Persona 3 Reload is a turn-based RPG at first glance, but there’s so much more just waiting to be uncovered beneath that initial layer. Atlus’s RPG remake is crammed full of varying tactics offered by the godly Personas each character wields, and communication and collaboration between you and your teammates is vital to slaying monstrous foes.
It all starts with you, the protagonist. You can wield any number of Personas, which allows you to use different Personas, each specializing in attack, support, and recovery. Carefully learning and understanding the weakness of every enemy Shadow is paramount in Persona 3 Reload - it’s the difference between a swift elegant fight and a drawn out war.
Knowing your opponent’s elemental weakness is important, but even more crucial is your team composition. You can take three allies into the grand dungeon Tartarus with you. Do you opt for stoic boxer Akihiko with his punishing physical attacks? Or the loveable clown Junpei with his fire-dealing Persona? It’s up to you to deduce your enemy’s weakness, and let fly with the appropriate attack from your team for maximum damage.
Punishing a foe with an attack they’re weak to brings forth the option for a grand All-Out Attack. Your party will be ready and raring to delve headlong into the fight, and with just one button press you can send them to put the smackdown on a foe with a huge team attack. There’s nothing more satisfying than teaming up with your friends for one decisive strike to end a fight.
Persona 3 Reload seamlessly blends the battlefield and the outside world of Iwatodai with this evolution. It feels like spending time with and getting to better know your friends really pays off when fighting Shadows in Tartarus, which all culminates in the awe-inspiring Persona transformations.
Tartarus lies at the heart of Persona 3 Reload’s story: a grand tower ascending into the night sky during the mysterious Midnight Hour. Your actions in Tartarus, like slaying otherworldly boss Shadows at various points, have a direct impact on the story, and feed back into your ever-changing life at the Iwatodai Dorm with your friends. It’s your job to save the world outside of Tartartus, but you can only do that by fighting tooth and nail alongside your friends.
Persona 3 Reload arrives on February 2 across PC, PlayStation, and Xbox platforms for $69.99. If you’ve got an ongoing Xbox Game Pass subscription though, you can bag it on day one on either PC or Xbox.
