It says a lot when I'm willing to grind out a 100% achievement on a game and not get bored. This game was fantastic.

I loved the fluid combat (for the most part); it was very Batman Arkham, with all the combos and counter-attacks, which I enjoy. The story is great. My only complaint is that I wish the game took its time to endear you more to some of the people they clearly want you to care about. The side quests and little missions you can do are fun and exciting. The writing is hilarious; the game knows how to ride a fine line between cheesy Yakuza-style comedy and grounded drama. I would 100% recommend this to any fans of Hong Kong cinema / John Woo / Kung Fu classic enjoyers, and even those who are not. The city itself was built beautifully and I found myself lost in the environments often; from the industrial ports and warehouses to the city streets lined with luminescent skyscrapers, and the small back alleys with cute little shops and residential entrances. The city is full of charm and stands out uniquely from the average GTA open world game. All the DLCs were fun and highly enjoyable. This game was really lovingly made by the devs, and they deserve all the kudos for bringing us something fresh and interesting. I learned a lot about Cantonese culture and religion, surprisingly. There's some wisdom to be learned. So I'd say overall it was a pretty edifying experience.

Solid 9/10: It only misses a point for some quality of life polish they could have added later such as: your buffs disappear if you fail a mission (they're time consuming to get, make them persistent), the Triad XP you need to reach max Triad level needs to be augmented by outfits, not allowing true freedom of outfit choice through most of the game's main missions, and lastly maybe the ability to call a cab on your phone instead of having to chase one down to fast travel. These are easily remedied, and even without these things the game is still great.

It says a lot when I'm willing to grind out a 100% achievement on a game and not get bored. This game was fantastic. I loved the fluid combat (for the most part); it was very Batman Arkham, with all the combos and counter-attacks, which I enjoy. The story is great. My only complaint is that I wish the game took its time to endear you more to some of the people they clearly want you to care about. The side quests and little missions you can do are fun and exciting. The writing is hilarious; the game knows how to ride a fine line between cheesy Yakuza-style comedy and grounded drama. I would 100% recommend this to any fans of Hong Kong cinema / John Woo / Kung Fu classic enjoyers, and even those who are not. The city itself was built beautifully and I found myself lost in the environments often; from the industrial ports and warehouses to the city streets lined with luminescent skyscrapers, and the small back alleys with cute little shops and residential entrances. The city is full of charm and stands out uniquely from the average GTA open world game. All the DLCs were fun and highly enjoyable. This game was really lovingly made by the devs, and they deserve all the kudos for bringing us something fresh and interesting. I learned a lot about Cantonese culture and religion, surprisingly. There's some wisdom to be learned. So I'd say overall it was a pretty edifying experience. Solid 9/10: It only misses a point for some quality of life polish they could have added later such as: your buffs disappear if you fail a mission (they're time consuming to get, make them persistent), the Triad XP you need to reach max Triad level needs to be augmented by outfits, not allowing true freedom of outfit choice through most of the game's main missions, and lastly maybe the ability to call a cab on your phone instead of having to chase one down to fast travel. These are easily remedied, and even without these things the game is still great.