Like a Dragon: Ishin! demo lets you get a taste of battle before launch

A small slice of Ryoma’s swordplay

Like a Dragon: Ishin! is not far off from launch. But if the wait’s just a bit too long, there’s a demo for Ishin out today so you can get a taste of the new-old combat.

The “Combat Demo” is out now for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. The two-part combat demo covers a roughly 20-minute section of the game, specifically spotlighting the combat of Like a Dragon: Ishin, which sees Ryoma bringing his sword, gun, and fists to bear against foes.

The slice of Ishin covers both a brawl at Kiyomizu temple and a face-off with some armored foes. This demo looks to spotlight not just the fighting, but what enemies are bringing to the table to try and stop Ryoma. If he’s anything like his supposed descendant, though, there’s not much that can.

Sega and RGG Studio have also revealed a special “Dragon of Dojima” skin, that will make Sakamoto Ryoma look just like Kazuma Kiryu, suit and all.

Heading back to an older era

Ishin is a remake of the earlier entry in the series, one which we never saw ported over to the west. It’s historical fiction, using the likenesses of many Like a Dragon series characters, but with different names, playing figures from the time in dramatized versions of the events.

Still, just because Kiryu is actually Ryoma, doesn’t mean there isn’t some classic Like a Dragon to get up to. Alongside the brawling you can see in the Ishin combat demo, there’s also the usual substories and side-games you’d expect from the series. Plus, an Another Life section where Ryoma can live it up as a peaceful farmer. What’s not to like about a slice of farming life inside this classically action-heavy series?

Like a Dragon: Ishin! goes live on Feburary 17 for Deluxe Digital pre-orders, and on February 21 for every other version.