Judgment Remastered is, simply put, a tuned-up version of the original game. After first releasing in Japan, Judgment launched worldwide on the PS4 in summer 2019, with fans now able to get a remastered version of the game on PS5 and Xbox Series X, as well as Stadia. It seems, based on the nature of the enhancements, that this remaster is geared toward new audiences who have never played the game, not necessarily those who'd prefer to play through it again.
For those uninitiated, Judgment is a spin-off of the Yakuza franchise, where players take on the role of detective Takayuki Yagami. It differs from the main franchise in a lot of ways, but the most notable is the overall direction and gameplay. Judgment is far more varied, for better and worse, than the original Yakuza games. Yagami can solve various cases as part of the main story and in side quests throughout Kamurocho, but the overarching story is indubitably its biggest draw.
Judgment is a slow burn, but once the Yakuza-influenced story picks up, it's able to draw players in. The first couple of hours feature a lot of handholding tutorials, at times feeling really unnecessary, and that bogs down the experience considerably. Once let loose, though, it's easy to get invested in the overarching mystery and story of Judgment. There's something about going from helping old ladies to pursuing serial killers that makes the game really shine, especially when complemented by the wide cast of characters. Some are easily forgettable, but it's those that stand out that really help keep players hooked.
If Judgement stumbles anywhere, it's the gameplay. Combat, outside of a few special encounters like with bosses, tends to be very repetitive. It's easy to compare it to a standard Yakuza game, but at the same time, it comes with its own strengths and weaknesses. Players can swap back and forth between two combat styles, with one allegedly designed to take on numerous enemies at once and the other focused more on one at a time, but it doesn't seem to matter too much. Basic combat is limited to two buttons, meaning it's just a lot of mashing, and that's particularly true when facing off with the fodder enemy types that pop up in the game world.
It does become a little more complicated than that, with special meters, timed buttons, and quick-time responses, but at the end of the day, the combat is unlikely to wow most players. Much of the same can be said when players are searching for clues or the like; oftentimes, that just involves moving the cursor around until there is some shaking or a glimmer on the screen. When chasing or running from someone, it's just a matter of hitting the right button at the right time. And while tailing someone, it's about slowly following and getting behind environmental items when someone who has no reason to be suspicious is looking over their shoulder.
There's a lot of little things that are confusingly gamified in Judgment as well. Conversations have clear right or wrong options, with players earning experience for selecting the most logical (and sometimes most obvious option). Even the act of opening a door with the right key results in an experience gain, but there's no real fun factor to trying to memorize keys for fictional doors. Overall, though, these are smaller things that a PS5/Xbox Series X remaster of Judgment would never change, but retaining that identity was clearly important here.
Despite some odd choices, Judgment Remastered is everything the original Judgment was: interesting, gritty, fun, and surprising. The game will often make players think one thing, just to turn it all around and send them in another direction. It's a refreshing story with an interesting world, only slightly marred by its gameplay. The best part about this remaster, specifically, is that it takes everything that makes the original game good and makes it great.
The best way to describe the enhancements in Judgment is "precise." As a game that released in 2018/2019, there was no need to remake the game and the need for a remaster wasn't all that pressing. As such, the best components of the game are all there, but turned to 11. The overall visuals, FPS performance, and loading times are improved. In other words, the loading times are reduced majorly, while the graphics are much more crisp and clear. The one downfall of this approach is that a good remaster for the PS5 could have included more, and it seemingly shies away from the DualSense.
Judgment Remastered doesn't really take advantage of the PS5 DualSense controller, though, at least not to the extent that it's capable of. There are times when the controller seemingly reacts to what's going on in-game, but it's nothing more than basic rumbles. Of course, with the game launching on Stadia and Xbox Series X for the first time as well, it could be that Sega focused on broad touch-ups.
As mentioned, this remaster is geared for newcomers and so it's the best way to experience the game, even if it isn't a must-play for those who already experienced it on last-gen. Luckily, those who are returning to Judgment Remastered may also have reason to hold out hope for something brand new. Sega has deemed May 7 as Judgment Day, with many thinking this will be a sequel announcement. That ultimately remains to be seen, but if there's one thing this remaster proves, it's that Judgment is worthy of its own franchise.
Judgment Remastered is available now on PS5, Stadia, and Xbox Series X. Game Rant was provided a PS5 code for the purposes of this review.