It was only last year that the future of the Judgement series was looking extremely dicey, courtesy of a legal battle over star Takuya Kimura’s likeness. Looks like that’s all been cleared up, though, because both games aren’t just coming to the PC, they’re already here.
As we reported in 2021:
According to weekly publication Nikkan Taishua Japanese entertainment insider is quoted as saying that the upcoming Lost Judgment will be the last entry in the series. “Because,” the insider explains, “those on the side of the game developer and those on the side of [Kimura’s talent agency] Johnny’s are said to have been unable to reach an agreement regarding the platforms to sell the game.”
Today, though, that’s all water under the bridge, because both 2018’s Judgement and its 2021 sequel, Lost Judgmentare now up on Steam and available for purchase.
This is fantastic news! I’ve reviewed both games for Supportand had a blast with both. Here are my closing thoughts on the original:
Playing Judgment and Yakuza are like looking at the same photo—in this case the streets of Kamurocho—through two different filters. The presentation might be slightly different, and the tone a little off when you’re comparing them, but the underlying image is identical, from their geography to their face-kicking.
The Yakuza formula, so unchanged here beneath the additions of detective distractions, is still a very good one despite its age. I really enjoyed my time with Judgment, partly because I took a shine to the new, more human cast, but mostly because the basic Yakuza building blocks of “smashing traffic cones into ribs” married with “a soap opera about angry dudes” is still loads of fun.
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$663 Total Value
Humble Bundle 2K Megahits Game Bundle for Covenant House
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An array of games from 2K have been bundled together. You can pay what you want to support the cause, but if you want access to some of the big hits like Borderlands 3, The Bioshock Collection, XCOM: The Ultimate Collection, and Sid Meier’s Civilizatrion VI, you’ll have to pay at least $16. But hey, that’s hardly anything compared to the $663 value you’re getting from all 18 games combined.
And here’s my review of the sequelwhich is even better:
If you own a PC, have been remotely curious about it Yakuza series but haven’t known where to start, or if you even should, I’m going to be brave here and suggest that in 2022 these games might actually be the best jumping-off point. They’re smaller, more focused experiences, they’re free from the burdens of the main series’ lore and the action-based combat here is as fun as it has ever been in the Yakuza games.
They’re some of my favorite PlayStation games of the last five years, and now that they’re out on PC—and Sega’s more recently Yakuza ports have been pretty good—they’re now instantly some of my favorite games on PC as well.
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