Persona 5: Strikers

Following in the footsteps of Hyrule Warriors, Persona 5 Strikers is another unexpected franchise crossover with the Dynasty Warriors format. That means, in a nutshell, that the strange Persona world has been infused with absolutely epic hack 'n' slash gameplay that will see you taking out entire armies with a single well-placed combo.

Unlike Hyrule Warriors and other Warriors crossover games, however, this is a direct, canonical sequel to the mainline Persona games, something that makes it less an interesting curio than an essential purchase for Persona fans.

The game is set four months after the end of Persona 5. That places it in the summer, and the Phantom Thieves are reuniting for a summer camping trip. It's kind of a bizarro Enid Blyton set-up, and things quickly start to go awry as you get tangled up in a mystery involving a celebrity idol, a sentient AI and, of course, an parallel universe Tokyo. The upshot is something that will feel familiar to Persona veterans - the manifestations of characters' desires began causing chaos in both the metaverse and the 'real' world.

The core appeal really is getting a fresh dip in the world of Persona, delivered with a twist. P-Studio has collaborated with Dynasty Warriors developer Omega Force, so Strikers is very true to the characterisation and writing of the main games. In terms of gameplay, dungeon exploration works in much the same way as Persona 5, mixing stealth and puzzling until you get into a massively over the top Warriors-style fight, albeit with loads of Jack Frost demons and personae thrown in for good measure.

For Persona and Dynasty Warriors fans alike, Strikers is essential gaming.