It’s been a while since the Phantom Thieves have returned, even more so for those who still haven’t made the jump intoPersona 5 Royal. Luckily, a completely new adventure for the Thieves is coming inPersona 5 Strikers, a spin-off/sequel to the originalPersona 5. Just as the retired rebels of justice begin planning their big summer trip, another Metaverse is discovered, and it’s up to the Thieves to once again save the world. Melding Musou-style action mechanics with the elemental affinities and strategies of traditionalPersonagames, playing throughStrikersis an absolute treat, despite being just a little rough around the edges.
Serving as the closest possible experience to aPersona 5sequel,Persona 5 Strikersis a joyride that fans of the original game can certainly appreciate. Controlling the Phantom Thieves in this new battle system is surprisingly familiar toPersona 5, though simplified in a way that doesn’t ruin the game’s momentum. There are some oddities in battle scenarios that can make combat encounters too frenetic, butStrikers' combat is often satisfying.Strikers' journey across Japan kicks off in very familiar territory, but the latter half is where things get far more interesting. IfPersona 5fans want just a little more Phantom Thieves,Strikersis a worthy sequel.
RELATED:Persona 5 Strikers' Sequel Role Explained
As Joker returns to Tokyo for summer vacation, him and the former Phantom Thieves are planning an epic road trip across Japan. The Thieves certainly get their road trip asPersona 5 Strikersbegins, though they’re forced to come out of retirement to save the world once more. A new Metaverse threat has arisen in the form of EMMA, a ubiquitous smartphone assistant app that hides a far more sinister purpose than showing people the nearest five-star restaurant. “Changes of Heart” are suddenly happening all across Japan, and it’sup to the Phantom Thieves to don the masks once moreto stop the epidemic of people giving in to distorted “Desires.”
Admittedly, the premise ofPersona 5 Strikersis a bit more conceptually hare-brained compared toPersona 5proper, but it’s not so unbelievable that it’s immersion-breaking. The story’s focus in the first act is clearly on the Phantom Thieves reuniting, rather than focusing on establishing the main conflict.Persona’s usualcalendar-based progression of time contextualizes events inPersona 5 Strikers, but it has no tangible gameplay restriction. Though as a result, the game’s narrative does struggle to pick up serious momentum until about halfway throughStrikers.
It’s not until the story focuses onthe new Phantom Thieves, Sophia and Zenkichi, where the game truly builds up a compelling main conflict. The first three “Jails” (dungeons) inStrikersstrongly resemble the narrative beats of Kamoshida, Madarame, and Okumura’s Palaces inPersona 5. Veterans ofPersona 5will likely feel as ifStrikersis retracing its steps, but onceStrikersfully leans into its main conflict, the game’s narrative becomes far more interesting. The character development for Zenkichi and Sophia is well done, but it’s a little disappointing that players need to reviewPersona 5-like story arcs beforeStrikersgets to tell its own enticing story.
RELATED:Persona 5 Strikers Voice Actors Explain Why The Game’s Translation Took So Long
Functionally speaking,Persona 5 Strikersdoes a surprisingly incredible job ofmelding the best parts ofPersona 5with theDynasty WarriorsMusou framework. Players string together attack combos, special attacks, and environment triggers to overwhelm the hordes of Shadows attacking them. However, the game also implements a collection of Personas, elemental affinities, weaknesses, and various skills for players to implement in battles. Each Phantom Thief is fully playable, with movesets unique to their character designs, alongside their iconic Personas from the original game. In action, combat is mostly enticing, if a bit unnecessarily taxing.
UnlikeotherWarriors-like games such asAge of Calamity, battles inStrikersare more microcosmic in comparison. Combat takes place in larger sections of the map, instead of the entire open world, while still maintaining high enemy counts and frantic action.Strikersboasts a unique mechanical complexity that not many Musou-style games have done before, but player feedback can be pretty lackluster. Some times players can get stun-locked, or walloped by an enemy targeting their weakness, seemingly out of nowhere. Once players get used to the flow of combat, difficulty spikes become slightly less prevalent, but it’s an issue never fully resolved by player skill.
As an action-RPG,Strikers' progression systems are far more simplified compared toPersona 5’smechanically complex progression system, which isn’t a bad thing. Rather than focusing on separate social links/confidants,Persona 5 Strikersutilizes a singular “Bond” level for all of Joker’s teammates. Any activity, either inside or outside of Jails, rewards Bond points to purchase different stat upgrades or abilities for all playable characters inStrikers. Not only does this maintain the game’s flexibility of playable party members, but it also doesn’t bog down the game’s pace with a complex system in a comparatively shorter gameplay experience.
RELATED:New Persona 5 Strikers Trailer Showcases Each Thief’s Unique Combat Abilities
In the visuals department,Persona 5 Strikersdoes indeed resemblePersona 5, though it is different in many ways. It’s arguable thatPersona 5 Strikersadapts the originalPersona 5aesthetic into its own distinctive identity. WhilePersona 5’s UI aesthetic was slick and stylish,Strikers' menus are full of visual fanfare and flashy poses. There’s nothing subtle about navigating menus inPersona 5 Strikers, with each transition showcasing a unique 3D interaction with a specific Phantom Thief.In-game art and environments are far brighter inStrikersthan inPersona 5. The game maintains its own visual identity in a way that’s familiar, but also evokes its own unique tone.
A couple things to note on the performance side ofPersona 5 Strikers: When the game’s in action, it looks and runs beautifully. Character models are a bit low-res up close, but rarely is that a noticeable downside. Being able to engage in combat at 60 FPS onPC is truly the definitive way to playStrikers, though the game does also perform serviceably well on other platforms. One surprising issue with the game’s performance pre-launch are the load times, even on a high speed SSD on PC. Granted this is an issue that can be remedied with updates/patches, but booting up the game and the loading times between entering/exiting Jails are surprisingly abysmal.
Early on inPersona 5’s development, P-Studio had considered an action-RPG format for the originalPersona 5. While the Phantom Thieves' debut maintainedPersona’s traditional JRPG framework,Persona 5 Strikersshowcases what could’ve been in an overall successful manner. There are kinks that could’ve been worked out, with battles lacking a significant degree of player feedback that unnecessarily inflates the game’s difficulty.Strikers' story also takes a little too long to hit its stride, but it does reward players who stick around for the long haul. Acting as a sequel to the critically acclaimed JRPG,Persona 5 Strikersis a fantastic continuation for the Phantom Thieves.
Persona 5 Strikersreleases on Jul 26, 2025, for PC, PS4, and Nintendo Switch. Game Rant was provided a PC code for the purposes of this review.
MORE:Persona 5 Strikers Kickstarts The Franchise’s Anniversary Year, But It Won’t Be All
Persona 5 Strikers
WHERE TO PLAY
Persona 5 Strikers is a spinoff release for the popular title that lets players use their favorite Persona 5 characters, like Joker, in a Dynasty Warriors style adventure.
