New detective game Project Judge announced from the makers of Yakuza

Sega has announced a brand new IP during Sony’s Pre-Tokyo Game Show Tour event that wrapped up yesterday. The game is a detective thriller, being developed by the same studio who made the Yakuza series. Its Japanese title is Judge Eyes: Shinigami no Yuigon, but its western name is so far just the working title Project Judge.

Similarities to Yakuza are immediately obvious – it’s a thrilling crime-centric game set in modern-day Japan, where the player controls a determined protagonist on a mission. But this time we’ll be on the other side of the law, playing as the star lawyer-turned-detective Yagami as he tries to get to the bottom of a case that destroyed his career.  A short demonstration of some of the gameplay we can expect to see was uploaded along with the story trailer.

The Yakuza studio has churned out hit after hit including their newest release, and it looks like they’re putting their winning formula to good use with Project Judge. It’s insanely energetic brand of attack moves and optional minigames are keeping the game from looking too heavy and serious, but at the same time there are some core gameplay aspects that make the new title distinct. Tailing suspects, investigating crime scenes, and evidence collecting in the form of snapping incriminating photos are all new from the studio.

What’s most exciting is the global announcement of the game, which has left us with no doubt that the game will be coming to the west. It wasn’t so long ago that we would have to wait years for any news of great Japanese games being localised, but it looks like we’re leaving those days behind. Thanks to the success of Yakuza in the west, we won’t have to spend months in the dark hoping for localisation. Project Judge will be arriving to Japanese audiences on December 13th, while the western release date will be sometime next year. A demo is already available on the Japanese PlayStation store.