Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio have released a new trailer for Stranger Than Heaven. Rather than focusing on any gameplay or story aspects, however, the short, minute-long video instead focuses on the game’s development process. Cutting to and from an in-game jazz performance, the video also showcases the arduous motion capture process that development teams have to go through. Check it out below.
Stranger Than Heaven is being developed for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, and is slated for release on January 15th. This latest video comes just a couple of weeks after the game’s combat was showcased with a lengthier trailer.
Focusing on protagonist Makoto, the trailer gave us a look at how players will be able to fight off groups of enemies with a variety of improvised weapons as well as martial arts. On the defensive side of things, the trailer also revealed that Stranger Than Heaven will include a parry system that will give players ways to open enemies up for more combos.
The combat system was given more explanation back in May; players can control the left and right sides of Makoto’s body independently, with each side having its own attack button. Hitting R1 or R2 (or RB and RT if you’re using an Xbox controller) will have him attack with his right arm and leg, respectively. In our coverage at the time, we noted that this was quite similar to the gameplay system in Tekken, where each face button on a controller corresponds to a specific limb for the character.
The title is shaping up to be one of the more ambitious projects taken on by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio. Along with being an entirely new IP that is not connected to the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series, the game will also tell a long story that spans the course of fifty years.
In an interview from back in June, studio lead Masayoshi Yokoyama revealed that the story ended up becoming longer over the course of Stranger Than Heaven’s development process. Despite this, however, when it comes to actual gameplay, he confirmed that the maps are “roughly the same scale” as what we would see in a Yakuza title.
“We haven’t measured it precisely, but I think it’s turned out to be quite substantial. The main story, in particular, is very extensive. It just ended up getting longer as we were developing it.”
“We didn’t artificially make the maps for each historical era larger or smaller, so they each have their own distinct size. The number of buildings with interior spaces you can actually enter has increased compared to the Yakuza series. However, given the historical setting, there are no skyscrapers or similar structures. Therefore, I believe the overall scale remains comparable.”
Stranger Than Heaven is also going to feature a massive star-studded cast, which includes hip hop legend Snoop Dogg in the role of a smuggler named Orpheus, among many others. Other noteworthy inclusions in the cast are Japanese musician Ado and even another legendary hip hop artist, the late Tupac Shakur.
