Judgment Reviews

Judgment is ranked in the 89th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
Sep 11, 2019

In the end, the developers have made a decent game. It is by far not the best but certainly not the worst. With over 20 hours of main content to go through, with even more side content to pull through, the $59.99 price tag is dependent on how you value your purchase. In terms of raw content, it is definitely worth it. As far as quality content goes, however, I recommend waiting for a small drop before purchasing. For fans of the developer, it will most likely be satisfactory. Yet, for those unfamiliar with their style, it might be a more difficult bar to pass.

Read full review

GamesRadar+
Top Critic
Jun 20, 2019

Despite the fantastic story, Judgment stops short of being a must-play thanks to its shallow and unfulfilling crime-solving gameplay.

Read full review

INDIANTVCZ
Michal Burian
7 / 10
Mar 7, 2020

Spin-off of the popular Yakuza series leaves this review with its head held high. The developers did a solid job and offered us an interesting detective story, great characters and plethora of entertaining side activities. It's a shame that the atmosphere suffers greatly due to unattractive and simple evidence search, eventually tedious combat and dubbing absence in many cut-scenes. Judgment is an ideal starting point for those unfamiliar with Yakuza.

Review in Czech | Read full review

Evan Norris
Top Critic
7 / 10
Jun 19, 2019

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.

Read full review

7 / 10.0
Jul 21, 2019

Judgement's pacing is off, and its way of tailing missions is tedious, but it makes up for that with one of the finest stories in the series and a very solid combat system.

Review in Arabic | Read full review

7 / 10.0
Jun 28, 2019

Reiable crime story about lawyer seeking redemption from the makers of the acclaimed Yakuza.

Review in Slovak | Read full review

7 / 10
Jun 20, 2019

Judgment is a must-play for fans of the Yakuza franchise and a fantastic entry level title for those a little put off by the time required to catch up with the Yakuza series. It offers a fun and challenging dive into a wonderfully crafted game world, whose only disappointment is the result of the quality of past works.

Read full review

Jun 20, 2019

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.

Read full review

Apr 25, 2021

Judgment isn't quite so ready to put away childish things.

Read full review

Slant Magazine
Ed Gonzalez
Top Critic
Jul 6, 2019

Where the game goes in-depth, and where it clearly feels most comfortable, is in its omnipresent brawls.

Read full review

Apr 27, 2021

As mentioned, this remaster is geared for newcomers and so it's the best way to experience the game, even if it isn't a must-play for those who already experienced it on last-gen. Luckily, those who are returning to Judgment Remastered may also have reason to hold out hope for something brand new. Sega has deemed May 7 as Judgment Day, with many thinking this will be a sequel announcement. That ultimately remains to be seen, but if there's one thing this remaster proves, it's that Judgment is worthy of its own franchise.

Read full review

Edmond Tran
Top Critic
7 / 10
Jun 24, 2019

Lovable characters and an intriguing mystery-drama elevate this otherwise run-of-the-mill Ryu ga Gotoku joint.

Read full review

Metro GameCentral
Top Critic
7 / 10
Jun 20, 2019

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.

Read full review

Ben Sellwood
Top Critic
7.5 / 10.0
Aug 2, 2019

Fantastic story paired with relatively simplistic game-play makes judgment a great starting point to beginners of the genre, but the lack of depth in the action elements makes me confident now that Yakuza series (there are 11 games including spinoffs on PS4) would be a far more entertaining and involving game series to partake in on my PlayStation 4.

Read full review

7.5 / 10.0
Apr 30, 2021

A solid spin-off that capitalizes on the studio's strengths, but ultimately relies on its formula too much. Add in half-baked detective mechanics and Judgment doesn't realize its concept's potential.

Read full review

7.5 / 10.0
Jan 10, 2017

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.

Read full review

7.5 / 10.0
Apr 22, 2021

Judgement is a fine and serviceable port of the PS4 game, but apart from enhanced visuals and 60 FPS gameplay, the overall experience doesn't feel that much more enhanced than what you saw on PS4. This is definitely the way to play for newcomers but those who have already seen Yagami's journey through shouldn't worry about missing much here.

Read full review

7.5 / 10.0
Jun 20, 2019

I appreciate that the Yakuza studio wanted to try something different with Judgment, even if the biggest deviations are the absence of the bankable character Kazuma Kiryu and the addition of some detective busywork. Given that said work is typically brief, this is an easy one to recommend to Ryu Ga Gotoku acolytes and folks with patience.

Read full review

7.8 / 10.0
Jun 24, 2019

Lengthy, and full of twists and turns, Judgment might offer up mostly basic detective sequences but there’s plenty to love about the world depicted. Twisted Trio included.

Read full review

8 / 10.0
Jul 3, 2019

Judgment is the best Yakuza game ever...except for the fact that, formally, it is not a Yakuza game. Still, there are enough new gameplay elements to lure new players in, and enough old references for returning fans. Don't miss it.

Review in Dutch | Read full review