Stranger Than Heaven, the upcoming street-brawler from the makers of Yakuza and Like a Dragon, will feature optional in-game assists to make its challenging new combat system more approachable, developer RGG Studio has confirmed to IGN in an interview conducted at Gamescom Asia x Thailand Game Show 2026 this week.
In IGN’s most recent hands-on with the game, my colleague Michael Higham described Stranger Than Heaven’s parry-based combat system as “demanding”, adding that “you really have to pay attention to attack animations not just for timing, but to make the correct call on the direction it’s coming from.” This initially seemed like it could prove to be divisive among fans of the comparatively carefree button-mashing combo systems found in RRG Studios’ previous adventures like Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii and Lost Judgment, but it turns out that Stranger Than Heaven’s more complex combat system will only be as difficult as players want it to be.
“We knew mechanics like parrying would be challenging, but based on feedback from players who tried the hands-on demos at various game shows, like [Gamescom Asia], we’ve fine-tuned details like difficulty balance and control responsiveness,” said Hiroyuki Sakamoto, producer of Stranger Than Heaven. “We’ve also included difficulty settings and provided plenty of support features, such as cheat items that increase health regeneration. We believe that if we offer enough support for action-game beginners, it will give them the chance to play through to the very end.”
Sakamoto insisted that with some perseverance from players and the inclusion of a lengthy tutorial phase in the early stages of the game to help them, he hoped that most players will eventually start to enjoy the new mechanics. He also stated that the highest difficulty setting is “extremely challenging,” so the more battle-hardened gamers will still be able to face a more unforgiving combat experience should they so choose. However, for players who perhaps want to purely focus on enjoying the multiple decade-spanning story and the showbiz-based side activities without mastering the rhythm of the combat, the addition of the cheat items should mean that all fans of RGG Studio’s games will be able to enjoy Stranger Than Heaven.
“Equipping those cheat items makes you much harder to defeat by automatically restoring health and providing other perks,” explained Sakamoto. “For beginners who still struggle with blocking, we’re prepared assistance items that let you clear encounters using basic left and right punches alone.”
There is one small catch to using these assist items, however, but it’s a fairly humorous one in typically cheeky RGG Studio style.
“You can obtain [the cheat items] right from the start of the game,” said Sakamoto. “But because they function as ‘handicap’ items and you wear it as a cloth/garment, anyone watching your gameplay screen will immediately notice you’re wearing them.”
So no activating cheats and pretending to be an absolute parry-beast on a livestream, then.
Stranger Than Heaven is set for release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC on January 15, 2027.
Tristan Ogilvie is a senior video editor at IGN based in Sydney, Australia. He has 25 years of experience covering video games, having served as Deputy Editor on Official PlayStation 2 Magazine Australia and as Editor of Official Xbox 360 Magazine Australia, before joining IGN in 2009. You can find him on Bluesky @tristanogilvie.bsky.social