Persona 5 Royal

 PlayStation 4
Metascore
95

Universal acclaim - based on 71 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 70 out of 71
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 71
  3. Negative: 0 out of 71
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  1. TheGamer
    Mar 23, 2020
    70
    It was just another quintessential Persona experience: a wildly, wonderfully fun story-driven game with a story that fails to live up to its own potential and fundamentally misunderstands the core of their own characters. Atlus both made the most of and absolutely squandered the chance to improve upon Persona 5—and honestly? I don’t know what I was expecting.
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  1. Eurogamer
    Mar 31, 2020
    Great new gameplay features can't help the fact that Persona 5 Royal drags on even more than its predecessor.
  2. Polygon
    Mar 30, 2020
    If you loved the original game and have been wanting to replay it, there are plenty of quality-of-life improvements to make your replay smoother, and the additional content in the third semester is a real treat. You’ll have to replay a lot of content, but the new story beats, characters, and gameplay changes are worth the time. If you’ve never played Persona 5, and the idea of a lengthy JRPG about making friends, making evil adults admit their crimes, and fighting monsters sounds cool, this is the definitive way to experience the game. Be aware of some problematic plot elements that are not totally fixed. But the game is stylish, full of things to do, and still one of the most interesting JRPGs of this console generation. [Polygon Recommends]
  3. The Verge
    Mar 31, 2020
    In the midst of a pandemic, Persona 5 Royal’s arrival is a welcome break from the daily anxieties that have become the new normal. It began as a fantasy about the supernatural power of well-meaning individuals. Now, it’s also a dream of what’s been lost: coffee dates, crowds, dinners at restaurants, packed movie theaters, and time closely spent with friends.

Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Best PS4 Game of 2020
12
#12 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2020

User Reviews

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User Score
8.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 3676 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3,074 out of 3676
  2. Mixed: 147 out of 3676
  3. Negative: 455 out of 3676
  1. SahilKChandio
    Mar 31, 2020
    10
    Persona 5 on its on was a masterpiece 10/10 game and was the best game of 2017 alonside botw. We already knew that persona 5 royal was goingPersona 5 on its on was a masterpiece 10/10 game and was the best game of 2017 alonside botw. We already knew that persona 5 royal was going to be a much better experience but Atlus literally blew it away by improving on a masterpiece game and turning it into perfection! They literally took and redesigned everything and added much much more. If persona 5 royal itself was released in 2017 it would have easily won GOTY. It is such a perfect game made with love and care and is right now the highest rated ps4 exclusive of all time. Sega and atlus has given us a game that will go down in history as one of the greatest and best crafted pieces in the medium I can't recommend playing this game enough! Another HUGE masterpiece added to the list of Sony exclusives. I wish we get the original persona 5 on steam though that would be really cool having persona on pc and ps the best platforms out there!… Full Review »
  2. Wingandwind
    Apr 18, 2020
    5
    First off I believe you need to compare this version of the game to the original since they are both playable on the same system and a newFirst off I believe you need to compare this version of the game to the original since they are both playable on the same system and a new player would have to choose between them and old players need to choose if this is worth buying when they already have a version of persona 5. If you are getting this one solely to have the ‘definitive’ version, also keep in mind both persona 4 and persona 3 got remakes on portable systems, so I would not be surprised if we get another persona 5 remake for a portable system one day.

    So for everything good I have to say about royal I have something bad to say compared to the original:

    Good new graphics update - but bad new opening that you see every time you start the game, uglier, smaller font (big deal since this game is largely told through text and dialogue) used than the original game, and some of the new character busts are very odd looking and don’t look like they were drawn by the people who did the old busts.


    A new semester with a new palace! - it is optional. It also needs to be unlocked and the unlocking is easy enough to miss that many players may accidentally miss it. Also the new ‘semester’ isn’t very long and it is only like a month ish, calling it a ‘semester’ almost feels misleading. I can see why there are many bad reviews saying they were unhappy with how little new content there was.

    New confidants to do and a new romance option - but without going into spoilers the new royal characters are very similar to ones from previous Atlus games (including previous persona games) so if you are familiar with other persona, smt, or other Atlus games the new characters may feel stale or predictable.

    A new party member to use! - but she is on team for a very, very short amount of time so people excited to use a new party member will probably be disappointed. And her character arc doesn’t match the other characters being more about accepting her past and herself than of fighting against social norms and abuse. And as above, her writing is really predictable and weak.

    New battle mechanics and changes to make some aspects (like weapons and guns) more useful! - but it causes some balancing issues. Some changes now make the game too easy later in the game and make make some things already in the game obsolete. Example: changes to the guns to make them better made gun-based persona and gun persona skills a waste of time to use as well as making Haru much less useful, and she already suffers as she joins the cast very late.

    ...So, yeah, I do not believe royal is an unquestionable improvement to the original. I’d even go as far as saying that the new additions really could have used more work and many of the changes actually hurt the game instead of improving it. The new characters are also very disappointing and I don’t think most players will enjoy them.

    So overall I can’t say I enjoyed this version as much as the original, but I don’t think it is a bad game. If you played the original I wouldn’t bother getting this one and if you have never played persona 5 I would say get the original because it will probably be cheaper and it isn’t any worse. I’d only really recommend this version if safety difficultly was too hard for you in the original or if you are a stickler for good graphics and have a giant, super HD TV so a graphic upgrade would make a huge difference to you. Overall though I don’t think royal is worth it to the average gamer. It isn’t ‘bad’ but ‘unnecessary’ might be a good word.


    Buy, rent, watch an LP, or skip? Skip. The original will probably serve you fine and most of the new changes may not be worth buying the game again, most new plot points are optional and don’t change the story and are skippable.    … Full Review »
  3. Fallingroy
    Apr 22, 2020
    4
    Probably great if you haven’t played the original, but a total disappointment if you did. Most of the new story is in a new game section thatProbably great if you haven’t played the original, but a total disappointment if you did. Most of the new story is in a new game section that has to be unlocked and the story for it isn’t even that good and doesn’t really change the overall plot. There are some battle changes that you’ll either love or find make the game stupid easy. And most of the game other than battle sections and the new section is just graphics upgrades that aren’t different enough from the original to be worth it for most people. I would have much rather they cut the crappy new characters (seriously, they all are boring and or badly written) and have had Kasumi as a female protagonist option or removed the graphic changes and made this a switch or pc port. I would have given this a mixed score and not a bad one but it is expensive compared to the original so it isn’t a great game and it is expensive so totally not worth a buy.… Full Review »
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