The next big game from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio now has a name, and looks rather different than when it was revealed as Project Century back at The Game Awards 2024.
At Summer Game Fest 2025, the next game by the makers of Yakuza/Like A Dragon shows a new trailer for that same game project, but the features a new face, a new setting, 1043 Japan rather than 1915 of the previous teaser.
And it now has a proper name: Stranger Than Heaven.
Stranger Than Heaven’s trailer highlights its unique setting, which may feel familiar to longtime Like A Dragon fans. Is this just Sotenbori, the fictionalised Dotonbori district in Osaka? The bridge over the river looks awfully familiar.
The cultural mish-mash as Japan embraces Westernisation really stands out here. The pedestrians are mixed with folks in either western-style clothing and traditional kimono. And the prevalent use of jazz music.
The protagonist, or at least the POV character in this trailer, is also a manifestation of this mix of culture. Mako Daito, who is seen speaking both in English and Japanese, is implied to be of mixed heritage. A person mistakenly identify him as Japanese, using a period-appropriate slur at that.
It looks like Stranger Than Heaven is more of your traditional action-RPG with brawler fight mechanics, with some new ideas. You can make a choice to show mercy, or show no mercy, at the end of one fight as seen in the trailer.
Sega has also rebranded the original Project Century teaser as the first Stranger Than Heaven teaser trailer. Despite the two trailers showing a different protagonist (or so it seems) and a different time period, these two are still the same game.
Stranger Than Heaven has no release date yet.