Persona 5 Royal

Persona 5 Royal arrived on PlayStation 5 as the expanded version of one of the most beloved modern JRPGs, bringing with it the story of high schoolers who deal with everyday worries by day and enter the minds of corrupt adults by night. The hero arrives in Tokyo with a probationary sentence he didn't deserve, and together with a group of outcasts founds the Phantom Thieves, a band that steals criminals' twisted desires by plundering the treasure at the root of that corruption from within their hearts.

The game splits into two tightly linked halves. In the city, a calendar runs its course: the player goes to school, works, studies, and above all builds relationships with characters who soon unlock new abilities in combat. The other half consists of exploring Palaces, stylized dungeons full of puzzles and stealth, where turn-based battles emphasize finding enemy weaknesses and chaining attacks across the whole party. Collecting and fusing Personas, beings that serve as both spells and passive abilities, gives the system surprising depth. The Royal version also adds new characters and an entire final act. Time pressure is real, too: every Palace has a deadline it must be cleared by, so the player is constantly weighing what they can still fit in.

The console version on PS5 stands out above all for its smooth visuals and fast loading, which benefits a game built on hundreds of short transitions between locations. Visually, it's one of the most distinctive works out there: the red-and-black interface is animated in its own right and has become a template copied by a whole host of imitators. Shoji Meguro's soundtrack, blending acid jazz with funk and vocals, ranks among the highest-rated in the genre. Critics received the game excellently, and its influence shows in how many newer JRPGs have adopted the calendar-and-relationships structure. The console version also includes previously released expansions, making it the most complete version of the game available. Expect a very long experience, but one that pays off with every hour.