Reviewed on: PC
Also Available on: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
Developed by: Atlus
Published by: Sega
Release Date: 17 November 2023

Persona 5 is Atlus’ best selling Persona game. With that comes the inevitability of spin-offs, such as Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight and Persona 5: Strikers. Two incredibly different spin-offs, spanning from one side of video gaming to the other, it was nigh on time to release another. Persona 5: Tactica recently arrived, which is a strategy Role Playing Game, taking inspiration from the likes of Fire Emblem and XCom. As a big fan of the genre and a huge fan of Persona 5 Royal, there was no way I could miss out on this title. It has everything I love and more.

Persona 5 Tactica takes on the strategy genre with fantastic ideas at the helm, but without doubt a somewhat disappointing execution. The main gameplay loop consists of the typical text-heavy narrative one might expect from a Persona game, but with a lacklustre story and a tedious gameplay loop of what felt like the same battle over and over again. The game opens with the Phantom Thieves being dragged through to a different reality, seemingly similar to the Metaverse they explored in Persona 5, however some things aren’t quite right. Joker can no longer carry multiple Persona like he did in the main game, the Velvet Room isn’t quite the same, and there is plenty of mystery to explore in this new realm. It’s all very exciting for fans of Persona 5, but this is just the tip of the iceberg. 

The tactic turn-based gameplay is set out on a grid, where you can control up to three units at a time. Once you have assembled the Phantom Thieves through the opening narrative, you can select three to take with you in any given battle. Each unit offers a boost in stats, such as HP, SP and so on. You also receive the ability to customise each unit with Persona that you can fuse. Each team member can carry one Persona in addition to their signature one. Ryuji will always have Captain Kidd, but can also equip Jack Frost and make use of his abilities, which I will go into a little later. The prospect of customising each unit and carefully selecting my squad was an exciting one, until I realised the difficulty of the game wasn’t quite up to scratch. 

Persona 5 Tactica offers a range of difficulties, similar in name only to those in the main game. Players can select from “Safe” all the way up to “Merciless”, encompassing a total of five difficulty options. I started the campaign on “Normal” difficulty as I usually like to play games as the Developer intended. It didn’t take long before I realised this was awfully easy and didn’t require much thought and planning. Not what you want from a strategy game. I was steamrolling every opponent and cleaning the levels with ease. This isn’t a humble brag – I genuinely don’t think many will struggle on this level. I jumped straight to “Merciless” toward the final third of the first Kingdom within the game, expecting struggles and losses, but what I found was more of the same. There was little to no forward planning required. Enemies certainly sponged more hits, the AI seemed a little more intelligent, and I was only afforded the ability to lose one unit per battle instead of three on normal difficulty, but that didn’t matter. I was profoundly disappointed at the difficulty this game offered, as strategy really did not feel important. The units I selected didn’t feel like they mattered. I could equip Persona to each unit, which gave them additional abilities such as using different elements, or even passive abilities like increasing damage to opponents when an ally stood adjacent, but again it didn’t feel worthy of my time to consider this in my planning. 

The actual gameplay itself has some fantastic ideas, with some borrowed and adapted from Persona 5. When manoeuvring through stages, you must be thoughtful of where you leave your units at the end of their own turns. Standing beside a wall or a crate will allow them a certain level of resistance, and a higher plane will offer them an advantage when it comes to taking hits. The same applies to enemies, and it’s a key factor in what can usually make or break this type of game. When a unit is in a vulnerable position, out in the open, an attacking unit is offered a “1 more!” once the attack hits, meaning they can move further and attack another enemy. This can stack and afford the player many additional attacks in a single turn. When an enemy is downed (after they have been attacked and the attacking player gets a “1 more!”, you can form a triangle around them with all of your units and perform an “All Out Attack”. This can be utilised to cover multiple enemies and carry out devastating attacks throughout. A fun idea, and nicely borrowed from the source material, but it did add to the problems I had with the game, and that was making it all too easy. I loved the way Atlus implemented these mechanics into a different genre, but they simply didn’t lend themselves well to it when they contributed to making everything so easy. One large complaint I did have, was that there is also no “quick save” option during a fight. If you’re half way through anything lengthy and need to drop your game, you either have to rush to the end or potentially turn off your system and lose your progress, back to before you started the current battle.

On the contrary, there are side quests within the game which are unlocked as you progress through the main story. The side quests are often difficult and normally have just one solution, which normally acts as a fun puzzle to slowly dissect and find the way to complete. Often, once finding the correct solution, these are completed very quickly, but getting there may take time and a few failed attempts. As someone who was unhappy with the difficulty in the main game, the side quests were refreshing. Although they weren’t traditionally difficult in the sense that the AI was intelligent, figuring out the correct sequence of events to complete the side quests was satisfying and felt quite rewarding. 

Persona 5 Tactica felt like I was returning home to something I held dear in my heart. Atlus captured the essence of Persona 5 perfectly, with similar sound effects, music and themes. It’s just a shame they were unable to emulate the same tactical gameplay from the likes of Fire Emblem. The gameplay was let down wildly thanks to this, and while it was fun during the opening sections and the difficulty slowly crept up, it never reached the heights it deserved. With the inability to even quicksave midway through fights, it wasn’t as friendly to the gamer as I would have liked. Pairing that with lengthy conversations between players, it slowly began to feel more like a chore to play. More seasoned SRPG fans probably won’t be satisfied with Persona 5 Tactica. Newcomers might have a slightly better time, but it’s doubtful.