Brendy (RPS in peace) and his band of high-schoolers are currently running around dungeons all across Japan, so you can expect a written review from him some time soon. But, in the meantime, if you’re hankering for opinions on the latest Persona 5 spin-off, you can watch the video above. I’m sure Persona 5 Strikers will split the crowd somewhat: it doesn’t feature a full turn-based combat system, there’s very little social stuff in here, and it’s about a third of the length of the PlayStation exclusive. But, as a stop-gap between 5 and 6 - or Persona 4 Golden and the next mainline Persona that comes to PC — it’s a really fun deviation from the norm. Turn-taking isn’t enforced here. If you want to attack the enemy, you just go and attack the bastard. The hacking and slashing isn’t mindless, either, as you still need to be aware of your enemies’ weaknesses, as well as your party members’ strengths. But the hook with Persona 5 Strikers is that as well as the freedom of knifing anime monsters in real-time, you can also pause the action to use your Personas. It all works really well together, walking a fine line between chaos and control. While you don’t have to concern yourself with romance or school - the dream for someone who enjoyed neither when they were 16 - P5S isn’t all about smashing shadows’ heads in. Despite its almost sickly sweet delivery at times, the story is really enjoyable, with the new characters standing out as great additions to the established cast. Watch the video at the top of this article to see how it looks in action, and to hear more fleshed-out thoughts on the game. Or, if that’s not enough for you, you can hear the full Persona 5 Strikers chat myself and Matthew had in this week’s episode of The PC Gaming Weekspot, from 6pm today.
