Yet another Yakuza game is now available with Yakuza: Like a Dragon finally getting its much-anticipated Western release. The game’s launched now on several platforms including the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC, though the Xbox Series X is the only one to get the next-gen version of the game until the PlayStation 5 gets it some time next year. With the game available now for people to play as they start a very new yet very familiar Yakuza experience, how much time can people expect to sink into Yakuza: Like a Dragon?
As is the case with most modern games, especially those packed with extra things to do and doubly so when it comes to Yakuza games, that depends entirely on what you find yourself doing in Yakuza: Like a Dragon. The game certainly has no shortage of minigames and activities away from the main mission to partake in, so it’ll be a long time before you “beat” the game if you’re a completionist.
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For those who just want the story experience straight through, we estimate that you’ll be sinking around 30-40 hours into the game if you’re intent on getting to the bottom of the new Yakuza plot as quickly as possible. That’s a wider timeframe than usual, but it’s hard to narrow it down given how much there is to do. We also didn’t plow straight through the game’s story ourselves since doing so would be a disservice to the game itself, but judging from milestones reached based on how much time I’ve personally put in, 30-40 hours seems like a reasonable time to get through the story.
Instead of evaluating how long it’ll take to beat the main quest, it may be more helpful to returning or new Yakuza players to know how long you can invest in the game while still not beating it. After playing Yakuza: Like a Dragon pre-launch as part of our Xbox Series X review, I’ve managed to put 52 hours into the game and still have a couple more chapters to go before things are wrapping up. Given that there are many side quests and minigame-related quests gated by progression through the story and considering how we can’t possibly leave those untouched, it’s going to take many more hours to wrap things up.
So if you’re in it for the story, plan on setting aside between 30-40 hours to finish. If you’re planning on being well-versed in the game’s many side activities and well acquainted with its people, plan on devoting much more to it.
