Persona 5

 PlayStation 4
User Score
8.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 5569 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4,794 out of 5569
  2. Mixed: 212 out of 5569
  3. Negative: 563 out of 5569
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  1. Jdotdeedot
    Jul 1, 2022
    9
    My first persona game. It's not my favorite one but oh is it good. Aside the slightly weak endgame and mOrGaNa this game is almost flawless. The rpg turn based combat in p5 is the best it's ever been in the persona series. The phantom thieves as a cast of characters are solid but not my favorite. The confidants are really good here and are probably my favorite in the series. Also, theMy first persona game. It's not my favorite one but oh is it good. Aside the slightly weak endgame and mOrGaNa this game is almost flawless. The rpg turn based combat in p5 is the best it's ever been in the persona series. The phantom thieves as a cast of characters are solid but not my favorite. The confidants are really good here and are probably my favorite in the series. Also, the music is JAMMIN'. Arugubably the best in the series. Overall this game is really good and I prefer it slightly more to p5r despite some improvements it makes.… Expand
  2. Robobuster12657
    Sep 9, 2022
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It has a much darker story line then all the other games in the persona series. Its exciting and captivating and it's definitely one of my most favourite RPG games that I've played.… Expand
  3. That_One_Dude
    Nov 27, 2022
    9
    This game made me realize how important a good cast can be, and it got me into RPGS, and turn based battles. The story is great, the gameplay is great, the setting is great, the art style is great, the waifus are great and the soundtrack is god tier.
    This game has it's issues, but not enough to remove it from my favorite game of all time.
  4. warion
    Feb 8, 2023
    9
    Good story and enjoyable RPG game would recommend and play again. The world's are well thought out and the personas you both get and fight have there own personality. The characters are well thought out with there own storyline and impact on the story. The extra features like gyms, crafting, school questions etc. But my problem is that all the perfecting and stay boost take too long toGood story and enjoyable RPG game would recommend and play again. The world's are well thought out and the personas you both get and fight have there own personality. The characters are well thought out with there own storyline and impact on the story. The extra features like gyms, crafting, school questions etc. But my problem is that all the perfecting and stay boost take too long to grind for because you barley get chance to leave Leblanc without Morgana telling you to sleep but good game 9/10… Expand
  5. TheQweast
    Mar 3, 2023
    9
    One of my favorites of all time I love the characters and the overall look of the game is amazing. Weakest of the persona protagonists imo and the story itself drags pretty hard in places but after replaying it 4 times it still is something I could see myself coming back to.
  6. Jaidenbrkl1
    Apr 17, 2023
    9
    Despite my difficulties to enjoy it again, even in 2023, it is still a beautiful experience that I don’t talk about as much as before.
  7. Nmaa18
    Mar 27, 2023
    9
    I first saw persona 5 when i checked this website a couple of years ago. Upon seeing the positive reviews, I decided to give it a go, even though the gameplay didn't particularly pull me in from youtube footage. I had intended for this game to be my last ps4 game. I was starting to have enough of gaming as a whole, for many reasons. I ended up playing a game so good, that I decided toI first saw persona 5 when i checked this website a couple of years ago. Upon seeing the positive reviews, I decided to give it a go, even though the gameplay didn't particularly pull me in from youtube footage. I had intended for this game to be my last ps4 game. I was starting to have enough of gaming as a whole, for many reasons. I ended up playing a game so good, that I decided to never stop gaming. it reinvigorated my love for gaming. It is one of the rare games i wish i had not played, because now, i will never be able to experience it anew. Despite being a ps3 game, it surpassed my expectations, and it will be enjoyable for eternity.

    Best stuff: the artistic vision and unique game design/ui. the awesome music. the loveable characters. the personas themselves remind me of my childhood with pokemon. The things to do in tokyo.

    What could have improved the game: Joker's lack of voice, absence of character customisation in game - wait its DLC...

    In conclusion: The game is practically flawless, it kept me fully interested for so many hours, and is memorable and fun. For a month, the phantom thieves became my only and best friends. I don't know how they made the characters feel as real as they felt to me. I give this game a 93/100    … Expand
  8. Killerpummkin
    Aug 10, 2023
    9
    Beautiful game, incredible, hard to describe, it's been a long time since I felt like this with a game, if you're looking for a quality JRPG to play, you can go with Persona 5, best JRPG I've played in years.
  9. Goo4you
    May 1, 2017
    8
    I am into the early goings of this game, yet I am finding myself falling further and further into the on-rails like narrative. This may just be a convention of early game, but as a person picking up the series for the 1st time; it's well appreciated.

    Like I stated above; never played a single Persona game up until this. There is a nebulous sea of J-RPG's out there and myself and this    I am into the early goings of this game, yet I am finding myself falling further and further into the on-rails like narrative. This may just be a convention of early game, but as a person picking up the series for the 1st time; it's well appreciated.

    Like I stated above; never played a single Persona game up until this. There is a nebulous sea of J-RPG's out there and myself and this series never crashed together. For me J-RPG's end up being socially jarring (American here), so the nuances of the game(s) are odd or awkward or mirror the same tropes every other J-RPG has done. Persona 5 does this, yet also bridges a gap that makes the product palatable and genuinely likeable; even when dealing with a hairy guy wearing nothing but a crown/cloak and pink speedo's.

    There's the art style which has already been talked about by everyone, but I would add that perhaps a better camera control could have been included. It's not god awful, but it's also a tad under satisfactory for my tastes. It makes taking in the world around a little poor and I wanted to see more than a tunnel-like view (perhaps a cinema-like option). The controls are fine though I would have liked a walk/run option. Having to use the very delicate joystick for it isn't great but i've dealt with worse. The music is J-RPG common fare, but it feels a lot like being swaddled in a comfy blanket. You know they are crafting a feeling to make you at ease or uncomfortable. Earworm quality is the best term for me, the music bores into your mind, which is fine by me I enjoy the soundtrack. I have caught myself humming the battle victory tune while doing things in real life.

    I've enjoyed my time so far. Solid game with a lot of things to get attached to.    … Expand
  10. OwtDaft
    May 10, 2018
    8
    + The story is very good but has some flaws.
    + You get to choose the protagonists responses at times and he does have a bit of back story.
    + The game has some great side stories. + It's fun trying to get as much done in a dungeon and in a single day, while conserving energy. + Out of dungeon parts are great, like past Persona games, but needed something new. + Deciding how to spend    + The story is very good but has some flaws.
    + You get to choose the protagonists responses at times and he does have a bit of back story.
    + The game has some great side stories.
    + It's fun trying to get as much done in a dungeon and in a single day, while conserving energy.
    + Out of dungeon parts are great, like past Persona games, but needed something new.
    + Deciding how to spend your day is a lot of fun and your given lots of options.
    + Choices made in your free time matter for improving character stats and building bonds.
    + The graphics are poor for a PS4 game but the games art direction more than makes up for it.
    + Dungeons aren't the same dull corridors of the past, though some dungeons still look a bit dull.
    + The music is great for the most part but the tracks while exploring dungeons are very repetitive.
    - Never been a big fan of silent protagonists and it makes the main character feel soul less.
    - Story is too structured, along with the dungeons which go though the same steps as past ones.
    - Lot of junk unnecessary dialogue. Explains obvious things which is really annoying in dungeons.
    - The stealth is a good idea but can be very frustrating with clunky controls and detection.
    - There is a randomly generated dungeon in this game which isn't very fun to explore as it's very dull.
    - Game over when the main character goes down is super infuriating, coupled with instadeath spells.    … Expand
  11. dtl
    Apr 24, 2017
    8
    While a little overrated, this game has a good sense of what it is trying to be. Essentially, this game is an anime, though with a significant amount of player involvement. The design of many of the areas of the game suboptimal, and sometimes poorly behaved, but it keeps pretty well to its style, and the fundamentals work pretty well.
  12. bulger_paul
    Jul 29, 2019
    8
    I'm 40 hours in and I get the sense that's I'm maybe only about halfway through, but I think 40 hours is more than enough time to know what I think of any game. Persona 5 is a game with a ridiculous amount of hidden depth, but the depth is not where its strengths lie, but in its characters, all of whom are more complex than they appear to be at first, and all of whom I wanted to get toI'm 40 hours in and I get the sense that's I'm maybe only about halfway through, but I think 40 hours is more than enough time to know what I think of any game. Persona 5 is a game with a ridiculous amount of hidden depth, but the depth is not where its strengths lie, but in its characters, all of whom are more complex than they appear to be at first, and all of whom I wanted to get to know. Merely having lots of options is not enough for me to make a game good. I know a game is good when there's a lot of options that I'm pained to choose between because I wish I could do everything. I want to spend time with all of the characters but there's only so many hours in the day and so many days in the week to schedule everything out.

    My only complaint is that a lot of the dialogue is extremely overwritten, which is a problem that pervades most JRPGs I've played, and anime I've seen in general. I mean seriously, every JRPG I've ever seen can write the crap out of practically any mundane occurrence, but it's definitely worth sitting through in this case because the characters are brimming with personality.

    Edit: I just finished the game last night at 110 hours. Geez this game is insanely long, and I think that the absurd length is heavily due to how overwritten so many of these scenes are. But like I said, when a game contains this much personality and hidden depth, the extreme length is worth it if you're up for it.    … Expand
  13. OllyNorton
    Mar 6, 2018
    8
    If I had reviewed this game at around 50 hours it would have been a 10. The game is beautiful, has many QoL improvements over Persona 4, and the sound design and music are exceptional. However after having completed the game, I found myself thinking it could have done with some astute editing.

    Text conversations, that happen throughout the game, become a chore as every single character    If I had reviewed this game at around 50 hours it would have been a 10. The game is beautiful, has many QoL improvements over Persona 4, and the sound design and music are exceptional. However after having completed the game, I found myself thinking it could have done with some astute editing.

    Text conversations, that happen throughout the game, become a chore as every single character has to have something to say. What was initially a cool way of recapping the plot becomes streams of unnecessary text. The plot, which was building up to a grand finale with a well developed if shadowy antagonist, takes a left turn for the final few hours. The resulting battles are epic, but the story didn't build to any of it. It almost feels like the game ends and then there is DLC added. A big grievance, that I can see no reason for, is that still If the main character gets downed (which in high level areas can happen with a few lucky strikes from an enemy) it's game over, all other characters can be revived but no if you get unlucky you're losing what can be up to an hour of progress in certain areas.

    I think Person 4 golden still stands as the series high water mark, the characters were more memorable, and the plot more personable. However Persona 5 is still a great game. If you have the time it is well worth exploring this world.    … Expand
  14. huiboy
    Jul 10, 2018
    8
    Good game- not amazing. I give it a 7 for enjoyment but an 8 for overall quality in art and polish. The story isn’t incredible but the bosses are very unique and interesting. It is also like one giant anime which is pretty cool. It goes up and down between being completely invested and then becomes dragging and boring. Halfway through the game and I don’t feel like I’m missing out if IGood game- not amazing. I give it a 7 for enjoyment but an 8 for overall quality in art and polish. The story isn’t incredible but the bosses are very unique and interesting. It is also like one giant anime which is pretty cool. It goes up and down between being completely invested and then becomes dragging and boring. Halfway through the game and I don’t feel like I’m missing out if I don’t finish it but I do want to just to see how it ends. Lots of time management that can get stressful so I recommend not worrying about efficiency on your first play through. Usually just when I get bored of daily life- it opens a new story arc and a dungeon that comes with it, which keeps me interested. I like the feeling of beating games, but since this will take a while, I’ll move on but I do suggest RPG enthusiasts to give this a try especially on a sale… Expand
  15. smahlt
    May 22, 2017
    8
    I bought this game on a whim from a friend's suggestion after having never played any Persona before. A week and a half later I had beaten the game and had a 75 hour save file. I could not tear myself away from it whenever I wasn't at work.

    The RPG elements are simple, and yet require strategy. The Persona capturing and fusion system is loads of fun. The story is gripping and the    I bought this game on a whim from a friend's suggestion after having never played any Persona before. A week and a half later I had beaten the game and had a 75 hour save file. I could not tear myself away from it whenever I wasn't at work.

    The RPG elements are simple, and yet require strategy. The Persona capturing and fusion system is loads of fun. The story is gripping and the real-world components where you raise your social stats and relationships is fun, though it's slow at times.

    One small reason this isn't a 10 is because the final couple palaces jump up too far in levels. If you play through the whole game normally, fighting all the enemies you see and clearing Mementos, you will still be underlevelled for them. A large reason why this isn't a 10 is because the final boss and story comes out of nowhere. I was extremely annoyed by how it seemed like the devs realized they needed to finish the game and pulled out the final boss out of nowhere. I would have given the game a 9.5/10, rounded up to 10, if the final palace segment was not there.    … Expand
  16. SuperkenGaming
    Jul 25, 2017
    8
    Persona 5
    A Bit Over Rated
    Everyone on the internet talks about Persona 5 like it’s the greatest thing to ever hit consoles.. and while this is a great game.. don’t quite believe the hype.. In Persona 5 you play a highschool stuident that gets framed for assult when he defends a woman from an abusive man, hes on probation and under watch while he attends highschool… youre the new kid    Persona 5
    A Bit Over Rated
    Everyone on the internet talks about Persona 5 like it’s the greatest thing to ever hit consoles..
    and while this is a great game.. don’t quite believe the hype..
    In Persona 5 you play a highschool stuident that gets framed for assult when he defends a woman from an abusive man, hes on probation and under watch while he attends highschool…
    youre the new kid in school with a bad boy reputation… here you meet some friends that are dealing with a horribly abusive gym teacher…
    and coincidentally enough you find a strange app on your phone and it takes you to some crazy castle that you learn is actually how this teacher perceives the school.
    youre in his palace… this palace is crawling with creatures known as shadows that keep its treasure guarded..
    that treasure being the targets heart..
    youre here to change it and make them confess their wrong doings..
    there are 8 palaces total in this game if you count mementos which is a grinding area that you can eventually visit any time…
    and as you progress the game new members will slowly join your party
    each of you has your own persona which is basically like a pokemon…
    you have to make your way through these maze like palaces in search for your treasure and not get caught by these shadows..
    if your meter reaches 100% and your target is aware of your presense its game over.. so its important to stealth around and attack from behind.. especially at the risk of losing hours of progress as the dungeons can be multiple hours long
    but there are save rooms in these dungeons just incase that you can fast travel to and from if you need a break or need to head back to the real world and stock up on more items…
    and again like pokemon this is turn based and each persona has strengths, weaknesses, and special moves you can use during battle that they learn as you level up..
    and your main character can even catch these shadows if you hit them with a weakness or weaken them to a point that they give up.. you then have to talk to them and tell them what they want to hear to remind them that they are personas as well…
    you can then take your captured personas and use them in battle, freely switch them in and out to find your enemies weakness.. or even combine them for new and more powerful personas up to your current level…
    the combat system here is actually nothing that special at all.. its flashy and cool at first.. but it gets dull pretty quickly..
    thankfully youre able to fast forward battle to make your party do basic physical attacks to not waste your sp which is used to pull off moves from your personas
    and each palace does end in a boss battle…
    but this dungeon crawling and persona battles isn’t all this game is about.. if it were persona 5 wouldn’t be special at all…
    its this with whats outside of these dungeons that makes this game so great..
    youre living life as a school kid..
    youre paying attention in class answering questions, youre studying and reading books to boost your stats, youre getting part time jobs for cash to spend on weapons and gear, increasing your kindness, and going to the bathhouse for more charm,
    but youre also meeting up with your teammates, going on dates, helping characters out to boost your bond which in turn boosts their terrot card stats to give you perks back in the metaverse
    it’s the balance of all of these things that make persona 5 a great game…
    none of these parts on their own are any great at all..
    I felt the story lost steam after the komoshida arch as he was a such a perfect villain…
    I legitimately hated him
    it starts to pick up again towards the middle of this 100 hour journey…
    but it doesn’t reach the height of this games first 10 hours…
    and the dungeons were never really fun and I grew bored of the combat after around 20 hours…
    it’s the back and forth of managing your time with the right activities and people that keep you hooked…
    Persona 5 I still believe isn’t as great as everyone makes it out to be…
    im not even really sure the type of player to recommend this to..
    the jrpg and social aspects mixed together make this game really special and something more than just a turn based combat game…
    I give Persona 5
    an 8.5/10    … Expand
  17. Phantomkid
    Jul 25, 2017
    8
    Person 5 is a game with waster potential, after playing over 100 hours into this game the flaws start showing itself. Persona 5 biggest flaw is it's narrative this being the third persona game to have it's characters gain their persona through circumstance it really drops the ball. compare it to 3 or 4 where 3 has characters have persona's but unable to use them until they battle enough orPerson 5 is a game with waster potential, after playing over 100 hours into this game the flaws start showing itself. Persona 5 biggest flaw is it's narrative this being the third persona game to have it's characters gain their persona through circumstance it really drops the ball. compare it to 3 or 4 where 3 has characters have persona's but unable to use them until they battle enough or 4 where the boss of each dungeon becomes a new persona user. Where 5 really feels lack luster is it trying to copy it's narrative of 4. Where 4 gave character motivations and showed how how each character was ashamed of part of who they are, while persona 5 has character get their persona by getting mad or fed up with something. The other problem is how the dungeon bosses have little to no personality to other being the most evil person alive with no redeemable qualities. But where persona 5 does shine is in it's game play the mechanics have been fine tuned and combat feels faster and more fun. Dungeon design is much more interesting with each dungeon feeling different from the last. While the game is easier making it better for newcomers to hop into the series it takes away some of the charm by doing so. This game hands out social links like candy, while other games you had to find them this one makes it easier to find and pretty noticeable to who will be a social link. This game is a good JRPG but a bad persona game, you play RPG's for the story and with a story as weak as this it's hard to say if it's worth playing, What makes this game above average is the gameplay, but if you don't care for gameplay then Persona 4 or 3 would be the better choice, but if it's important then this one over the other two.… Expand
  18. Stobek
    Dec 15, 2018
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game is too long. Simple as that, and there are too many side characters that are completely irrelevant to everything and You don't even see some of them in the end cutscenes.
    The choices You make doesn't matter at all too. Even getting the girls just doesn't count at the end.

    Skill system is very good for modern jrpg, i really liked it, BUT there are way too many skilss and options You don't need to use, or use 4 times in whole game(skill card system for example).
    Skills liek confusions etc are totall waste of time too cause U cant use them against bosses, and normal monsters You beat easy anyway.

    There are at least 2 castles too much. I think harru character is unnecessary, You get her too late into a game too care for her, and nobody will care about some rich kid. Sad but true.
    The fat mafia kid castle is waste of time, it provides nothing for the plot.
    Cosmic rocket castle is so tedious and boring to do.

    Music is great, artwork is great.    … Expand
  19. Empyrea
    May 6, 2019
    8
    After 106 hours I've beaten this game so here goes my opinion. After almost 30 hours of reading everything I started skipping messages. So my advice would be to skip all the conversations that you want. I mean, I appreciate the effort on doing so many dialogues but in my opinion there are too many. I think this game would have been better if it was half shorter. Worst of this game is thatAfter 106 hours I've beaten this game so here goes my opinion. After almost 30 hours of reading everything I started skipping messages. So my advice would be to skip all the conversations that you want. I mean, I appreciate the effort on doing so many dialogues but in my opinion there are too many. I think this game would have been better if it was half shorter. Worst of this game is that you can't save whenever you want nor autosave so this is a big issue if you want to play this game and you don't have much free time. The battle system is like old rpg, such as FF or Dragon Quest (turn-based games) and you gain some techniques when you advance in the game. Another thing would be when you move hiding from one place to another and sometimes you can't properly hide and then the enemy see you. It's not a big deal but in makes you move more carefully than you should. About characters, always say yes even when appears the message saying the relationship is not growing deeper. This message is normal so don't avoid it like I did at first. It can get a bit boring after the first hours so I'd only recommend this game to rpgs lovers and people who likes animes.… Expand
  20. anarchonobody
    Apr 13, 2017
    8
    It’s impossible to overstate just how annoying the cat-sidekick Morgana is. It brings back visions of my teenage years, playing Ocarina of Time, and wanting to put my fist through my boob-tube TV every single time that stupid fairy Navi said anything. Morgana plays the same role as Navi in this game.. he/she/it (he, I guess) is intended to guide you through the game, he fulfills theIt’s impossible to overstate just how annoying the cat-sidekick Morgana is. It brings back visions of my teenage years, playing Ocarina of Time, and wanting to put my fist through my boob-tube TV every single time that stupid fairy Navi said anything. Morgana plays the same role as Navi in this game.. he/she/it (he, I guess) is intended to guide you through the game, he fulfills the Japanese requirement of diluting difficult adult situations with cuteness, but ultimately his sole purpose is to annoy the crap out of you. After Morgana introduces the ins-and-outs of dungeon crawling in the game, his value to you very quickly fades and he does nothing but comment on everything you do and will out-right refuse to let you do others. Want to buy something from the store? Morgana will ask you what you bought. Want to meet a friend after school? Morgana will make sure he knows. Answer a question correctly at school? Wanna use a melee attack instead of a ranged attack in battle? Morgana has a comment for those too. Wanna watch a DVD in your bedroom after a day of dungeon crawling… MORGANA WILL REFUSE TO LET YOU! I’d be perfectly fine if the protagonist said “I’m too tired to do anything” after a day of dungeon crawling… instead, we have a stupid cat tell us “Aren’t you too tired” or “Let’s not do that today” such that I’m back to wanting to put my fist through my TV.
    Stupid sidekick/guides ALWAYS ruin good games. Navi in Ocarina of Time, that stupid dog-thing in Ni no Kuni, the owl in Kings Quest 5…and there’s just never a compelling reason to include them other than a strange desire to make the protagonist a mute. Please, do the gaming community a favor and don’t overlook how annoying Morgana is. He literally turns a near perfect game to just a really good game.    … Expand
  21. MAFIAxMaverick
    Feb 6, 2018
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Perk of having the Flu - finally able to finish Persona 5. What an experience it was. I had never played a Persona game before, but I fellow RPG-loving friend told me this was the time to try it. I can't believe I'd never played this series before. The game was a blast, combat was a blast, collecting personas was a blast, and I enjoyed the story for the most part. I guess as someone who hasn't played the series before, I wasn't as blown away by Igor being imitated. And I felt as if the ending of the game in regards to the depths of Momentos, the final boss, and the build up to it was a bit underwhelming. But the journey to get there, what a ride.

    I really liked every character, save Ryuji outside of his confidant story line. It felt like the writers wanted him to just be the guy that messed everything up. I really wanted to like the character, especially after his personal arc, but I just did not like the way he was written.

    My only other complaint, which I also had for Xenoblade Chronicles 2, is the blatant womanizing, and using women as sex symbols. I get this is supposed to be about high schoolers, and I remember some of the stuff I did in high school. But the freaking out every time the girls were in bathing suits, staring, making this painfully obvious that there was some sexual tension or something, is just a big turn off for me in games. Honestly, it bothered me even more than the option to romance grown adults.

    Definitely love the series save a few things and I definitely want to go back and play some of the prior installations now that I've got P5 under my belt.    … Expand
  22. ByYuxiSs
    Apr 11, 2017
    8
    At last I get this game and it is an incredible vice that did not give me time to give it a score.
    "This game is practically excellent" if not for:
    In itself is an incredible Jrpg full of epic moments, a very mature and fairly decent story and quite good gameplay. The problem in itself is that the game is not translated into Spanish or Latin which to understand the history of this in    At last I get this game and it is an incredible vice that did not give me time to give it a score.
    "This game is practically excellent" if not for:
    In itself is an incredible Jrpg full of epic moments, a very mature and fairly decent story and quite good gameplay.
    The problem in itself is that the game is not translated into Spanish or Latin which to understand the history of this in itself is somewhat difficult.
    My review is 8/10    … Expand
  23. dr0nzer
    May 18, 2019
    8
    Picked this game up because of the reviews, it's not what I expected, it's pretty much a high school simulator and one giant 90+hour anime show, the story is really captivating but it did take me around 20hour mark to really get invested, i got to admit, that despite that i still skipped large parts of the text, it's just wayyyyy too much and wayyy too long to read, I came to play a game,Picked this game up because of the reviews, it's not what I expected, it's pretty much a high school simulator and one giant 90+hour anime show, the story is really captivating but it did take me around 20hour mark to really get invested, i got to admit, that despite that i still skipped large parts of the text, it's just wayyyyy too much and wayyy too long to read, I came to play a game, not a read an encyclopedia.

    It's my first persona game, was easy to pick up and follow, has a lengthy tutorial (approx 8 hours) as it walks you through everything in practice and stages, freedom doesn't kick in until after this.
    Not entirely a fan of the "normal life" part of the game and there is a metric crap ton of dialogue... otherwise the depth the game, it's story, the characters and world is truly amazing.    … Expand
  24. Malus_
    Apr 4, 2017
    8
    Summary:
    Overly verbose script, unsteady tone, uneven character development, and limited changes to core mechanics weigh down an otherwise lovable sequel
    Preface: I’m a huge Persona fan, and I like Persona 5. A lot. I’ve spent over 140 hours playing since the Japanese launch. That said, as much as I like Persona 5, I don’t love it to the degree that I expected to or wanted to. The    Summary:
    Overly verbose script, unsteady tone, uneven character development, and limited changes to core mechanics weigh down an otherwise lovable sequel

    Preface:
    I’m a huge Persona fan, and I like Persona 5. A lot. I’ve spent over 140 hours playing since the Japanese launch.

    That said, as much as I like Persona 5, I don’t love it to the degree that I expected to or wanted to. The uncritical praise with which the game has been showered with, left me feeling like I should speak out.

    As I’ll be focusing on what I didn’t like, I’d advise readers to think of this as a companion to, and not a replacement for, the many positive reviews out there.

    Music/Presentation/Combat
    Absolutely Excellent.

    Graphics:
    While the graphics are serviceable, and the beautiful art style helps to create a compelling world, the inability of the 3D models to convey convincing fascial expression is problematic. The 2D portrait art during dialog scenes is nice, but feels like a crutch. Such a distinctly limited range of facial expression feels dated, even on the PS3. Somehow the game actually looks worse than Atlus’s Catherine, whose expressive faces somehow manage to outshine of Persona 5’s half a decade later.

    Gameplay:
    As I have a lot to say here I’m going to utilize a bullet point format to highlight what I feel are the biggest problems.
    1. Dialog choices in social links still amount to nothing more than a simple game of choosing the correct answer to get the most points, with no lasting impact.
    2. Freedom is often restricted and it gets incredibly old being told to just “go to sleep” so you can listen to more dialog the next day, for days in a row.
    3. No hidden characters, hard to access social links, colds, random events, and quite frankly, limited replay value as a result.
    4. Poorly scaled difficulty with “normal” being easy, while hard is absolutely punishing. Oh, and no trophy for beating the game on hard.
    5. You can still date all the girls with virtually no repercussions, totally breaking the immersion. If Atlus could do it in Persona 3, there’s no reason that they couldn’t at least create a rational risk/reward dynamic for dating more than one person a decade later.

    Story:
    It’s not that the story’s bad (I enjoyed it a lot), but that it feels undercooked, features uneven character development, and is held back tonally by its predecessors while featuring poor pacing.

    The Script:
    The first problem is that Persona’s 5 script is incredibly verbose to the point of excess. Dialog, the majority of which is still text based, often feels repetitive, like a dog chasing its own tail. With better editing, I feel like the same story could have been told with around 1/3 less text.

    While hardcore fans may not care, this makes the game tedious at times, and much less accessible to newcomers.

    Perhaps the most unfortunate casualty of the script is that Hifumi Togo, a social link who was supposed to be a playable character, but had to be cut because the game was already “too long.”

    Character Development:
    For a game about building relationships, the social links for half of the main cast leave a lot to be desired. While Yusuke, Futaba, and, to a lesser extent Haru all have interesting arcs, Ann and Makoto are both bland, while Ryuji comes off as marginal at best.

    Still the game has a large number of reasonably strong and memorable supporting social links, which help to make up for this, although I’d still say overall quality isn’t up to Persona 4

    Tone:
    Persona 5 obviously struggles under the weight of the previous games. On the one hand, it wants to be dark and provocative like Persona 3, on the other, it wants to be fun and lighthearted like Persona 4. Unfortunately, by trying to have their cake and eat it too, the developers have created a game that is often (but not always) tonally flat.

    This is highlighted early on when a talking cat mascot joins your party (light hearted), followed by an attempted suicide (dark), to which characters react with a limited emotional range unbefitting of the situation (tonally flat).

    Pacing:
    A major reveal is made in what is literally the last 1-2 hours of the game. The story could, and IMO, should have continued for another 10+ hours, but instead just ends.
    Also, a certain someone’s research is hinted to be very important throughout the game, and yet by the time the credits role, the player still knows almost nothing about it.

    Conclusion:
    If you’ve made it this far, you might come away thinking I hated the game. I didn’t! I love the game in spite of its flaws, but have been annoyed by coverage which has just flat out glossed over them. I feel like with just a little more spit, polish, ingenuity, and time Persona 5 could’ve been one of the best games of the generation. Instead it ends up being a serviceable sequel to Persona 4, but so much less than it could’ve been.    … Expand
  25. JanekDelux
    Jul 20, 2021
    8
    Great game. Story is fantastic and really fun. I don’t want to give any spoilers so I won’t mention it too much. The gameplay is the best part of the game. It’s one of few rpgs I’ve played that you can participate in everyday life of characters and I really enjoyed that.
    Speaking of characters, they are one of the best I’ve seen in a RPG game. They all have interesting stories and are    Great game. Story is fantastic and really fun. I don’t want to give any spoilers so I won’t mention it too much. The gameplay is the best part of the game. It’s one of few rpgs I’ve played that you can participate in everyday life of characters and I really enjoyed that.
    Speaking of characters, they are one of the best I’ve seen in a RPG game. They all have interesting stories and are different from one another. Overall, I highly recommend. PS: Makoto is the best girl :*

    8.9/10    … Expand
  26. belody42
    Jun 3, 2019
    8
    A great game for sure, one of the best jrpgs of all time, but coming to 5 after 3 and 4 I was left both satisfied and unsatisfied. The gameplay and visuals are definitely a step up from the last games, being that they were on the ps2 and this game is simply a straight-up upgrade on those elements of the game, with an incredible art style that extends to even the UI, and the combat isA great game for sure, one of the best jrpgs of all time, but coming to 5 after 3 and 4 I was left both satisfied and unsatisfied. The gameplay and visuals are definitely a step up from the last games, being that they were on the ps2 and this game is simply a straight-up upgrade on those elements of the game, with an incredible art style that extends to even the UI, and the combat is faster and more engaging than ever, with much more interesting dungeons, although some drag on a bit too long. However, the story and characters were the main thing that disappointed me. There is a reason people say persona 3 has the best story, 4 has the best characters and 5 has the best gameplay. Without spoilers, a lot of characters are rather one-dimensional and either boring or vaguely annoying and the plot is villain-of-the-week-esque with slight building up for the final act every now and then, and the middle section of the game is especially plodding. I loved the cast of persona 4 as though they were my real friends and the story of 3 is unforgettable. I entered 5 with too high of expectations I suppose, but compared to those games, for me at least, I was disappointed, which is a shame since those were the parts of the past games that made me love them so much, more so than the gameplay itself. Overall, it is still a great game, one of the best jrpgs ever made, but depending on why you love persona this game will either be your favourite or least favourite of 3-5.… Expand
  27. RegularNormal
    Aug 5, 2017
    8
    This game is pretty sick, but definitely over hyped. The story is kind of underwhelming and the game play is just above average. It does have style, however you will hear one battle song for the entirety of the game excluding the final boss, if I remember correctly...and it will drive you insane. Admittedly, I've only played P5 and P3 so I don't think I can be called a SMT expert orThis game is pretty sick, but definitely over hyped. The story is kind of underwhelming and the game play is just above average. It does have style, however you will hear one battle song for the entirety of the game excluding the final boss, if I remember correctly...and it will drive you insane. Admittedly, I've only played P5 and P3 so I don't think I can be called a SMT expert or anything like that. The game might make Persona lovers happy...but I don't really understand the hype.… Expand
  28. zeyad600
    Aug 29, 2017
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is the best JRPG of 2017, unless you want to count FFXV as a 2017 release. There are few things in Persona 5 that I didn't necessarily hate, but they were kind of disappointing. Pros and Cons listed below:

    Pros-

    The characters in this game, mainly your playable characters are all designed very thoroughly and actually do have depth unlike many JRPGs in the past. Some of the them remind you of close friends and family and by building your confidant relationship with them, you get to dig deeper into them in their own side stories. Persona 5 was meant to have just as much realism as any typical Japanese student's life today, and by playing, you the player will choose who your best friends and family are and not only what you say in every social situation.

    Music is definitely some of the best in an RPG, and many things in the game teach you about Japanese culture.

    Battle System and Personas in this game are also very complex and help the player learn and grow. Fusing personas is fun and rewarding and you have types on top of types of persona (similar to Pokemon) that aid you in your fight. You can also use fire arms to exploit weaknesses and cause hold ups.

    The Plot of the game takes quite a while to get started but once it does, it becomes quite interesting and exciting, the Phantom Thieves go through many struggles and overcome obstacles in their own private spots to gain the favor of the general public time and time again, so not only do they have their "Power Rangers" style during the metaverse but they also use knowledge and wit in real life. There are also some of the best plot twists in a JRPG that rival past installments.

    Cons-

    The Game is simply too long and that does not mix very well with the battle system at all. Thinking as a developer, I would want my game to be quite lengthy but there does exist a balance between how long a game the fans want it to be and how long it should be. JRPGs are known to be quite long to begin with but Persona 5 could very well take 200 full hours of play time to finish.

    Battle System yet again is not bad, there are guns, there are Personas and there are regular attacks as well and all your other basic RPG fundamentals. However, with how long this game actually is, Personas start to dominate the battle system by a lot to the point where they completely take over. Hold Ups are really cool and all but do I really have to see the same Victory pose art of each character over and over? The fights are very likely to become way too repetitive and you'll find yourself ending each one with: Persona, Weakness, Hold up, Victory Art, done. There could have been other ways to finish a fight other than a Hold Up into all out attack. Maybe Special attacks could have been present and made the system even more unique.

    The weakest part of this game are enemies and bosses. The enemies are your Personas so thats understandable seeing as how there is a taming aspect to this game with rules and limitations. But the bosses and mini bosses (Mementos Requests) are a pathetic excuse (Incoming Tales Bosses). They're absolutely horrible: A piggy bank boss, A painting boss? As soon as you see these two, you will guess what the next ones will be because of the Person's Palace. If that's not the worst part, one of them is literally a bunch of the same enemies until he runs out of enemies to use and loses because of it. Pretty much, bosses were probably fillers which is very disappointing.

    To sum up, for the most part it's a great game but it looks as though more should have went to the fights and bosses and there probably wasn't enough time for that.    … Expand
  29. IIIAHMIII
    Dec 2, 2021
    8
    You can't complete requests at cetrain points in the game. Or if you missed 1 **** text message you miss a complete request Im already on my 4th playtrough and 3 times in a row did i miss a request it is such utter bull shi this system. Not only that is the problem. Persona's from my list have been deleted. The hope diamond and satan from the death arcana are gone. Also making me have toYou can't complete requests at cetrain points in the game. Or if you missed 1 **** text message you miss a complete request Im already on my 4th playtrough and 3 times in a row did i miss a request it is such utter bull shi this system. Not only that is the problem. Persona's from my list have been deleted. The hope diamond and satan from the death arcana are gone. Also making me have to find it again and fuse it in another **** playtrough. FIX YOUR GAME… Expand
  30. QuisaLeah
    Jul 30, 2018
    8
    You can play this for hours and have none of your decisions really matter right up until the game throws a "bad end" at you, and suddenly to are panicked questioning everything you have done for the last hundred hours. The pacing is slow, characters are forever repeating things they just told you. The story can feel predictable, but the characters are real enough to balance that. It looksYou can play this for hours and have none of your decisions really matter right up until the game throws a "bad end" at you, and suddenly to are panicked questioning everything you have done for the last hundred hours. The pacing is slow, characters are forever repeating things they just told you. The story can feel predictable, but the characters are real enough to balance that. It looks good, though I wonder what they could have done if it didn't also release on the older PS3.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Best PS4 Game of 2017
4
#4 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2017
2
#2 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2017

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
93

Universal acclaim - based on 98 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 97 out of 98
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 98
  3. Negative: 0 out of 98
  1. Cubed3
    Jun 4, 2019
    90
    Persona 5 is an absolutely amazing game that convinces with its art style, music and story. It has anything one could ask for such a game and more. The turn-based battle system offers a wide array of opportunities. While it may not be everyone's cup of tea, it is definitely recommended to give it a go.
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  2. PLAY! Zine
    Feb 22, 2018
    90
    Persona 5 is a great example of quality jRPG game, with a good story, great battle system and fabulous artistic style, this is a must have for the fans of the series and the genre.
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  3. Power Unlimited
    Oct 19, 2017
    93
    Persona 5 beats every other turn-based RPG in terms of production values, combat, story, symbolics, character design, music, pace and variety. 2017 is a great year for gaming and Persona 5 confirms this with a load of unmatched swagger.
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