The Game Awards might not have featured any updates on Grand Theft Auto 6, but it did include a surprise reveal of the perfect competitor. Amid a sea of familiar faces and new IPs alike, the trailer for Gang of Dragon split the difference perfectly. Created by Toshihiro Nagoshi, the former head of the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series, Gang of Dragon is both an immediately recognizable crime game and something at least a little new.
The reveal trailer for Gang of Dragon focuses on Shin Ji-seong, a Korean gangster played by film star Ma Dong-seok (if you've never seen movies like Train to Busan and The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil, just trust me when I say he's iconic). In the cinematic, Shin calmly deals with some aggressors at a bar, walking away from the bloodbath without a care in the world. There's not much else to go on right now besides a few Steam screenshots, but if Nagoshi's pedigree is anything to go by, Gang of Dragon could be the real deal.
Gang Of Dragon Might Return To Yakuza's Roots
Getting Real Again
To address the elephant in the room, Gang of Dragon is definitely more of a direct competitor with Yakuza/Like a Dragon than it is with Grand Theft Auto. If anything can provide a meaningful alternative to GTA 6, however, Gang of Dragon might still be the best bet. While the Like a Dragon games have pivoted into turn-based mainline games and piratical spinoffs, Gang of Dragon looks more prepared to meet GTA on its own turf.
One key factor is the tone. If you haven't been keeping up with the Yakuza/Like a Dragon games, it can be hard to get a read on just how serious they are. For the most part, it's a mix, but the zanier side content of the series has started to steal the show from its traditionally grounded core. Although a similar thing happened in GTA 5, GTA 6 looks like a return to a more human story at the center.
Gang of Dragon gives off the same vibes, which might be just what it needs to take on both the Like a Dragon games and Grand Theft Auto itself. Toshihiro Nagoshi's final passion projects at SEGA were the Judgment games, Yakuza spin-offs that sidelined the more fantastical elements. As appealing as something like Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii can be, I'm ready for a return to a semi-believable gangster story.
Guns & Cars Make Gang Of Dragon A GTA Rival
Crime On A Bigger Scale
Mechanically, Gang of Dragon also looks ready to offer a real alternative to GTA 6. While the Yakuza/Like a Dragon games have plenty of weapons, the Gang of Dragon Steam screenshots place a greater emphasis on them, showing Shin with an assault rifle, a machine gun, and a grenade that can be properly aimed.
The biggest development, however, is the car. The cinematic trailer shows Shin ramping a sports car over a roadblock, and the Steam page reveals a Car Mechanic screen with customization options. Assuming you can actually drive around in Gang of Dragon, the basic gameplay loop might start to look a lot more like Grand Theft Auto than the Yakuza/Like a Dragon games ever have.
Gang Of Dragon Probably Isn't Coming Soon
There Are Still Some Hurdles Ahead
There are still a lot of unknowns about Gang of Dragon, including a total lack of information about a planned release window. Despite Nagoshi's talent, Gang of Dragon could still struggle to shape up into a game worthy of its heritage. Without the engine or resources available at SEGA, the independent Nagoshi Studio has unique challenges to overcome, so it'll need a lot more than just good writing and ideas to succeed.
While the cinematic trailer betrays no such limitations, the array of Steam screenshots is a little more concerning. One image of Shin punching out an opponent features some obvious graphical compromises, with grain, shimmer, and fuzzy hair that all indicate limitations with ray-tracing or AI-driven upscaling. No requirements besides a 64-bit processor are listed yet, but I'm already afraid that it won't run very well on my machine.
Sometimes, though, you have to step back and look at the big picture. A new Nagoshi gangster saga is a blessing that I wasn't expecting at this year's Game Awards, and I'm excited to see how it shapes up. He's been at the helm of the best crime games ever made, even if they didn't revolutionize the industry in the same way as Grand Theft Auto.
Gang of Dragon probably won't release until months or years after Grand Theft Auto 6, although the precedent for GTA 6 delays could always equalize the playing field in the future. Once people tire of adventures in Leonida, however, it could be the perfect chaser. If Nagoshi has proven anything so far, it's that the streets of Tokyo can be just as memorable as Grand Theft Auto's riffs on American cities, and I'm thrilled for him to lead me back.
