If there's one thing the venerable Yakuza/Like a Dragon series is known for, it's experimentation. RGG Studio has been putting out these games at a decent clip for twenty years now, and it's a testament to their efficiency that each title manages to put a fresh twist on the "serious-faced Japanese man beating up hundreds of people" formula. Whether it's the karaoke, the intricate plots, or the side modes — the last one literally had an Animal Crossing game stapled to it — Yakuza is known for constant reinvention, so much so that it's bleeding into games that aren't Yakuza.
RGG Studio might literally be named after their flagship series — Ryu Ga Gotoku, Japanese for Like a Dragon — but that doesn't mean they can't branch out. Stranger than Heaven, their first non-Yakuza project in a while, has officially been unveiled, and it looks to live up to the name.
On the surface, it does look to share quite a bit of DNA with Yakuza, although the more straightforwardly serious tone, the period setting, and the fact that that guy is definitely actually killing people do serve to set it apart from Kiryu's journey.
Previously developed under the codename Project Century, Stranger than Heaven looks to take place over the entire 1900s, at least judging from the protagonist's apparent supernatural appearance, the evolving logos at the end, and a previous teaser with the same character taking place in 1915. That's just speculation, of course, but bold new storytelling direction or not, any bone-crunching street brawler from RGG Studio is one to look out for.
