Despite my adoration of the Persona franchise, and especially Persona 5 Royal, Persona 4 has always been a blind spot for me. The release of Persona 4 Revival is exactly what I have been waiting for, but even considering my love for the series, I have had some concerns about what the game would hold. Specifically, I feared that it would suffer from the same problems as its predecessor, Persona 3 Reload, and have lackluster dungeon exploration. I was also unsure about how it would evolve the “remake formula” after Reload. Recently, I had the chance to find out if my concerns were well-founded or not during Gamescom 2026. After playing it for myself, I am thrilled to say that this seems to be the remake this beloved entry deserves.
I played three separate parts of the game: Yu and Yosuke’s first encounter with shadows, the dungeon exploration leading up to the Shadow Chie boss fight, and day-to-day life from 4/18 to 4/20. To start with, the initial part of the game perfectly highlights just how gorgeous this game looks. As much as I loved the art direction of Reload, this feels like an upgrade in every single way, and is easily the best-looking Persona game thus far. MAPPA’s cutscenes also perfectly bring Yu’s persona awakening to life, and I cannot wait to see what they have in store for some of the later cutscenes.
Both the initial segment and the dungeon exploration highlight one of the most discussed elements of the new remake: the voice acting. While I completely understand fans’ attachment to Yuri Lowenthal as Yosuke, Erin Fitzgerald as Chie, and Johnny Yong Bosch as the Protagonist, I think Paul Castro Jr., Anne Yatco, and Nazeeh Tarsha do fantastically as their respective characters. Anne Yatco in particular stands out as both Chie and Shadow Chie, with the latter delivering some particularly menacing lines. Although I have to admit, I am a little unsure about Teddie’s currently unconfirmed voiceover. It sounds completely different from Sam Riegel, and I am quite curious to see what the purpose of the change in direction is.
That being said, despite my love of the visuals and voices, the gameplay took a while to convince me. Initially, the dungeon exploration in Yukiko’s Midnight Channel felt a little too similar to Reload, and it felt more like a reskinned Tartarus rather than something that feels genuinely new. However, what hooked me back in was the actual combat. Mechanically, it also bears many similarities to Reload and Persona 5, but visually, the style is so much better. The way the party members run around their opponent when doing an all-out attack, and how they push away the camera when they win a fight, is such a perfect encapsulation of their respective characters and the overall theming of the TV world.
I would also be remiss if I did not mention the music. The new compositions sound amazing, with the new battle theme being a standout. Further, the new mechanic where each battle will start the track from where it left off is brilliant, due to how it gave me more time to appreciate each theme. Even though I still have some doubts about the dungeon exploration and combat gameplay in the full game, I had a great time with it in this slice. When it came time to experience the Protagonist’s day-to-day, though, is when Persona 4 Revival completely won me over.
Inaba has been rebuilt from the ground up, and this new iteration manages to be faithful to the original release while also making sure it feels vaster than ever before. School life is about what you would expect, with quiz questions popping up that you can answer to increase your stats. As for the social links, these have been adjusted in some subtle ways that further highlight the new visuals. Namely, the camera is far more dynamic and zooms right into characters’ faces during key moments, allowing you to see each expression on characters like Marie as the Protagonist flirts with her.
I may still have my doubts about everything Persona 4 Revival has to offer, and how well it will be able to remake one of the most beloved entries in the series. However, as I played, I started to feel that same love for the franchise that has defined so much of my life come surging back. The overall changes are subtle and do not go for any major changes, but that might be for the best in the long-run. After all, the gameplay still feels great in both dungeon crawling and during school days, even if it is a bit derivative of prior entries. Plus, the music and voice acting sound incredible so far, as are the new visuals.
All in all, by the time my preview of Persona 4 Revival was finished, it went from a game that I was somewhat nervous about to one that I couldn’t wait to play more of. Thankfully, I will not have to wait too long, as Persona 4 Revival launches February 18, 2027, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Microsoft Store and Steam.
