I’ve always admired how much effort athletes put in to be the best at their craft. Those training montages in movies might be exaggerated, but there’s truth to them; you can’t stay stagnant if you want to improve. Sometimes, things click, and all those hours bear fruit. Others, it doesn’t, and the changes end up doing more harm than good. The new Backyard Baseball is the latter. While this series reboot from developer Mega Cat Studios retains the nostalgic charm of those classic kids' sports games, the rest of it falls victim to its own progress. The simplicity of pitching, hitting, and fielding has been needlessly refreshed; in their place are “optimized” versions that just don’t work as well. So while this new Backyard Baseball might pass the eye test, it falls short of home plate on the things that really matter.

It’s pretty ironic that many of the tweaks here don’t feel like they’re able to round the bases, because most of the actual hits I’ve gotten while batting have either been home runs or line-drive singles. I’m not tooting my own horn or anything – it’s just because of how offense and defense are set up now. Hitting in particular is easier than ever, at least compared to how it was in the Backyard Baseball ‘97 re-release from 2024, which isn’t exactly a good thing.

The swing spot assist was less specific in the original games; it would show you a large circle within the strike zone where the ball might land, but it was up to you to guess where exactly to swing the bat. Here, however, you always know the exact spot the ball is flying toward. The old method led to whiffs, of course, but at least the hits you earned were more satisfying and less routine. Now, it’s like these kids are in the MLB steroid era: way too many players going yard every at bat. If Barry Bonds were still in this version of Backyard Baseball, Rob Manfred might’ve already launched an investigation. Mark McGwire is still one of the included pros, though, so a probe from the commissioner might not be out of the question.

Hitting does at least get tougher once you unlock the highest difficulty option, Backyard Legend. That’s mainly because the opposing pitches fly at you faster, and since I initially played with a controller on PC, I often moved the reticle a hair too slow to account for the increased throw velocity. But after I switched over to mouse and keyboard, it’s like the difficulty change never happened and I started getting consistent hits again.

Batting is either too easy with swing assist or unnecessarily hard without it.

Really, the only way to make batting not be a complete cakewalk is to turn off the swing spot assist entirely, but that presents its own problems; it’s nearly impossible to hit a breaking ball because it’s very difficult to tell where it will land in the strike zone. I suppose that’s true to real life, but it means the only options are extremes: make things too easy with swing assist or unnecessarily hard without it. There is no middle ground. You’re either Babe Ruth or a dazed rec league player who just got caught looking at three consecutive right hooks.

Pitching goes similarly unchecked, so much so that anyone I put on the mound starts to look like Greg Maddux reincarnated. At first, I thought this side of the offense didn’t matter, that anyone on the other team could get a hit off no matter the type of throw I chose. They still can, don’t get me wrong, but it became less frequent after I got the hang of the new pitch release timing system. That’s when the blowouts really began. I’m talking about multiple games ending in either shutouts or landslide wins: 26-to-0, 19-to-3, you name it. It’s nice that it turns what used to be a one-dimensional position into one that requires a tad more skill, but you can reach the ceiling of it far too quickly.

It can get so out of hand that, once I reach a double-digit lead, I usually start to purposely hit grounders into opposing players just to end the game earlier. I’m a little baffled that Backyard Baseball still doesn’t have a mercy rule to account for this. When you’re up by double digits in the fourth inning of a six-inning match, it’s probably best to call it there, right? Do you really want to see little Billy Jean Blackwood curled up in the outfield while Kiesha Phillips hits another home run to put her team up 33-5? You’d have to imagine the losing team’s parents are in the stands yelling at the umpire to end the misery.

Fielding feels worse as well. If it was anything like it was in ‘97, ‘01, or even the GameCube version from 2003, I wouldn’t be as disappointed. In those games, you could at least throw a rocket from right field to first base to try to get an out. Now, it’s like your players don’t even try. Sure, you can turn off errors to try and minimize mistakes, but even that can’t make up for all the slow defensive throws that seem to be embedded in every character. You want your shortstop to throw it fast to second? Nope, can’t do that; how about a lob instead? Next thing you know, the other team has two runners in scoring position when a quick double play should have ended the inning five minutes ago.

Offense is king and defense is the silly court jester everyone tries to ignore.

What’s even more frustrating is that, for some reason, you can’t make your players run after line drives or pop flies, even though you can force them to sprint and slide when they’re baserunning. It’s as if these kids are programmed to make an effort on offense but not defense. Look, I get it; it’s more exciting to rack runs up than it is to prevent them. But scoring a lot is only enjoyable the first few times; over the course of a season in League Play, it becomes monotonous. Where are the defensive highlights? I’d argue there’s just as much excitement in turning a double play as there is in hitting a walk-off homer. Sadly, it’s hard to know because you can’t even make those types of run-stopping plays. Here, offense is king and defense is just the silly court jester everyone tries to ignore.

All of these issues are made glaring because the CPU can’t seem to adjust or use them to its advantage. Going up against your friends in local multiplayer can at least help keep things competitive, but that isn’t an option in the season-long solo mode that is supposed to be the main attraction here. An online PvP mode was delayed just before release, and these problems might not feel as bad if it were already accessible since going up against real players could help keep things fresh. But that’s only wishful thinking until it arrives.

Now, ask any little league coach what the most important quality a player should have is, and one trait they’ll probably always mention are good fundamentals. Unfortunately, right now, this Backyard Baseball’s issues are foundational, influencing the rest of its performance and play. Take the Wiggle Ball mode, for example – apart from the improved art and animations, which really are huge steps up from the originals, this is one of the most significant additions to this remake. It’s a very different option from the usual 9v9 matches you can find in Pick-Up and League Play, instead putting you into a fast-paced 4v4 game where you have to toss and hit a slippery wiffle ball; a decent alternative if you don’t want to worry about lineup management or pushing through an entire season.

But again, the problematic changes to hitting and pitching make it so that the result of each match is pretty much predictable before they begin. As always, I had to get used to things first, especially the ball’s erratic movement, but it was lights out after that. Oh, little Luanne Lui is serving me up a triple-loop left hook deluxe? Let me send that over to the neighbor’s front yard in right field with a quick contact hit. Then on and on it goes until the score looks like Chipper Jones’ career batting average.

There are, at least, some things that these fundamental problems don’t affect. No, not the tutorial or the batting-only modes; I’m talking about a pretty neat addition called the Card Shop. It’s where you can buy and open three different packs that contain various cards of different characters, items (Achmed’s headphones, Reese’s inhaler), and offensive moves (Line Drive hit, Slowball pitch). Don’t worry; there aren’t any real-money microtransactions in this version of Backyard Baseball. Instead, you can use Tokens you earn by playing through Season or Quick Play games to purchase them.

The roster is admittedly impressive, with all 30 original kids included.

With the tears of so many defeated children turning the soil of Backyard Baseball’s field into salted earth, the Card Shop is like a patch of freshwater, flushing out some of that grief. Even though it occupies such a small plot, taking a dip every now and then was refreshing, especially because of the REMIX Cards, which I couldn’t get enough of. These feature unique character artwork created by several excellent artists, and since the thirty kids featured throughout the series are back (plus a few more), I’ll admit I may have taken too much time looking through each one.

And yes, you read that number right; you can choose from all 30 original Backyard Baseball kids as soon as you start a team. In addition to the always-popular mainstays (Pablo Sanchez and Jocinda Smith, to name two), you can also pick a few of the generic players from ‘97, such as Leah Wayne and Chico Pappas, along with a handful of MLB legends, like Vlad Guerrero and Jason Giambi. Although it isn’t quite at the same level of Backyard Baseball ‘01’s lengthy roster, these familiar names are always welcome and round out an impressive list.

Unfortunately, unlocking those special characters isn’t as straightforward as buying them from the Card Shop. They all have their own unlock requirements, like hitting a certain amount of home runs or stealing a specific number of bases. I wish the conditions were all laid out from the get go so I knew how much grinding I still needed to do, but getting these names into your roster is, at least, a cool little incentive to keep playing.

Stranger Than Heaven is set to release for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on January 15, 2027. It’s a new game from RGG Studio, the makers of the Yakuza/Like a Dragon franchise, but this crime saga takes place across 50 years, starting in 1915.

You can preorder Stranger Than Heaven now in a handful of editions (see it at Amazon). Below, you’ll find details about what comes in each one, how much they cost, and more info about what the game is. Let’s dive in.

Stranger Than Heaven - Collector’s Edition

PS5

Get it at Amazon - $129.99Get it at Best Buy - $129.99Get it at GameStop - $129.99Get it at Target - $129.99Get it at Walmart - $129.99

Xbox

Get it at Amazon - $129.99Get it at Best Buy - $129.99Get it at GameStop - $129.99Get it at Target - $129.99Get it at Walmart - $129.99

The collector’s edition comes with the base game, as well as a selection of physical extras and all the digital items from the deluxe edition. Here’s what you get:

Physical Items

Vinyl recordSteelbook caseCollector’s Edition box

Digital Items

Original outfit (Makoto Daito)4 Weapons4 Performers3 Stage production itemsPromotional posterRecord playerElectronic cameraStranger Than Heaven - Standard Edition

PS5

Get it at Amazon - $69.99 (free poster)Get it at Best Buy - $69.99Get it at GameStop - $69.99Get it at Target - $69.99Get it at Walmart - $69.99Get it at PlayStation Store (digital) - $69.99

Xbox

Get it at Amazon - $69.99 (free poster)Get it at Best Buy - $69.99Get it at GameStop - $69.99Get it at Target - $69.99Get it at Walmart - $69.99Get it at Xbox Store (digital) - $69.99

PC

Get it at Steam - $69.99

The standard edition just comes with the base game itself, but buying at Amazon gets you the "Amazon Edition," which includes a free poster. Kinda nice.

Stranger Than Heaven - Digital Deluxe EditionGet it for PS5 - $89.99Get it for Xbox - $89.99Get it for PC (Steam) - $89.99

The digital deluxe edition comes with a few extra goodies. In addition to the base game, here’s what’s included:

Original Outfit (Makoto Daito)Set of 4 New WeaponsSet of 4 New Skilled PerformersSet of 3 New Stage Production ItemsSpecial Promotional PosterRecord Player (in-game soundtrack)Electronic CameraStranger Than Heaven Preorder Bonus

Preorder Stranger Than Heaven anywhere, and you’ll receive the following in-game item for free:

Dosu: Kagekiri weapon

Additionally, if you preorder a physical copy of the standard edition at Amazon for PS5 or Xbox Series X, you’ll get a free poster (as seen above).

What Is Stranger Than Heaven?

Stranger Than Heaven kicks off in San Francisco in 1915, when our (anti)hero Makoto Daito is a child. Born of an American father and a Japanese mother, he doesn’t fit in with the rest of the kids. After losing his parents, he travels to Japan in hopes of a better life.

From here, the game follows Makoto throughout his life, as he discovers a talent for music and entertainment, which has him travel from city to city over the coming years. You’ll get to play through Fukuoka in 1915, Hiroshima in 1929, Osaka in 1943, and more. Each city is depicted in its era, while Makoto finds accompanying musicians, writes new songs, and brings shows to the masses.

This is a Like a Dragon spinoff, so you’ll have plenty of enemies to fight along the way. Though the combat takes place in real time, it’s quite a bit different from the typical brawler-style fights in previous Like a Dragon games. It’s slower, more methodical and strategic. You control each of Makoto’s arms and legs separately, with punching assigned to the bumpers and kicking assigned to the triggers. You can also pick up weapons and use them, and fend off enemies with one hand while holding onto one with the other. There’s a lot going on combat-wise in this game.

You’ll also encounter Snoop Dogg and Tupac on your journey, so check out our hands-on preview for more info.

Other Preorder Guides

Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN's board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on Bluesky.