Atlus demonstrated the many day-to-day activities and side quests featured in its upcoming role-playing game Persona 5 in a recently released trailer, revealing that players can boost their stats and gain access to new powers by bonding with in-game characters. The new trailer also offers an early glimpse at Persona 5‘s English-language localization.
Unfortunately, Atlus has now announced that the game’s release has been delayed until April, 2016.
Like previous entries in the series, Persona 5 challenges players to balance a high-schooler’s social calendar in between treks through an otherworldly realm filled with dangerous creatures. Players will want to keep close friends throughout, as building relationships will grant access to powerful magic-wielding Personas, among other perks.
Similar to the Social Link system in Persona 3 and 4, Persona 5‘s Cooperation mechanic doles out stat bonuses when the main character improves his relationships with his friends and classmates. Players can also pursue relationships with their party members, unlocking new tactics and abilities for use in battle, along with persistent passive bonuses.
The trailer reveals that players can participate in a number of optional activities in order to improve their character’s stats outside of combat. Over the course of the game’s lengthy quest, Persona 5‘s protagonist can become a part-time waiter or barista to earn extra cash, while restaurants, movie theaters, batting cages, and fishing spots offer additional chances for self-improvement.
Specific side quests also unlock new conversation options for friends and comrades, and players must choose their words carefully in order to achieve a positive result. As in previous Persona series games, saying something out of line may irritate or offend those around you, and spurned acquaintances can set off a chain of unintended consequences that are reflected in the game’s combat and exploration sequences.
Released in Japan for the PlayStation 4 and PS3 in September, Persona 5 has unfortunately been delayed until April 4, nearly two months later than its original anticipated launch date of February 14, 2017. Atlus announced the delay in a live-stream, but don’t fret — the publisher is attempting to sweeten the deal with a couple freebies. First off, the English version of the game will now launch with Japanese vocal options. And second, Atlus is giving away a free Persona 5 PS4 theme, but only for 24 hours, so you’ll have to act quickly.
Updated on 11-17-2016 by Lulu Chang: Added news of Persona 5’s delayed release in the U.S.
The Call of Duty franchise has held a special place in my heart ever since I played my first Black Ops game back in 2010. That game's campaign was something else, with twists and turns that culminated in a mind-blowing finale. We can all admit that compared to those older campaigns, the recent CODs have been lackluster at best, and a complete and utter disappointment at worst. The reboot of Modern Warfare did give me some hope, as the first two installments were actually quite good, but the third game left such a bad taste in my mouth that I wasn’t exactly expecting much from Modern Warfare 4.
After recently finishing the campaign, I can say that this installment is nothing like the recent releases and instead feels closer to the franchise’s roots. For the first time in a long while, the campaign comes across as well-crafted rather than rushed to hit a release date. It arrives three years after MW3, and you can see exactly where all that time went. It seems the studio finally made listening to player feedback a priority.
Epic Games has just announced the 2026 Epic AI MegaJam, which is looking to see how much game development can be squeezed into a very short window. This is running from November 12 through November 15.
Participants can work alone or in teams of up to five people, build in Unreal Engine or Unreal Editor for Fortnite, and bring along “as many AI agents as you want.” Epic explicitly encourages coding agents, AI-generated assets, audio tools, writing tools, and other AI systems. The official event page literally says "Vibe your way to $50k.”
It’s turning into a pretty good time to be a Monster Hunter fan who plays on a phone. Capcom has confirmed that Monster Hunter Outlanders will launch on Android and iOS on October 29, giving the series a new mobile-first game just as Monster Hunter Rise is also preparing to make the jump to smartphones through Netflix.
Outlanders is being developed by Tencent subsidiary TiMi Studio Group under license and supervision from Capcom. Unlike Rise, which appears to be the full console and PC game adapted for mobile, Outlanders is a free-to-play survival hunting game made specifically for phones.