The best Xbox games for 2025
This is private detective Takayuki Yagami second adventure; a spin-off of Sega’s popular, pulpy and convoluted Yakuza saga. He lives in the same Kamurocho area, the same Yakuza gangs roam the streets, and there’s the occasional crossover between characters from side stories and, well, weirdos. But instead of punching punks in the face in the name of justice or honor, which was Yakuza’s style Yagami, protagonist Kazuya Kiryu, fights using the power of his lawyer badge, drone evidence, and…sometimes (read: often) kicking the bad guys in the face.
The sequel moves even closer to a kind of TV serial drama, punctuated by fights, chases and melodrama. For anyone who has played the series before, it treads familiar territory, albeit with a more serious (realistic) story, revolving around bullying and suicide issues in Japanese high schools and tying into countless storylines involving the legal system, politics and include organized crime.
Yagami has multiple fighting styles to master, while there are love interests, batting cages, mahjong, skate parks and more activities to sink even more hours into. On the PS5, Lost judgment looks great. Combat is fluid, and the recreated areas in Tokyo and Yokohama are usually full of pedestrians, shops, and landmarks. While Yakuza: Like a dragon took the franchise in a new (turn-based, more ridiculous) direction, Lost judgment maintains the combative gameplay style of the Yakuza series, with a new hero who ultimately captivated us.
