While in the metaverse, they “steal the hearts” of the wicked by breaking into their unique dungeons that literalize how each villain perceives the world. They decide to use this power for the public good, delving into the realm with the help of a magical smartphone app. It’s a fairly convoluted setup that raises more questions than it answers, so I’ll keep this simple and concise: the protagonist and a steadily growing band of friends have the ability to venture into a parallel world called the “metaverse” that’s created by the “distorted desires” of troubled individuals.

‘Persona 5’ takes something special and makes it better Which is to say: it takes something special and makes it better. It retains the essentials - style, story, and an impossible to pin blend of genres - but carefully streamlines and improves them. Persona 5, the first main entry in the series in nearly a decade, continues a tradition of refinement. After breaking out in the West with the release of Persona 3 in 2006, it has continued to grow with another main entry, and a handful of spinoffs. This delicious recipe - spiced with a stylistic swagger and some stellar writing - has turned the series into something of a cult phenomenon. Think of it like Buffy the Vampire Slayer crossed with Final Fantasy, and you’re nearly there. What makes the series unique is how it stirs the fundamentals of a role-playing game into what I can only describe as a “teenage life simulator.” In addition to saving the world, you also have to perform the role of a typical high school student, studying for exams, making friends, and working part-time jobs. For starters, they’re dungeon-crawling role-playing games, a genre about slowly and methodically making your way through monster-filled corridors, steadily growing stronger over dozens of hours.

On the surface, a Persona game sounds rather dull.

How they turn a grocery store jingle or the sound of rain on a window into Pavlovian cues, a reminder you could be playing right now. It can be a challenge to explain why the Persona games are so engrossing to someone who has never played one.

Persona 5 gameplay