I'm going to preface this review by saying that there have been a lot of technical issues reported by many people and I personally experienced some frequent crashes around the third Jail of this game. However, with the new beta patch applied, those issues seem to be resolved and I have had a crash free experience! So make sure you opt into the beta up until the patch goes live properly.

Also, this game does use Denuvo Anti-Temper, which is controversial for many reasons including proven performance impacts as seen by games that have had the middleware removed. Some people very much dislike Denuvo, so it's only fair to make sure you're aware that is is there in case that is something that would impact your purchase. In that case, you may wish to consider either not purchasing the game, or seeking out its PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch ports if you own those systems.

With that out of the way, I can talk about how I actually feel about the game itself.

Persona 5 Strikers is a spin off of...Persona 5, funnily enough. It's by Koei Tecmo, the developers of the Warriors games. I personally am not a fan of those games, so I was pretty relieved when I found that Strikers is actually not a Warriors game. While it shares some of the base components e.g. controlling a party of heroes fighting large groups of enemies, the similarities pretty much end there.

In terms of combat, the game is a lot more focused on keeping your party alive, managing your HP/SP, and taking advantage of your enemies' weaknesses to gain control over the battle. In that regard, those tactical elements make the game feel strangely a lot like a Persona game in execution even with the change to real time action combat. Like many of the other Persona games, you also visit the Velvet Room to acquire and fuse new Personas throughout the game to give you more powerful tools to deal with the enemies. Social links are not in this game, but are replaced with a 'bond' system where you gain points to spend on upgrades for your party by interacting with them, cooking new recipes, and completing requests.

The ways these mechanics compliment each other help to make this feel a lot different from other spin offs and make it feel much more like a companion to the main Persona games rather than just another cash grab. Added to this, this isn't another dancing game, or non-canon 'it was all a dream' type spin off, but an actual direct sequel to Persona 5. However, this does mean that the game will spoil the events of Persona 5. This makes this game kind of a strange choice to release considering that game is not on PC, but it was likely easier to port a game that was already in active development.

If you have only played the original Persona 5, you will not be spoiled for the events of Royal as this game started development before Royal. Atlus likely also did not share any of the new plot elements of the re-release with Koei Tecmo, so Royal is not referenced at all in this game.

I cannot recommend this game much if you're a newcomer to the series, but if you are a Persona fan that enjoyed the hell out of 5, this feels pretty much like more Persona 5. In terms of story, it does retread some elements from the previous game and lift some elements into the new story and many of the 'twists' of the game's story are pretty easy to see coming. If you've played other Persona games, or are just generally familiar with the tropes of these types of games, you'll see where the story is going pretty easily. That being said, it is still a well executed and enjoyable story even if predictable.

Lastly...the music. Yeah. This a Persona game. It's got pretty great music.

Why are you still reading this and not playing Persona 5 Strikers?!

I'm going to preface this review by saying that there have been a lot of technical issues reported by many people and I personally experienced some frequent crashes around the third Jail of this game. However, with the new beta patch applied, those issues seem to be resolved and I have had a crash free experience! So make sure you opt into the beta up until the patch goes live properly. Also, this game does use Denuvo Anti-Temper, which is controversial for many reasons including proven performance impacts as seen by games that have had the middleware removed. Some people very much dislike Denuvo, so it's only fair to make sure you're aware that is is there in case that is something that would impact your purchase. In that case, you may wish to consider either not purchasing the game, or seeking out its PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch ports if you own those systems. With that out of the way, I can talk about how I actually feel about the game itself. Persona 5 Strikers is a spin off of...Persona 5, funnily enough. It's by Koei Tecmo, the developers of the Warriors games. I personally am not a fan of those games, so I was pretty relieved when I found that Strikers is actually not a Warriors game. While it shares some of the base components e.g. controlling a party of heroes fighting large groups of enemies, the similarities pretty much end there. In terms of combat, the game is a lot more focused on keeping your party alive, managing your HP/SP, and taking advantage of your enemies' weaknesses to gain control over the battle. In that regard, those tactical elements make the game feel strangely a lot like a Persona game in execution even with the change to real time action combat. Like many of the other Persona games, you also visit the Velvet Room to acquire and fuse new Personas throughout the game to give you more powerful tools to deal with the enemies. Social links are not in this game, but are replaced with a 'bond' system where you gain points to spend on upgrades for your party by interacting with them, cooking new recipes, and completing requests. The ways these mechanics compliment each other help to make this feel a lot different from other spin offs and make it feel much more like a companion to the main Persona games rather than just another cash grab. Added to this, this isn't another dancing game, or non-canon 'it was all a dream' type spin off, but an actual direct sequel to Persona 5. However, this does mean that the game will spoil the events of Persona 5. This makes this game kind of a strange choice to release considering that game is not on PC, but it was likely easier to port a game that was already in active development. If you have only played the original Persona 5, you will not be spoiled for the events of Royal as this game started development before Royal. Atlus likely also did not share any of the new plot elements of the re-release with Koei Tecmo, so Royal is not referenced at all in this game. I cannot recommend this game much if you're a newcomer to the series, but if you are a Persona fan that enjoyed the hell out of 5, this feels pretty much like more Persona 5. In terms of story, it does retread some elements from the previous game and lift some elements into the new story and many of the 'twists' of the game's story are pretty easy to see coming. If you've played other Persona games, or are just generally familiar with the tropes of these types of games, you'll see where the story is going pretty easily. That being said, it is still a well executed and enjoyable story even if predictable. Lastly...the music. Yeah. This a Persona game. It's got pretty great music. Why are you still reading this and not playing Persona 5 Strikers?!