Page 70 - PC Gamer - UK (February 2020)

RE VIE W

Shenmue 3

FIGHTINGFIT

SHENMUE 3 is as flawed as it is wonderful,

and I wouldn’t have it any other way. By Andy Kelly

estled in the mist-shrouded mountains of rural China, Bailu Mirror and the Dragon Mirror, which
Village is a settlement frozen in time. People live slow lives NEED TO KNOW are deeply connected to both Bailu
here among rice paddies, ornate Buddhist temples, quaint WHAT IS IT? and the murder of Ryo’s father.
cottages, and fields of colourful wildflowers. There are A martial arts
Nsome clues that Shenmue 3 is set in the 1980s – a woman’s adventure set in A DAY IN THE LIFE
oversized glasses, a bleepy arcade game – but otherwise life here has 1980s China Shenmue is, essentially, a detective
changed very little in the past hundred years. EXPECT TO PAY game. You spend the majority of your
£45 time talking to people, asking
It’s an ideal setting for a Shenmue At all. The passage of time has only DEVELOPER questions, finding clues, and pulling
game, a series famous (or perhaps heightened the things that people Ys Net on threads until the next piece of the
infamous) for its languid, aggressively criticise it for. The cumbersome PUBLISHER puzzle reveals itself. Occasionally
deliberate pacing. This is a game as controls, the abundance of cutscenes, Deep Silver things turn violent and Ryo is forced
slow and meandering as the old man the QTEs, the aching slowness of to fight, either through QTEs or
REVIEWED ON
strolling through Bailu’s marketplace everything. But if you love these GTX 1080, i7-9700K, combo-based martial arts combat.
deciding which kind of games for their 16GB RAM But mostly it’s just walking and
steamed bun to have idiosyncrasies, talking, with some life simulation
for lunch. And the From its indefinable charm, MULTIPLAYER thrown in for good measure. You can
No
village’s steadfast earliest days sense of place and chop wood or drive forklifts to earn
LINK
resistance to a changing the Shenmue warmth, this is really as shenmue.link money, eat food to restore stamina, or
world, to the creep of perfect a continuation train at dojos to level up your skills.
modernisation, neatly series has been of the series as you It’s not all work and self
reflects Shenmue 3’s divisive could hope for – with a improvement. You can gamble,
position itself. few caveats. betting on racing turtles and, yes,
This unlikely sequel The important thing Lucky Hit. Or you can visit the
sticks so closely to the formula of the is that it is, in every way, a true arcade and play some games, which
first two games that it’s almost as if Shenmue game: a sentiment you’ll are fun but not a patch on the arcades
the last 18 years of game design never find either deeply off-putting or from the Sega-published entries in
happened. And honestly, as a fan, I massively exciting. the series. There’s no Hang On or
couldn’t be happier. From its earliest It’s been 18 years since Shenmue 2 Space Harrier here, sadly. There are
days the Shenmue series has been was released, but the third game herbs to pick and sell, capsule toys to
divisive, with opinion rarely falling in picks up immediately where it left collect and fish to catch. In a game
the middle. You either think it’s an off. Japanese teenager Ryo Hazuki is where events don’t trigger till certain
emotional, groundbreaking desperately searching for the man times of day, these are a useful
masterpiece or an indulgent, clunky who killed his father, a journey that distraction. But they’re equally handy
mess. There’s no in-between. has taken him from his hometown of if you just want to take a break from
If you belong to the latter camp, Yokosuka to this mountain village. the story and enjoy yourself a little.
I’ll come right out and say it: Central to Shenmue’s plot are a pair When you first arrive in Bailu
Shenmue 3 won’t change your mind. of ancient artefacts, the Phoenix people are cold and wary, even
refusing to answer your questions in
some cases. There’s a real feeling of
being an outsider, which makes sense
ARCADE FIRE Ways to waste time in Shenmue 3 in an isolated community like this.
But over time, as you get to know the
villagers, they get to know you as
well. You can sense them warming to
you, opening themselves up.
Eventually Ryo will address people
by name when you start a
G ACHAP ON LUCK Y HIT FROG R ACING CHOBU- CHAN conversation and they’ll comment on
1 Collect a full set of 2 A returning favourite 3 Which of these frogs 4 FIGHTER things you’ve done around the village.
these capsule toys and from Shenmue 2. Drop a is the fastest? It’s a No classic Sega games in There’s a genuine sense of
you can sell it, but beware: ball, watch it bounce off question for the ages. And Shenmue 3’s arcades, community in Shenmue 3 and the
every machine has a rare pins, then hope it lands in if you bet on the right one unfortunately. There is, more I played it, the more Bailu
toy and the chance of the area marked with a you can make a decent however, a rubbish
getting it is slim. circle for a prize. chunk of money. penguin beat-’em-up. started to feel like home. Similar to
Yokosuka in the first game, there’s

70 FEBRUARY 2020