New Shenmue 3 Screenshots Show Improved Character Faces And Environments

Despite being one of the most anticipated games of 2018, news about Shenmue III has been scarce the past couple of months. The last time we saw the title was back in August, when developer Ys Net released a new Shenmue III trailer. Now, a couple of new Shenmue III screenshots have emerged, showing off the progress the game has made since last summer.

The three new images were shared on Twitter by production company Shibuya Productions. The first features main characters Ryo and Ling walking together in an outdoor environment, while the remaining two screenshots are from city areas; one is of a row of boats moored at a pier, while the other is of a Chinese marketplace. You can take a look at all three of the images in the gallery below.

Gallery

While the screenshots don't shed any new light on Shenmue III or its story, they do showcase some visual improvements the developers have made since the game was last shown off, particularly with regard to the character models. Many fans criticized the latest Shenmue III trailer for its stiff, expressionless characters, who wore the same blank expression on their faces throughout the video. Game director Yu Suzuki addressed the criticism by assuring that the models featured in the trailer were placeholders, and the new screenshots are definitely a marked improvement.

Shenmue III was first announced during Sony's E3 2015 press conference and would go on to become the most-backed game in Kickstarter history, raising more than $6.3 million from nearly 70,000 backers. The game takes place shortly after the events of Shenmue II, with Ryo traveling to China in order to find his father's killer, Lan Di.

Shenmue III is in development for PS4 and PC. The game is being published worldwide by Deep Silver, which has previously distributed Dead Island, Saints Row, and Homefront. A concrete release date for Shenmue III has not been announced yet, but the game is slated to launch in the second half of this year.