Persona 5 is a slow burn, and that makes previewing Persona 5 Tactica a little bit of a challenge. I’ve played through the first 14 missions so far, some of which I previously experienced at Gamescom in August. This time though, I’m experiencing more of the narrative flow alongside the action, but mostly, it leaves me hoping that this slow burn will soon ignite.
Tactica takes the Phantom Thieves (minus Kasumi and Akechi, who are DLC-only) into the world of TRPGs, moving them on battle grids as they take on new foes and embark on new stories. So far, it’s not as successful a genre switch as the musou game Strikers, but that’s a high bar. However, the fact it has managed to move into a new, pseudo-chibi art style reminiscent of earlier 3DS games yet keep its Persona 5 identity intact is a significant achievement in itself.
Persona 5 Strikers came fifth on my 2021 Game of the Year list, so Tactica could still be very good even if it doesn't eclipse Strikers.
Unfortunately, the identity wanes in other areas. For one thing, you start the game with just Joker, Mona, and new character Erina. The parts of the game I can talk about right now consist of getting the rest of the gang back after they’ve been brainwashed by the central antagonist, Lady Marie. It depends on whether I’m a tenth or a quarter or half of the way through the game so far as to whether limiting your options like this has an overall negative impact.
Persona 5 Tactica keeps its aesthetic flair as it moves to a grid-based battle system
CloseOnce you get the gang back together, more options open up. In the base game, Joker gets a range of Personas he can use, while each character is limited to their default one. Here, everyone gets two (or more accurately, their regular Persona can take on the effects of another), so you get to customise your build. A big chunk of the combat uses guns though, far more than Persona or Strikers ever relied on them. There’s no XCOM-style of whiffing a hit based on percentages; if you aim at an enemy you hit them, but it doesn’t feel all that much like Persona at times.
Another issue with this is the Persona attacks themselves. Initially, they just target one enemy, so it’s all very simple. As they level up though, they can target larger areas. However, they still need an enemy to focus on. This means if you’ve got an attack that covers three squares across, and two enemies two squares apart, it’s impossible to hit both as one must be in the absolute centre of the attack.
It limits tactical effectiveness significantly, and with a lot of the TRPG edges sanded off to make for shorter battles (three hours and 15 minutes got me through these 14 battles and all the cutscenes and Persona-wrangling in between), you don’t always feel like there’s a lot you can do. There are optional quests thrown in alongside the missions, and these have hard-fail states, which can feel like an unfair difficulty spike but will also offer a better arena to test your approach.
There is some depth, with enemies taking less damage behind cover, and the ability to knock them out of cover or down them for a follow up shot. There’s also the Triple Threat, which offers a powerful attack if you surround a downed foe in a triangle, and can catch other enemies into it as well. It’s Tactica’s answer to an All-Out Attack, less showy but better at turning the tide. The arenas and enemies themselves aren’t too varied yet, but that may be a symptom of not being far enough into the game.
Likewise, there’s not too much to say about Lady Marie, who I’m yet to have a serious face off with. Her motivation - endlessly planning her dream wedding - is an interesting one, but thus far has been unexplored as we instead rescue the other Phantom Thieves. I appreciate that there’s an attempt to make the game something different, rather than rehashing the same old bosses or structure inside a TRPG-style, it just needs to get moving faster.
Gameplay could open up, and now that I have more characters I’ll have more options. Erina feels like a solid addition to the cause, and the game slips into the TRPG mould well. A bit more speed and variety is needed from here on out, but I’m hopeful the game will grow into itself now that all the Phantom Thieves are back together.
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Tactical Systems 3.0/5 OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 77/100 Critics Rec: 67% Released November 17, 2023 ESRB T For Teen Due To Blood, Language, Partial Nudity, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence Developer(s) P-Studio Publisher(s) Atlus Engine UnityWHERE TO PLAY
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