Judgment Reviews
Judgment swerves Yakuza's circuitous criminal conspiracies a few degrees off course before turning up at familiar intersections of violence, eccentricity, and drama. Novelties surrounding its private detective facade, however, breakdown into tests of patience instead of pragmatism. Judgment may be an honest amendment to Yakuza's doctrine but its most refined and exciting practices are also its most routine.
Judge Eyes / Judgement is a very nice gift from the Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio. Even though it may feel at first like it is only a skin based on previous Yakuza games, it feels fresh enough and brings in brand new ideas that make for a great gaming experience. We would have simply liked that its characters spent less time talking and more time kicking asses, this is where they truly shine!
Review in French | Read full review
By combining the legal proceedings of Ace Attorney with the visceral combat and open-world hijinks of Yakuza, developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has turned in a new, but familiar property.
That Judgment drops the Yakuza moniker from the title is surprising, as the game feels like a Yakuza game through and through, with the signature sprawling open world of Kamurocho, combo-based brawling combat, and kooky sidequests. Yagami’s new detective abilities add some enjoyable variety into the mix, but the title would have comfortably fit into the main franchise. That being said, Judgment stands out as one of the very best in the series and serves as a perfect entry point for anyone curious about the Yakuza games.
Judgement is fun, filled with suspense, drama and humour, and more then stands-up alone in its own right as a great alternative to the Yakuza series.
Judgment has its faults that are hard to ignore, but its deep story, intense combat, and a wide variety of side activities kept me glued to it for days on end. Judgment is a great game that is well worth the attention to Yakuza fans and newcomers alike.
Judgment is basically Yakuza crossed with Ace Attorney, the perfect combination of Power, Corruption, Crime and Mystery. Expanding upon everything we’ve seen the developer do previously, what we have here is a game which is so familiar yet different at the same time – familiar surroundings and places combined with new games, events and people to interact with. Although the game is heavy on the tried and tested mechanics of the Yakuza series, Judgment brings a lot of its own unique gameplay elements such as investigative segments as you stalk your prey, searching for evidence, and even dressing up in various disguises. Judgment has a deep and intriguing story encased within a multitude of separate narratives, not many games can pull that off yet Judgment did it flawlessly. I honestly can’t recommend this game enough to both Yakuza fans and people new to this style of game.
Another fascinating entry for a series that masterfully blends the kind of drama you might expect from a soap opera with absurdist comedy and the fascinating exploration of Kamurocho, maybe the real protagonist of the Yakuza series.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Judgment is one of my favourite games this year. I love the action and the way its mixed in with puzzle solving, throughout the main story it really does feel like a good split. Without a doubt, I want to see more from this franchise, but perhaps see it explore new boundaries and take more risks to carve out its own niche. As hard as it may be to believe, I think it has the chance to better than the Yakuza games if given the time, money, and resources to grow and shine.
Despite being a spinoff game, Judgment does everything that merits it standing on its two feet. An engrossing narrative, great characters, and a wealth of side content make for a thrilling adventure - despite some niggling story beats and under-utilized mechanics.
Even if you've never touched a game in the Yakuza series, you'll find yourself having an absolute blast with this game.
Judgment brings new levels of narrative and mechanical intricacies to the familiar setting of Kamurocho in Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio's latest title.
A fun spin-off that takes some of the best parts of Yakuza and weaves a story that's at least as compelling – even if a lot of gameplay elements are becoming overfamiliar at this point.
Out of all the Yakuza games that I've played, Judgment offers the most amount of fun and variety while also containing a gripping story that'll keep you guessing until the end.
Judgment is without a doubt the best playing Yakuza game to date. It has all of the quality of life improvements of the Dragon Engine alongside a host of new welcome features. The combat and minigames are the best they've ever been. The narrative is interesting overall, but can feel misguided and aimless at certain points.
Judgment may be linked to Yakuza's legacy, but it still provides a great reason to explore Kamurocho once again.
Though there are some hiccups along the way, Judgment proves without a doubt that Ryu Ga Gotoku studio doesn't need Kazuma Kiryu to sell a great game.