izigame.me

THIS GAME CURRENTLY HAS STUTTERING ISSUES THAT CAN (probably) BE FIXED BY TYPING -dx11 IN LAUNCH OPTIONS
Steam really needs to add a neutral/conditional rating for reviews.
I can recommend this if you've played every other Yakuza and Judgement title available on Steam. As it stands, this game is absolutely not worth full price and there's better entries in the series available at a fraction of the cost, as well as the excellent Judgement games that are available for the same price. And that's not even bringing up how this game takes characters from all across the series and re-casts them as historical figures - having prior experience with the entire franchise is essential to enjoying Ishin to the fullest. You're either too deep in the RGG rabbit hole to pass this game up, or it's not worth playing yet.
Okay, actual review - this game's an odd psuedo-remake of a 2014 PS3 game. Nearly everything remains intact save for some gameplay and story changes - some characters were swapped out for characters from Yakuza 0, 6 and 7, a famous scene was censored, the equipment upgrading system has been overhauled, and a magical card system that was previously restricted to a side mode was, rather controversially, made accessible in the main game. Said cards give stat bonuses, can be activated for buffs, and - crucially - let you fire ki blasts, chain lightning, levitating energy swords, and a full-on kamehameha.
On one hand, this is a game set in late-1800s Japan that generally takes itself pretty seriously - not everyone wants to be able to summon a tiger, bear or volatile chicken during a boss fight. On the other hand, this is a series that has confirmed the existence of aliens, ghosts, deities and more in their universe, and regularly lets you punch them in the face. Meanwhile the series' superbosses can use space lasers, gigantification, teleportation, and pocket dimensions. Personally, I can stomach being able to deal anime damage in a game where my swords can be enchanted with fire, lightning and wind. They did give most of the important bosses some of these attacks, and while some are extremely powerful, they're all generously telegraphed and easily blockable. Getting hit by one is as avoidable as walking off a cliff, at most they just disrupt the pace of the fight.
The game's story is great, but takes quite a while to ramp up. The final third of the game is where the story really kicks into high gear - that's not to say that the buildup to it is bad, but I found the side content to often be more engaging. Thankfully Ishin has some of the best side content in the series, and I wasn't left wanting for a good-quality distraction.
Ishin's combat system is essentially a prototype version of what Yakuza 0/Kiwami 1 would use - 4 combat styles, each with their own uses, strengths and weaknesses. On a technical level they all feel good, but they lack the same punch, both figuratively and literally. The game really - and I mean REALLY - wants you to use a sword. Your barehanded melee damage pales in comparison to your sword damage, and while this can be compensated for with specific equipment setups, it's still linearly more effective to just build for sword damage. Punching doesn't set people on fire, swords can do that and more. Swords themselves are still fun to use, but aren't nearly as satisfying as simply punching something in other Yakuza games. Guns just... Exist. They have some cool special attacks but as a whole they're underwhelming. If I had to choose between being locked to a single fighting style from literally any other entry in the series, and the 4 styles this game gives you, I'd take the former in a heartbeat.
Tl;dr play the other games first and wait for a sale.