Yakuza 6: The Song of Life

 PlayStation 4
Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 91 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 82 out of 91
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 91
  3. Negative: 0 out of 91
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  1. Critical Hit
    May 7, 2018
    70
    The Dragon of Dojima returns for one more adventure, with the stakes higher and more personal than ever in this touching farewell to a Yakuza legend. With a tale that closes the book on a long-running saga, Kiryu’s farewell results in a story that is as satisfying to watch as its gameplay is as underwhelming to consume.
  2. games(TM)
    Apr 20, 2018
    70
    Its fluid action and bustling open world full of character will draw you in, while the deeply engrossing narrative will keep you hooked until the emotionally fuelled finale. [Issue#199, p.70]
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  3. FANDOM
    Mar 20, 2018
    70
    I wish I could say Kiryu’s sendoff was the best Yakuza game of the bunch, but last year’s Yakuza 0 still stands out. Yakuza 6 succeeds, though, despite its shortcomings. It’s definitely the best looking, most technically impressive Yakuza game. And The Song of Life is its most heart warming (and heart wrenching!) story.
  5. Cubed3
    Mar 19, 2018
    70
    Kiryu's final chapter is a beautiful one that has its heart in the right place, but feels slightly let down quite likely due to the new engine not allowing the developers the time they required to flesh out other areas such as the battle system and sections of Kamurocho. Despite slipping in parts, though, Yakuza 6 recovers with a compelling and intricately woven narrative featuring an appealing cast, rounded off with the side distractions expected of an entry in this series.
  6. Metro GameCentral
    Mar 15, 2018
    70
    A slightly underwhelming end to the legend of Kazuma Kiryu, but the changes in gameplay and graphics do hold a lot of promise for the future.
  7. Attack of the Fanboy
    Mar 15, 2018
    70
    Yakuza 6: The Song of Life brings a satisfying end to Kazuma Kiryu's story, but it's not quite the send off I expected. Between its convoluted systems and cut content, it didn't feel like the saga ended with a roar, but with a whimper.
  8. Destructoid
    Mar 15, 2018
    70
    Given more development time, this could have been the definitive entry in the series, but what we’re left with is good enough.
  9. IGN Japan
    Mar 5, 2018
    70
    For a story-driven game, there are just too many inconsistencies in its story. Yet despite this, Yakuza 6 comes with undeniable charm.
  10. Slant Magazine
    Mar 15, 2018
    60
    Yakuza 6‘s thematic consistency is impressive, though the game scarcely gives women the space to be more than props or damsels or to speak up when they’re shamed for having lives outside the constraints of possessive men. The game wants to be about parents in general, but in a series steeped in the kind of male bravado where expensive suits are cast off in one swift motion to reveal extravagant back tattoos, it’s mostly just about fathers.
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  1. Ars Technica
    Apr 18, 2018
    Yakuza 6 sums up its lead character succinctly and emotionally, while shaking up enough to make the return ride feel fresh.
  2. Eurogamer
    Mar 15, 2018
    Perhaps not the greatest Yakuza game, but Kazuma Kiryu's farewell certainly makes for the most human. [Recommended]
  3. Kotaku
    Apr 18, 2018
    If you look at Yakuza 6 in strictly narrative terms, as the Kazuma Kiryu game, you might be a little disappointed here. The lack of involvement from old friends, and the manner with which his departure is handled, feel rushed and inconsequential when you consider how much he’s been through over the years. As a complete Yakuza experience, though, things are much more positive.
  5. Stevivor
    Mar 15, 2018
    The in-combat effects and camera work really make what could be a relatively basic combat cycle into something that feels dynamic and empowering.
  6. The Verge
    Apr 16, 2018
    It’s not the biggest nor the best game in the series. But whether you’re calming a crying baby with motion controls or bashing a gangster’s head in with a bicycle, Yakuza 6: The Song of Life is a poignant, bloody, and altogether brilliant send-off.
  7. VG247
    Apr 17, 2018
    This is a game to be savoured slowly and enjoyed as much for its questionable qualities as its obvious ones. Where other franchises seek to shave off rough edges, Yakuza has opted to not only keep them but to celebrate them.

Awards & Rankings

34
#34 Best PS4 Game of 2018
36
#36 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2018
23
#23 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2018

User Reviews

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User Score
8.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 504 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 424 out of 504
  2. Mixed: 34 out of 504
  3. Negative: 46 out of 504
  1. ShadowPeter
    Apr 22, 2018
    10
    More like 9.5 than 10.

    Yakuza 6: The Song of Life is the last game in the Yakuza series, but not the last in terms of quality; far from it.    More like 9.5 than 10.

    Yakuza 6: The Song of Life is the last game in the Yakuza series, but not the last in terms of quality; far from it. My knowledge of this series already comes from Yakuza 4, which came out in PS Plus in February 2015 and from there I was completely addicted and aware of the upcoming Yakuza that were to come at that time, namely Yakuza 5, Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami. As in previous games, Yakuza 6 is an action-adventure game that mixes brawler style combat with RPG elements. And again we have the protagonist, the 4th Chairman, that is, Kazuma Kiryu.

    When I returned to Kamurocho, I soon noticed that it was visually amazing and the same goes for the city Onomichi, who is also present in the game. Now we will not have loadings of 1 second, each time we enter or leave a restaurant for example. Whenever we come into conflict with some ruffians on the streets, the city itself "becomes a battle arena" (and still we can escape successfully), unlike the previous ones where we were limited to a small place. Yes, we can also take and fight the ruffians in places like Poppos or on Smile Burger. The spectacle of all this is to see smashed glasses, objects flying and as result, the employee expels us and the site is temporarily closed for repairs. It's these little details that make me delight in this Yakuza 6: The Song of Life.

    But you may be wondering, what has really changed in the gameplay over Yakuza 0 and Yakuza Kiwami? A lot of things. The Brawler and Rush styles were eliminated, with only Beast (when we entered Extreme Heat Mode) and Dragon remaining and still have their differences. In Beast we don't have those slow movements anymore and in Dragon, the moveset is different from the previous Yakuzas. Each time we win a battle or eat something, we are rewarded with experience points for 5 abilities: Strength, Agility, Spirit, Technique and Charm, which can be used to increase Kiryu's stats (Health, Attack, Defense, Evasion, Heat Gauge) and to buy Battle Skills, Heat Actions and other skills.

    What I really have to say about the gameplay of Yakuza 6: The Song of Life is that I feel the character's moves and the blows are smooth, frantic, and full of strength. It is true that at the beginning we are taking a lot of kicks when we are facing many ruffians, triads or yakuzas, but it is because we are limited to a one quickstep (there are double and triple) and the fact that we don't have the quickstep cancel. It's always rewarding to see our enemies taking with a Heat Action, some of theme are hilarious. An example of this is the Essence of Electromagnetic Torture, which consists to shoot the enemy at the microwave and asking the employee to "warm" the head of our enemy. Another example, the Essence of Knock Out Punch, allows us to see (through a 1 second Slow Motion) our enemy spitting blood whenever we punch him in the chin. In comparison to the previous ones, we don't have some old Heat Actions, but we have many new ones.

    In this Yakuza 6: The Song of Life we have something new called Clan Creator. Let's say it's a kind of Fighting Manager, in which we have a hierarchy (Chairman> Captain> Lieutenant> Soldier) to organize, take them to the missions and fight against other clans. Correct, if we want a soldier for our clan, sometimes we will have to search in the streets of Onomichi and defeat this person in a fight. They all have different moves, weapons, punches and some characters have special moves. And yes, we can also take our team to the online battles.

    As always, this Yakuza 6 also features the usual Yoshida Batting Center, Hostess Clubs, Substories and Mahjong, but new things have also been added, such as hunting fish, octopuses and sharks in the waters of Onomichi, a site called RIZAP Kamurocho to exercise our muscles and improve our character's physique, and we even have to rescue lost cats, which we then send to the Nyan Nyan Café. In addition, there are also Vending Machines, which help to temporarily increase our stats and the missions or the help requests to rescue someone who is having trouble with ruffians, for example. And, of course, the Sega Club is also present in this Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, and we have games like Virtual Fighter 5: Final Showdown and even classics such as Out Run, Puyo Puyo, Super Hang-On, Fantasy Zone and Space Harrier.

    Despite all of this, i miss the mini-games like Bowling, Pool, gambling and fights in the Purgatory Coliseum. Fights against bosses are challenging, with a phenomenal soundtrack and feature breathtaking scenes. SEGA has done a almost perfect work by keeping the style that made this series unique, but at the same time make some changes so that the game and series stay fresh. Yakuza 6: The Song of Life is not only one of the best entries in the series, but also one of the best experience of 2018 so far.    … Full Review »
  2. Brandon_Tjon
    Apr 17, 2018
    9
    Kazuma Kiryu's last game (no spoilers)

    I managed to get Yakuza 6 a little earlier and my opinion on it is highly positive. The game is    Kazuma Kiryu's last game (no spoilers)

    I managed to get Yakuza 6 a little earlier and my opinion on it is highly positive. The game is really immersive with a cast made out of very wholesome, comedic and plain evil characters. The story takes you to both Onomichi and Kamurocho in yet another tale of our beloved Dragon.

    The story itself is really good. Yakuza 6 has a really interesting plot and definitely goes for that less grim Yakuza 5 atmosphere in comparison to the one that we had in 0. The substories this time around are fully voiced. The substories can be sad, funny and have a whole lot of effort put in them. The substory-voice actors really did put that extra weight on their characters and it really helps out because not every character has that much screen time.

    The mini games including the new Clan Creator, Baseball manager and underwater fishing game are done really well. One moment you're fighting a squid monster that fires little squids as projectiles and other moments you'll find yourself waging war in the streets of Hiroshima and Tokyo. And don't worry about previous minigames, as far as I can tell they have all been improved and streamlined.

    The game does have a couple of minor issues however. The combat for one is shallow compared to previous installments. With only one style and a limited amount of heat moves the combat does feels repetitive at times. At some point in the game I had been using the same combo string for 10 fights in a row! BUT repetitive doesn't mean bad, keep that in mind. Kamurocho is also missing part of the upper map which made me a little upset. And finally it's time to address the engine. While the engine is drop dead gorgeous it does have some issues: minimal street NPC's, fade-aways, pop ups and some physics based issues.

    All in all Yakuza 6 is a great game but I can't easily ignore some of the issues it has. However i'm happy to say that Yakuza 6's positive aspects easily overshadow the negatives aspects. The game is fun, well written, unique, dynamic, addictive and worth your time. I rate Yakuza 6 a 9 out of 10.    … Full Review »
  3. Alastor15
    Apr 17, 2018
    9
    Not better than Yakuza 0, but Yakuza 6 still has its own ways to attract the gamers with its touching story. The dragon engine really improvesNot better than Yakuza 0, but Yakuza 6 still has its own ways to attract the gamers with its touching story. The dragon engine really improves Yakuza 6 graphic to the next level.
    You don't really need to play yakuza 2 until 5 to follow and understand yakuza 6 story.    … Full Review »
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