Persona 3 Reload: Episode Aigis Evaluate (PS5)

Episode Aigis is an epilogue to Persona 3 Reload — a remake of the extra state of affairs that first appeared in Persona 3 FES on the PS2. Very like Reload itself, this growth is just about a one-to-one recreation by way of core narrative and construction, but it surely’s bolstered by the entire remake’s high quality of life and fight system enhancements. This makes the expertise a lot simpler to abdomen on a mechanical stage, because the dungeon-based tour usually felt like a critical slog again in its authentic type.

Having mentioned that, Episode Aigis nonetheless revolves round dungeon crawling nearly completely. The growth does away with the social aspect of the Persona components, and easily duties gamers with attending to the underside of a brand new, Tartarus-like creation. As you progress, story beats try to maintain you hooked, as your SEES social gathering members are pressured to unravel the reality of this recent trial, with you taking over the function of mechanical companion Aigis.

The plot offers with some intriguing character-driven themes, however the pacing is an actual sticking level. For a lot of the journey, you are fed scraps of what can barely be known as exposition, with the precise character growth locked behind quite a bit of grinding. It is a tall order contemplating your ranges and gear do not carry over from the bottom recreation; you are successfully ranging from the underside once more, albeit with a wider roster of social gathering members available.

You have to ask your self whether or not the grind is value it; whether or not your enjoyment of Reload’s dungeon crawling is sufficient to justify one other 20 hours of usually paper-thin and typically frustratingly contrived storytelling. For what it is value, Episode Aigis does supply a better problem than the core launch — one thing that will attraction to extra hardcore gamers. However even then, the growth is priced at $34.99 / £28.99 — and that feels costly for what’s, primarily, a brand new dungeon populated with reused enemy belongings.

Episode Aigis is one for the tremendous followers. Its worthwhile story beats are uncommon and buried beneath plenty of all-too-familiar dungeon crawling, and it is undeniably costly by way of asking worth. At greatest, it is an intriguing however flawed epilogue; at worst, it is a fully pointless addition to a unbelievable recreation.