Persona 5 has managed to cement itself as one of gaming's best turn-based games of all time, in large part thanks to its incredible style, gameplay loop, and careful balancing of social-sim elements and fluidly fast-paced combat. It is no wonder, then, that players have been eager to get their hands on the next best thing as they tirelessly wait for Persona 6 to finally be announced. Naturally, that means there's a lot of money to be made from the game's burgeoning fan base, so it is no surprise that Atlus commissioned a gacha mobile game spin-off.

Persona 5: The Phantom X is yet another Persona 5 spin-off title that has, until recently, been stuck in China for quite a while. Those who have watched from afar and just seen the trailers may think this will be an exciting new addition to their Persona obsession, but I'm here to crush those dreams. Well, if you are genuinely excited, then I'm happy for you. However, for those as weary of predatory gacha games as I am, then Persona 5: The Phantom X is probably another game worth skipping, even despite its excellent recreation of the perfect Persona formula.

Persona 5's Mobile Game Spin-Off Is Coming To The West

Phantom X Has Been Trapped In China For A While

Persona 5: The Phantom X was teased all the way back in 2021, but wasn't officially announced with a full-blown trailer until 2023. By that point, fans had long since wrapped up their umpteenth playthrough of Persona 5, myself included, and were eagerly anticipating Persona 6's announcement, or even a vague tease from Atlus. The Persona fever was skyrocketing, especially with the release of Royale and Strikers, helping to fan the flames. Fans couldn't get enough, which is what was so appealing about a mobile game version.

I have to it, the first time I saw the trailer for The Phantom X, I was also very excited. The visuals, soundtrack, and gameplay all looked like a faithful recreation, giving me hope it wouldn't be a soulless cash grab. Despite being trapped in China since 2024, I had hoped that it would eventually come to the West. I was fairly confident it would at some point, especially with the ridiculous success of other gacha games like Genshin Impact and its subsequent follow-ups and copycats. However, I had not anticipated that it would be released so soon worldwide.

The Phantom X's release date is basically right around the corner, and I suspect that a lot of people have already preloaded it on their phones or added it to their Steam wishlists in anticipation. It is, perhaps to some, unfortunately skipping a console release for now, although I have a feeling that too will be coming sooner rather than later. Surprisingly, upon hearing the news that it is coming to the West, I found myself hesitating, preventing myself from adding it to my phone's overburdened home screen until I did some research. Fortunately, I'm glad I did.

Persona 5: The Phantom X Is A Bad Spin-Off

It Takes The Persona 5 Formula And Turns It Into A Gacha Game

Persona 5: The Phantom X is, unsurprisingly, filled with all the trappings and tropes one would expect from a mobile gacha game in 2025. There's a store prominently displayed at the top of the screen where players can pay to unlock their favorite Phantom Thieves that they came to love over the course of the original game's enormously generous campaign. Progression is heavily gated, with certain missions requiring players to reach a specific level before they can access them, forcing them to grind daily missions and combat encounters.

However, by far the game's biggest change from the original Persona 5 formula is how it approaches time progression. In Persona 5, players would progress through a calendar system, with each main mission usually taking one month of in-game time to complete. However, in Persona 5: The Phantom X, time is tied to energy, with players running out of energy the more they progress. Of course, this, just like characters, can be purchased with real money to circumvent the need for energy altogether, or grinded for hours on end for those determined to play for free.

I'm not exactly going to hold it against developer Black Wings Game Studio for implementing an energy system into a mobile game, but if there's anywhere it really doesn't work, it is in a Persona title. The whole series is built around progressing through a specific period of time and the relationships you form throughout it. Forcing players to pay or wait an extortionate amount of time to access that content or feel like they're progressing is utterly antithetical to that original concept and grinds the entire experience to a halt for entirely non-gameplay purposes.

The other problem with Persona 5: The Phantom X is that, beyond its new characters and story, it is essentially the exact same game as the original.

The other problem with Persona 5: The Phantom X is that, beyond its new characters and story, it is essentially the exact same game as the original. It isn't trying anything new in of combat or exploration - in fact, it strips away certain combat features and simplifies others like the Baton mechanic - and instead just recreates what worked in the original game. That's a shame, especially as Persona 5 spin-off games have proven time and time again that the style can be applied to numerous genres and work perfectly.

Persona 5 Spin-Offs Can Work

Persona 5 Strikers Is Actually Pretty Great

Beyond Persona 5: The Phantom X, there have been two main spin-off games: Persona 5 Strikers and Persona 5 Tactica. Both games take the style, characters, and gameplay concepts and apply them to entirely new genres. Tactica turns Persona 5 into an XCOM-esque strategy game, while Strikers is a musou game that sees Joker and Co. decimate waves upon waves of enemies. They are perfect distillations of all the core ideas present in Persona 5 while also doing something completely different, with the best Persona 5 spin-off being Strikers.

There are also several Persona-like indie games that take aspects of its identity, such as music, enemy designs, or exploration features, and add a slew of new mechanics and ideas. Of course, they aren't direct spin-offs, but I'd wager they're a better use of a lot of people's money than buying characters or energy in Persona 5: The Phantom X. Because, if all people want is more of Persona, then there are numerous amazing options out there that are significantly more interesting and unique than Phantom X.

Naturally, Persona 5: The Phantom X is free-to-play, at least in theory, so it is worth giving a try. One would hope that it is completely playable for free, and that the paid features feel optional, but I feel somewhat doubtful of that. The way Persona 5: The Phantom X has monetized certain gameplay elements while removing others seems disingenuous to me, which is a shame. I hope those who enjoy Persona 5: The Phantom X do so unconditionally, and those who skip it don't feel any sense of FOMO, as, after all, there are so many better options available.