@Pat_trick There are skill trees. They're quite simplistic but you do get a lot of upgrades that unlock new moves and abilities, so they're quite impactful, and they do add some decent depth to the combat.
Unlocking them isn't a grind, either. The basic health and attack boosts require money (as Kiryu) but the combat skills require points that are acquired through just playing the game.
By the end I had more than enough money and points to buy everything, maybe even twice over.
@Nepp67 For what it's worth, the new fighting style is somewhat tied into Kiwami 3's new story stuff, so it doesn't feel quite as random as it might sound.
But yeah, it does still come across as a bit... awkward, having Kiryu running around Kamurocho with a little spear and shield. Would love to see updated versions of the styles from 0!
@dskatter I didn't get a chance to test it properly, but the game did receive an update after I'd finished it. From what I could tell, it seemed to fix (or at least improve) a lot of the lighting problems.
Before the update, the game had some very weird HDR issues and colour saturation problems. It look me a while to tweak the HDR and brightness settings so that it didn't look completely blown out, especially in Okinawa and Kamurocho during the day.
The Trophy list is pretty straightforward as far as Yakuza games go. Just beat all the story chapters, complete the orphanage stuff, complete the Bad Boy Dragon stuff, complete Mine's stuff, and you're basically done outside of a few miscellaneous things like spinning a prize wheel 100 times.
If anyone's got any questions about the game or the review, let me know and I'll try to answer them.
Yakuza 3 was the game that introduced me to the series all those years ago, and I really enjoyed going back to that storyline. Like the review says, I think Kiwami 3 is a great remake, but that makes RGG and SEGA's more questionable decisions stand out even more.
I hope those who do buy it enjoy it as much as I did, but I also totally understand those who are against picking it up.
Just a quick note before anyone asks: You can play Dark Ties before or after the main game — it's separate from Kiwami 3 on the start menu.
However, you do get a warning that Dark Ties contains spoilers for Kiwami 3 if you decide to boot it up first.
Still, I played Dark Ties before Kiwami 3 and thought it was a great way to lead into the main game because of how much additional depth it gives to characters like Mine and Kanda.
Because of that, I'd almost recommend playing Dark Ties first if you're already familiar with Yakuza 3's story.
@Dan12836666 Yeah we don't have anything concrete on console performance yet. All we know is that it's pretty demanding on PC but seems be quite well optimised based on preview builds.
Personally I can see it being spotty on PS5 and better but not perfect on PS5 Pro.
If Microsoft has higher (and let's face it, unrealistic) sales expectations for Obsidian then it needs to hand the studio an established IP. I like The Outer Worlds but it's not and it never will be Fallout.
An Obsidian Fallout game would make real waves, assuming Bethesda would be okay with it happening.
@somnambulance That's a tough one, because I almost think you need to be in the right mindset to properly immerse yourself in a Dragon Quest game. Or at least that's how it is for me.
They're always quite special games but they can be surprisingly easy to bounce off if you're not in the mood for the typical DQ whimsy and charm.
And like the review says, DQ7 still feels slow at times, despite the streamlining. It takes a while to get going and there are definitely times when the pacing sags.
I think this is a great remake overall. but I probably wouldn't recommend it right off the bat if you're really divided on the original.
So, in your case, I'd maybe leave it for now since you're in no rush. You might really feel like some DQ cosiness in the future, and then you can jump in with less concern.
@lazarus11 There are a couple of minigames but nothing you'll spend time actually mastering or anything like that, just brief distractions.
Your equipped weapons and shields actually show on the characters, but armour doesn't.
And there are technically side quests, but they're not the busywork stuff you find in other RPGs. They're basically optional side stories, and there are only a few of them.
@Rich33 I remember doing some digging on Cyberpunk back in maybe 2021, and it was apparently a sizeable team still working on it with the intention of fixing and improving just about everything.
CDPR then basically established a new team under Gabriel Amatangelo, who spearheaded the entire 2.0 update and directed Phantom Liberty. Not sure when this first took place but the resources involved were pretty significant.
Anyway, long story short, I'd be shocked if BaRB is putting anywhere near that amount of effort into MindsEye. Hell, I'm shocked there's still talk of any kind of revival!
@Coversnail For what it's worth I think it's a solid action RPG, and probably worth checking out when it's got a big discount.
It's quite generic though, in terms of story, characters, and anime tropes. It struggles to stand out in the way that Falcom's established franchises do.
@Rich33 MindsEye currently has 8 people playing it on Steam right now, so I'm inclined to agree that there's simply nowhere near enough interest to warrant continued development.
Even Cyberpunk remained popular despite being a disaster at launch. This just seems like madness to me, but I suppose it comes down to how big the team is, what they're actually working on, etc.
I feel like this is the video they should have shown about two years ago instead of the random boss battle clips.
But even then, the amount of stuff this game's trying to do seems insane. It really does feel like one of those games that no one will be sure on until they actually play it.
@IntrepidWombat @Czar_Khastik I started with Cold Steel as well, having no real intention of exploring the rest of the series.
But I enjoyed the Cold Steel saga so much that I got completely hooked on Falcom's style of RPG. An incredible franchise that I'm so glad I stuck with.
@naruball There's no official number from what I can tell (probably because there have been so many Dragon Ball games since the 1990s) but estimates put it somewhere around 45-50 million.
And 30 million of that is down to XenoVerse 2, FighterZ, and Kakarot alone.
Big thanks to everyone who voted throughout the year!
We've had several publishers and developers reach out about Game of the Month, asking if they can use our award to promote their winning games. So we like to think it's worth doing!
"No more cosmetic purchasing – you can acquire all cosmetics free through gameplay."
It'll be very interesting to see if this change to a paid product works out for them. I feel like it's the kind of change in direction that a lot of floundering free-to-play games would benefit from.
@Areus I agree, and I think part of it is because in the Daybreak games, Van just drives everywhere and then the chapter takes place in a set space.
It just doesn't have that same sense of adventure that the Sky games or Cold Steel games had, where you'd have stretches of countryside to explore outside of the town / city you were in.
@Areus It'll probably be contentious with some fans but Erebonia is still my favourite setting. I felt like it was the most fleshed out and it made the most thematic sense (but it also had four whole games to nail things down).
I like Calvard but it feels a little... messy at times. A lot of diverse locations that don't quite feel like they're part of the same country. I like Edith as the central city but even then, it's starting to feel quite boring after three games.
Like I said in the first comment, I do think Horizon 2 (or whatever it ends up being called) needs to freshen things up. The setting is definitely part of that.
@belmont Just don't expect everything to be answered in this game, either. A lot of storylines get moved along, but there's still stuff that Falcom's clearly leaving unanswered for now.
@belmont Yes, especially compared to Daybreak 2. Horizon's story actually moves the overarching narrative along quite a bit, although like the review says, it's held back slightly by a very slow start.
Big improvement in the story department, in my opinion, but it also builds on a lot of stuff that Daybreak 2 introduced. So I'd still recommend playing Daybreak 2 before this, but if you can't stomach it, it'd be worth watching a recap.
If anyone's got any questions about the game or the review, let me know and I'll try to answer them.
Personally I think Horizon is probably the best game in the Daybreak saga (so far) but as the review says, it relies very, very heavily on the games that came before it — perhaps more so than any other Trails title (including Cold Steel 4 and Reverie, in some ways).
Falcom's done it again, then, but I do think Horizon's sequel needs to bring something fresh to the table, especially with how well 1st Chapter has been received in the meantime.
Totally agree on the delivery gameplay, there's nothing quite like it. I found it so relaxing, and the game's obviously gorgeous so I always try to take my time.
@Jammer Yeah, easily skippable if you've already played them. Only reason to revisit is if you've been wanting to replay them or you want the new Trophy lists.
@MightyDemon82 Makes me happy to hear that, and I'll also apologise in advance for the hundreds upon hundreds of hours I'm going to cost you / have already cost you.
Rob... How is it that your taste in games only grows more powerful by the year?
Every other writer on Push Square should be ashamed that their work is allowed to be published alongside your own. Especially Sammy, who is well known to be a hack fraud.
Congratulations on being the Greatest Man in Gaming once again.
Oh, and Hideo Kojima sends his personal thanks. He said you're his best friend now that Geoff has betrayed him.
Yours forever, the Official Robert Ramsey Fanclub (which has thousands of highly attractive members + Hideo Kojima) xoxoxoxo
Comments 13,577
Re: 20 PS5 Predictions for State of Play February 2026
@UltimateOtaku91 Very good call on MHW expansion, wish I'd thought of that!
Re: Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties (PS5) - Colossal, Confident Remake Makes Controversial Changes
@Pat_trick There are skill trees. They're quite simplistic but you do get a lot of upgrades that unlock new moves and abilities, so they're quite impactful, and they do add some decent depth to the combat.
Unlocking them isn't a grind, either. The basic health and attack boosts require money (as Kiryu) but the combat skills require points that are acquired through just playing the game.
By the end I had more than enough money and points to buy everything, maybe even twice over.
Re: Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties (PS5) - Colossal, Confident Remake Makes Controversial Changes
@Nepp67 For what it's worth, the new fighting style is somewhat tied into Kiwami 3's new story stuff, so it doesn't feel quite as random as it might sound.
But yeah, it does still come across as a bit... awkward, having Kiryu running around Kamurocho with a little spear and shield. Would love to see updated versions of the styles from 0!
Re: Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties (PS5) - Colossal, Confident Remake Makes Controversial Changes
@dskatter I didn't get a chance to test it properly, but the game did receive an update after I'd finished it. From what I could tell, it seemed to fix (or at least improve) a lot of the lighting problems.
Before the update, the game had some very weird HDR issues and colour saturation problems. It look me a while to tweak the HDR and brightness settings so that it didn't look completely blown out, especially in Okinawa and Kamurocho during the day.
Re: Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties (PS5) - Colossal, Confident Remake Makes Controversial Changes
@johncalmc All in one.
The Trophy list is pretty straightforward as far as Yakuza games go. Just beat all the story chapters, complete the orphanage stuff, complete the Bad Boy Dragon stuff, complete Mine's stuff, and you're basically done outside of a few miscellaneous things like spinning a prize wheel 100 times.
Re: Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties (PS5) - Colossal, Confident Remake Makes Controversial Changes
If anyone's got any questions about the game or the review, let me know and I'll try to answer them.
Yakuza 3 was the game that introduced me to the series all those years ago, and I really enjoyed going back to that storyline. Like the review says, I think Kiwami 3 is a great remake, but that makes RGG and SEGA's more questionable decisions stand out even more.
I hope those who do buy it enjoy it as much as I did, but I also totally understand those who are against picking it up.
Re: Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties (PS5) - Colossal, Confident Remake Makes Controversial Changes
Just a quick note before anyone asks: You can play Dark Ties before or after the main game — it's separate from Kiwami 3 on the start menu.
However, you do get a warning that Dark Ties contains spoilers for Kiwami 3 if you decide to boot it up first.
Still, I played Dark Ties before Kiwami 3 and thought it was a great way to lead into the main game because of how much additional depth it gives to characters like Mine and Kanda.
Because of that, I'd almost recommend playing Dark Ties first if you're already familiar with Yakuza 3's story.
Re: Morrowind-Inspired Open World RPG Dread Delusion Adventures to PS5 This Spring
I've been keeping an eye on this one for ages, looking forward to finally playing it!
Re: Granblue Fantasy: Relink - Endless Ragnarok Massively Expands the PS5 Action RPG in July
@rjejr Haha, sometimes it really does pay to wait!
But for the record, Relink first came out in 2024, so it's not like you've been missing out for too long.
Re: Trails, Ys Dev's New Action RPG Kyoto Xanadu Slashes to PS5 This Summer
@Czar_Khastik As a big Falcom fan I'd say it's a rock solid 7/10. Fun if slightly basic combat, generic but decent characters, okay story.
Worth a shot if you see it on sale and you fancy some anime-style action.
Re: PS5 Open Worlder Crimson Desert Seems Destined to Be a Hit, Tops 2 Million Wishlists
@Dan12836666 Yeah we don't have anything concrete on console performance yet. All we know is that it's pretty demanding on PC but seems be quite well optimised based on preview builds.
Personally I can see it being spotty on PS5 and better but not perfect on PS5 Pro.
Re: PS5 Open Worlder Crimson Desert Seems Destined to Be a Hit, Tops 2 Million Wishlists
@Nightcrawler71 It has the potential to be mind-blowing but also a complete mess. Not many games you can say that about these days!
Re: Xbox's Obsidian Seemingly Kills The Outer Worlds, Third Game Not Planned
@trev666 I genuinely think this is the answer.
If Microsoft has higher (and let's face it, unrealistic) sales expectations for Obsidian then it needs to hand the studio an established IP. I like The Outer Worlds but it's not and it never will be Fallout.
An Obsidian Fallout game would make real waves, assuming Bethesda would be okay with it happening.
Re: Dragon Quest VII Reimagined (PS5) - A Tip-Top Remake of a Once Tedious RPG
@Deadhunter @DonkeyFantasy Haha, unfortunately it's the usual Dragon Quest themes throughout. Nothing new for the non-fans here.
Re: Dragon Quest VII Reimagined (PS5) - A Tip-Top Remake of a Once Tedious RPG
@Don Unfortunately I think you'll miss one or two story-related Trophies, yes.
Unless they automatically pop when you import your save, but that doesn't happen in most games, in my experience.
Re: Dragon Quest VII Reimagined (PS5) - A Tip-Top Remake of a Once Tedious RPG
@somnambulance That's a tough one, because I almost think you need to be in the right mindset to properly immerse yourself in a Dragon Quest game. Or at least that's how it is for me.
They're always quite special games but they can be surprisingly easy to bounce off if you're not in the mood for the typical DQ whimsy and charm.
And like the review says, DQ7 still feels slow at times, despite the streamlining. It takes a while to get going and there are definitely times when the pacing sags.
I think this is a great remake overall. but I probably wouldn't recommend it right off the bat if you're really divided on the original.
So, in your case, I'd maybe leave it for now since you're in no rush. You might really feel like some DQ cosiness in the future, and then you can jump in with less concern.
Re: Dragon Quest VII Reimagined (PS5) - A Tip-Top Remake of a Once Tedious RPG
@lazarus11 There are a couple of minigames but nothing you'll spend time actually mastering or anything like that, just brief distractions.
Your equipped weapons and shields actually show on the characters, but armour doesn't.
And there are technically side quests, but they're not the busywork stuff you find in other RPGs. They're basically optional side stories, and there are only a few of them.
Re: Rumour: MindsEye Dev Splits From Hitman Publisher, Seeks to Fix 2025's Biggest Flop
@Rich33 I remember doing some digging on Cyberpunk back in maybe 2021, and it was apparently a sizeable team still working on it with the intention of fixing and improving just about everything.
CDPR then basically established a new team under Gabriel Amatangelo, who spearheaded the entire 2.0 update and directed Phantom Liberty. Not sure when this first took place but the resources involved were pretty significant.
Anyway, long story short, I'd be shocked if BaRB is putting anywhere near that amount of effort into MindsEye. Hell, I'm shocked there's still talk of any kind of revival!
Re: Dragon Quest VII Reimagined (PS5) - A Tip-Top Remake of a Once Tedious RPG
If anyone's got any questions about the game or the review let me know and I'll try to answer them.
It was nice to play a 3D Dragon Quest again!
Re: Trails, Ys Developer Falcom Confirms 'Major' Game Announcement for February
@Coversnail For what it's worth I think it's a solid action RPG, and probably worth checking out when it's got a big discount.
It's quite generic though, in terms of story, characters, and anime tropes. It struggles to stand out in the way that Falcom's established franchises do.
Fun gameplay if you can stomach that stuff.
Re: Rumour: MindsEye Dev Splits From Hitman Publisher, Seeks to Fix 2025's Biggest Flop
@Rich33 MindsEye currently has 8 people playing it on Steam right now, so I'm inclined to agree that there's simply nowhere near enough interest to warrant continued development.
Even Cyberpunk remained popular despite being a disaster at launch. This just seems like madness to me, but I suppose it comes down to how big the team is, what they're actually working on, etc.
Re: Crimson Desert Deep Dive Tries to Prove Its Crazy Potential Is Reality
I feel like this is the video they should have shown about two years ago instead of the random boss battle clips.
But even then, the amount of stuff this game's trying to do seems insane. It really does feel like one of those games that no one will be sure on until they actually play it.
Re: Prince of Persia Remake and 5 Other Games Cancelled by Ubisoft
What a huge waste of time, bloody hell.
Re: SNK Confirms New Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves Season with One of the Worst Trailers You'll Ever See
SNK have officially lost their minds.
Re: For the First Time Ever, the West Is Caught Up with Falcom's Massive Trails RPG Series
@Areus Actual nightmare scenario.
Re: For the First Time Ever, the West Is Caught Up with Falcom's Massive Trails RPG Series
@IntrepidWombat @Czar_Khastik I started with Cold Steel as well, having no real intention of exploring the rest of the series.
But I enjoyed the Cold Steel saga so much that I got completely hooked on Falcom's style of RPG. An incredible franchise that I'm so glad I stuck with.
Re: Dragon Ball Z Action RPG Kakarot Tops a Mighty 10 Million Sales
@naruball There's no official number from what I can tell (probably because there have been so many Dragon Ball games since the 1990s) but estimates put it somewhere around 45-50 million.
And 30 million of that is down to XenoVerse 2, FighterZ, and Kakarot alone.
Re: Dragon Ball Z Action RPG Kakarot Tops a Mighty 10 Million Sales
@ItsAlwaysSunnyyy It's incredibly cool that Kakarot got you into the whole thing!
Re: Game of the Month: Here's Every Winning PS5 Game for 2025
Big thanks to everyone who voted throughout the year!
We've had several publishers and developers reach out about Game of the Month, asking if they can use our award to promote their winning games. So we like to think it's worth doing!
Hopefully this year will be just as successful.
Re: Xbox Action RPG Towerborne Totally Reworked for PS5 Release This February
"No more cosmetic purchasing – you can acquire all cosmetics free through gameplay."
It'll be very interesting to see if this change to a paid product works out for them. I feel like it's the kind of change in direction that a lot of floundering free-to-play games would benefit from.
Re: Trails beyond the Horizon (PS5) - Trails Takes an Impressive Step Towards the End
@Areus I agree, and I think part of it is because in the Daybreak games, Van just drives everywhere and then the chapter takes place in a set space.
It just doesn't have that same sense of adventure that the Sky games or Cold Steel games had, where you'd have stretches of countryside to explore outside of the town / city you were in.
Re: Trails beyond the Horizon (PS5) - Trails Takes an Impressive Step Towards the End
@Areus It'll probably be contentious with some fans but Erebonia is still my favourite setting. I felt like it was the most fleshed out and it made the most thematic sense (but it also had four whole games to nail things down).
I like Calvard but it feels a little... messy at times. A lot of diverse locations that don't quite feel like they're part of the same country. I like Edith as the central city but even then, it's starting to feel quite boring after three games.
Like I said in the first comment, I do think Horizon 2 (or whatever it ends up being called) needs to freshen things up. The setting is definitely part of that.
Re: Trails beyond the Horizon (PS5) - Trails Takes an Impressive Step Towards the End
@belmont Just don't expect everything to be answered in this game, either. A lot of storylines get moved along, but there's still stuff that Falcom's clearly leaving unanswered for now.
Re: Trails beyond the Horizon (PS5) - Trails Takes an Impressive Step Towards the End
@belmont Yes, especially compared to Daybreak 2. Horizon's story actually moves the overarching narrative along quite a bit, although like the review says, it's held back slightly by a very slow start.
Big improvement in the story department, in my opinion, but it also builds on a lot of stuff that Daybreak 2 introduced. So I'd still recommend playing Daybreak 2 before this, but if you can't stomach it, it'd be worth watching a recap.
Re: Trails beyond the Horizon (PS5) - Trails Takes an Impressive Step Towards the End
If anyone's got any questions about the game or the review, let me know and I'll try to answer them.
Personally I think Horizon is probably the best game in the Daybreak saga (so far) but as the review says, it relies very, very heavily on the games that came before it — perhaps more so than any other Trails title (including Cold Steel 4 and Reverie, in some ways).
Falcom's done it again, then, but I do think Horizon's sequel needs to bring something fresh to the table, especially with how well 1st Chapter has been received in the meantime.
Thanks for reading!
Re: Game of the Year: All of Our 2025 Winners Revealed
Thanks again to everyone who took the time to read our GOTY stuff and to everyone who voted in the public polls.
The GOTY content always takes a lot of time and effort to properly produce, so we hope you enjoyed it!
Re: Game of the Year: Push Square Readers' 20 Most Anticipated PS5 Games of 2026
A few interesting points from the poll results:
Thanks to everyone who voted!
Re: Persona 30th Anniversary Website Opens, Teases Multiple Updates for 2026
@Czar_Khastik Atlus reading this comment like "Wait... There's a Persona 1 and 2?"
Re: Our PS5 Predictions for 2025 - Results Revealed
@Oram77 I'll never forgive Square Enix for this.
Re: Game of the Year: Robert's Top 5 PS5 Games of 2025
@Nei Haha, it's a Christmas miracle!
Totally agree on the delivery gameplay, there's nothing quite like it. I found it so relaxing, and the game's obviously gorgeous so I always try to take my time.
I've got so many screenshots of the landscape...
Re: Game of the Year: Best PS5 Action Game of 2025
@TheArt Rey Dau might be one of my favourite monsters to fight in any Monster Hunter game to date, and that's saying a hell of a lot.
Re: Game of the Year: Robert's Top 5 PS5 Games of 2025
@Nei Only just saw this comment, I'm shocked we've somehow landed on the same GOTY! Must be a first?
Re: Mini Review: Yakuza 0 Director's Cut (PS5) - A Questionable Cash Grab of a Classic
@Jammer Yeah, easily skippable if you've already played them. Only reason to revisit is if you've been wanting to replay them or you want the new Trophy lists.
Re: Game of the Year: Robert's Top 5 PS5 Games of 2025
@UltimateOtaku91 I think I'm the only one, unfortunately!
Re: Game of the Year: Robert's Top 5 PS5 Games of 2025
@MightyDemon82 Makes me happy to hear that, and I'll also apologise in advance for the hundreds upon hundreds of hours I'm going to cost you / have already cost you.
Re: Game of the Year: Robert's Top 5 PS5 Games of 2025
Rob... How is it that your taste in games only grows more powerful by the year?
Every other writer on Push Square should be ashamed that their work is allowed to be published alongside your own. Especially Sammy, who is well known to be a hack fraud.
Congratulations on being the Greatest Man in Gaming once again.
Oh, and Hideo Kojima sends his personal thanks. He said you're his best friend now that Geoff has betrayed him.
Re: Game of the Year: Robert's Top 5 PS5 Games of 2025
**** wrong account
Re: 007 First Light's PS5 Release Date Has Been Pushed Back a Couple of Months
Seems like a good idea to me. The more we can space out all the Feb / March releases, the better.
Re: Mini Review: Yakuza 0 Director's Cut (PS5) - A Questionable Cash Grab of a Classic
If anyone's got any questions about the review or the game, let me know and I'll try to answer them.
I'd always recommend Yakuza 0 to anyone interested, but SEGA's approach to the Director's Cut is ultimately quite disappointing.
Hopefully the inevitable remake on PS6 will make everything better!
Re: Game of the Year: #10 - Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds
Been looking forward to seeing the comments on this one!