    At the end of the day the biggest problem with the game is it's budget. It is a Kickstarter game after all and the budget of the game is extremely small compared to other open world games out there. There are plenty of moments when I thought that the execution could have been so much better if the creators of the game would have had more money. But what they managed to do with the budget is something extraordinary nevertheless. I can't get my head around, how they managed to create such a massive game with such a tiny budget.

    It's not a perfect game. The main story of the game feels shorter than in the original games. Quicktime events are a bit too fast. The fighting system is in some ways better and in some ways worse than in the originals. Sometimes fighting feels a bit unresponsive compared to the originals. But practicing your kungfu is a lot more satisfying this time around. And fighting multiple opponents works better now. I also love the fact that you can break stuff around you while you're fighting. All in all the game revolves around getting better and better at kungfu and I really like that.

    If you're a fan of kungfu movies, that's another reason to pick this game up. Just remember that it's not a beat em up game. It focuses more on practicing your kungfu.

    If you loved the original games mainly because of the story, you might be disappointed with this one. Simply put the original games had a better story. But if you loved the original games mainly because of the gameplay, atmosphere and the lifesimulator elements, then there's a good chance that you'll love this game even more than the originals.

    The idea behind the original Shenmue game was to make a game where you're free to do almost anything. It was a highly interactive, cinematic-quality game that tried to mimic reality. All the non-playable characters had their own daily routines. They went to work and later in the evening you could find them at a bar or maybe at a park somewhere. The game had a day and night cycle and a very revolutionary weather system too. The attention to detail was extraordinary and in many ways you could say that it was the first open world game created. Shenmue games are a very important part of video game history and I definitely recommend trying either the original games or this one.

    It's not a game for everyone though, cause it is pretty slow paced, but people who love these games, love them with passion    … Expand
  11. Joobles
    Dec 29, 2019
    10
    Great continuation of the series. Still feels like the old games with fun minigames and great story
  12. scarzall
    Dec 28, 2019
    10
    Shenmue 3 is an amazing continuation of the series. I agree its not for everyone but if you're a Shenmue fan you'll feel right at home. Shenmue is not a fast paced, action packed, mindless shooter, like most modern games. Shenmue is more like a piece of classical music that you put on, put your feet up and just take in all the beautiful scenery and music. Great game and can't wait for the 4th.
  13. Chettytheyeti
    Dec 27, 2019
    10
    Amazing Shenmue experience. Thanks for making this happen Yu Suzuki and team.
  14. deanbrisko
    Dec 12, 2019
    10
    I'm so done with critics. I think it's obvious unless a company pays the big bucks then the "trusted" video game reviewers won't give them due credit. It's the same thing with the mainstream media, it's all garbage. But if they anticipate a game will sell well, they'll give it a 10/10, even if it's a monotonous, regurgitated FPS.

    This game was really great. I went into it with a mindset    I'm so done with critics. I think it's obvious unless a company pays the big bucks then the "trusted" video game reviewers won't give them due credit. It's the same thing with the mainstream media, it's all garbage. But if they anticipate a game will sell well, they'll give it a 10/10, even if it's a monotonous, regurgitated FPS.

    This game was really great. I went into it with a mindset that it was a lower budget indie game, but it looked and felt like any other contemporary title.

    There were a few glitches here and there, but overall Shenmue fans can rejoice: like a phoenix, the series returned to us, and it didn't disappoint. I just hope it sells well enough that they create a 4th title.    … Expand
  15. OldSilentHill
    Dec 11, 2019
    8
    People in PC don´t get it, they never experienced Shenmue in its time. Their lack of understanding about the escence of Shenmue is amazing.
  16. ALEX_230_VOLT
    Dec 4, 2019
    9
    This game is a true continuation of a Shenmue and it brings the series green light it needed! Of course, this game is not ideal, especially graphics and animations. Indeed, this game is looking a bit outdated, more like remaster of 2008 game. But still, it’s a GOOD 2008 game!
    Yeah, maybe some gameplay elements could have been done better. But, when we are judging this game, we must    This game is a true continuation of a Shenmue and it brings the series green light it needed! Of course, this game is not ideal, especially graphics and animations. Indeed, this game is looking a bit outdated, more like remaster of 2008 game. But still, it’s a GOOD 2008 game!
    Yeah, maybe some gameplay elements could have been done better. But, when we are judging this game, we must remember the development hell of its creation and a limited budget. Not a budget of AAA game, or even Yakuza series – just backers. So, considering all this restrictions, it’s a miracle that we still got a true Shenmue experience. Good job YS team!    … Expand
  17. Hazuki1986
    Dec 3, 2019
    10
    With a such a small team and such a small budget they managed to pull off a triple AAA quality game. I cannot wait for Shenmue 4. Fans stay positive and help the dream become a reality
  18. Kolossus221
    Dec 3, 2019
    10
    Don't believe the Anti Epic hate trolls here. the game is great! its a true shenmue game. thats all that counts for the fans.
  19. Ylyon
    Dec 2, 2019
    10
    Absolutely love this game. It's what the fans were waiting for 18 years and I cannot stop playing it :) I'd suggest to choose the PC version since it looks more optimized than PS4's.
  20. graalcloud
    Dec 1, 2019
    9
    I would like to start by pointing out that the graphics are really awesome in this game. I have seen many people comment saying that they are bad? But for me that's really confusing. This game has some of the best graphics I have ever seen. I'm running the game in SLI using the NVIDIA Force Alternate Frame Rendering 2 setting (GTX980Ti x2 SLI). The game runs almost perfect 60fps on theI would like to start by pointing out that the graphics are really awesome in this game. I have seen many people comment saying that they are bad? But for me that's really confusing. This game has some of the best graphics I have ever seen. I'm running the game in SLI using the NVIDIA Force Alternate Frame Rendering 2 setting (GTX980Ti x2 SLI). The game runs almost perfect 60fps on the highest settings in 4K. After testing it with my cards overclocked, it was buttery smooth. People complaining about performance (I saw one user saying they got bad performance with their RTX2080Ti card -- DOUBT), hopefully my SLI settings could help others out too.

    Anyway, about the game play. It's exactly what I wanted. If anyone was expecting the game play to be modernized to today's standards, you should not even review this game or even play it. Go play some psychologically addictive game with loot boxes or something, I don't know. Or better else, get bent. Nobody cares.

    What they have done with this game is unbelievable. They managed to keep the entire game play formula of the original games but add depth to it. Now, characters you talk to will have a bit more different things to say. Small choices you make will effect if the main characters like Shenhua will like you or not. It's all about the minute details in Shenmue and this game cranks up the intensity of those details. Now you can not only do jobs but there is a meta-game to the jobs where you might find yourself doing bizarre strings of events in order to get money. Or perhaps you want to just collect capsule toy sets for money. Or you can just chop wood. The game leaves it up to you but makes it a challenge. If you run out of money you might not be able to buy food and then you will have to wait another day before doing anything (that never happened to me though).

    The challenge level of this game on the normal difficulty is very steep, and I could see a lot of people who have only started playing video games in the past decade to find it really too hard. That's a good thing in my opinion. The game might be hard but it's not too hard. If people don't like the difficulty or tediousness of a game like Shenmue then I would also not recommend a game like Majora's Mask to them either (and that's one of the best games I could recommend).

    And that's the point I'm getting at. It would appear to me that, while some of them are fine people I'm sure, some people who don't like this kind of game are philistines. I know that might be harsh but it's true. This game is on the next level of game design and they're just not seeing it probably because they haven't even given it a chance.

    Even more ironic and hypocritical it could be if someone critical of Shenmue 3 were a fan of a game like Death Stranding, an arguably far more boring and tedious game than Shenmue 3. No matter what you can say about Shenmue's character design, Ryo is a far better and more likable video game character than some hollywood actor from The Walking Dead. And say whatever you want about Shenmue 3's combat, but it was a lot more fun than playing that UPS walking simulator.

    If you are a fan of SEGA in any way, this is a must buy. Just get it.    … Expand
  21. Mikedie1
    Dec 1, 2019
    10
    Finished the game Today. And enjoyed every minute of it. Its a true shenmue game!
  22. mythical85
    Nov 30, 2019
    10
    Waited 18 years for this, I knew going in that the game had a shoestring budget compared to the first 2 games but what I got far exceeded my expectations. Being able to continue as Ryo and engage with Shenhua in Bailu village felt like a magical experience. I was not expecting the scale of Niaowu. I had fun with a lot of the minigames, fishing, the forklift, fighting, gambling, chasingWaited 18 years for this, I knew going in that the game had a shoestring budget compared to the first 2 games but what I got far exceeded my expectations. Being able to continue as Ryo and engage with Shenhua in Bailu village felt like a magical experience. I was not expecting the scale of Niaowu. I had fun with a lot of the minigames, fishing, the forklift, fighting, gambling, chasing ducks and chickens, etc. Running at 1440p on PC with an RTX 2070, everything runs very smooth and well optimized. My only complaint is the always online connection needed via the epic launcher. If you were a fan of the original games, take your time with this one and I do not think you will be disappointed.… Expand
  23. Karlito91
    Nov 30, 2019
    10
    Para o orçamento que teve está espectacular
    Que venha o 4 que é compra certa
  24. Tuonelan_Eki
    Nov 27, 2019
    10
    I was on the edge about this game during opening hours, then picked it up again and something clicked. Landed a perfect dodge with slomo brawling uppercut-move and saw the whole first area countryside during nighttime from a vantage point near main heroines house. Also heard main character laugh for the first time(played also S1&2) and suddenly the game is alive! Good stuff.

    Hope all    I was on the edge about this game during opening hours, then picked it up again and something clicked. Landed a perfect dodge with slomo brawling uppercut-move and saw the whole first area countryside during nighttime from a vantage point near main heroines house. Also heard main character laugh for the first time(played also S1&2) and suddenly the game is alive! Good stuff.

    Hope all the best for future of Shenmue!    … Expand
  25. Torijama
    Nov 26, 2019
    10
    Well crafted Masterpiece.
    I waited 18 years and I am not disappointed due to keeping the spirit of the old games!
    A lot of fun to walk Baidu and earn money with chopping wood, fishing and collecting herbs.
    This is a slow game and people need to be aware of this fact.
    It may be slow, but extremely deep, what is very satisfying.
    My vote 10/10
  26. MotoMotoMoto
    Nov 26, 2019
    10
    I'm currently deep into my second play through and I still love this game. Despite the odds and on a mere fraction of the budget and staff of the originals, Ys Net have created a true sequel to Shenmue II.

    They deserve the success to return with a fourth game, on a larger budget.
  27. VagLiamG
    Nov 26, 2019
    10
    Shenmue 3 is everything I was expecting from a Shenmue game. Lots of mini games and side quests in an amazing detailed world. The strongest point though is it's main story that has a lot of depth. It has some flaws, though are not distracting but what game hasn't? The sounds and music is perfect with an extraordinary soundtrack! I'm playing it in 4k and it is absolutely wonderful. You'llShenmue 3 is everything I was expecting from a Shenmue game. Lots of mini games and side quests in an amazing detailed world. The strongest point though is it's main story that has a lot of depth. It has some flaws, though are not distracting but what game hasn't? The sounds and music is perfect with an extraordinary soundtrack! I'm playing it in 4k and it is absolutely wonderful. You'll be satisfied more if you don't rush to complete the game and take your time.… Expand
  28. Autoshooter
    Nov 26, 2019
    10
    No game like Shenmue It make me like I am in that world I can do many thing I can not to do in today standard games IT A VITUAL WORLD
  29. manfromeast
    Nov 26, 2019
    10
    How can it be old if there is nothing like it at all?
    Shenmue is a Genre
    It not copy and past like today standard games play the same way just upgrade graphic
  30. Gimbo98
    Nov 25, 2019
    10
    Great game, super. Up to the expectations for hardcore fans and new gamers. It suffers from uneven reviews.
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Awards & Rankings

33
#33 Most Discussed PC Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
69

Mixed or average reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 14
  3. Negative: 1 out of 14
  1. Riot Pixels
    Feb 17, 2020
    84
    If the original dilogy is Iliad, Shenmue 3 is Odyssey, a sequel that even exceeds expectations in some regards.
    Read full review
  2. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Jan 14, 2020
    44
    Despite all Suzuki’s claims that this series is his life’s work, Shenmue 3 feels more like a quick cash-in. [Issue#242, p.62]
  3. PC Games
    Dec 16, 2019
    50
    Even connoisseurs of the first two parts will be a bit sober after taking off their pink glasses. The story is by far not as good as it seemed back then and the gameplay is completely outdated. The fact that Shenmue 3 doesn't come to a conclusion is unforgivable after the long waiting time and the (financial) support of the fans. Players who approach the title without a nostalgia bonus will be annoyed anyway. The grind is pretty hard, the wandering around and the bad dialogues are even harder, but the fact that the game keeps stopping you on purpose is just incredibly frustrating. Hardcore fans can add something to the rating, everyone else can even pull something off.
    Read full review
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