Judgment
2018
Audio: English, Japanese · Subtitles: Italian, English, Korean, Chinese, French, German, Spanish, Japanese
- role-playing (rpg)
- adventure
- action
- thriller
- drama
- mystery
- single player
The story
Judgment is an action-adventure game played from a third-person perspective. The game is a legal thriller set in the Yakuza world of Kamurocho and follows private detective Takayuki Yagami as he investigates a serial murder case. It stars Japanese actor Takuya Kimura and employs a fighting system similar to that of Yakuza 0 where players can change into different styles, namely crane-style which is more focused on fighting groups and tiger-style which is more focused on fighting individuals. Additionally, the game features an investigation mode where the player must find traces of the criminal.
What it’s like
Neon-soaked nights in Kamurocho, all wet asphalt, glowing signage and sodium-orange side streets, rendered in a glossy, high-contrast digital style that shifts into moodier, cooler tones during the investigative sequences. Cutscenes lean on tight two-shots and slow push-ins, with the city's noise, traffic and distant karaoke bleeding through a score that mixes brooding synth with jazzy, faintly melancholic strings. The overall vibe is sleek noir with a streak of goofy Yakuza-world humour, a shadowed detective mood that slides between tense and playful. Pacing is deliberate: long stretches of walking the streets, chatting with eccentric locals, and playing arcade games or mahjong, punctuated by quick, meaty street brawls and methodical clue-hunting where you piece together a scene by hand. Its arc follows a stubborn, principled investigator who keeps his integrity while the city pulls him toward its darker corners. Violence is frequent and stylised, with punches, kicks and weapon-assisted beatdowns that are over-the-top rather than gory; blood is present but kept modest, and there is some crime-related grimness and tense confrontation. Best suited to players who want a moody crime story with ample downtime, side activities and a satisfying, cinematic fight system.
More games like Judgment
Closest in mood, pacing and theme. Tell us why you loved Judgmentand we’ll explain which ones fit you.
