I'm technically still playing this but I'm marking it as Completed because, while I'm very near the ending, I don't actually know how long this game is gonna take me to finish and I might forget to change my played status when I actually do finish it. I say that because while it's been a really fun game, good GOD is it fucking long. I've kinda burnt myself out playing it but knowing that I'm so near the finish line, I can't bring myself to drop it. I think it would be a much better game without all the bloated, unnecessary dialogue/text convos, tropey anime scenarios and the "how about we meet up tomorrow to discuss this further?" bullshit instead of just finishing whatever they needed to do there and then. I've actually found myself wishing this game would just END already so I can call this time well spent and move onto something else.
That being said, it has a really strong start. The first villain is appropriately awful as a human being and sets the tone really well. Meeting new party members and helping to reform society with them quickly becomes an exciting and empowering experience. The campy, comic-style aesthetic is just plain awesome and has cemented this game as one of the most stylish out there without sacrificing its substance, instead adding to it.
Overall, it's a great game that unfortunately overstays its welcome and I could honestly do without the Royal-exclusive last semester as the ethical dilemmas presented therein are only explored on a very superficial level. It kinda made me wish there was a whole game that delved fully into that concept instead of just "you're definitely doing the right thing and your opponent is definitely doing the wrong thing even though you're both kinda doing the same thing just in a different way". It actually put the Phantom Thieves in a less favourable light for me, which is a massive shame. I have enjoyed the game but I can't recommend it without some caveats. I'd recommend it to either a fast gamer, a gamer with a lot of patience for lollygagging and beach/festival episode wankery or just a gamer who really wants to play Persona 5 Royal because - and I would know from experience - this game is so huge that if you really want to play it that badly, you're going to at some point anyways.
That being said, it has a really strong start. The first villain is appropriately awful as a human being and sets the tone really well. Meeting new party members and helping to reform society with them quickly becomes an exciting and empowering experience. The campy, comic-style aesthetic is just plain awesome and has cemented this game as one of the most stylish out there without sacrificing its substance, instead adding to it.
Overall, it's a great game that unfortunately overstays its welcome and I could honestly do without the Royal-exclusive last semester as the ethical dilemmas presented therein are only explored on a very superficial level. It kinda made me wish there was a whole game that delved fully into that concept instead of just "you're definitely doing the right thing and your opponent is definitely doing the wrong thing even though you're both kinda doing the same thing just in a different way". It actually put the Phantom Thieves in a less favourable light for me, which is a massive shame. I have enjoyed the game but I can't recommend it without some caveats. I'd recommend it to either a fast gamer, a gamer with a lot of patience for lollygagging and beach/festival episode wankery or just a gamer who really wants to play Persona 5 Royal because - and I would know from experience - this game is so huge that if you really want to play it that badly, you're going to at some point anyways.