RGG Studio has surprised us again, this time with an announcement during an Xbox event. Stranger Than Heaven is presented as a prequel to the Like a Dragon series, setting its action in Japan in 1915. The story follows Makoto Daito, a young man who travels from the United States after the death of his parents. There he will meet Yu Shinjo, and together they will experience a conflict of ideals spanning 50 years, in a world dominated by crime and yakuza organizations.
A time jump with a revamped game engine 🎮
The development team has used an updated version of the Dragon Engine to create this installment. Although the engine is the same as in recent titles, improvements have been applied to dynamic lighting and textures to reflect the aesthetics of the early 20th century. The combat maintains the essence of action RPG with a stance-switching system, adapted to the weapons of the era such as katanas and revolvers. The camera follows the classic style of the series, with close-up shots during street fights.
50 years of yakuza drama: karaoke stays at home 🎤
Of course, RGG couldn't avoid including references to its own franchise. We will see Makoto sing in a bar of the era, although the song will be an instrumental shamisen piece, because in 1915 there were no microphones or autotune. And yes, there will be a minigame for managing a Taisho-era brothel, because nothing says family heritage like running a historical whorehouse while solving clan disputes.