Judge Eyes TGS 2018 Impression

SEGA’s Yakuza team may have put Kazuma Kiryu to rest but they aren’t leaving Kamurocho. Judge Eyes — or whatever they end calling this on this side of the Pacific — follows defense attorney turned private investigator, Takayuki Yagami, as he tries to piece together why his last client was killed and what the Tojo Clan has to do with it.

The demo on the floor of TGS (conveniently located at both the SEGA and Sony booths) jumps straight to the street with undercover Yagami staking out a suspect while chatting with his partner via bluetooth. This takes a backseat after being hassled by some punks in ugly sweaters, and Judge Eyes proves true to its roots by immediately allowing the player to beat them all half to death with a bicycle. It plays just like the faster styles from the last few Yakuza games, right down to the heat meters and a block button no one will ever use.

Melee managed, Yagami switches over to detective mode, with brand new mechanics being introduced: firstly, the player is given a sketch and a description of the suspect and they must snap a cellphone picture of the person in question to move on, this is also where one of the games collectibles; spotting cameos from other games in the franchise comes into play. Secondly, there’s tailing. The game’s take on it feels pretty Assassin’s Creed-ish, with the subject pausing arbitrarily every twenty or so steps and the player having to duck behind a crowd or a prop to avoid suspicion. The demo ends just as we spot our target making a rendez-vous with some sketchy dudes and then the trailer rolled.

Also part of the demo were a few other modes: drone racing, in which you pilot an RC quadcopter around obstacles; and board game mode –an LED-coated Mario Party but all the zany mini-games are replaced with bits from the main game such as lock-picking and beating up mooks with street signs. Judge Eyes has been confirmed for North American and European release in 2019.