Judgment Reviews

Judgment is ranked in the 89th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
Cubed3
Top Critic
9 / 10
Dec 6, 2022

Judgment is by far one of the better entries in the Yakuza franchise. It is a gritty detective story, with a killer in it that is legitimately scary, thanks to the performances. The Dragon Engine getting a boost from the new generation of consoles shows how Judgment was meant to be played, with extremely short load times and buttery smooth 60 frames per second that is unwavering. Judgment may be second to Yakuza: Like a Dragon, but being second to the best is a great place to be.

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9 / 10
Nov 2, 2022

The definitive version of Judgment is here! It is an almost perfect blend of incredible details and mechanics reinforced by a huge technical upgrade. A long and impressive title that takes the Ryu Ga Gotoku game design and maxes it out for a new side story while their main game goes in another direction. Heartily recommended!

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8.5 / 10.0
Oct 11, 2022

Judgment and Lost Judgment collection is finally also on PC. Whether the first or the second game ends up being your favorite, the fact is that both are worth playing, and it might even get you hooked on the Yakuza series that came before them.

Review in Slovak | Read full review

85%
Oct 7, 2022

Judgment is simply another great Yakuza game with a good enough PC port. No brainer if you're the one to enjoy a well-done detective story.

Review in Slovak | Read full review

9 / 10
Sep 14, 2022

Judgment is another high-quality release in the Yakuza franchise, complete with a ton of compelling side content, a great story, and enthralling drone races -- all wrapped up in a very nice PC port.

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4 / 5.0
Sep 14, 2022

Anyone who enjoys the Yakuza series should check out Judgment. While it doesn’t stand apart from the main series as much as I might have liked, with its most significant weaknesses being the places it tried to go its own way, the core gameplay from its parent series is as good as ever, and it features perhaps the best story in the entire saga.

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9 / 10.0
Feb 21, 2022

Although I did not get to play through the original version of the game, I took the time to compare it to its original release. The developers have definitely taken the time to enhance the graphics, sounds, and gameplay. Going through, Judgment on the Xbox Series X felt like a truly polished enhancement of its original predecessor; the rerelease made me thankful that I waited rather than playing the game at launch because I was able to experience the game how the developers intended. If you have yet to try Judgment, it is worth picking it up on the Xbox Series X. If you have but it’s been a while and you are considering playing through Lost Judgment then it is something to consider picking up as well.

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8 / 10.0
Sep 8, 2021
Judgment (ACTUAL Review) [PS5] video thumbnail
9.2 / 10.0
Jul 9, 2021

The seedy underbelly version of Kamurocho they have created, is home to superbly written detective story you didn’t know you wanted.

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Jun 17, 2021

If you haven’t played the Yakuza games then I guess you may have been hiding under a rock. Either that or you simply haven’t stumbled upon the series just yet. Judgement is essentially a spin-off of the Yakuza series and an excellent place to start for newcomers to this genre of game. Judgement was originally released way back in 2019 for the Playstation 4 and has now found its way to other platforms.

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8 / 10.0
Jun 7, 2021

Judgment Remastered has visually made significant changes. The type of shading of characters on the floor and wall, as well as lighting, are among the things that make this version eye-catching.

Review in Persian | Read full review

May 26, 2021

Judgment is an easy game to recommend, especially with the sequel coming out in September, and I’ve had as much fun with it as any other mainline Yakuza title. Plus, it’s hard to argue with getting a full-fat, high quality Yakuza narrative experience in a $40 price point. This is a really promising start for a new franchise, and it’s only going to get better from here. Seeing RGG Studio stretching itself and finding new ways to apply and change the formula it’s already found so much success with is an exciting and welcome shift. Whether you’re racing drones, playing a Mario Party inspired VR board game for cash, tracking down cheating spouses, chasing a local parkour crime gang through the streets, or solving a really thorny murder mystery, you’re going to find yourself having a blast.

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9 / 10
May 19, 2021

Thanks to faster loading times, more stable frame rate and better visuals, now could be a great time to play this Yakuza spin off.

Review in Persian | Read full review

8.6 / 10.0
May 10, 2021

For fans of the Yakuza series, Judgment is a must-have title. Those new to the genre can also slip into the role of detective Takayuki Yagami without any prior knowledge. The story develops great and is complemented quite well by the side missions. On the other hand, the title doesn't miss any action and even brawl fans will get their money's worth. Some activities are weird, crazy, strange or just entertaining. In any case, Judgment is fun. The drone races are unlocked relatively late, but then they are a great change from the daily routine as a martial arts detective. On Google Stadia, I liked the game even a bit better than on the initial release in 2019 on PlayStation 4, since the loading times are shorter and the game flow is more pleasant. Overall, you have so much to do that buying Judgment is worth it in any case. The potential playtime is quite high. I have just under 50 hours on Stadia now and am far from "done". In addition to the brilliant main story, Judgment offers almost endless content to keep buyers busy. Personally, I'm already looking forward to sequel "Lost Judgment" and will also play this one for many hours.

Review in German | Read full review

8.5 / 10.0
May 8, 2021

Judgment is an excellent spinoff, with an intriguing script, striking characters, a fun combat system and an immense amount of content, as traditional in the Yakuza series. In addition, it introduces new mechanics that, despite not shining as much, differentiate it from other games in the series. The game is fun and can provide you with hundreds of hours of entertainment, and my caveats are the lack of Brazilian Portuguese localization and some mechanics that could be revised. Technically the game is very well polished and the remastered version, despite being visually very similar to the original, is advantageous for the accompanying DLC.

Review in Portuguese | Read full review

8 / 10.0
May 8, 2021

This remastered version of Judgment is the definitive edition that all newcomers should go with first. The fluidity of the combats are very smooth and the loading times are basically completely gone. Its just too bad that this upgraded version doesn't really bring anything new to the table to entice returning players.

Review in French | Read full review

Ken McKown
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
May 6, 2021

Judgement is a game that was limited by its one console release. It is great to see the team at Ryu Ga Gotoku bring it to a wider audience. If you have never played a game in the Yakuza franchise this is a great jumping off point. It captures what makes those games so great without requiring a ton of investment in older titles to appreciate the story. There is so much to love about these games and I am constantly impressed at the way the team is able to craft genuinely fantastic characters and still pump out hefty experiences on a regular basis. I hope the Judgement series gets to continue, but as it stands this game is one worth checking out.

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9 / 10.0
May 5, 2021

Judgment is a great crime thriller and Kamurocho an amazing place for it to take place in. I enjoyed the story, but I had even more fun just going off and spending time with the wide variety of interesting characters and solving side cases. While there are parts that could be improved, overall I had a great time and feel that most people would.

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9.5 / 10.0
May 4, 2021

Judgement was already a brilliant game on last-gen consoles, but the PlayStation 5 enhancements see it moving close to perfection. It is renowned for its excellent story, action-packed battling, and wealth of content, but the revamped visuals and slick performance really take it to the next level. It’s a real shame that it’s not available as a free next-gen upgrade, but it’s the only real sticking point in what is otherwise a stellar release. If you missed out on Judgement the first time around, don’t make the same mistake again… play it now!

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INVEN
Top Critic
8.5 / 10.0
May 4, 2021

Jugdment itself is a brilliant masterpiece, but this remastered version sometimes seems to be complacent. However, it is also worth playing.

Review in Korean | Read full review