Overall, player feedback for Judgment is overwhelmingly positive, with many praising its engaging storyline, character development, and nostalgic ties to the Yakuza franchise. However, some users express frustration over repetitive gameplay elements and pacing issues, particularly with certain missions.
Judgment casts disgraced attorney turned private eye Takayuki Yagami through the neon backstreets of Kamurocho, and it is the rare crime game that lets the detective work be literal: examining scenes for clues in first person, tailing suspects, chasing leads and presenting evidence in court. Built by the Yakuza team on the same Dragon Engine, it wraps that casework in two fluid brawling styles and a dense sprawl of side stories, mini-games and diversions.
The trade-off is that the investigation is thinner than its premise promises. Critics reviewing the PS5 edition, which sits around the low 80s on Metacritic, found the clue-hunting on-rails and the tailing missions a slog against the studio's clunky movement. The draw here is the writing, the combat and the city, not the deduction. It suits players who want a well-acted noir and the Yakuza rhythm of story-plus-distraction; anyone expecting a demanding logic puzzle in the vein of a mystery game should look elsewhere.
Overall, player feedback for Judgment is overwhelmingly positive, with many praising its engaging storyline, character development, and nostalgic ties to the Yakuza franchise. However, some users express frustration over repetitive gameplay elements and pacing issues, particularly with certain missions.
Based on 71 reviews from steam
Judgment - Before You Buy
