Persona 5 Royal

Persona 5 Royal is the expanded version of Atlus’ JRPG Persona 5. As Joker, you live in Tokyo between school life and the missions of the Phantom Thieves. During the day you attend Shujin Academy, build relationships and plan your limited time; in the Metaverse the group infiltrates Palaces that arise from the distorted desires of corrupt people.

Royal expands the original Persona 5 with new characters and Confidants, additional locations, reworked Palaces, the Thieves' Hideout and an extra story section.

The Western PlayStation 4 version of Persona 5 Royal came out on March 31, 2020. On October 21, 2022, native versions followed for PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.

The 2022 release bundles more than 40 DLC items previously released separately. The native PS5 version is a release of its own and not just the backward-compatible PS4 version.

Persona 5 Royal is available natively for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. Windows is the PC version; Xbox One and Xbox Series remain separate native platform generations.

The Switch version supports TV, tabletop and handheld modes. On Xbox, the game uses Smart Delivery; the native platform versions nevertheless remain separate.

Persona 5 Royal combines a calendar-based everyday life with dungeon exploration and turn-based combat. In everyday life, you decide how Joker spends his time between school, part-time jobs, activities and relationships with Confidants. These bonds unlock skills that in turn affect exploration, combat and Persona development.

In the Palaces, enemies are put under pressure through their weaknesses. Hitting a weakness gives you extra actions; Personas can be recruited, fused and deliberately assigned to roles within the team.

The 2022 multiplatform version includes more than 40 previously released DLC items. These include additional costumes and other bonus content that is bundled in this release.

These included contents do not change the fact that Persona 5 Royal is a standalone main game; separately sold DLCs are not separate platform releases.

For Windows, Steam lists at least Windows 10 64-bit, an Intel Core i7-4790 or AMD Ryzen 5 1500X, 8 GB RAM, a GeForce GTX 650 Ti or Radeon R7 360, DirectX 11 and 41 GB of free storage. As the target, Atlus gives 720p at 60 FPS on low settings via Steam.

With the same CPU and RAM specs, a GeForce GTX 760 or Radeon HD 7870 is recommended for 1080p at 60 FPS on high settings. The CPU must support AVX and SSE4.2.

The calendar is a central progression system. Classes, free time, side activities and meetings with Confidants compete for limited time slots. Deepening relationships unlocks new skills and bonuses that directly affect combat, exploration or other everyday areas.

This means social relationships are not a separate side activity, but are permanently tied to character development and the Phantom Thieves' abilities.

The Palaces are thematically self-contained dungeons with enemies, exploration, stealth sections and a treasure as the goal. Combat follows a turn-based system in which enemy weaknesses enable extra actions and can set up team attacks.

Joker can wield multiple Personas. New Personas are gained in battle and fused in the Velvet Room, which lets you combine skills and roles in a targeted way.

Royal adds two new Confidants, new characters and locations, reworked Palaces, extra story content and the Thieves' Hideout as its own collection and showcase area. There is also a grappling hook for new routes through the dungeons, and additional endings and story variants.