Atlus’ Persona 5: Royal is a classic JRPG that’s always worth playing, but so is this highly underrated XCOM-like spinoff

It has a fun and oftentimes dark superhero story with relatable, likable characters, and its art design is absolutely insane and beautiful to look at (especially when you explore the mindscape, ‘Palaces’, of the depraved villains you will be facing).

Persona 5’s bizarre gameplay loop of balancing your civilian life with dungeon crawling to kill bosses before a deadline is also captivating and can even teach you how to manage your time in real life to some degree.

On top of that, Persona 5’s turn-based combat is magnificent. It’s fast-paced, stylish, and can be brutally challenging if you don’t grasp the mountain of mechanics the game throws at you.

While its story (for the most part) isn’t as complex as Persona 5, the characters are just as well-written and fun to watch as they battle nefarious Shadows. Plus, the game is equally artistically rich as Persona 5 while also being slightly cuter by adopting a Chibi-esque motif for the character designs.

The gameplay of Persona 5: Tactica is very enjoyable as it successfully combines the tactical nature of turn-based strategy games like XCOM: Enemy Unknown and Wasteland 3 with the over-the-top battle mechanics of Persona 5.

It’s so satisfying to use your party’s Persona abilities to blast enemies out of cover, and then line up for crowd-clearing All-Out Attacks.

Plus, it’s nice to play a Persona game that finally abandons that outdated and annoying rule where if the main character dies, it’s game over, because in Persona 5: Tactica, you can revive the main party leader using other members if they fall in battle.

So if you’re up for exploring the twisted minds of crooks and beating up giant, disturbing monsters while dressing as rebellious vigilantes in turn-based combat for Halloween, then these games are for you.