Sega’s Judgment and Lost Judgment are now available on Steam

It was only last year that the future of the Judgement the series seemed extremely risky, thanks to a legal battle over star Takuya Kimura’s likeness. Looks like everything has been cleared up, as both games aren’t just coming to PC, they’re already here.

As we reported in 2021:

According to the weekly publication Nikkan Taishua Japanese entertainment insider is quoted as saying that the next judgment lost will be the last entry in the series. “Because,” the insider explains, “those on the developer side of the game and those on the side of [Kimura’s talent agency] Johnny’s would have been unable to reach an agreement regarding the platforms to sell the game.”

Today, however, there is only water under the bridge, because the two years 2018 Judgement and its 2021 sequel, judgment lostare now available on Steam and available for purchase.

This is fantastic new! I reviewed both games for Kotakuand had a blast with both. Here are my final thoughts on the original:

Playing Judgment and Yakuza is like looking at the same photo – in this case, the streets of Kamurocho – through two different filters. The presentation may be slightly different and the tone a bit off when you compare them, but the underlying image is the same, from their geography to their faces.

The Yakuza formula, so unchanged here under the additions of police distractions, is still very good despite its age. I really enjoyed my time with Judgment, partly because I admired the new, more human cast, but mostly because Yakuza’s core elements of “smashing traffic cones into ribs” married to “a soap opera about angry guys” are always a lot of fun.

And here is my opinion on the sequelwhich is even better:

If you own a PC, have been remotely curious about the Yakuza series but you don’t know where to start, or even if you should, I’m going to be brave here and suggest that in 2022 these games might actually be the best place to start. These are smaller, more focused experiences, they are freed from the burdens of main series lore, and the action-based combat here is as fun as it’s ever been in the Yakuza Games.

They’ve been some of my favorite PlayStation games of the past five years, and now that they’ve been released on PC, given Sega is newer Yakuza the ports have been pretty good – now instantly one of my favorite games on PC too.