Yakuza 6: The Song of Life Reviews
Yakuza 6 is a fitting end to a great saga, with fantastic combat and lots to do outside the main story
Fighting and exploring is more free than ever, and the story, while wanting in certain areas, introduces a few great characters. Some activities and side missions lack a punch, but how many games do you get to wear a giant orange on your head?
Yakuza 6 has an ambitious narrative, alternating between lighthearted and dramatic. Unfortunately, it doesn't give its characters enough love and care to truly pull off the pathos. But its sense of humor is impeccable. Its protagonist is lovable. And Sega has created a world with plenty to do.
Yakuza 6: The Song of Life is a beautiful game, plays smooth, and has a story that is genuinely compelling and driven by top notch dialogue and dynamic characters. The fighting is complex but easy to learn, and the game provides tons of great content in the form of mini-games, town exploration, and side storylines. There is lots to look at and take in as you play, and the game packs a lot of good into a nearly flawless package.
Kazuma Kiryu's final outing is an emotionally charged tale of familial bonds and the violence that threatens to rip them asunder
Yakuza 6: Song of Life is an excellent conclusion to Kazuma Kiryu's story while also improving and streamling the gameplay and exploration.
Yakuza 6: The Song of Life wraps up the story of Kazuma Kiryu with the same sense of style and attention to quality the series has always maintained. By alternating erratically between deadly serious crime stories, and wildly goofball side activities, Yakuza strikes an entertaining sweet spot that few other series manage. Players should set aside a lot of time before engaging with Yakuza, because like the mob, this is a game that will keep pulling you back in.
It's an absolute emotional rollercoaster ride, packaged together with some of the best content the series has offered to date and polished to an absolute shine.
Yakuza 6: Song of Life is a very deep and exciting game with a great sense of humor and strange, but fun side quests. Fans for sure won't be disappointed.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Yakuza 6: The Song of Life tells a truly gripping tale – a story that blows most games out of the water. Combine that with a refined combat system and a new engine capable of making the game's world feel more alive than ever, and you've got a stellar Yakuza title. Although the experience does feel a little stunted in places outside of the main plot, this is still a fitting final chapter. Yakuza 6 is a gloriously dramatic send off for one of the greatest characters in modern gaming.
A rip-roaring conclusion to Kiryu's tale and the best entry in the Yakuza series to date, Yakuza 6 is a triumph that effortlessly cements its place in the pantheon of all-time JRPG greats.
This may be the Dragon of Dojima's last kick at the franchise, but he leaves on a high note that will satisfy the yakuza in all of us.
Like its predecessors, Yakuza 6 is a beautiful, engaging and deep title. Nonetheless, after seven main chapters, countless spin-offs, remastered versions and remakes, a slight whiff of deja vu is almost inescapable. Having said that, The Song of Life is a great conclusion for an unforgettable saga.
Review in Italian | Read full review
One step back and two steps forward; Yakuza 6 changes up some of the core elements for Kiryu's last adventure and give new life to a series that's become a cult classic for JRPG fans.
Yakuza 6 offers an truly open world to explore and intriguing story. It stands as one of the finest in the series too.
Review in Swedish | Read full review
With the launch of Yakuza 6: Song of Life, the saga of Kazuma Kiryu reaches its conclusion on PC and Xbox as well. The two years that passed since its launch on Sony consoles have provided it with technical improvements that, especially on PC, made the game's visuals more in line with the times. Compared to Yakuza 0, the combat is a bit on the stiffier side, but still satysfying, and Yakuza 6 is a worthy final chapter in a fifteen-year long narrative arc.
Review in Italian | Read full review
While it's slightly disappointing to see so many members of Yakuza‘s great ensemble cast take a back seat in Yakuza 6, it ultimately works out for the best. Song of Life is Kiryu's story and focusing on something larger would only be a disservice to one of gaming's most fully realized characters. It's only fitting that he bows out in Ryu ga Gotoku Studio's most mature and focused game.
It's taken me a long time to experience the Yakuza series, but Yakuza 6 makes me so thankful that I finally have. The insurmountable badass Kazuma Kiryu is surrounded by a fantastic cast of characters and some gripping drama—it's just a shame that the "game" portion of this video game isn't quite what it could be. Still, this is a superb adventure from beginning to end, and further proof of the magic that Japanese developers can weave when they put their minds to it.
Yakuza 6 delivers the series' signature poignant story, and is probably the best Yakuza has been narrative and production-wise. However, the game's trademark diversions have been trimmed back.
Yakuza 6: The Song of Life is a wonderful crime thriller that embraces everything that made the series great, refining it further with new technology – it blew me away. I'm not ashamed to say that the closing minutes of Kazuma Kiryu's final chapter brought me to tears, acting as the culmination of a story in which I've lost myself for more than a decade.