Persona 3 Reload Quick Hands On | Burn my bread in 4K
We got to try Persona 3 Reload at Thailand Game Show, and it's shaping up to be a must-play for long-time fans.
When it comes to heavily stylized, action-packed role-playing and social simulation gaming, nothing comes close to the Persona franchise. Persona 3 Reload is the latest installment brought to us by publisher Sega, and revitalizes one of their classic titles from almost two decades ago. Lucky for us, we were able to get our hands on some early gameplay at the Thailand Game Show.
The demo features 10 minutes of gameplay where the player can freely explore parts of Tartarus. As such, you’ll in the shoes of our main P3 gang, Junpei Iori, and Yukari Takeba who can all use their Personas and other skills in-game. Y’all remember the gun thing? We get the gun thing.
While we played on an Xbox controller–which took a bit of getting used to, worry not, for Persona 3 Reload will also be released on the Playstation 4 and 5 and PC. In terms of the experience, we can definitely see the overhauls. Gameplay via Unreal Engine 4 was buttery smooth, running at 4K/60 fps, and being able to run around Tartarus to fight everyone as quite the enjoyable experience.
Persona 3 Reload still retains the original mechanics and features, like hitting Shadows to instigate advantageous battles, and an interactive, destructible environment where you can harvest materials and collect treasures. New character animations during and after battles were snappy and satisfying. Seeing our gang sport a more modern aesthetic will definitely get you excited. In terms of music and and sound design, veterans need not fret. The blows are still punchy, and the tunes are as iconic as ever.
We highly recommend getting this for a bigger screen just for smooth, immersive experience alone. Handhelds are great, but the graphical overhaul, new user interface design, character animations, interactions, and expressions are so irresistibly attractive and appealing, that you should really consider getting this for the living room telly.
It’s safe to say that we thoroughly enjoyed those ten minutes of pleasure with Persona 3 Reload. The hype is definitely real and the game is definitely a must-get title for February 2024, both for new and old fans alike.