Review for Yakuza Kiwami 2. Game for PC and PlayStation 4, the video game was released on 07/12/2017 The version for PC came out on 09/05/2019 The version for PlayStation 4 came out on 28/08/2018
There are shots that can communicate better than a thousand words. There are punches dictated by impulsiveness that move hissing driven by irrationality, blows that rustle deaf in the air and impact punctually, mixed with hatred and suppressed, cold, stainless emotions. These mighty blows transfer restless sensations to the target, tempered by years of difficulties and vicissitudes. Yakuza Kiwami 2 remember how also Kazuma Kiryu knows these blows well, on the other hand he has inflicted many and has suffered as many, sparing his mercy to a few of the unfortunate souls who have, in the course of the events recounted in the first Kiwami, tried to block his path. Today we want to talk to you, after the version released on PlayStation 4 last year (of which you can find the review here), about the port of Yakuza Kiwami 2 on PC.
Yakuza Kiwami 2 opens, in its early stages, with a twist that subvert the cards on the table: once again the heavy atmosphere of the situation, originating from the incessant wars and unrest between clans, weighs on the shoulders of the heroic Kiryu, always ready to rush in case of need. But in the world of the Yakuza there is no room for pity, there is no time to make amends for one's mistakes, there is no way to have a second chance: whoever makes a mistake pays e, very often, between Kiryu himself and an ignoble end, only us and our skills will stand up in the frenzied pressure of keys to ensure that the Dragon has the better of their opponents. The cast of the work sees the return of some old acquaintances but also the entry of new characters - including the spectacular Dragon of Kansai Ryuji Goda, nemesis of Kiryu - who will play the roles in the unraveling of a story that will not fail to provide exciting moments, starting from the beginning to the end, in an epic ride that will be punctuated by moments of great impact.
The feeling with Kiwami 2 is immediate and exceptional, as the console version had already accustomed us at the time: the splendid Kamurocho speaks for itself, and is even more beautiful than the one known in previous chapters, with its eloquent streets teeming with passers-by and opportunities - and dangers - for those who intend to discover what lies behind every corner. The annoying, albeit brief, uploads that made our entrances to closed buildings sobbing in Yakuza Kiwami 2 PC are gone and are now making way for a world without pauses, more dynamic and immediate and of great effect, aesthetically and overall.
The glance of Yakuza Kiwami 2 on PC is exceptional: Kamurocho e Sotenbori - the new explorable district - are first of all two places that live at the rhythms of what is a precise metaphor of Japan: frenetic trends, imposing signs, small ravines to discover, appreciate and to which, freely, to return then in the future, providing a general overview of great coherence and cohesion, under which, however, the burning contradictions that feed Japanese society are moving.
The cohesion in the game's activities is one of the cornerstones of the Yakuza series - confirmed in an excellent way in this Kiwami 2 - which leaves you amazed for depth and variety: you never get bored, in Yakuza Kiwami 2, and very often it is a difficult undertaking to stay focused on the main missions, perhaps being swallowed by the desire to do some baseball pitches, a game of golf, or why not, also from a curious minigame to play while in the bathroom. Everything is different, studied with unique attention and maniacal expertise: the numerous activities go hand in hand with the completist spirit of the game, a real godsend for those who want to get the most out of this experience.
The excellent graphics sector of Yakuza Kiwami 2 is allowed by the renewed appearance of the Dragon Engine which manages to provide an overall result capable of leaving you amazed, at the expense of system requirements this time more onerous compared to those of the port of the first Kiwami for PC, but able to adapt in a more than good way even to machines that are no longer advanced.
The combat system itself has undergone changes and no longer presents the styles, but everything is rendered in a more immediate way, providing a positive sense of heaviness guaranteed by improved physics and excellent feedback of the controls, as well as a revision in the combat moves. The system as a whole it works so well that it is fun even for the bravest who want to embark on the Kiwami 2 adventure without a controller (mode in which it performs at its best), but only with mouse and keyboard, in a combination of prudent combos produced by the alternating pressure of the buttons of our mouse.
Further changes are proposed in the system of enhancements, diversified also to remedy the aforementioned absence of fighting styles, and by the introduction of two collateral activities of greater depth such as the Clan Creator, where we can check out the spectacularly crazy Goro Majima and the Cabaret Club Grand Prix, where we will have to personally manage a cabaret trying to satisfy customers who will gladly squander their savings in front of good-looking girls.
A great and incredible step forward is made in the ways in which the story is told registically: Kiwami 2 thrives on directorial moments worthy of a Hollywood film, moments whose power is transmitted by a scene on the screen proposed with a refined and incredibly complex shot, troubled, perhaps alternated with a close-up that shows the renewed face of Kiryu in the original graphic style, capable of transmitting emotions in able to startle with the sole aid of the gaze.
The same soundtrack that accompanies us is always suitable and commendable in the notes played and in the emotions touched, also because it manages to emphasize moments of leisure and those of tension in the best possible way, providing an audio-visual complex of incredibly high quality.
High quality that is also transferred to the dubbing of the work - in Japanese - capable of giving even more credibility to the characters in the deepest scenes. Unfortunately, a translation of the title is missing, available in English only.
Yakuza Kiwami 2 is a mighty slap in the monotony in video games: a slap given in anger, dry, able to leave marks on our faces for a long time. The PC version re-proposes the winning formula of the remake already seen on Playstation 4, with a final product that - for quality and quantity supplied for the selling price - finds very few rivals in the sector and becomes an opportunity not to be missed, because after Sotenbori and Kamurocho, today we can say with certainty that Dōjima no Ryū also dominates on the screen of our PCs.
► Yakuza Kiwami 2 is an Action-type game developed and published by Sega for PC and PlayStation 4, the video game was released on 07/12/2017 The version for PC came out on 09/05/2019 The version for PlayStation 4 came out on 28/08/2018
