In 2019 Judgment arrived and PS4 and became a hit. The game cast players as a Private Detective and combines fast and intense fighting mechanics with stealth and deductive game elements.
With the release of a new generation of consoles; Sega has remastered the game for the PS5 and also released the game for the Google Stadia and Xbox platforms.
The city which is often contrasting in darkness and Neon provides all the necessary ambiance for players to try to solve a series of murders. Players will navigate the city to identify characters and early mission tasks players to follow a key suspect without being detected while another was a fight tutorial which had the player execute a series of lightning fast attacks on a group of thugs.
The combination of those skills is key to success as this is not a game you can simply punch your way to victory. Instead, the game requires players to make use of a wide range of skills and determine when is the best time to use them.
There are also segments where control of another character comes into play and this gives a new dynamic to the game as their abilities and motivations contrast to that of the main character which provides some differing gameplay options for players.
The game also allows players to take advantage of the various shops they encounter to get items to solve the case. The investigation mode of the game allows players to cover locations to get clues in order to solve the bigger mystery and of course there are various side missions players can do as well since the remastered version of the game features all available DLC.
Many players may find the choice of fighting style fun as players can adopt a method that best works for them as the game offers players choices that are not always found in games of this type that force a more linear style of play.
Since this is a remastered game; the graphics do stand out as playing on a PS5; I noticed a significant graphical improvement and much faster and smoother gameplay to what was already an impressive game. The city really comes alive at night and the enhanced graphics really help immerse players into the setting and story.
In the end, Judgment is a solid update to the new platforms and gives enough new features to interest fans of the original game as well as a solid story and gameplay to attract those who missed it the first time around.
4 stars out of 5
