GENSOU Skydrift Crosses the Finish Line to a PlayStation 4 Launch Today
New Courses and Racers Also Premiere on Nintendo Switch and PC
TOKYO – 9 March 2021 – GENSOU Skydrift, the spell-slinging tag-team racer from developer studio illuCalab, led by a former Mario Kart developer, and publisher Phoenixx, is off to the races today on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 via backward compatibility.
Select a duo of magical girl racers, each with unique stats and abilities, from 22 Touhou Project mainstays, and compete for the checkered flag! Utilize unique character abilities, such as new character Alice Margatroid’s ability which equips eight exploding Shanghai dolls that leave an explosive wake! Meanwhile, the other new contestant Rin Kaebyou, a balanced, speedy racer, can use Cats’ Walk to fly up while accelerating, complete with invincibility.
Swap freely between the two chosen racers, with one acting as driver and the other as a flying human chariot. Choose the best heroine for the job, utilizing each’s speed, power, and technical stats, and tactically unleash their abilities to gain the edge on rivals. With the narrative-focused Story Mode, speed-based Time Attack, and online racing available in the Versus mode, racers can partake in a bevy of racing options.
Swap paint and magic through 20 tracks, including two brand new stages: the Heaven course, soaked in celestial beauty, and the midnight-clad cityscape of Redevelopment Area B. Both new courses and characters are also available in the Nintendo Switch and PC versions of GENSOU Skydrift.
“We wanted to create a racing game that offered up many tactical options along with plenty of the chaotic fun of kart-style racers,” said EIKI, lead developer, illuCalab. “Getting to do this in the expansive Touhou Project world is a lot of fun, and I hope PlayStation owners enjoy it as much as everyone else has so far!”
Gensou SkyDrift is available on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 via backward compatibility for $23.99 USD/€ 21.99. It supports English, Japanese, and Chinese (Simplified and Traditional). The game is also available on Steam for Windows PC and Nintendo Switch.
Established in 2019 by industry veterans, Phoenixx aims to support innovative and creative developers from Japan and around the world. Its mission is to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one creator, one game and one community a time.
Touhou Project, recognized by the Guinness World Records as the “most prolific fan-made shooter series,” is a collection of games set in the world of Gensokyo and using a recurring cast of familiar characters. Predominantly consisting of vertical shooters, the Touhou Project includes games developed by the original creator, one-man studio Team Shanghai Alice, as well as fan works made by other developers.
About illuCalab
illuCalab is an award-winning Japanese developer with experience working on Mario Kart and other popular titles.
Russian Cruiser Campaign, British Heavy Cruisers, New Ranked Battles, and Seasonal Events
March is here in World of Warships: Legends, bringing along a new campaign to get a premium Russian cruiser, the full release of British heavy cruisers, two Legendary Bureau projects, and some returning favourites. Let’s take a look at this action-packed update.
The featured campaign for the March update is “Taken By Storm,” bringing the Tier VII Russian cruiser Ochakov as the crown jewel for your efforts. Named for the Russian victory over the Ochakov fortress in times long ago, this ship is based on a project to build a compact light cruiser capable of fulfilling many roles. Though her total firepower is not her main attraction, Ochakov’s 6-inch (152 mm) guns have excellent ballistics, shell performance, and reload speed. Plus, she has access to several additional tools like Radar, Sonar, and long-range torpedos. Taken By Storm will be available for five weeks, with 100 milestones to reach by completing missions in battle—dedicated captains can even get some Steel Badges after reaching milestone 100. Plus, you can now use Legendary tier ships to complete some of the missions and progress through the campaign. Make sure to get Admiralty Backing and earn this multirole ship.
Sailing out of early access, the British heavy cruiser line is fully available in this update. These classic British cruisers have an interesting kit, including consistent guns that can batter enemy ships, single-launch torpedoes, a powerful heal, and sonar. The Albemarle awaits at Tier VII, combining all of these tools with a Radar on top. Hampered only by gun range and maneuverability, these new ships are set to find their home within the waters of World of Warships: Legends.
Two new Legendary-tier ship projects are starting in the Bureau this update, one for the long-serving American destroyer Gearing—bringing it’s adaptable combination of six 5-inch (127 mm) guns and extremely long range torpedoes to Legendary tier battles. The British battleship Conqueror is sailing in with a monstrous twelve-gun salvo with excellent high-explosive or short-fused armour piercing shells. Players can start researching these ships immediately through the Research Bureau alongside the other Legendary tier ships.
St. Patrick’s day is right around the corner, so something special has been prepared for the occasion! Players can get their hands on the elusive fan-favourite cruiser Belfast, plus plenty of St. Pat’s goodies from the Pot of Gold, a container that guarantees doubloons and camo but can also bring one special luck in the form of a very green permanent camouflage for Belfast!
Ranked Battles make a return for two weekends this update, this time we’ve changed the rules a fair amount. Instead of running for several weeks, this set of Ranked Battles will be two intense sprints through seven ranks in 5 versus 5 battles. The grand prize for Ranked Battles is a pile of 700 Steel Badges per season! For captains striving to earn Steel Badges, Ranked Battles are going to be one of the best ways to obtain them.
A few smaller additions are joining the roster of World of Warships: Legends, including the new American destroyer commander Albert Gleaves. Gleaves specialises in improving the torpedo armament of the American destroyers, providing a new edge to some of the higher tier ships for the USN fleet.
Keep your eyes on the event horizon, there may yet be a special space event coming to shake things up for April Fool’s Day! Set sail into the March Update, and turn the tide.
After concluding the beta test for Guilty Gear: Strive Arc System Works has announced that they are taking fan feedback to heart and, as a result, will be delaying the game from its previously planned release date of April 9th to June 11th, or June 8th for those who pre-order the Deluxe and Ultimate versions that offer three day early access. This delay is meant to allow the developers a chance to fix not only a number of issues that players found during the beta test, which happen to be a shockingly high number of infinite combos, as well as polish up various other aspects of the game.
Currently Guilty Gear: Strive is set to be released on the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and PC with an eventual arcade release happening sometime in the future.
MILESTONE AND FELD ENTERTAINMENT, INC. ANNOUNCE THE RELEASE OF MONSTER ENERGY SUPERCROSS – THE OFFICIAL VIDEOGAME 4
Reach the glory, from Futures to Pros!
Sydney, Australia (March 9, 2021) – Milestone and Feld Entertainment, Inc. are pleased to announce the release of Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame 4.
Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame 4 will be available worldwide PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows PC®/STEAM and Google Stadiastarting on March 11th, 2021.
Today, a new chapter begins for the belovedvideogame series as it is available via Early Access on PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One (for those who preordered the game), aiming to engage fans all over the world, thanks to a series of new and exciting features.
The biggest news is the structure of the brand-new Career Mode. This year, for the first time in the franchise’s history, players will face new ways to live their dream as a rider, both climbing the ladder and customising their experience. The main goal is reaching glory, starting as a Supercross Futures novice and trying to become the best rider in the world. This means not only racing at the top but even improving your skills along the way. The new skill tree system is the key: collecting points through racing, special events, training and journaling, will provide the best chance to boost specific statistics and impact a rider’s performance.
On a landscape inspired by the Maine Islands, players will experience the new Compound, a land dedicated to free-roaming and races against friends. There will be many tracks available to explore, all with challenges and collectibles to discover.
The beloved Track Editor is also back with more options than ever. Players can now express their full creative potential, using new modules in combination with Tuff Blox, Starting Gate structures and many other objects.
Thanks to our editors, players can customise their rider and bike using tons of content. Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame 4 will feature 110 official brands both for cosmetic and performance customisation.
Multiplayer guarantees a lag-free experience thanks to the dedicated servers, enriched by the Race Director Mode.
Additionally, E-sport is finally coming to Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame 4, pushing players to the limit in-order-to become a legendary eSX Rider! For the very first time, gamers will be able to compete in the official eSport Monster Energy Supercross championship and prove that they are the best! Stay tuned for more exciting updates.
Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame 4 will be available worldwide on PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows PC®/STEAM and Google Stadia starting on March 11th, 2021.
Founded in Milan in 1996, Milestone S.r.l. is one of the leading and longest established racing game developers in the world. The 200-people team is responsible for hit series like MotoGP™ and MXGP – The Official Motocross Videogame as well as own IPs Ride and Gravel.
About Feld Entertainment, Inc.
Feld Entertainment® is the worldwide leader in producing and presenting live touring family entertainment experiences that bring people together and uplift the human spirit. Properties include Monster Jam®, Monster Energy Supercross, Disney On Ice, Disney Live!, Marvel Universe LIVE!, Sesame Street Live!, Jurassic World Live Tour and DreamWorks Trolls The Experience. Across the brand portfolio, Feld Entertainment has entertained millions of families in more than 75 countries and on six continents. Visit feldentertainment.com for more information.
“PlayStation” are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved.
DRAGON BALL Fans Treated to a 1, 2, 3, Combo of New Trailers During this Past Weekend’s DRAGON BALL GAMES BATTLE HOUR Livestream Event
Over the weekend, BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment held its first DRAGON BALL GAMES BATTLE HOUR Livestream Event, an online event celebrating all things DRAGON BALL. Amongst all the exciting activities and tournament bouts that took place during the 12 hour livestream event, we also shared news regarding incoming updates for some of our most beloved DRAGON BALL titles, including:
Gogeta (Super Saiyan 4), will be playable in DRAGON BALL FighterZ starting on March 10th!
Beginning on March 10th (early access date for FighterZ Pass 3 holders), players will be able to unleash Gogeta SS4’s power in DRAGON BALL FighterZ. The strongest Saiyan, born from the fusion of Goku and Vegeta, Gogeta SS4 is proficient in every aspect of combat, using life-threatening Ki Blasts as well as relentless close combat attacks!
Additionally, a new game patch will also go live on March 9th which will offer additional character balancing for the game.
To see Gogeta SS4 in action, check below:
Gogeta SS4 is a DLC character included in FighterZ Pass 3. Gogeta will be available beginning March 12th in DRAGON BALL FighterZ for all players and is available for purchase individually or through the FighterZ Pass 3.
DLC #3, –TRUNKS- THE WARRIOR OF HOPE, coming this early summer to DRAGON BALL Z: KAKAROT!
-TRUNKS- THE WARRIOR OF HOPE, will be the third installment of additional content for DRAGON BALL Z: KAKAROT and is set for release early summer 2021. Players will discover a new story arc featuring Trunks from the future.
Stay tuned as more information will be shared soon regarding this DLC update. In the meantime, check out the –TRUNKS- THE WARRIOR OF HOPE trailer below:
The LEGENDARY PACK #1 coming on March 18th to DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE 2
DRAGON BALL XENOVERSE 2’s LEGENDARY PACK #1is scheduled for launch on March 18th and will include its own new story! Fu has played with the time-line again, causing more trouble and creating more challenges for the Z warriors!
Additionally, two previously mentioned characters, Pikkon and Toppo (God of Destruction) will also be included in the LEGENDARY PACK #1.
To see more of the new story, check below:
This completes our round-up of the new trailers which were shared during this past weekend’s DRAGON BALL GAMES BATTLE HOUR.
Latest PGA TOUR® 2K21 Update Tees Up Clubhouse Pass Season 2 – Featuring Titleist and FootJoy Gear – and New Bay Hill Club & Lodge
Earn the hottest gear from Titleist and FootJoy and compete in the Arnold Palmer Invitational
2K and HB Studios has announced a new update for PGA TOUR® 2K21 featuring Season 2* of the Clubhouse Pass and a free, brand new course available to all players – The Bay Hill Club & Lodge – available now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, Stadia and Switch**.
Season 2 of the Clubhouse Pass, an ongoing live service featuring new clubs, new gear and new MyPLAYER customizations for players to earn and unlock, runs from now to June 3, 2021 and includes the potential to unlock a variety of gear, VC and cosmetic items for MyPLAYERs, including:
Three months of new content featuring 75 levels of gear for players to unlock as the season progresses;
New Titleist gear and clubs to hit the links with one of the most iconic brands in the sport;
FootJoy gloves and shoes to take on each PGA TOUR 2K21 course with style and comfort.
The update also includes a free new course: The Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando, Fla. The location is home to the prestigious Arnold Palmer Invitational, which is one of only five tournaments given invitation-only status by the PGA TOUR. The Bay Hill Club & Lodge was created by legendary designer Dick Wilson and later renovated by Arnold Palmer himself; the course will be available to all PGA TOUR 2K21 players.
The PGA TOUR 2K21 Clubhouse Pass includes three tiers to fit all players’ needs:
Free: This tier enables players to access 15 free levels of the 75 levels in Season 1. Every five levels passed will result in a reward;
Premium Pass ($11.95): All 75 levels of rewards are available to unlock through gameplay;
Premium+ Pass ($22.95): All 75 levels of rewards are available to unlock through gameplay; players can also skip the first 20 levels and automatically unlock those rewards.
HyperX Shines a Spotlight on Female Gamers in New ‘We’re All Gamers’ Campaign
HyperX supports equality in the gaming community with a new video, and a partnership with Australian female-focused gaming organisation Empress Gaming.
Australia – Mar. 8, 2021 – Gaming is one of the most popular forms of entertainment worldwide, with recent research showing that almost half of all game enthusiasts in Australia are female1. To support equality among gamers, HyperX, a leading gaming peripheral brand, today announced its official partnership with Empress Gaming, a women-focused and led gaming organisation based in Australia that champions HyperX’s ‘We’re All Gamers’ message. As part of the partnership, HyperX will provide best-in-class peripherals to the local creators in Empress Gaming and support them to build a strong and supportive network for all Australians who share the same passion for gaming.
“Empress Gaming was created out of an aspiration to level the playing field and create an inclusive community which foremost provides opportunity and support to women in gaming”, said Nicole Constantine, Founder of Empress Gaming. “HyperX, with its core message of ‘We’re All Gamers’, perfectly speaks to our mission.”
Through its broad range of talented brand ambassadors like Pokimane, Valkyrae, Faze Ewok, and Berticuss, HyperX reflects the diversity in the current gaming landscape. In honour of Women’s History Month, and with the spirit of ‘We’re All Gamers’, HyperX has also released a dedicated video, interviewing a group of prominent Australian gamers, to inspire younger females who are interested in gaming.
“As the brand’s core value ‘We’re All Gamers’ suggests, we are dedicated to supporting all kinds of gamers,” said HyperX. “Working with Empress Gaming enables us to further empower women in Australia to explore the world of gaming and have fun while doing it.”
In addition to supporting Empress talent with best-in-class peripherals, HyperX will also be the title sponsor of the upcoming Empress League, an all-women’s Fortnite based tournament with a $1,000 prize pool. For more details about HyperX’s ‘We’re All Gamers’ message, please visit the campaign page.
About Empress Gaming Empress Gaming is one of the world’s leading women-focused and led gaming organisations. Based in Australia, the collective provides a space for women in gaming to create, compete and collaborate. With a number of diverse talent including both new and seasoned professionals, Empress provides women with the ability and opportunity to navigate the industry.
For 18 years, HyperX’s mission has been to develop gaming solutions for every type of gamer and the company is consistently recognised for delivering products that provide superior comfort, aesthetics, performance, and reliability. Under the tagline of “WE’RE ALL GAMERS,” HyperX gaming headsets, keyboards, mice, USB microphones, and console accessories are the choice of everyday gamers as well as celebrity ambassadors, pro gamers, tech enthusiasts, and overclockers worldwide because they meet the most stringent product specifications and are built with best-in-class components.
Kingston, the Kingston logo and HyperX are registered trademarks of Kingston Technology Corporation. All rights reserved. All other marks may be the property of their respective titleholders
In what is a bit of surprising news given the history of the Alien series, outside of a certain entry, it has been announced that a new game is in the works for the franchise. Cold Iron Studios has revealed that they are working on Aliens: Fireteam for the Xbox Series X, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and PC with the game launching sometime this summer.
The title will be a third-person shooting game focused on co-op action. Set in the year 2202, a mysterious distress call reroutes your Marine Assault Unit to LV-895 in the outer colonies, where deadly Xenomorph legions, hidden corporate secrets, and ancient alien ruins await your arrival.
Face off against waves of terrifying Xenomorph and Weyland-Yutani Synthetic foes alongside two players or AI teammates, as you and your fireteam desperately fight your way through four unique campaigns that introduce new storylines to the Alienuniverse.
After spending a year in Steam Early Access, Passtech Games’ action rogue-lite Curse of the Dead Godshas finally hit 1.0. The game’s full release also marks the first time Curse of the Dead Gods is out on console. The update introduces new modes, new weapons, mixed maps, and a slew of balancing changes.
Story
Curse of the Dead Gods is story light which is in line with most titles in the rogue-like and related genres. The game’s storytelling and world building is almost exclusively contained in a series of journal entries in the bestiary. The writing is average. It is interesting enough for quick perusal, but nothing game changing.
Gameplay
Curse of the Dead Gods is an action rogue-lite relying heavily on randomized modifiers to keep each run fresh. The first source is the relic and weapon system. At the beginning of each run, players choose from randomized sets of weapons. As players spend currency collected from each attempt, more sets to choose from and higher weapon rarities are available before each run. The currency drop rate is low, making the early game a painful grind. The mid game improves a little, but not by much. As the run progresses, relics and weapons are dropped from fallen enemies, sold at shrines at the end of certain rooms, or looted from chests. There is a good variety of modifiers available, offering a lot of opportunity for consistently usable builds and the occasional mind boggling run.
The corruption system is one of the other major sources of randomization in the game. Players gain corruption points when they enter new rooms, are struck by certain attacks, or accept corruption for health. A new curse is afflicted on the player every hundred points or so. The early curses can change the style of gameplay drastically with only minimal impact the game’s difficulty; however, the later curses increase the difficulty with the final curse punishing players with absolutely devastating modifiers.
Combat is intense and skill based with an enjoyable amount of variety. Curse of the Dead Gods uses a limited stamina system for attacking, dodging, and parrying. Enemies hit very hard and heals are sparse, so a more patient dodge/parry-centric approach is required. Dodge is the low risk, low reward option that can be used in almost all situations. Only certain attacks can be parried in a small window, but the bonus stamina points allow players to chain long attack combos to speed their way through the temples. The resulting combat feels well put together and rewarding.
Passtech Games keeps combat fresh by having each type of weapon have its own attack pattern and playstyle. The player carries a main, secondary, and heavy weapon. As a result, there are a ton of possible combinations, and a large majority of the weapon combos perform well. The game forces players to try a lot of different weapons early on and then master several weapon combos later in the game. The devs have struck the right balance between encouraging experimentation and getting most players skilled enough to progress deep into the game.
There are three temple types to explore, with each temple offering tiers of increasing difficulty. Each temple is filled with their own traps and enemies, requiring players to memorize a decent number of mechanics. Passtech Games does an excellent job easing the learning curve by starting a run with a few simple traps and enemies and then introducing new ones as players progress through the rooms. The only issue I have with the level design is learning later bosses is difficult without the use of a guide. Getting to those bosses can be challenging, making it troublesome to get serious practice in.
The light mechanic is an interesting idea, but it didn’t pan out well. Random modifiers aside, being in the dark hides traps from view and lets creatures do 50% more damage. Rooms can be lit by setting enemies on fire, having a torch out, or lighting one of the many braziers in the game. The torch is the main light source out of combat, while braziers are used in combat. In practice, I find the light mechanic to be too troublesome to bother. Lighting braziers before combat often sacrifices the element of surprise. Lighting them in the middle of a fight is often too dangerous, and there are enough enemies to snuff out or destroy the brazier.
I enjoy the constant risk/reward analysis in Curse of the Dead Gods. Several fights, rooms, and side areas can be ignored to save health at the cost of missing potential equipment and gold that will be needed to survive the later stages of the run. The same decision must be made when it comes to exchanging health for corruption. It creates a tense and exciting atmosphere that is incredibly addictive.
The controls are solid. The developers are explicit about recommending a controller, and I can see why. While ranged attacks lock onto nearby enemies, the proper use of the dodge mechanic requires rolling into the incoming attack. It’s just not easy to do with a mouse and keyboard. When using a controller, the game is extremely responsive, and the button layout is well thought out. If players don’t like the layout, the developers have even thrown in the ability to rebind the controller keys. It’s an often overlooked feature that should be standard in every game in my opinion.
Visuals
Curse of the Dead Gods is presented in a dark comic book style influenced heavily by Mayan and Aztec art. I really like the three distinct temples that are centred around the temple’s element. The artists have done an excellent job working the game’s light and dark mechanics into the artistic presentation. Smart use of colour and shading makes areas dark enough to be dangerous but clear enough to fight within.
Audio
The audio experience is excellent. The sound effects are enjoyable, with plenty of monster screeches and weapon sounds to make battles chaotic. The music is an solid accompaniment to the game.
Overall
Curse of the Dead Gods is an excellent game with only a few minor flaws. The game can be a little grind heavy, and the light system isn’t perfect. But the tense risk/reward gameplay is incredibly addictive. Combat is tightly executed and is a joy to learn. Combined with its solid audio/visual presentation, Curse of the Dead Gods has a place on every gamer’s wish list.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Creating a spin-off of a Persona game is nothing new for Atlus as there have been numerous different ones throughout the years spanning across different genres but when it came to Persona 5 Strikers, many were rather surprised. Not only was it meant to be a direct sequel to Persona 5 but it saw Omega Force, best known for their Warriors‘ style of games, being tapped as developers which is a combination that few could have seen coming. So now after quite a bit of waiting, Persona 5 Strikers has made its way to the West but the question is, has this strange blend of franchise pedigree and developer created a worthwhile game?
Story
Considering Persona 5 Strikers takes place following the events of Persona 5 (not Persona 5 Royal) players will want to have completed either of the original games as the game takes very little time to go over past events with potential newcomers or at least go over some of the most basic elements so that they won’t be entirely left in the dark regarding certain elements of the Phantom Thieves and the numerous references that are made throughout the story.
Six months have passed since the Phantom Thieves went their separate ways and continued on with life but now that summer vacation has rolled around, Joker is taking a little trip back to Tokyo to revisit his old friends and enjoy some time with the crew. Things quickly begin to spiral out of their hands however as strange events have begun happening all around Japan with people suffering from changes of heart and all fingers are pointing towards the Phantom Thieves being behind these changes and even the Velvet Room draws Joker back into his cell once more to warn him of impending doom.
Considering the identity of their leader and most of the members is well known by the police, the group has no choice but to immediately tackle the new threat that has arisen, not only to clear their names but to also save those who are having their “desires” taken from them by these new threats. To do this the familiar cast is joined by both a new companion in the form of an amnesiac AI named Sophia found within the Metaverse and Zenkichi, a member of the task force assigned to investigate these new incidents.
In many ways those familiar with the various themes of Persona 5 will find that Persona 5 Strikers follows the same elements here as the group will learn more about a target, now called a Monarch, and infiltrate their “jail” instead of palace. What helps the most here is the fact that thanks to the fact that, outside of Sophia and Zenkichi who both are worked into the story perfectly, the Phantom Thieves have all already overcome their previous traumas and can now shine brighter with one another allowing for a better balance of their light-hearted interactions and the more dramatic and darker ones they have with the Monarchs.
These conversations are better and allow for more revelations to happen when dealing with the jail’s Monarchs as players will learn a bit more about them while traveling through their jail, some of which are a bit more nuanced than simply being completely irredeemable compared to the first game, and overcoming various obstacles that often throw the players out of the jail to investigate further, which isn’t much of an issue as there is no time limit this time around. Players will feel right at home with the returning cast as long as they are returning fans of the franchise as Sophia’s mix as a companion AI works well with her naive nature and the banter between Zenkichi and the Phantom Thieves makes for plenty of humorous moments.
Unfortunately there is a trade off here with the fact that the game has dropped all elements of side-stories outside of incredibly basic requests that generally only reward a few extra lines of dialogue or bond points and, with the Phantom Thieves going on a road trip, all confidants have been sidelined outside of the necessary two. There are mentions of certain confidants from time to time but players hoping to see more of their favorite side characters will be left disappointed here.
Gameplay
Generally when Omega Force takes an already established property and applies their Warriors style of gameplay to it, the game tends to follow a fairly predictable pattern of slaying hundreds of enemies, taking bases, etc. but that is not the case this time around. Rather than follow the standard formula the developers have chosen to stick as close to Persona 5‘s roots as possible when it comes to actually exploring the Jails and encountering enemies. Joker will still be traveling through Jails with a total of four party members at a time (that can be swapped outside of battle) and can move quickly from vantage point to vantage point to avoid or pull off surprise attacks on shadows that patrol each location.
Once combat is entered that is where the Warriors gameplay kicks in as players will immediately find themselves surrounded by anywhere from three or four larger foes to tens of smaller shadows that can be dispatched in a variety of ways. There are the standard bread and butter combination attacks featuring light and heavy blows that, when strung together in different ways, perform special finishing attacks but since this is Persona 5 Strikers, there are a few more options at the player’s disposal.
With the help of Futaba/Oracle players can quickly analyze the shadows they are facing off against to see what their weaknesses are and target them accordingly. This can include everything from simply pulling out their gun and firing away to summoning their Persona and using an offensive skill on them with Joker once again remaining the true wild card as he can utilize multiple Persona at once and obtain them as occasional drops after combat. When a standard enemy’s weakness is targeted or even when a surprise attack is pulled off, players can generally go for an “All-Out Attack” that deals massive, often encounter ending, damage to all foes within range. Once combat ends players will immediately find themselves exploring the dungeon with no transition screens at all which is a nice touch but also something that can be a bit disappointing at times as there is often very little wriggle room for actual long-term combat.
Players battling against standard foes can generally wipe them out in less time than it takes for the battle music to kick in and even the “named” slightly harder enemies can rarely be challenging. That is the case only until most mid-bosses and the Monarchs themselves who see significant difficulty spikes. It is worth noting that players can freely return to jails and grind if necessary but it is a bit unfortunate that there isn’t the greatest level of balance through most of the in-game jails. It is also worth noting that while players can freely return from the jails at any time since there is no longer a time limit and recover their HP/SP as well as purchase items, managing SP remains a difficult endeavor through the early half of the game without proper planning or usage of BOND points.
One thing that is truly great is that, despite featuring a very small cast of playable characters for a Warriors game, Persona 5 Strikers has made sure to give every playable character their own unique feeling and play-style. This can range from having Makoto stringing together powerful combos only to finish off with a motorcycle ride on Johanna to Ann whipping enemies around and creating lines of fire on the ground and more. While fighting and even exploring a jail players can freely tag between members of their party and, if tagged during combat, a “showtime” gauge for the tagged in character will fill quicker and, once filled, allow them to pull off a flashy and powerful attack that deals plenty of damage and can also be stored for later if the player chooses.
Outside of combat players will find that the Velvet Room will still play a solid role in making sure Joker’s various shadows are up to snuff as they can be fused together to create newer, stronger shadows with inherited abilities or straight powered up with extra currency obtained from deleting unnecessary shadows gathered during combat. That being said, the Velvet Room’s importance is far weaker than before as not only are most Persona easy to obtain but the combinations appear far more limited. Even purchasing and equipping items is more limited this time around as players can only make use of shops scattered across Japan and Sophia’s online shop.
As for the removal of confidants, in their place comes BOND points. These are earned from general story events as the Phantom Thieves talk with one another, completing various requests posted by the group as well as random requests, and simply fighting together in jails. These points can then be used to purchase a number of straight upgrades to the group such as increased stats, the ability to recover HP/SP slightly after combat, improve the drop rate of Shadows and money, and more. While this does allow players to quickly choose whatever unlocked options they prefer faster, it doesn’t really serve as the best replacement for the confidants that have been removed.
Visuals & Audio
Once more Persona 5 Strikers features a great sense of style that permeates every aspect of the game. The character designs remain the same as do the returning Shadows but the newly added characters as well as the designs of the Jails that players will travel through fits in perfectly with the series. There are also a large number of animated cutscenes this time around which is also a nice touch.
Players will have the option of using either the original Japanese or the freshly recorded English dub and can choose to swap between them whenever they wish. The English voice cast features all of the same voices that fans remember and the new cast, once again, fits in perfectly here. As for the soundtrack the game features a number of new pieces of music but a lot of it also happens to be remixed versions of the original game’s music that work to various degrees of success, though a few do lose a bit of their previous feel being remixed.
Overall
Many wondered just how well a Persona spin-off in the hands of Omega Force would end up but it turns out that fusing the Warriors combat with the RPG and stealth elements of Persona 5, has made Persona 5 Strikers not only a worthy spin-off but a successful sequel to a story that many have come to know and love. While combat can be a bit disproportionately short at times and the lack of some characters is disappointing, those looking for either a Warriors style game with a different take or just fans of the series will find Persona 5 Strikers certainly worth checking out and if you happen to be a fan of both things, then all the better as this fusion is a great success.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
