Xbox returned with a Special Look focused on RGG Studio’s Stranger Than Heaven, shining the spotlight on the story, characters, and much more. However, executive director Masayoshi Yokoyama also dropped a bombshell, confirming that it would launch this Winter on Xbox Series X/S, PC and PS5 (alongside Game Pass on day one).
The story focuses on Makoto Daito (Yu Shirota), a half-American, half-Japanese boy who leaves San Francisco to get away from cruelty in 1915 and travels to his mother’s birthplace – Japan. However, he’s on a ship that belongs to the smuggler Orpheus (played by Snoop Dogg) and encounters Yu Shinjo (Dean Fujioka). Together, they leave the ship upon arriving in Japan, but their paths diverge greatly.
Makoto is more the brawn, while Yu is more calculating and seeks to reshape Japan. The former works as a sidekick to Orpheus and slowly earns his way up before reuniting with the latter years later in Minami, Osaka. Things progressively heat up with the Yakuza, the Italian Mafia and even the Japanese government as they seek to leave their mark on the world. Of course, many other notable cast members await, including Tori Kelly (who plays Suzy) and Ado.
Starting in Kokura, Fukuoka, with its debauchery and plethora of workers (not to mention minigames like cards and arm-wrestling), players will then venture to Kure, Hiroshima, known for its shipbuilding, heavy industry, and modern Japanese culture alongside a maze of waterways and numerous hills. Minami is steeped in foreign culture and offers shooting minigames and betting, while Atami, Shizuoka, is more refined with airports and whatnot.
Interestingly, it all culminates in Kamurocho, Shinjuku, where a “tremendous secret” is revealed. Potential tie-ins to the Tojo Clan? Time will tell, but for now, Stranger Than Heaven is shaping up into something very special.
