Overview
Persona 5 Royal is a JRPG developed and published by Atlus. It is the expanded version of Persona 5, released in 2019 on PS4, with extra content. Like the other recent Persona games, it mixes everyday high school life with dungeon exploration and turn-based combat.
Story and world
You play a high school student on probation, sent to live in Tokyo for a year. He discovers the Metaverse, a world born from the distorted desires of certain adults, and together with other students forms the Phantom Thieves: a group that infiltrates these "Palaces" to steal their owners' hearts and push them to confess their crimes.
Gameplay
Everything revolves around the calendar. Each day is split into time slots (after school, evening) and you have to choose how to use them: progress through a Palace before the deadline, raise your social stats, or spend time with your confidants. These relationships unlock useful bonuses both in and out of combat. This management of the calendar and the confidants makes every single day matter.
It is a very long game, but the whole thing is remarkable from start to finish.
Graphics and music
The visual style and the interface are of rare elegance, probably the best the genre has to offer.
Verdict
Very long, but remarkable from start to finish, with a visual style and an interface among the best the genre has to offer.