Shenmue 3, the third release in Yu Suzuki's much-loved Japanese action-adventure franchise, has arrived at E3 2019. Suzuki himself took the stage at the PC Gaming Show to reveal a brand new trailer for Shenmue 3, featuring the longest and most impressive look at gameplay yet. Perhaps the most notable aspect of the new trailer is just how authentic it is to the Shenmue gameplay fans remember from the previous games.

To be fair, Shenmue 3 looks much improved from the footage that was first shown for the game. That said, it wouldn't be Shenmue if it didn't look a little bit janky, so in that framing, it's very much on-brand. Animations are a little chunky, voicework lip-sync is completely off, and voicing itself sounds a little off in general. In other words, it's exactly what Shenmue 3 should be and likely exactly what fans want.

Alongside the rough animations and visuals, however, there's a lot of the great Shenmue action and adventure well known to the franchise, too. Ryo Hazuki continues to aspire to be a stronger fighter, all while trying to clean up the neighborhood and clumsily living out his regular life at the same time. Somehow, he keeps getting into deeper and deeper trouble, but how else would he end up having to fight his way out?

New gameplay wasn't the only surprise that Suzuki had to reveal during the PC Gaming Show. The trailer also notably featured an Epic Games Store logo, and no Steam logo, as it ended, confirming that it will be exclusive for the storefront on PC. Confirmation of the game's PC storefront exclusivity came via an update to Shenmue 3's Kickstarter page, where previously the game had said it would provide Steam keys to backers on PC. Shenmue 3 is still being released on PS4, too.

Expect more information and footage for Shenmue 3 in the days to come, as Shenmue 3 is confirmed to be shown during several media outlets' livestreams over the course of E3.

Shenmue 3 releases November 19 on PC and PS4.

gamerant e3 2019 coverage