Judgment

 PlayStation 5
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 143 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 104 out of 143
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 143
  3. Negative: 25 out of 143
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  1. SplitMind
    Jul 22, 2021
    7
    Judgement follows on from the Yakuza series where we saw Kiryu retire and the mainline series diverge into RPG with Like A Dragon. Judgement tries to stay true to the Kiryu days of Yakuza games. It achieve this fairly well, for better or worse.

    The graphics I don't think have ever looked better. The PS5 can give Kamurocho the depth and gloss it needs as well as the smooth textures and    Judgement follows on from the Yakuza series where we saw Kiryu retire and the mainline series diverge into RPG with Like A Dragon. Judgement tries to stay true to the Kiryu days of Yakuza games. It achieve this fairly well, for better or worse.

    The graphics I don't think have ever looked better. The PS5 can give Kamurocho the depth and gloss it needs as well as the smooth textures and FPS. The problem I have is that I don't think Kamurocho is as vibrant as previous games - the neon-strewn Tenkaichi Street isn't quite the same. I also experienced quite a bit of pop in with enemies when I was running around, making combat tricky to avoid but fortunately I rarely wanted to avoid it. Overall there is definitely a step-up with graphics, but as a PS4 upgrade this isn't really pushing the envelope like I would expect.

    I want to comment on the sound in this game as I was playing the English dubs and found the English voices sounded a lot like Japanese actors trying to convey an American accent, which is unintentionally humorous.

    The gameplay of Yakuza is what deflated my enthusiasm quite a bit. All the familiar tropes are there, so if you are playing in the hopes of 'more Yakuza' then you likely won't be disappointed. However, the combat I found lacking and one-dimensional since there were only two styles. The thing that irritated me most about combat was how easy it is to get stun-locked or knocked over, making me put the difficulty down to easy just to make combat more enjoyable as enemy health bars also become notoriously huge in Yakuza games.

    What also really grinded my gears about Judgement unlike mainline Yakuza games is that they added a tailing mission mechanic here. This is a dreadfully tedious mission design where you literally walk slowly behind a character and hide when they look over their shoulder for you. This is on the same level as escort missions and both belong in the archives of game design that should never be used, or at least used as a one-off. There are quite a few of these missions and they are so horrendously monotonous that they irritated me to no end when I enjoyed the fast-paced combat.

    The gameplay and the story merge in the next few things I want to talk about. Judgement can be a game with pacing issues. It suffers from arbitrary design between cut-scenes progressing automatically and others where I need to constantly press X like that device in The Simpsons where Homer gets really fat. I like conversations flowing smoothly and being able sit back and take it all in.

    This brings me to my other issue with Judgement - I found the story just too bloody long. I was on chapter five thinking I was doing well, only to look online and see that there were 11 chapters. I was already bored of most of the mechanics an tropes, so this really put me off going any further, which is a shame as the story did interest me but was littered with filler too. Some of the side quests were as usual quirky and humorous, but padded out the game too much for my liking. Having said that, again if you want more Yakuza and appreciate a longer story then you might absolutely love Judgement.

    Overall, Judgement gets off to a very strong start and feels familiar but modern, however the familiar tropes and mini-games have long worn off their novelty for me and the story just isn't concise enough for my impatient tastebuds. The combat isn't quite as satisfying as previous games and the main protagonist seems to have the least personality. Having said that, if you love the Yakuza series and simply want more, this could be right up your Tenkaichi Street.    … Expand
  2. ihearthawthats
    Nov 10, 2021
    7
    Hours Played: 40 Hours
    Trophy Completion: 23/47 (34%)
    Worth My Time: Yes, to roll credits. Worth My Money: Yes, wait for sale. What I Like: Fighting seamlessly integrates with both exploration and story. Characters are likeable and story is interesting. What I Dislike: Detective gameplay is underwhelming. Side content is a bit lackluster. How It Stacks Up: Not as good as    Hours Played: 40 Hours
    Trophy Completion: 23/47 (34%)

    Worth My Time: Yes, to roll credits.
    Worth My Money: Yes, wait for sale.

    What I Like: Fighting seamlessly integrates with both exploration and story. Characters are likeable and story is interesting.

    What I Dislike: Detective gameplay is underwhelming. Side content is a bit lackluster.

    How It Stacks Up: Not as good as Yakuza, but still a great game. PS5 port is mediocre at best.    … Expand
  3. ehtaco
    Feb 26, 2023
    7
    Mostly a pretty great game.

    I wish there was a bit more mystery and detective work, but what is there really is pretty fantastic. For sure, one of the most "alive" open worlds in these "Yakuza" games, the PS5 surely helps with that even though I am positive they aren't scratching the surface of what can truly be done on this more modern hardware. Still, it looks really good. Yagami    Mostly a pretty great game.

    I wish there was a bit more mystery and detective work, but what is there really is pretty fantastic. For sure, one of the most "alive" open worlds in these "Yakuza" games, the PS5 surely helps with that even though I am positive they aren't scratching the surface of what can truly be done on this more modern hardware. Still, it looks really good.

    Yagami is, for the most part, a layered and enjoyable protagonist. Not close to topping Kiryu, but who can, really?

    It doesn't come without its issues. Tons of irritating enemy pop in with the random gang encounters. It becomes a bit much late in the game. There are a lot of bugs I encountered. POIs not loading in when they should, being stuck on the screen you get briefly after winning a fight, missions not loading, etc.

    My biggest issues with the game? Pretty big ones. First and foremost; it is too long. Straight-up, too long. Around Chapter 6 or so this game feels like it's coming to an end, but no, you're only halfway done with the game at that point. I don't necessarily have a problem spending 50+ hours on a game. But this game lacks the depth to make that interesting and the story slows down to a slog at that point. It doesn't feel like it warrants the playtime.

    This brings me to my second big complaint. Yakuza games have long had combat that does get a bit old and boring over time, but it's usually far more layered. It's not here. This is the most shallow combat I've ever played in these games. On one hand, maybe it makes sense. You're a detective, not a super-hardened martial arts dude. But still. It hurts the overall gameplay. Two combat styles that visually look a bit different, but feel identical to play. One is more kick-heavy and focused on taking on groups, the other is more punch-focused for taking on a single, stronger enemy. But you can use the styles interchangeably without many hindrances at all. One style may be better in every scenario even. It just misses the mark and lacks depth or any thinking-on-the-fly re: fights. Just button mashing -- and not even typical Yakuza button mashing. Way worse.

    Last half of this game I avoided every single street encounter because the fights became very boring. Worth a playthrough, just know what you're getting into.    … Expand
  4. Vujica
    May 8, 2022
    7
    How all these people find this to be one of the greatest games ever is beyond me. I suggest everyone looks at gameplay video's before deciding on purchasing the game since for this game there is quite some discrepancy in opinion. For me it was an okay game (bought it for €15). The graphics are great and the main story is awesome.

    But the repetition is very high. Thugs keep appearing and    How all these people find this to be one of the greatest games ever is beyond me. I suggest everyone looks at gameplay video's before deciding on purchasing the game since for this game there is quite some discrepancy in opinion. For me it was an okay game (bought it for €15). The graphics are great and the main story is awesome.

    But the repetition is very high. Thugs keep appearing and appearing when you are walking around, and this is especially annoying when you are moving around town during main story missions. But also dialogs keep repeating (when purchasing something, when playing VR on every square, after every fight where you have to acknowledge a friend when they help, with the girlfriend missions, etc.) So much that I found it annoying an frustrating and would start pushing the X button on all dialogs just to get rid of them.

    If you're going for the platinum trophy this game is insane. You not only have to finish the game twice (the second time on legendary difficulty) but you have to play poker, mahjong, blackjack, shogi, virtual fighter 5, virtua fighter 2, do drone racing and many more games. The difficulty on some of these is ridiculously high. Also you have to farm quite some money. I guess it is a matter of preference again, but I HATE to have to play games of luck (poker, blackjack, mahjong, vr dice game) to conquer a trophy in an action game. I don't mind insane difficulty levels, but if I wanna play poker I will do it somewhere else.

    So the game is not bad in any way, don't get me wrong. I enjoyed the main story a lot. But there are quite a few things that keep it from being great.    … Expand
  5. vicwolk
    Feb 11, 2023
    7
    Game is good. The sound FX is what bugs me. It's so annoying, it constantly makes you put the volume down and screw the experience. How hard can it be to simply make an FX volume controller, guys? Who the hell digs this mega drive bright sound at this day and age anyways???
  6. Tintler
    Jun 25, 2023
    7
    Ryu Ga Gotoku stüdyosunu ne yapsa oynarım. Kamurocho geri dönmek güzel oldu. Hikaye, karakterler, seslendirme animasyonlar başarılıydı. AAA bütçesine sahip olsa ve 2. 3. seviye sinematikler de ana hikayedeki gibi kaliteli olsaydı keşke.
  7. Vagrantglass
    Sep 8, 2023
    7
    Judgement - PS5

    Gameplay - 7
    Story - 8.5
    Sound - 8
    Music - 6
    Graphics - 8

    Total - 7.5

    Enjoyed playing through Judgement, the main plot was quite interesting and for the most part the gameplay was alright. Meaningless side quests and tailing missions bring thr score down.

Awards & Rankings

27
#27 Best PlayStation 5 Game of 2021
57
#57 Most Discussed PlayStation 5 Game of 2021

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 33 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 33
  3. Negative: 0 out of 33
  1. Cubed3
    Nov 2, 2022
    90
    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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  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Feb 15, 2022
    100
    An excursion into the Japanese universe, with charismatic characters, an elaborate story, emotions and humor. One also forgives the game for the fact that the hero is not a member of the yakuza this time.
  3. CD-Action
    Dec 7, 2021
    90
    Despite being a spin-off, Judgment firmly stands on its own two feet, offering a great story, immensely fun combat and the usual truckload of cool side stories and engaging activities scattered around Kamurocho. The main plot line has some pacing issues and the detective mechanics are shallow, but you should definitely give this game a try, even if you don’t care much for the Yakuza series. [07/2021, p.68]
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