First, let me say that this game has a couple issues.

The biggest of all is that SEGA is just really not good at optimizing performance in their Dragon Engine games. Yakuza LAD is the only game that makes my PC peak above 75C°, something not even Cyberpunk 2077 at close to all ultra settings can. Admittedly that is a little disheartening in terms of accessibility for users with lower end PCs.

The second issue is that this game has three entire cities but two are basically just glorified dungeon courtyards with absolutely nothing unique to them. Encounters are rare, and all activities can be found in Yokohama earlier. No sidequests, some story beats, that's it. A shame, but one that can be remedied easily later.

Now, let me say that this game is absolute kino in every aspect. It's frankly stunning that a game that made the transition to turn based JRPG at the last minute manages to be so good at everything a JRPG should be.

• Combat with very little tedium due to abundance of access to elements and AOE
• Very easy grinding
• Easy to manage character progression with simple catch-up
• Plenty of efficient moneymaking opportunities

Everything JRPG in this game feels right. Neither too hard or too easy. Plenty of options that don't feel overwhelming either.

The story is easily one of the best out of any Yakuza game so far. In fact, having played 0 to 7, I'll go so far as to say it has the best by far. Ichiban is an incredibly endearing protagonist that perfectly fits the Yakuza universe in both its seriousness and silliness in equal measure. The plot pacing is excellent and the story is extremely well told, handling its fundamental themes of depression and societal alienation with finesse without shoving them in your face relentlessly.

The entire cast is outright lovely in their differences and friendship, and that alone carries the entire Sotenbori segment in my opinion. Every character feels "close enough" to existing ones all while being their own thing all the same. It's a very delicate touch that lets veterans go from 6 to LAD without feeling alienated but without comprimising the story too badly. It's very good.

The soundtrack is extremely good as per Yakuza standards, and ranks very high on my list of favorites (at the top between 5 and 0/4, for reference).

Visually the game is generally pretty appealing but suffers from the usual Yakuza problem of "extremely high res characters in low res environments" and "random low quality CGs after ingame rendered cutscenes" which can be jarring, but kudos for the lovingly crafted rendering of Ichiban's perm. Seriously, this is the best hair I've seen in any game. Ever.

Finally, in terms of voice acting: It's really good to have Nishikiyama's voice actor back, because he absolutely aces the performance. I'm glad he was given a chance to be a protagonist, because he has all the chops to handle it. Ichiban has incredible energy in every aspect and is a very fitting continuation of Kuroda's Kiryu. A breath of fresh air the series really needed and was handled perfectly.

All in all, this is a solid 9/10 with all the problems being negligible especially if you have a powerful PC. If you're running on something a little old or weak, you might want to upgrade first.

This review will be in two parts:
• First, for those that care about playing a good video game.
• Second, for those who wonder what all the "project moon brainrot" is about.


Library of Ruina is a well-designed deckbuilder with plenty of quality of life features and a feeling of constant progression.

Stylistically, the game is a slam dunk - graphics and music are both of high quality for an indie game, and the game shows care and effort in many areas. It is a notable improvement on Lobotomy Corporation.

The game is notably challenging but remains fair in spite of its steep challenges. There is very little grinding to be done to obtain enough cards to build competitive decks in the late-game.

I recommend playing it.

Now for the good ♥♥♥♥.


I fell down the Project Moon rabbit hole on a whim. On the last week of August, I started reading a Lobotomy Corporation let's play by one of the English translators. This is where I absolutely fell in love with the writing and the worldbuilding. Many would identify that game as "the korean scp game", but calling it that would be a disservice, so here's what I think represents it better.


The entire universe of all three games is set in a end-stage hypercapitalist hellscape where ultraviolence is a normal, daily occurence that people have become completely numb to. Death is expected to happen at any time at the drop of a hat for minor reasons, more inane than the last.

Now, this is not something out of the ordinary, we have plenty of "world sucks, government is a ♥♥♥♥, 1532478567 dead proles" kind of media, but Project Moon is really, really good at depicting how that failure of a society effects everyone, from the absolute lowest of the low to people loftily seated at the top.

Yeah, this is probably a critique of Korea. It took me that long to notice because I was too engrossed by how masterfully they make everyone pathetic (in the literary sense). The interconnection between all the rungs of society and their respective forms of misery, anxiety and fears for the future depict a violently somber picture that just made me want to see more, to peel more of the veil away and try to guess how bad it is, but then there is light, too.

The failure is collective - mindless complacency having spiraled out to the extreme. From growing jaded from the constant murdering to wanting to create change, to fighting others to achieve that change - even if they want change themselves? This is where the narrative truly shines. This isn't a world of grey but a veritable rainbow of dark shades where we find sympathy for most of the villains in a quest for introspection.

The character progression is remarkable. This is the kind of game (like NSO I reviewed previously) which absolutely flays you alive and makes you watch every pulsing vein and flexing sinew. This is the kind of game that burns and melts your soul to refine it into something else. This is the kind of game that makes people start doing art.

Project Moon is very passionate about their art and they want you to experience it without handholding you through the experience. Play or read about Lobcorp. Play or read about this game. Then play Limbus. The mythos of this franchise is something absolutely worth getting into. Seeing people scrape some of the grime away from the City little by little is a message worth hearing, and Project Moon's willingness to reach foreign audiences is what hammers it for me.

Fantastic job.