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Sega have dropped a new story trailer for Stranger Than Heaven, which sets up the game’s opening act in Kokura, Fukuoka. It’s a good look at the premise, with two outsiders arriving in Japan with nothing and fighting for a place of their own.
The trailer follows two young men who sneak aboard a ship in the hope of reaching Japan, only to be found by the crew. They’re rescued by Orpheus, a smuggler played by Snoop Dogg, who continues to help them throughout the story, or at least in the first part of it.
One of the pair is Makoto Daito, the game’s lead, who is of mixed American and Japanese heritage. The trailer doesn’t shy away from the prejudice they face, with the crew and the people they meet in Japan treating them as outsiders.
Respect, a group of their own and a rap lesson
From there, the trailer leans into the rise-from-nothing story RGG does so well. Orpheus tells them that in this business respect is everything, and encourages them to build their own crew of exiles. The two boys just want a place of their own.
It then takes a turn that will be familiar to anyone who has played a Yakuza game. Orpheus gives the boy a music lesson, telling him to turn what he’s feeling into a song, and the trailer ends on a rap about being unwelcome and crossing the water. It’s unexpected, but it fits a studio known for mixing serious drama with moments this strange. The lyrics even include a small nod to Yakuza: Like a Dragon.
Platforms and release
Stranger Than Heaven launches January 15, 2027 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, and is coming to Game Pass on day one.
