[0:00] Michael here with IGN and I am at Summer
[0:02] GameFest and I just played the game I've
[0:04] been looking forward to since it was
[0:06] announced, Stranger Than Heaven. I got
[0:08] to play a three-part demo and you know
[0:10] what? It's not quite what I expected.
[0:18] So, to kick things off, combat works
[0:20] very different from any of the other RG
[0:22] games you may have played. Yakuza, Like
[0:24] a Dragon, Judgment, any of those. This
[0:26] is very different. Yes, they have gone
[0:28] back to action combat, but it controls
[0:30] so differently from the action brawlers
[0:32] you may have played in the past. So, the
[0:34] way this works, the bumpers and the
[0:36] triggers control each limb of the main
[0:38] character. So, the right bumper is a
[0:40] right fist, the right trigger is the
[0:42] right foot, and the same for the left
[0:44] side. And you have to create these
[0:46] combos with each trigger pull and kind
[0:48] of be aware of the spatial area in which
[0:50] you are fighting all these enemies. and
[0:52] you can do some crazy things with it
[0:54] where you can hold one enemy to the
[0:55] side, be punching another guy to the
[0:57] left side. It's a lot more complex than
[1:00] what RGG has done in the past, but the
[1:02] combat is also a lot more deliberate.
[1:03] It's a lot slower, and I wouldn't call
[1:05] it sluggish necessarily, but you do need
[1:08] to be a lot more thoughtful about the
[1:09] actions you take in combat. You can't
[1:11] just button mash. This is not a button
[1:13] masher at all. So, the first part of the
[1:15] demo was pretty simple. I ran into a
[1:17] group of goons in the middle of the
[1:18] street and I got to get my feet wet with
[1:21] how all of the different controls work.
[1:23] So, it's a little tough when you're
[1:24] working with crowds though. If you're
[1:26] fighting like four or five different
[1:27] enemies because there isn't really a
[1:28] lock on. It's more of like a magnetic
[1:30] targeting. It's a little hard to kind of
[1:32] get your head around who you're actually
[1:34] attacking when you press any of the
[1:36] inputs. But I think it allows for a lot
[1:38] more flexibility. You are in control of
[1:40] each attack and you kind of need to
[1:42] think ahead of how you're going to
[1:44] control the character. And the thing
[1:45] about it being a little slower is that
[1:47] you can get locked into frame
[1:48] animations. And so the thing I'm getting
[1:50] my head around is what the frame timing
[1:52] is because you also have a dodge and you
[1:54] also have a block. And those you
[1:56] absolutely need to know how to use. So
[1:58] you really need to wrap your head around
[1:59] how those things work. And you can get
[2:01] perfect timed dodges to create a slow
[2:04] motion and an opening in which you can
[2:06] really do some more damage. Or you can
[2:07] just rely on a block. But you also have
[2:09] a stagger meter that you need to worry
[2:11] about in the bottom left of the screen.
[2:12] And when enemies stagger you, you fall
[2:14] to the ground and then it becomes a
[2:16] whole different thing where you just
[2:16] need to like wait it out or dodge their
[2:18] ground attacks. So there's a lot of ways
[2:20] in which you are vulnerable in a way you
[2:22] just haven't been in other action games
[2:24] from RGG Studio. So it's a very short
[2:26] demo, so I had very little time to
[2:27] actually get to grips with it. But once
[2:29] I got my head around directional dodges,
[2:31] that's the thing that you really need to
[2:33] learn. You can't just back away. You
[2:34] can't just dodge roll out of the way.
[2:36] You need to be a little bit more
[2:37] aggressive and you need to dodge around
[2:38] characters so you can get the opening
[2:40] that you need to actually knock them
[2:41] out. And the way you also have command
[2:43] grabs works really well where you pull
[2:44] both triggers and then the character
[2:46] will go into a grab mode, throw them to
[2:48] the ground, and then you can do your own
[2:49] ground attacks. And this is happening
[2:51] while you're fighting a big group of
[2:53] guys. And again, like I said, you need
[2:55] to think about what your moves are
[2:57] because again, you can get locked in
[2:59] these animations and you're vulnerable
[3:00] often. So, the last part of the demo was
[3:03] really difficult. It was a 1v one boss
[3:05] fight with what's ostensibly a super
[3:07] boss. And this is where I started to
[3:09] think to myself, is RGG doing Dark Souls
[3:12] style combat? Now, by no means are they
[3:14] trying to do a Dark Souls game? That's
[3:16] not what this is, and that's not what
[3:17] I'm saying. But it is this 1v one boss
[3:20] fight where you take a lot of damage.
[3:22] They have a lot of health and you kind
[3:24] of have to really be on top of your game
[3:26] lest you die in the middle of the fight.
[3:29] So, I'm not going to lie to y'all, it
[3:30] took me like five or six tries to defeat
[3:32] this guy. And maybe like Mr. shakedown
[3:34] from Yakuza Zero. That that's a tough
[3:36] boss in that game, right? But he doesn't
[3:39] compare to this. After my fourth or
[3:40] fifth try, I got him down to like a
[3:42] sliver of health and then there's
[3:44] another phase in which he has a onehit
[3:46] attack essentially knocks you to the
[3:48] ground and stabs you and you're done. So
[3:50] that speaks to the difficulty that is
[3:51] part of Stranger Than Heaven. Now again,
[3:53] they were dropping us in the middle of
[3:54] the game. So after 10 minutes, it's
[3:56] like, well, guess what? You're going to
[3:57] have to learn how to fight one of the
[3:58] hardest bosses in the game. So, I do
[4:00] think there will be a ramp up so you can
[4:02] hold your own against these kinds of
[4:03] bosses, but you also have to account for
[4:04] other things like the weapons that you
[4:06] have. So, you don't just have fists. You
[4:08] have a crowbar, you have knives, and the
[4:10] way you cycle through those weapons to
[4:12] create openings can be an interesting
[4:13] aspect of the combat. So, the demo I
[4:15] played here at SGF again was all combat.
[4:18] There was no story. But I think that was
[4:19] the number one question I had going into
[4:21] this game. Of course, the showcases we
[4:22] saw before gave a deep dive into the
[4:24] kind of story that they're trying to
[4:26] tell. But this was the one question I
[4:27] had was how combat was going to be
[4:29] because they had stressed that they're
[4:31] going more in-depth. And yes, they are.
[4:33] The thing is, I respect the approach.
[4:36] I'm not sure if I'm entirely on board
[4:38] yet. So, difficulty is one thing, and I
[4:40] kind of like that RG is focusing in on
[4:42] making their games a little bit more
[4:44] deeper when it comes to combat and
[4:45] challenging you a little bit more. I'm
[4:47] sure with time I can figure out deeper
[4:48] combos and how to get around these
[4:50] enemies. But for now, I'm focused on how
[4:52] movement works in this game because I
[4:54] think that's the part I'm getting hung
[4:55] up on. As someone who plays a lot of
[4:57] fighting games, who has played all of
[4:58] RG's action games, I think being nimble
[5:00] was a thing I liked a lot about those
[5:02] games, but this is very different and I
[5:04] just need to see more of it. So, there
[5:06] was no story in this demo, but I did get
[5:09] to see what the rest of that world looks
[5:10] like. This is a game that takes place
[5:12] across five different cities in five
[5:14] different time periods in Japan's
[5:16] history. So to see all these different
[5:18] cities alive in a way that Kamaroo is in
[5:21] the old Yakuza games was really nice to
[5:23] see and it feels like a generational
[5:24] jump in that regard. And if you haven't
[5:26] paid attention to any of the story that
[5:28] has been shown in showcases, this is one
[5:30] of RGG's boldest stories that they're
[5:32] going to tell. It's about a half
[5:34] Japanese, half American man who is
[5:36] escaping persecution in the United
[5:38] States, going back to Japan, but also
[5:40] struggling with the idea of finding a
[5:42] home. And this is such an interesting
[5:44] thing because if you've seen any of
[5:45] those demos or showcases, this is a game
[5:47] that focuses on music. And I think
[5:49] that's one of the most interesting
[5:50] aspects of it. Now, I didn't get to hear
[5:52] much of the soundtrack, but I think it's
[5:53] also a story theme where this is how he
[5:56] finds his connection with people in
[5:57] Japan and people in America. So,
[5:59] Stranger Than Heaven is working with a
[6:01] lot of interesting ideas, including the
[6:02] fact that it is tied to the rest of the
[6:04] Yakuza games. The Tojo clan is part of
[6:06] this story and it is tied to that, but
[6:08] it's not exactly a prequel and it's not
[6:10] exactly a direct relation to the Yakuza
[6:13] games, but it is sort of an origin story
[6:15] of how people push to the sides of
[6:18] society, how they find a living, how
[6:20] they survive in those streets, and the
[6:22] things that they resort to. kind of
[6:23] tells you what the underground criminal
[6:26] organizations of Japan at the time were
[6:28] like and the reasons why those things
[6:30] exist. And that was part of the
[6:32] conversation I had with Masayoshi
[6:34] Yokoyama, the director of this game when
[6:36] I did an interview. So I also asked them
[6:37] about the historical context in which
[6:39] they're working with because this is a
[6:40] tumultuous time in the world and
[6:42] especially with Japan with World War II,
[6:44] Imperial Japan. And I asked about how
[6:46] that's going to impact the rest of the
[6:47] story or how that's going to inform the
[6:49] things that happen to our main
[6:50] character. Of course, he said that we're
[6:52] going to have to wait for the game, but
[6:53] he also spoke to again what I mentioned
[6:55] about criminal organizations and the
[6:58] reasons why people resort to them in
[7:00] trying times. And that is kind of the
[7:02] ethos of the Yakuza series, right? You
[7:04] see a lot of characters who are
[7:05] desperate, who have to resort to these
[7:07] things and the emotional stories that
[7:09] are attached to that. That's kind of the
[7:10] expectation going into Stranger Than
[7:12] Heaven. But also, I think the bar is
[7:13] higher now because it is a game that
[7:15] takes itself more seriously. and he
[7:16] said, "Yes, there is a serious side of
[7:18] Yakuza, but it's also like a goofy game
[7:19] that has a lot of levity, but Stranger
[7:21] Than Heaven is trying to go for that
[7:23] more serious tone." And I think it kind
[7:25] of has to because it is working with
[7:26] more serious elements here, especially
[7:28] when you consider the history in which
[7:30] this game is taking place. There are a
[7:31] lot of elements they're working with
[7:32] there that I need to see for myself when
[7:35] this full game comes out. Now, there's
[7:37] no ignoring the fact that Tupac is in
[7:39] this game. Rest in peace to a legend,
[7:40] but he's been gone for 30 years, and I
[7:42] do think it's a little awkward to
[7:43] include him here. Yokoyama did mention
[7:46] that Snoop Dogg was part of the
[7:47] selection process for who this character
[7:49] was going to be. So maybe it's going to
[7:52] work. He did mention that there was a
[7:54] reason why they brought him in because
[7:55] there's a theme of music in this game
[7:58] and the bridge between Japan and America
[8:00] and how that's a binding factor. But in
[8:01] a game that takes place between the
[8:03] early 1900s to 1960s, not sure what
[8:06] they're trying to do here. And
[8:07] regardless of the fact that they said
[8:09] that they went to Tupac's estate and
[8:11] actually got approval for it and
[8:13] everyone involved was excited about this
[8:15] inclusion, there's no denying the fact
[8:17] that someone who's been gone for 30
[8:19] years is included in this. And I guess
[8:22] you'll just have to see for yourself. I
[8:24] am excited about the casting they have
[8:26] in this game. They have Tory Kelly, they
[8:27] have Otto, they have Snoop Dogg, who
[8:29] seems like a really interesting
[8:30] character who is going to be important
[8:32] to the story. And I still think RGG has
[8:34] it in them. They've been great
[8:35] storytellers in the past and they've
[8:37] told emotional stories that I still
[8:39] remember to this day. But I hope they're
[8:40] not out of their depth with this. And
[8:42] again, this was just a gameplay and
[8:44] combat demo, but we'll see when the game
[8:46] comes out in January next year. We've
[8:48] seen so much more at Summer GameFest, so
[8:50] for all of that, stick with IGN.