With Gamescom in progress, there have been previews and video footage of Stranger Than Heaven’s gameplay demo.

Now, I’ve been on a bit of a roller coaster with Stranger Than Heaven.

I was excited for it when it was first announced, then all the negativity surrounding Kiwami 3 dampened my enthusiasm, then the Stranger Than Heaven showcase back in May left me excited again, and then the reveal in June of Tupac being in the cast list left me asking, “What are they doing?”

So instead of instantly preordering it, I dropped back to waiting for more information with cautious optimism.

Getting back to the matter at hand, Sega released a 12-minute video showcasing the Gamescom demo footage, so let’s take a look.

I love the setting and how it makes use of different eras and cities. The three shown in the demo look fantastic. It seems like each will really have its own atmosphere, and I love that.

Combat is the major focus of the demo, and it looks slower and more deliberate than Yakuza combat. Blocking attacks also looks like it’s designed to be very deliberate.

We’ve heard about how you control left-hand and right-hand attacks separately, and that extends to blocking, too. It looks like you press a button to block and then the shoulder button for the arm you want to block with. That’s unusual, and I’m not sure how that will feel to play.

This game’s combat could take a lot of getting used to, especially for someone like me who… isn’t very deliberate when it comes to Yakuza combat. If they release a public demo like they have for the past few Yakuza/Like a Dragon games, I’ll probably try it despite skipping the others. Stranger Than Heaven’s combat looks like something I’ll want to try for myself.

Anyway, what are your thoughts on the Stranger Than Heaven gameplay footage from Gamescom?