From dancing to dungeon crawling, you’d think the Persona 5 series has done it all. Yet now, the iconically stylish RPG is going strategy with the release of Persona 5 Tactica. The Phantom Thieves of Hearts’ next big adventure brings them into a game where strategy is your most important ally- that and mastery of your Persona, of course.

This time, the Phantom Thieves have moved from the busy streets of Shibuya to a fantasy world where they need to help the mysterious Erina lead a rebellion against the Legionnaires. If you’re looking for a strategy game with the signature Persona flair- look no further: Persona 5 Tactica is here to steal your heart.

All The Persona Things You Know And Love

From the Personas to One More attacks, there’s no shortage of familiar things for Persona fans. You’ll get to build a lineup of three fighters consisting of your favorite Phantom Thieves- from Joker to Skull or even Noir and Fox, you have full freedom to customize your lineup as you see fit. Even if you didn’t want Joker in your lineup, that’s A-OK: feel free to have all sorts of creative line-ups like an all-girl team of Panther, Noir and Queen to what I like to call the lonely Valentine’s Club- with Joker, Mona and Skull.

In fact, it’s not just the base Persona 5 characters, either- releasing the same day as Persona 5 Tactica is the Repaint Your Heart DLC, which offers players a chance to go with Akechi Goro as well as Kasumi Yoshizawa from Persona 5 Royal– letting you experience an entirely new adventure with the talented gymnast and genius detective. Over back in the main game, you can even have original new character Erina join your lineup. Feel free to try her out and see what new playstyles she and her skills bring to the experience.

Naturally, every Phantom Thief has their own Persona- and just like in the main games each one will be a big part about how each Phantom Thief plays. While the rules of engagement may be different- now relying on positional strategy and cover, the visuals of it will seem all-too familiar for Persona fans. Watch as Joker summons Arsene to hit enemies with Eiga, or Noir summons Milady do deal powerful psychic damage. All your knowledge of types and affinities from Persona 5 come to fruition here, giving you a leg up on the Legionnaires.

A New Persona Experience

Of course, all that familiarity exists alongside new features. With Persona 5 Tactica, you’ll get to experience a Persona story through a new lens of gameplay- this time as a Strategy RPG. The Velvet Room returns, with some gnarly new functions- rather than having Joker switch out his Persona, the game introduces a new Sub-Persona system.

It’s not just Joker that has this ability either- now the entire cast can equip Sub-Personas to make a playstyle that best suits the mission. You no longer have to worry about mono-element characters like Panther being limited to only having fire damage, since the right Sub-Persona can turn her into a veritable powerhouse with good type coverage. You can even fuse two Personas together into new powerful weapons- a necessity for keeping your party well-stocked against your enemies.

It’s not all about having a strong Persona, though. You’ll need to manage your lineup of three fighters and take advantage of everything from cover to elevation- you won’t be able to win these fights with brute force, so you’ll always want to be thinking two steps ahead. Attacking exposed enemies gives you access to One More attacks- extra turns, essentially. Meanwhile surrounding fallen enemies opens them up to the scariest attack of all- the powerful Triple Threat.

It’s all the exact kind of stuff that makes strategy RPGs feel rewarding- you’ll immediately feel when you’re on a roll, since you can just keep generating more One More attacks and mopping up enemies before they’ve even had a chance to take their turn. At the same time, you’ll want to make sure no enemy units catch you off-guard too- the snowballing goes both ways and you’ll want to make sure you don’t end up with three downed Phantom Thieves.

You’ll even be able to take it one step further in Repaint Your Heart- the DLC adds different gameplay mechanics to the base game, letting those of you with a real love of strategy RPGs flex your tactical acumen as you fight off enemies using the power of paint and color.

A Fusion Of Style And Strategy

Be it as a fan of Persona or all things tactical, there’s no shortage of things to love in Persona 5 Tactica. On one hand, it’s another outing with your favorite rebellious Phantom Thieves- with every character sounding just as they do in the main games, and your favorite Japanese voice actors reprising their iconic roles. On the other, it’s a deeply engaging tactical RPG that’s so much more than a simple rock-paper-scissors: the limited party size and infusion of Persona game elements means you’ll want to make every turn count, and correctly gauge how much risk you’re willing to take to get the job done.

You’ll even get to see all sorts of cool and unique settings this way- from European castles to Feudal Japanese settings, there’s always another cool battlefield in Persona 5 Tactica for you to explore. Personally I’m a huge fan of the street-setting of Repaint Your Heart- where gasmasks and graffiti reign supreme. Each locale is lovingly rendered in the unique art style of Persona 5 Tactica, alongside the stylish models of all the main cast.

Be it as a long-time fan, Strategy lover or simply connoisseur of good taste, you’ll want to check out Persona 5 Tactica. The game’s available now on PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam, so you can choose for yourself how you best want to experience the latest Persona 5 adventure.