---
title: 'Stranger Than Heaven Hands-On Impressions: Yakuza, Like A Souls Game'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=VUjbyfMj1dk'
video_id: 'VUjbyfMj1dk'
date: 2026-06-16
duration_sec: 0
---

# Stranger Than Heaven Hands-On Impressions: Yakuza, Like A Souls Game

> Source: [Stranger Than Heaven Hands-On Impressions: Yakuza, Like A Souls Game](https://youtube.com/watch?v=VUjbyfMj1dk)

## Summary

IGN's Michael provides hands-on impressions of 'Stranger Than Heaven' from Summer Game Fest, highlighting its unique combat system and Soulslike difficulty. The demo focused entirely on combat, revealing a slower, more deliberate action style that differs from previous RGG Studio games.

### Key Points

- **Unique Limb-Based Controls** [0:18] — Combat uses bumpers and triggers to control each limb (right bumper = right fist, right trigger = right foot, etc.), requiring deliberate combos and spatial awareness.
- **Deliberate, Slower Combat** [1:00] — Combat is slower and more thoughtful than previous RGG games; not a button masher. Players must be deliberate with actions.
- **Magnetic Targeting** [1:26] — No lock-on; uses magnetic targeting. Can be confusing in crowds but allows flexibility.
- **Perfect Dodges and Blocking** [2:01] — Perfect timed dodges create slow motion and openings for more damage. Blocking and dodging are essential.
- **Stagger Meter** [2:09] — A stagger meter in the bottom left; when enemies stagger you, you fall and must wait or dodge ground attacks.
- **Command Grabs** [2:43] — Command grabs: pull both triggers to grab, throw enemy to ground, then perform ground attacks.
- **Soulslike Boss Fight** [3:03] — The final part of the demo was a 1v1 boss fight that took 5-6 tries. The boss has a second phase with a one-hit-kill attack.
- **Five Cities, Five Time Periods** [5:12] — The game spans five different cities in five different time periods in Japan's history.
- **Story and Themes** [5:32] — The story follows a half-Japanese, half-American man escaping persecution and searching for a home, with music as a central theme.
- **Tupac Inclusion** [7:38] — Tupac is included in the game, approved by his estate. Snoop Dogg was involved in the selection process. The inclusion is tied to music and the bridge between Japan and America.

## Transcript

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