It's like yakuza kiwami 2, but everything is better. The combat is good and varied, the story is not complete idiotic garbage, and the music is top notch.Also Amon steals your phone LMAO.

This review contains spoilers.
I review all RGG games right after finishing them. After completing Yakuza 8 (Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth) and all the other games in the series, I decided to play Judgment.

At first, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew it was a detective game, and I initially thought it would follow a more Sherlock Holmes-like style. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how Judgment approached the detective genre in its own unique way. While I didn’t dive too deep into the side quests, I might revisit them later.

CITY
The story takes place in Kamurocho, a setting that fans of the Yakuza series will immediately recognize. For newcomers who haven’t played the Yakuza games, this shouldn’t pose a problem—the city is still engaging and atmospheric.

What I really appreciated was how Judgment introduces new locations within Kamurocho. It feels fresh and less repetitive, largely because Yagami, the protagonist, is completely separate from the Yakuza characters we’re used to. This separation gives Kamurocho a new flavor and prevents it from feeling stale or overly familiar.

STORY
I’ll admit, the story didn’t grab me right away. The first three chapters felt slow, and I struggled to see the significance of the build-up. However, once the narrative reached its turning point, I was hooked.

That said, the story did become a bit predictable later on. Knowing the characters and their roles made it relatively easy to guess what might happen next. Despite this, the story was exceptionally well-written. I loved how it balanced the detective and legal perspectives while still incorporating the Yakuza-style twists we know and love.

Overall, the story was solid—definitely a 9/10 for me.

CHARACTERS
Yagami is an excellent protagonist and a perfect fit for this series. RGG Studio has once again delivered fantastic character development, both for Yagami and the team working alongside him on the case.

The side characters, too, were a highlight. Unlike in some Yakuza games where side characters can feel dull or forgettable, Judgment introduces a cast of fresh, memorable faces. Not a single one felt unnecessary or boring, which is a big plus in my book.

CONCLUSION
Judgment is a great game, especially for fans of the Yakuza series. It shares a similar genre and tone but introduces a completely new cast, protagonist, and storyline.

For newcomers, the game is still enjoyable, though some of the Yakuza-related elements—like the influence of the clans or the Tojo Clan’s role in Kamurocho—might feel a bit underexplained. That said, it’s not a dealbreaker, as the game stands strong on its own merits.

One thing worth noting is that while this is a “detective game,” the choices you make and the investigations you conduct don’t actually influence the story. The narrative is mostly linear, and your role as a player is more about following the detective journey rather than shaping it yourself.

FINAL THOUGHTS
I really enjoyed Judgment and can’t wait to jump into Lost Judgment next. I’d recommend this game to anyone who loves the Yakuza series or detective-themed games.

While there are some areas where the game could have been improved—like certain story details or gameplay mechanics—the story itself, which is the most important aspect for me, was more than satisfying.

Overall Rating: 8.5/10

If you've played any of the Yakuza games before, you know what to expect. This game offers all the excellent deep narrative and characters together with a very familiar feel, including the city of Kamurocho and the combat system.
For people getting into RGG games for the first time, Judgment is probably the best entry point because you'll get to experience everything without having to worry about a huge backlog of 8-10 Yakuza games to followup.
What makes these games so special are the deep story, charismatic character with deep connections and backgrounds, a mature narrative and excellent cinematography on top of good humor.
Judgment reminded me a lot of detective/lawyer Japanese dramas that I used to watch like Legal High and Hanzawa Naoki.
It should also give a new vibe compared to Yakuza games since you're not a yakuza guy anymore, but a detective.

The game follows basically the same exact base of all the Yakuza games for the gameplay system, closer to Kiwami 2 I'd say, so if you like the gameplay loop in Yakuza series, you will love Judgment too for the exact same reasons, and the same can be said if you did not like those games.
I like all these RGG games for the story, but I'm not really into the gameplay mechanics. In the end, their games are basically just going from point A to point B and fighting a few mobs on the way with bad clunky combat, but the story and characters are so good and gripping that the flaws of the gameplay didn't really matter. Judgment follows the same formula.
I focused on the story only for Judgment and finished it in 25 hours of gameplay. Should be much more if you do side activities as well. The game has tons of sidequests and random stuff to do that makes the city feel alive and fun, and it even has official arcade version of Outrun and Virtua Fighter in-game to play and feel a bit of nostalgia lol

PC Port is also great. I did not encounter any issues and I was able to play it at 1440p max settings at 180fps on a RTX 4070 Super. It is a very polished game and looks great with photo realistic graphics, but I'd say that the physics animations during combat, especially when the enemy is defeated and ends up in a weird pose is bad, but can be funny sometimes lol

If you're looking for a story focused game with deep narrative and great characters, this is it. Just don't expect much from the gameplay and combat loop, but it depends on the person; there are people who love it.
If you always wanted to get into the Yakuza series but felt overwhelmed by the number of games, Judgment is an excellent option.
If you're a Yakuza games fan, well, I don't know why you haven't played Judgment yet lol
Recommended. Can't wait to start playing the sequel.