Fading Afternoon explores the life of a dying Yakuza, leaving you to decide what they should do with their remaining time on Earth.
Not that you might draw this from the game’s bloody trailer. At its core, there is some ruthless beat ’em up action in this game. You can spend a lot of time in this game working through a complex combo system that will see you pummeling people with your fists, wrestling them to the ground to further beat them down, or wrestle weapons away from them to stab or shoot them. You may be getting on in years and terminally ill, but that certainly doesn’t slow the protagonist, Seiji Maruyama, down at all if you want to spend his days spreading your family’s influence.
You don’t have to do that, though. While the game doesn’t do much to lead you around, it leaves things open for you to decide what to do. Do you want to drink your sorrows away? Spend some time at a bathhouse to help you relax and unwind? Go on some dates and find romance? Just take some peaceful time to yourself looking out at the water? While your Yakuza family would much rather see you killing people to help expand their territory (and this is probably better for your bank account), you don’t have to do that. It’s on you to decide what’s important for this man when he’s dying. And besides, your health does keep dropping as a result of your terminal illness. Maybe getting in fights isn’t the best idea.
Fading Afternoon is a solid game if you just want a bloody and challenging bit of hand-to-hand combat. It’s far more compelling that it’s your choice to follow that life, though, as the freedom to figure out your final days are what make this a memorable experience.
Fading Afternoon is available now on the Nintendo eShop and Steam.
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