If Persona 5 was about forming bonds with new people and recruiting them for a common cause, Persona 5 Strikers is about taking the Phantom Thieves and proving that the friendship they share is lasting, that it can and will endure any hardship. I think, right now, that message is immeasurably important, and hits harder than a bullet formed from the Seven Deadly Sins.

Blending an engaging and often thought-provoking narrative with combat that flirts with both strategy and chaos but always remains fun, Persona 5 Strikers is quite simply one of the best action RPGs I've ever played. If you love the Persona series consider it a must-play, but even action game fans that have never touched a Persona game before might want to give it a try. The combat is a far cry from Omega Force's usual brand of mindless hack and slash; in fact, it's totally unique. And alongside the usual Persona 5 flair such as bold visual design and an utterly sumptuous soundtrack, it creates an experience that could well be one of the highlights of 2021.

Despite all the fighting you will do here, and despite all the room that the developers have made for sociopolitical theater, Strikers is still a well-earned vacation for our heroes, an emphatic, energetic punctuation mark to a much larger experience.

The charm of Persona 5 + the demons of Shin Megami Tensei + the intense hack-&-slash-action from mosou = a damned strong sequel. Because against all expectations, that's exactly what Strikers is: Persona 5-2!

Describing Persona 5 as brilliant is not even an exaggeration. The 2016 Japanese game won just about everything there was to win, and is considered one of the best role-playing games ever made. ‘Strikers’ is not simply an expansion that offers more of the same, but a standalone game that adds a new and distinct battle system where the focus is more on action than tactics.

For all its shortcomings, Persona 5 Strikers reminds me why I loved the Phantom Thieves to begin with and shows how they've matured since we last saw them. Once you get your head around it, the action-RPG combat is a challenging thrill, and no one can pull off flourishes in the same fashion as these characters. I almost forgot I was playing a musou-style game developed by Koei Tecmo and Omega-Force, and I think that's a testament to how sharp Strikers is as a Persona game. If you have any love for Persona 5, what say you save the world one more time with some old friends?

The best Dynasty Warriors game so far is still barely competent compared to other action games but for those seeking more Persona 5 this is a fun, if trashy diversion.