Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii Preview: Like a Dragon's Latest Entry Is A Bizarre Blast

The latest expansion of the series, is a combat-heavy adventure that fuses the action of the classic games with a more modern goofy approach.is the latest spin-off in the long-running series, which has expanded over the years from a criminal drama into a sprawling universe that can balance high-stakes combat with karaoke mini-games. The recent titles have embraced the inherently silly aspects of the universe, but none as much as the newly-announced .

The game is an open-ended adventure where players can master different weapons while trying to rally together the most fearsome pirate crew on the open seas. It's a bizarre title and one that is effortlessly entertaining. During a preview event in Los Angeles attended by, I got the chance to play as a returning Goro Majima and experience the pirate life for myself. Building off the combat and expansive scope of, the gameplay of is a chaotic blast that's quick to pick up but near impossible to put down.

picks up six months after the events of. Washing up on the shores of Rich Island in the Pacific, an amnesiac Goro Majima finds himself embracing an outlandish new life as a pirate captain. Capable of swapping between a more modern style and a literal swashbuckling high-seas adventurer with the click of a button, Majima's adventures across bustling cities, secret pirate coves, and the open sea are absolutely bonkers, and the game is all the better for it.

Everything there is to know about Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii's swashbuckling new take on a consistently innovative crime saga.

During the demo, I was tasked with traveling between the comfortable Hawaiian beachfront of Honolou, and a secretive city of criminals and killers. Although Majima is the focus character, his brewing crew (including a fellow former Yakuza, a father, his cheerful son, and their pet tiger cub) accompany him as he embarks to the ship graveyard/criminal city of Madlantis. The settings are both instantly clear and exciting in their own