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In 2018, Judgment, a spin-off of the Yakuza series, was released to audiences. In this game, players had the opportunity to explore the Kamurocho district and investigate cases tied to Japan's criminal underworld through the eyes of private detective Takayuki Yagami (portrayed by actor Takuya Kimura).
Now, Yagami returns to players in Lost Judgment, the sequel to the aforementioned game. Based on our experience, we can say that this is RGG Studio's finest work and one of the best games of 2021.
Set in December 2021, the story of Lost Judgment continues Yagami’s detective career in Kamurocho. As the narrative references events from both Judgment and Yakuza: Like a Dragon, this isn’t exactly an ideal entry point for newcomers. However, this can easily be resolved by watching a summary on YouTube.
After wrapping up a fraud case, Yagami and his partner Kaito are invited to Isezaki Ijincho, in the city of Yokohama, to investigate a complex case involving school bullying, the Yakuza, and an emerging crime syndicate known as RK. This marks the official beginning of the game’s story.
The first point worth highlighting is the game’s narrative. The story told in Lost Judgment is quite dark, as it revolves around issues such as bullying, school violence, and suicide—major societal problems in Japan. The game effectively raises awareness of how serious these issues are and may even make players who have experienced school bullying feel uneasy.
There are moments when Yagami has to “teach a lesson” to bullies using force. Normally, this could raise ethical questions, especially since these bullies are minors. However, given the way RGG Studio develops the story and characters, many players will likely find Yagami's actions to be justified and necessary.
The second key highlight of Lost Judgment is its Beat 'em Up gameplay. A few months ago, RGG Studio confirmed that the Judgment series would continue with the classic action-based combat of the franchise, while Yakuza shifts toward RPG mechanics. Because of this, if you're a fan of intense hand-to-hand street fights set in Japan, this is a must-buy game.
Similar to previous titles in the series, Lost Judgment features a relatively straightforward combat system. Players combine light attacks, heavy attacks, grapples, blocks, and dodges to create visually impressive and powerful combos.
During combat, the EX energy gauge gradually fills up. Once charged, it allows players to unleash brutal finishing moves capable of taking down enemies with a single blow.
One of the standout features of Lost Judgment is Yagami’s ability to switch between different fighting styles. While Judgment introduced two styles—Tiger (effective for one-on-one combat) and Crane (ideal for handling groups), Lost Judgment adds an entirely new style called Snake. This is a defense-oriented style that focuses on disarming enemies and taking them down with grappling moves.
All three combat styles come equipped with a sufficient number of techniques to use throughout the entire game. When combined, they make Lost Judgment’s street fights consistently engaging and far from boring.
Beyond its combat mechanics, another strong point of Lost Judgment is its minigames. In this title, players can take on activities like dance choreography, boxing, motorcycle racing, arcade games, and many more. Most of these activities are surprisingly deep, with their own progression systems—so much so that we spent hours on them and nearly forgot about the main storyline.
Of course, no game is without flaws, and for Lost Judgment, the weakest element is its detective gameplay. Although RGG Studio introduced new mechanics to make investigations more enjoyable—like parkour, stealth, and disguises to infiltrate enemy hideouts—these mechanics are often too linear and, at times, feel more like extended Quick Time Events.
Additionally, the choices made during investigations and deductions don’t carry much weight. If you draw the wrong conclusion, the game simply nudges you toward the correct one.
If players find themselves stuck, they can just cycle through every option until they find the right one, as Lost Judgment does not penalize players for selecting incorrect deductions or evidence. As such, the game is better viewed as a brawler with detective elements, rather than a true detective game.
In conclusion, Lost Judgment is a great game and shows notable improvements over its predecessor—a feat that's not easy to accomplish. Due to some complications involving actor Takuya Kimura’s talent agency, the game is only available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. If you're a console gamer, Lost Judgment is definitely a must-play.
