Shenmue III
Developer Ys Net
Publisher Deep Silver
Format PC, PS4 (tested)
Release Out now
For so many years, Shenmue III has been associated with the concept of impossibility. At one time, it was thought that a third entry in the series would never be made. After the game’s Kickstarter campaign raised over $6.3 million, even the most positive players must have realised that making a faithful Shenmue sequel on that budget would be unfeasible, and the December 2017 target date could not be met. Yet here it is. After 18 years, we’re able to resume Ryo Hazuki’s quest for vengeance, and remarkably it feels largely as we had imagined it might a couple of generations ago – though that isn’t always to the game’s credit.
Yu Suzuki has made no secret of the fact that does not conclude the series – and where the creator is unhurried in his approach to reaching the story’s conclusion, the game design follows suit. follows directly from the events of ’s final chapter, and
