Judgment Reviews
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.
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
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
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.
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!
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
The PS5 version of Judgment is a pricey endeavor for those who already own the PS4 version. That said, it has a lot to offer to Yakuza fans who have yet to experience Yagami’s story.
The perfect detective title with the Yakuza twist
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The original game which was released on PS4 has received some visual and performance upgrades on the latest generation console. The game is known for its artistic structure along with the writing and interactions which is highly renowned as the key element of the game. Also so great that they’d cover up some minor hiccups if there were any. While the story plot is somewhat spectacular in scale, players don’t need to study up on any background history or other articles to understand and enjoy the game to its fullest. So if you haven’t played this game already, there’s no excuse to give it a try. Since there aren’t any added contents in this new version, if you’ve already played the PS4 variant, there won’t be much of a difference in gameplay. But all in all it’s a great value for a PS5 game so there’s plenty of replay value on its upgraded platform.
Review in Korean | Read full review
Pertaining a semblance to its Yakuza roots while its disparities demonstrated a distinguished difference was appreciated, and I hope to see more Judgement, with the potential of an impending announcement soon to come. Judgment on PlayStation 5 and XBOX Series X, is truly an essential for thrill seekers and third-person exploration conessuirs.
Perhaps it is not an especially remarkable version for the new generation. Beyond the resolution itself, the 60 frames per second and some improved lighting touch, it does not seem that much care has been put into showing that we are facing a different generation from that of its version of PlayStation 4, although where else we will notice the improvement is in the loading times. We miss that they have tried to take advantage of the possibilities of Dual Sense, for example. Still, in itself, Judgment is a great game, essential if we are fans of the Yakuza saga or good stories while we beat left and right.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
This new enhanced version of Judgment is the definitive way to experience the dark and gritty mystery on the current-gen machines. The game is essentially the same as the 2019 PS4 edition, albeit with a few arcade machines swapped out, but it feels new and fresh thanks to the smoother framerate, updated textures and lighting, and increased resolution. You’ll easily lose over a hundred hours if going for the platinum, becoming absorbed within the engrossing narrative and solid gameplay mechanics. The only negative is that the game didn’t offer a 4K/30 mode as we saw in Yakuza: Like a Dragon, but the 60fps mode is very stable and never buckled at any point.
Judgment is a very good game that could have been great, if not for its uninspired detective gameplay mechanics. Aside from that one negative, it offers great drama, addictive action and a variety of activities that rank Judgment as one of the best the Yakuza series has to offer. It’s also a good introduction to the Ryu Ga Gotoku universe without having to play all 7 games of Kiryu’s story, making it a recommended title for new fans as well.
Judgment shows us once again the quality of the titles developed by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio. A mature and exciting plot moved by a fun and spectacular gameplay, all surrounded by the myriad of activities available in Kamurocho make the game a complete and successful package, giving us new motivations to return to the Japanese streets to launch flying kicks.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Judgment is a masterpiece in simple words. It shows the nuisance of detective work, adds an intriguing mystery to it, and presents an emotional drama backed by strong characters.
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.
Judgment is a fun game, with many diversified aspects to discover, with a story that once again hits the mark and a huge amount of activities with which to delight. A little déjà-vu could be felt, but it is blown away after a few hours. The question we asked in the introduction finds an answer: yes, Judgment manages to make itself loved as a title with its own soul and nature and does not remain in the shadow of Yakuza.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Judgment is actually a sub-version of the original Yakuza series, but the title is so powerful that it can easily be enjoyed as much as the original. If you are a lover of adventure with a detective theme and also love the Yakuza series, the Judgment experience is a must.
Review in Persian | Read full review
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
If you enjoy Yakuza games, action games, or detective games like Heavy Rain or LA Noire, you have to pick this one up.