Do it for Kaito
If you enjoy the Yakuza series, Judgment is probably on your PS4 by now (or it’s at least sitting on your to-do list). The two truly go hand-in-hand. But if you don’t have a connection to those dramatic, silly, face-smashing action-adventure romps, Judgment can be a harder sell – there aren’t many other games like it on the market today. To help draw in some fresh faces, Sega now has a prologue demo.
The prologue covers the very basics of Judgment, from street brawls and investigations to tailing and obstacle-filled chases. This only scratches the surface, but it’s a chance to get a feel for Takayuki Yagami (who is such a great protagonist) and Kamurocho (one of the best recurring settings in video games).
The story follows Yagami, an ace-attorney-turned-fashionable-detective, as he gets to the bottom of a string of murders that have left Yakuza members without eyes. He also regularly snaps pictures of cats, races his drone, eats at all the local joints, and kicks the absolute hell out of baddies. What a life!
Judgment, exactly like Yakuza before it, is one of those games that you kind of just need to play for yourself in earnest before you can know if it’s right for you. It can be a slow burn. It isn’t afraid to take its time. But once the pieces start to come together and you’re in, the experience is all-consuming.
It sounds like there’s temporary funkiness surrounding the prologue demo (if you can’t play it because of a missing update, Sega is working to fix the issue), but give it a try when you get the chance.
I politely ignored the Yakuza series for years and years, but now, there’s no going back for me.
Judgment Prologue Demo [PlayStation Store]
