Developer: Atlus
Publisher: Atlus/Deep Silver
Platform(s): PS4
Our 50 best games of the year countdown isn’t in any order, we’re just going through fifty of the finest the year has given us. Find out more here.
Without a doubt, there are many great games that came out this year, but in my eyes, Persona 5 topped them all. Aside from its catchy music, highly stylish UI, and overall amazing design, its engaging story and gameplay managed to win me over.
Being a teenager myself, there’s probably no idea more appealing than being able to rebel against society and fundamentally change things for the better, all with the help of some friends. Persona 5 perfectly embodies that idea, from the literally edgy UI, to the design of the characters and of course the story, as you steal people’s hearts and try to get revenge on the asshole who only had power over you because he had enough money.
The range of characters that join the crew means that most people will be relate to one of the characters, even if it isn’t the main character. Being a clumsy, loud, blond dumbass who runs out of breath way too quickly and doesn’t take shit from anyone, I identify so much with Ryuji Sakamoto, the first teammate you encounter, that it’s not even funny anymore. It’s really interesting to see yourself in the eyes of others, and it often helps you know yourself better, as you tend to look more critically.
Many Persona fans regard Persona 5 as the culmination of everything that made the past games good, although many people who didn’t even know about the other games loved Persona 5. There were many aspects of Persona 4 that I didn’t like, including the randomly generated dungeons, but Persona 5 fixed this by explicitly designing each of the Palaces. This gave them much more freedom, instead of designing a bunch of parts that were to be connected to each other ad libitum, making Persona 5 a much more enjoyable experience.
I could literally sing praises about the music of Persona 5. Not often do video games have songs written for the game with lyrics, especially not songs that embody the spirit of the game so strongly. With most games’ music, you can tell what genre they’re from, but with the songs in Persona 5, if you’ve heard them once, you’re not likely to forget them. With strong lyrics about rising up, breaking chains, standing your ground, as well as being in a variety of styles, the music is perfect for the game.
It’s safe to say there’s only one thing I don’t like about the game, which are the instakill attacks which can be very annoying, but you could argue that they are fair, because it’s firstly not only enemies that have the attacks, but secondly you can take control of and own the personas that use those attacks on you.
Persona 5 is for me the best game of the year, one of the best games of all time, easily one of my favourites and an example of a game whose technical aspects fit perfectly to the story and atmosphere. Each part makes the game better and is a pillar supporting the topic of rebelling against power, sticking it to the man. It’s almost perfect. I doubt that Atlus can top it, but I really hope they do.
READ NEXT:
– 50 Best Games of 2017
– GAME REVIEW: Persona 5 (PS4) – Let’s Get Physical, Magical
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