Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth review: thank goodness for Yakuza

I won’t need another game for several years

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Sega

• Developer: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio
• Publisher: Sega
• Release: January 25th 2024
• On: Windows 10
• From: Steam , Microsoft Store
• Price: £60/€70/$70
• Reviewed on: Intel Core i7-12700F, 16GB RAM, Nvidia RTX 3080, Windows 11

Yakuza: Like A Dragon was a brilliant foray into turn-based chaos, but some of its RPG elements didn’t quite lead anywhere. Well, in swaggers the frankly ginormous Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth to tie off the loose ends and give us a follow-up that links all the best bits of Yakuza into a far more satisfying reward loop. Some of the refinements make for superb silliness, while others are a bit eh - not everything is perfect. But spending time with Ichiban and his pals in the sun-soaked Hawaii and beyond is the real treat. It’s a wonderful, happy JRPG and it will never fail to brighten my day. Thank goodness for Yakuza.

Infinite Wealth begins with Ichiban and his pals leading normal lives, having escaped the chaos of organised crime… that is, until they’re dragged back in by a chance encounter. I won’t get into details, as I’d rather not spoil loads of story beats for you, but I’d say the inevitable pull of the yakuza is particularly well done here and avoids leaning on the classic “we’ve broken out of prison again, lads” crutch of the past. Instead, it involves the yakuza’s dwindling presence in Japan - a sign of the times - and has the emotional hook of a familial mystery. Turns out Ichiban’s mother is at the heart of things, with the first clue placing her somewhere in Hawaii.

Tomi and Chitose are a great addition to the team, as they both have storied histories to uncover and are the equivalent of squabbling siblings. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Sega

<img loading=“lazy” src=“https://assetsio.gnwcdn.com/infinite-wealth-sujimon-nugget.jpg?width=2048&height=2048&fit=bounds&quality=85&format=jpg&auto=webp" onerror=“this.onerror=null;this.src=‘https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe7F7TRXHtjiKvHb5vS7DmnxvpHiDyoYyYvm1nHB3Qp2_w3BnM6A2eq4v7FYxCC9bfZt3a9vIMtAYEKUiaDQbHMg-ViyGmRIj39MLp0bGFfgfYw1Dc9q_H-T0wiTm3l0Uq42dETrN9eC8aGJ9_IORZsxST1AcLR7np1koOfcc7tnHa4S8Mwz_xD9d0=s16000';" alt=“Unlocking the “Munanugget Messiah” Sujimon in Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth. - 4”>

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Sega

Ichiban’s arrival on Hawaii’s sunny shores delicately pulls him away from his established party and, at first, cleans the slate. Not only is it exciting when you recruit new pals - a taxi driver who robs you at gunpoint, and a girl who also robs you - it’s wonderful to discover how their stories intertwine with Ichiban’s past, and possibly, his future. Oh and Kiryu’s back, too! Except it’s actually really sad because he acknowledges early on that he’s suffering from cancer and doesn’t have long to live. I was worried he’d been shoehorned in as a playable protagonist and party member for the sake of it. But no, not only does he make for a good dad of the group, his inclusion is a farewell in the best kind of sense: 1) He gets to hurl bicycles at thugs; 2) He finally accepts his vulnerabilities; 3) He’s surrounded by friends old and new.

What’s wonderful about Hawaii is how it perfectly compliments Ichiban’s personality and, to some extent, Yakuza as a whole. It bursts with colour - perhaps too much, as the contrast might blind you during the day - and has various districts with shiny malls, surf shacks, sleaze, and an azure sea you can actually swim about in. It easily sits as one of my favourite Yakuza locales ever, because it also embraces the slow life (a bit like Y6’s Onomichi, my all time fave), as you stroll along its coastal paths or hop in a tram with nothing in mind besides basking in the orange glow of the sun set. Just as Ichiban radiates positivity, so does Honolulu.

Later, you’ll spend time with Kiryu in Yokohama as he ticks off things on his bucket list. It’s a neat way to remix the familiarity of Yokohama through the lens of a legend bowing out - a man who not only imparts knowledge to Ichiban’s original gang, but shines a light on how much everyone else has matured around him, too. For those invested in the story, both Ichiban and Kiryu’s paths make for all the melodrama and occasional fits of silliness you could ask for.

One thing I don’t like is New Game+ being locked behind Digital Deluxe and Ultimate Edition versions of the game. Hawaii is chill; locking New Game+ behind a paywall isn’t. Come on man. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Sega

And as the devs’ second crack at a turn-based RPG, I’d say Infinite Wealth refines what came before, by making it so that a lot of the character stats from LAD now feed into a tighter reward system. For instance, Ichiban’s personality traits (passion, intellect, etc) now tie heavily to unlocking new jobs (classes), and your bond level with pals now determines how many slots you have available for inheriting skills from other jobs. In effect, Infinite Wealth has wrapped Yakuza: LAD’s loose end stats into a more motivating loop.

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio have also added new methods to level up all of these things, except here the quality varies from solid to shoulder shrug. Waving to the same NPCs as you roam Hawaii lets you gradually befriend them, but there’s no substance to it beyond seeing bars go up. On the flipside, a hilarious dating app mini game lets you level up your stats by sending “passionate” advances with quick button combos and last ditch decisions. Succeed and you might meet someone nice! Fail and you might get catfished by an oily perv. Or, if the game calls for a bit of grinding, you can supplement it with a roguelike dungeon called the Labyrinth, with procedurally generated halls and rooms of loot to plunder.

You see, there are moments throughout the story where the game’s like, “Hey, you might want to reach level 13 and have this sort of equipment before you venture onwards”. Infinite Wealth tweaks are additive, sure, but it’s still very much an RPG with a straight trajectory, where the story follows one track and won’t veer off course no matter what you do. And in a traditional JRPG sense, it’s reliant on the occasional grind, because it’s only your party’s level that truly lets you push forwards.

Yakuza LAD’s had a mid-game slump because of this, and it was a bit naff, but the Labyrinth’s roguelike hook, combined with tweaks to general EXP rewards, has dialled down Infinite Wealth’s need for levelling excursions. Or, if you prefer, transformed these trips from slightly unbearable to a welcome jaunt. But Infinite Wealth is still a Yakuza game with Yakuza-isms that will grate for some. As well as the grind, expect some exceedingly long cutscenes, repetitive strings of fights through offices, and the incitement of rage from seemingly everyone on the streets.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Sega

Granted, they have made these dungeons a bit more interesting. There are lasers to avoid, more novelty moments, and more bits of terrain to toss around. And against enemies way lower level, there’s now an option to whizz through the fight super quickly and get a portion of the EXP/Money you would’ve got otherwise. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Sega

While east Hawaii’s ruffians are weaker than your west variety, it’s difficult to tell how much everyone’s levels carry. There were times when I went up against some brutes around four levels higher than me and got obliterated. Then there were times when I tackled a gaggle of goons seven levels higher and emerged unscathed. Honestly, I do think the level balance is a little borked, and it can be especially frustrating as enemies’ levels don’t actually appear until a fight kicks off. Don’t do a me folks: save regularly, lest you get battered.

Having upgraded PC mid-review, I can safely say the game runs absolutely fine at medium settings on an RTX 2070 at 1080p. With my current PC, everything gets bumped to high and ultra, and runs flawlessly. I’ve had a tougher time getting it to run at a consistent 40FPS on the Steam Deck. The frames tend to suffer in the busyness of Hawaii and I haven’t found a golden suite of settings to rectify the churn. I’d give hardware editor James’ take onSteam Deck settingsa look if I were you.Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Sega

But I do think my surprise successes are, in part, thanks to turn-based tweaks to Yakuza: LAD’s setup that let you better bend a disadvantage to a win. Now you’re able to move in a small zone during your turns, which sounds like a little change but adds much needed variety. Rotate behind an enemy and you can lay down extra “Back Attack” damage, or you can sidle over to a nearby traffic cone to add a spot of thermoplastic to your slaps. The best thing about it, though? Fights turn into a game of skittles, as most foes can be smacked towards a pal, who’ll then perform a follow-up haymaker (depending on the bond level, and therefore benefits, that you have with them).

Spells and attacks have been tuned a bit too, making everyone’s suite of abilities more useful. Adachi’s suplexes break guards, preventing enemies from hunkering behind titanium forearms, while Chitose’s perfume bottle can spray multiple lads with a pungent debuff. And it’s wonderful being able to inherit any skill from any Job later on, making it truly beneficial to have fun and experiment. The extra options aren’t always enough to make regular battles less of a chore, but against tougher hoodlums they shine. Infinite Wealth’s finally found the right blend of turn-based and chaos to graduate from an experiment that went well, to a series staple that feels uniquely Yakuza.

While some niggling Yakuza jank lingers, Infinite Wealth also retains what I believe to be the series’ most important strength: comedy. Just like the rest of the series, the game vaults between absurdity and seriousness with confidence. Nancy the crawfish is now Ichiban’s pet, and has a full on love story in the midst of everything. And I like how the devs have infused many of the side stories with Hawaiian culture and tourist silliness. I’ve helped a rockstar conjure a storm for his music video by going to a local shaman, and sort of laugh-cried at an old man trying to fulfil his wife’s final wish to see snow. His way of going about it? Chucking shaved ice into the air. But it does the Yakuza thing! It goes so much deeper than shaved ice in the most unexpected of ways.

Yakuza’s always been big on extra side stuff and Infinite Wealth has taken it up several notches, to the point where I could probably write two separate reviews for both of its offerings. The first is a Pokémon parody called Sujimon, where you capture, level up, and battle weird goons. The second is Dondoko Island, an Animal Crossing parody where you rejuvenate a polluted island and turn it into a tourist attraction. I think Sujimon’s the lesser of the two (still a good laugh), whereas I can see myself losing hundreds of hours to what’s a bit of a mash between AC and Yakuza’s real estate mini games of the past. What’s neat is you don’t have to engage with either of them beyond their intros, but can reap big benefits if you do (extra currency, the odd special move, a Sujimancer Job).

Infinite Wealth is everything I wanted from a Yakuza: LAD sequel. It refines and expands on many of Yakuza: LAD’s RPG loose ends or underexplored bits, whisking you away to the wonderful Hawaii in the process. Yes, it may be a bit too expansive for some, retains some of Yakuza’s more annoying quirks, and isn’t an RPG in the sense of making Ichiban’s story totally your own. But the story it does tell, and the adventures you do go on, are heartfelt and funny and told with such rich detail. I’ll say it again: thank goodness for Yakuza.

This review is based on a review build of the game provided by publishers Sega.

Find out how we conduct our reviews by reading our review policy .

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth

Video Game

Rock Paper Shotgun is better when you sign in

Sign in and join us on our journey to discover strange and compelling PC games.

All 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints and where to get them

These areas have the highest chance of giving you Blueprints

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Looking for more Arc Raiders Blueprints? It’s a special day when you find a Blueprint, as they’re among the most valuable items in Arc Raiders. If you find a Blueprint that you haven’t already found, then you must make sure you hold onto it at all costs, because Blueprints are the key to one of the most important and powerful systems of meta-progression in the game.

This guide aims to be the very best guide on Blueprints you can find, starting with a primer on what exactly they are and how they work in Arc Raiders, before delving into exactly where to get Blueprints and the very best farming spots for you to take in your search.

We’ll also go over how to get Blueprints from other unlikely activities, such as destroying Surveyors and completing specific quests. And you’ll also find the full list of all 75 Blueprints in Arc Raiders on this page (including the newest Blueprints added with the Cold Snap update , such as the Deadline Blueprint and Firework Box Blueprint), giving you all the information you need to expand your own crafting repertoire.

In this guide:

• What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?
• Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes
• Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders Blueprints obtained from quests Blueprints obtained from Trials Best Blueprint farming locations

What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?

Blueprints in Arc Raiders are special items which, if you manage to extract with them, you can expend to permanently unlock a new crafting recipe in your Workshop. If you manage to extract from a raid with an Anvil Blueprint, for example, you can unlock the ability to craft your very own Anvil Pistol, as many times as you like (as long as you have the crafting materials).

To use a Blueprint, simply open your Inventory while in the lobby, then right-click on the Blueprint and click “Learn And Consume” . This will permanently unlock the recipe for that item in your Workshop. As of the Stella Montis update, there are allegedly 75 different Blueprints to unlock - although only 68 are confirmed to be in the game so far. You can see all the Blueprints you’ve found and unlocked by going to the Workshop menu, and hitting “R” to bring up the Blueprint screen.

It’s possible to find duplicates of past Blueprints you’ve already unlocked. If you find these, then you can either sell them, or - if you like to play with friends - you can take it into a match and gift it to your friend so they can unlock that recipe for themselves. Another option is to keep hold of them until the time comes to donate them to the Expedition.

Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes

Below is the full list of all the Blueprints that are currently available to find in Arc Raiders, and the crafting recipe required for each item:

Note: The missing Blueprints in this list likely have not actually been added to the game at the time of writing, because none of the playerbase has managed to find any of them. As they are added to the game, I will update this page with the most relevant information so you know exactly how to get all 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints.

Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders

Below is a list of all containers, modifiers, and events which maximise your chances of finding Blueprints:

• Certain quests reward you with specific Blueprints .
• Completing Trials has a high chance of offering Blueprints as rewards.
• Surveyors have a decent chance of dropping Blueprints on death.
• High loot value areas tend to have a greater chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Night Raids and Storms may increase rare Blueprint spawn chances in containers.
• Containers with higher numbers of items may have a higher tendency to spawn Blueprints. As a result, Blue Gate (which has many “large” containers containing multiple items) may give you a higher chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Raider containers (Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, Medical Bags, Grenade Tubes) have increased Blueprint drop rates. As a result, the Uncovered Caches event gives you a high chance of finding Blueprints.
• Security Lockers have a higher than average chance of containing Blueprints.
• Certain Blueprints only seem to spawn under specific circumstances: Tempest Blueprint only spawns during Night Raid events. Vulcano Blueprint only spawns during Hidden Bunker events. Jupiter and Equaliser Blueprints only spawn during Harvester events.

Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, and other raider-oriented container types have a good chance of offering Blueprints. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints have a very low chance of spawning in any container in Arc Raiders, around 1-2% on average. However, there is a higher chance of finding Blueprints in particular container types. Specifically, you can find more Blueprints in Raider containers and security lockers.

Beyond this, if you’re looking for Blueprints you should focus on regions of the map which are marked as having particularly high-value loot. Areas such as the Control Tower in Dam Battlegrounds, the Arrival and Departure Buildings in Spaceport, and Pilgrim’s Peak in Blue Gate all have a better-than-average chance of spawning Blueprints somewhere amongst all their containers. Night Raids and Electromagnetic Storm events also increase the drop chances of certain Blueprints .

In addition to these containers, you can often loot Blueprints from destroyed Surveyors - the largest of the rolling ball ARC. Surveyors are more commonly found on the later maps - Spaceport and Blue Gate - and if one spawns in your match, you’ll likely see it by the blue laser beam that it casts into the sky while “surveying”.

Surveyors are quite well-armoured and will very speedily run away from you once it notices you, but if you can take one down then make sure you loot all its parts for a chance of obtaining certain unusual Blueprints.

Blueprints obtained from quests

One way in which you can get Blueprints is by completing certain quests for the vendors in Speranza. Some quests will reward you with a specific item Blueprint upon completion, so as long as you work through all the quests in Arc Raiders, you are guaranteed those Blueprints.

Here is the full list of all Blueprints you can get from quest rewards:

• Trigger Nade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Sparks Fly”.
• Lure Grenade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Greasing Her Palms”.
• Burletta Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Industrial Espionage”.
• Hullcracker Blueprint (and Launcher Ammo Blueprint): Rewarded after completing “The Major’s Footlocker”.

Alas, that’s only 4 Blueprints out of a total of 75 to unlock, so for the vast majority you will need to find them yourself during a raid. If you’re intent on farming Blueprints, then it’s best to equip yourself with cheap gear in case you lose it, but don’t use a free loadout because then you won’t get a safe pocket to stash any new Blueprint you find. No pain in Arc Raiders is sharper than failing to extract with a new Blueprint you’ve been after for a dozen hours already.

One of the best ways to get Blueprints is by hitting three stars on all five Trials every week. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints obtained from Trials

One of the very best ways to get Blueprints is as rewards for completing Trials in Arc Raiders. Trials are unlocked from Level 15 onwards, and allow you to earn rewards by focusing on certain tasks over the course of several raids. For example, one Trial might task you with dealing damage to Hornets, while another might challenge you to loot Supply Drops.

Trials refresh on a weekly basis, with a new week bringing five new Trials. Each Trial can offer up to three rewards after passing certain score milestones, and it’s possible to receive very high level loot from these reward crates - including Blueprints. So if you want to unlock as many Blueprints as possible, you should make a point of completing as many Trials as possible each week.

Best Blueprint farming locations

The very best way to get Blueprints is to frequent specific areas of the maps which combine high-tier loot pools with the right types of containers to search. Here are my recommendations for where to find Blueprints on every map, so you can always keep the search going for new crafting recipes to unlock.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Dam Battlegrounds

The best places to farm Blueprints on Dam Battlegrounds are the Control Tower, Power Generation Complex, Ruby Residence, and Pale Apartments . The first two regions, despite only being marked on the map as mid-tier loot, contain a phenomenal number of containers to loot. The Control Tower can also contain a couple of high-tier Security Lockers - though of course, you’ll need to have unlocked the Security Breach skill at the end of the Survival tree.

There’s also a lot of reporting amongst the playerbase that the Residential areas in the top-left of the map - Pale Apartments and Ruby Residence - give you a comparatively strong chance of finding Blueprints. Considering their size, there’s a high density of containers to loot in both locations, and they also have the benefit of being fairly out of the way. So you’re more likely to have all the containers to yourself.

Buried City

The best Blueprint farming locations on Buried City are the Santa Maria Houses, Grandioso Apartments, Town Hall, and the various buildings of the New District . Grandioso Apartments has a lower number of containers than the rest, but a high chance of spawning weapon cases - which have good Blueprint drop rates. The others are high-tier loot areas, with plenty of lootable containers - including Security Lockers.

Spaceport

The best places to find Blueprints on Spaceport are the Arrival and Departure Buildings, as well as Control Tower A6 and the Launch Towers . All these areas are labelled as high-value loot regions, and many of them are also very handily connected to one another by the Spaceport wall, which you can use to quickly run from one area to the next. At the tops of most of these buildings you’ll find at least one Security Locker, so this is an excellent farming route for players looking to find Blueprints.

The downside to looting Blueprints on Spaceport is that all these areas are hotly contested, particularly in Duos and Squads. You’ll need to be very focused and fast in order to complete the full farming route.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blue Gate

Blue Gate tends to have a good chance of dropping Blueprints, potentially because it generally has a high number of containers which can hold lots of items; so there’s a higher chance of a Blueprint spawning in each container. In my experience, the best Blueprint farming spots on Blue Gate are Pilgrim’s Peak, Raider’s Refuge, the Ancient Fort, and the Underground Complex beneath the Warehouse .

All of these areas contain a wealth of containers to loot. Raider’s Refuge has less to loot, but the majority of the containers in and around the Refuge are raider containers, which have a high chance of containing Blueprints - particularly during major events.

Stella Montis

On the whole, Stella Montis seems to have a very low drop rate for Blueprints (though a high chance of dropping other high-tier loot). If you do want to try farming Blueprints on this map, the best places to find Blueprints in Stella Montis are Medical Research, Assembly Workshop, and the Business Center . These areas have the highest density of containers to loot on the map.

In addition to this, the Western Tunnel has a few different Security Lockers to loot, so while there’s very little to loot elsewhere in this area of the map, it’s worth hitting those Security Lockers if you spawn there at the start of a match.

That wraps up this primer on how to get all the Blueprints in Arc Raiders as quickly as possible. With the Expedition system constantly resetting a large number of players’ Blueprints, it’s more important than ever to have the most up-to-date information on where to find all these Blueprints.

While you’re here, be sure to check out our Arc Raiders best guns tier list , as well as our primers on the best skills to unlock and all the different Field Depot locations on every map.

ARC Raiders

PS5 , Xbox Series X/S , PC

Rock Paper Shotgun is better when you sign in

Sign in and join us on our journey to discover strange and compelling PC games.

The Electronic Wireless Show S3 Episode 4: Steam Next Fest recommendations and general indie game enthusiasm

We didn’t think there was much news happening this week and then loads did

Image credit:The Bworg

Here at the Electronic Wireless Show podcast we like indie games (inasmuch as “indie” can ever really be a helpful term; as the “good” doctor Peterson would no doubt say, what do words even mean? It’s bloody complicated!) and thus are using the news that Day Of The Devs is a non-profit (what does non-profit even mean? What does profit mean? It’s bloody complicated!) as a flimsy excuse to talk about indie games. Plus: Steam Next Fest kicks off next week, and there were indie game demos a-plenty, so we talk about some favourites of those, too. Plus: we’ve been playing JRPGs! And I was wrong, it’s episode 4. Please ignore every time I say it’s episode 5. I told you my notes aren’t to be trusted.

You can listen above, or on on Spotify , iTunes , Stitcher , or Pocket Casts . You can find the RSS feed here , and you can discuss the episode on our Discord channel , which has a dedicated room for podcast chat.

Music is by Jack de Quidt.

Links We record on a - wait we recorded this morning this time, things should broadly be as you remember them.

This week we’ve been playing Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth , Granblue Fantasy: Relink , and The Lord Of The Rings: Battle For Middle-earth 2 , for some reason.

Recommendations this week are for the YouTube channel RambleLime , Tank Tested and Tank Tested Two , and the book From Malin Head To Mizen Head .

Granblue Fantasy: Relink

PS4 , PS5 , PC

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth

Video Game

The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II: The Rise of the Witch-king

PC

Rock Paper Shotgun is better when you sign in

Sign in and join us on our journey to discover strange and compelling PC games.