The upcoming action game, Stranger than heaven recieved a deep dive as part of the Xbox Presents series. The title is a new IP from Like A Dragon developer RGG Studios, set in the same universe but across multiple different years and cities. In addition, we finally have a time frame as to when players can travel to the multiple cities and carve a destiny of their own.
The deep dive begins with a long trailer focusing on what will be a story spanning 50 years. The sees Makoto Daito, a half-Japanese man, who decides to flee America for his mother’s home country of Japan. To do this, he makes the mistake of sneaking onto the ship of a man known as Orpheus, a smuggler played by Snoop Dogg. On this ship, he meets Yu Shinjo, and upon arriving in Japan, they embark on a twisting tale through an every changing Japan. This features Kokura, Fukuoka, in 1915; Kure, Hiroshima, in 1929; Minami, Osaka, in 1943; Atami, Shizuoka, in 1951; and finally Kamurocho, Tokyo, in 1965.
While previous trailers placed heavy emphasis on the Jazz influence in the game, as it turns out, Makoto Daito will become a promoter along his journey. Being able to recruit musicians, promote events, and attend their concerts will be part of this, with Makoto able to profit from successful shows in the process. Having a talent for music extends beyond just a profession, as he can hear the sounds around him, even in combat, to learn new abilities.
Combat also got a much deeper dive than we had previously seen, giving a better sense of the new dynamic combat system. While parts of it appear familiar if you have played the Like A Dragon games, character models are able to react far more fluidly to actions on screen, like dragging enemies to the ground and mounting them or beating them through precision strikes by controlling either the left or right side of Makoto’s body.
The deep dive ended with the promise that more information would be coming soon, with the team making a point to keep gameplay in Kamurocho hidden for now, owing to a big secret. Given that this is the primary setting of the Like A Dragon series and the formation of the Tojo clan, which the main character Kazuma Kiryu once belonged to, it is fair to assume some narrative connections will appear here.
Unfortunately, we did not get an official release date, but it was stated that Stranger Than Heaven will be released in the winter of this year. It will release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC. It will be available on day one with Xbox Game Pass.
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