October 2023

Even if you're not running after members of the royal family with a camera strapped to your big posh noggin, I think basically everyone loves trains, being as they are big magical people movers that can chugga-chug you over an entire country. And not just people! As represented in the lovely voxel maps of puzzle game Station To Station, trains carry freight. Cheese, furniture, steel girders - everything a growing city needs! Laying the rails that connect all of your production chains is, as the UK government will no doubt be quick to tell you, an often-complex affair. But when you get it right in Station To Station you're rewarded by an already beautiful game becoming prettier.

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PowerWash Simulator VR will hit Meta Quest 2, 3 and Pro on 2nd November, developer FuturLab has just announced.

The surprise hit of last year was first announced for VR in June during the Meta Quest Gaming Showcase.

Now, in just one month's time you'll be able experience the zen of cleaning up Muckingham in VR! And ignore the dirty driveway at the front of your house for a little while longer.

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Activision Blizzard has released a new trailer for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 ahead of its Call of Duty: Next event on 5th October.

The trailer shows some moments of multiplayer gameplay, as well as some short glimpses of the 16 maps from the original Modern Warfare 2 that have been "modernised for fast-paced combat".

Multiplayer will feature new modes, including a 3v3v3 mode called Cutthroat, and new Battle Maps alongside usual staples like Hardpoint and Kill Confirmed.

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AMD recently added a new HYPR-RX mode to its AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition, intended to give users of its RX 7000 series graphics cards an easy way to boost performance and responsiveness in a range of games. Enabling this profile automatically engages a range of technologies, including image upscaling (RSR/FSR), latency reduction (Anti-Lag+) and context-sensitive resolution reduction (Boost). In a small number of "HYPR-Tuned" games, these features are automatically applied when the HYPR-RX profile is engaged, while in others you'll need to lower your input resolution or choose an FSR upscaling mode to enable the feature in each title. With all that apparent complexity, does HYPR-RX deliver the effective one-click performance tuning that AMD promises - and is it easy enough to use? I tested out a range of games on the Radeon RX 7900 XTX to find out.

Given that we're relatively familiar with the effects of FSR/FSR 2 upscaling and Boost, we started with the latest feature addition: Anti-Lag+. Like regular Radeon Anti-Lag, this technology aims to reduce the latency between a user input and an on-screen result (eg clicking the mouse and firing a bullet in Counter-Strike), but rather than being a driver-level feature that works in all games, Anti-Lag+ is integrated by developers into the game itself. That makes it more like Nvidia's Reflex tech, with regular Anti-Lag being analagous to Nvidia's Ultra Low Latency mode.

Bandai Namco has released the streaming guidelines for Sword Art Online Last Recollection, the upcoming game in the SAO franchise. Live streaming content from the game will be allowed, as long as people follow the streaming and let’s play guidelines and policies. However, there will be restrictions past a certain point in the story.

As part of the Sword Art Online Last Recollection streaming guidelines, the company asked players to refrain from sharing content past and including Chapter 5 of the Main Story in the game. It also tasked them with avoiding sub episodes during the latter portion of the game.

The sharing restriction will only apply for the first four months past the release date of SAO Last Recollection. This means that people will be able to live stream and share content past Chapter 5 on February 4, 2024.

Other general streaming and sharing guidelines include marking appropriate content as spoilers, not infringing upon Bandai Namco copyright or any third party’s intellectual property rights, and refraining from making insensitive comments or political or religious remarks that could be considered hate speech.

Capcom and Nissin Foods are collaborating on a special Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak Curry Meshi lottery campaign. It will run through to October 31, 2023 in Japan, and it involves purchases of Nissin Curry Meshi. 200 people will be selected by lottery to win a special Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak-themed prize.

100 winners will get the Curry Meshi Original Wooden Jug, while the other 100 winners will receive the Curry Meshi Original Weapon Spoon. People must purchase two Nissin products and upload their receipt to the official campaign website to enter the lottery. The list of eligible Nissin products that can be registered for the lottery is available on the official collaboration website.

Here's a closer look at the items:

[gallery columns="4" ids="989413,989414,989415,989416" link="file"]

The fourth grand Capcom Town election recently ran a poll that asked players “which of the following is Capcom’s famous quote?” There were five options to choose from, and included “objection,” “itchy, tasty,” “so tasty,” “let’s party,” and “tiun tiun (game over)." The voting period lasted from August 21, 2023 to September 4, 2023. On September 29, the results were revealed. The “objection” line from Capcom’s Ace Attorney series was voted the most famous quote. In celebration, official wallpapers of Capcom characters like Mega Man saying “objection” in the classic pointing pose were released on the Capcom Town official website and social media account. You can download all of them in their highest quality off of the official website.

In total, there are four different illustrations that were created to be made into official wallpapers. PC, iOS, and Android versions of the wallpapers are available. The PC wallpaper dimensions are 1920 x 1080, while the iOS and Android wallpapers are 1125 x 2436 and 1080 x 1920, respectively.

Here's a closer look at how the four pieces looked. The featured Capcom characters in the "objection" wallpapers include Mega Man, a hunter from Monster Hunter, a zombie from Resident Evil, and Masamune Date from Sengoku Basara. 

Ahead of the crossover event between KFC Japan and Final Fantasy XIV beginning on October 4, 2023, a new promotional video appeared on the KFC Japan official social media account. In the video, we can see Colonel Sanders in the game riding a bike with a Chocobo beside him along for the ride. According to the caption, he is delivering the tastiness of fried chicken to all of the Warriors of Light in the world of Final Fantasy XIV.

View the new video in the post below:

[embed]https://twitter.com/KFC_jp/status/1709010409502724133?t=jJb4McDRH7izjiOnZQbs8A&s=19[/embed]

On the collaboration's official web page, you're greeted with a graphic of a Chocobo and Moogle in KFC uniforms next to the classic Colonel Sanders logo. These illustrations will be used for the stickers that will come with any Final Fantasy XIV Collaboration Set. One Japanese-style chicken cutlet burger, one original chicken, a small french fry, and a medium drink are also pictured with an image of a Chocobo. We can also see the new "eat fried chicken" emote in action.

As a part of the collaboration, a Final Fantasy XIV Collaboration Set will be available to purchase at KFCs in Japan. Customers will get chicken, stickers, and an item code for the “eat fried chicken” in-game emote. It will cost 1,240 yen ($8.36).

Platform: Switch
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Release: October 20, 2023

If you subscribe to the digital edition of Game Informer, you can now learn all about Super Mario Bros. Wonder! Following the cover reveal our digital issue is now live on web browsers, iPad/iPhone, and Android devices. Alongside the cover story, you will also find big features on Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Ghostrunner 2, and we spoke with the creators of Palworld (colloquially known as Pokémon with guns) to confirm that it is in fact a real game. We've also got features about the difficult of testing games in VR, an Afterwords interview with Nintendo about the development of Pikmin 4, an Xbox 360 retrospective in honor of it being our 360th issue, and much more!

Individual issues are also now available for purchase at this link or in any GameStop store.

You can download the apps to read the issue by following this link.

Baldur’s Gate 3 kitty His Majesty was born a wrinkled Sphynx, but transformed into a Maine Coon on September 22, when developer Larian issued Patch 3 for the popular RPG. Fans couldn’t stand it, but Larian heard their cries—Hotfix 8, issued October 3, makes His Majesty naked and ugly again, and it provides a number of…

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Dragon’s Dogma 2, like its beloved but compromised predecessor, can look like a conventional and unimpressive fantasy action-RPG on the surface. Knights, archers, and mages journey between medieval towns plagued by monsters, completing quests, crafting new gear, and getting stronger. But occasionally something…

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I'm tempted to leave it at the headline and direct you to the comments - it's after five, you know, I'm usually in the bath by now - but I'm supposed to be some kind of "professional writer", so I guess I'll waffle for a few paragraphs. Activision have put up a trailer for nu-Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's multiplayer, ahead of a full live reveal at the Call of Duty: Next event on 5th October. I caught the news on a social feed somewhere, went hunting for the Youtube version and, much to my distress, managed to dig up the multiplayer premiere for the original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, released in 2011 - almost 12 years ago.

Rather than just posting the correct video and going off to cry about my advancing seniority, I'm brazenly posting both so you can trace the evolution (or not) of this shootiest of first-person shooter franchises. It's bizarre to think of any game series being this venerable, and changing so much while remaining the same.

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After major Archon Quests or events appear in Genshin Impact, we often see HoYoVerse upload cutscene trailers. Now we’ve seen it happen for 4.1. A new video appeared. This time, it shows off a bit of the Masquerade of the Guilty storyline. As such, people who haven’t been keeping up with the Genshin Impact Fontaine story or who want to see spoilers can revisit a pivotal moment.

Editor’s Note: There are 4.1 Archon Quest spoilers in the Genshin Impact cutscene trailer below. 

The whole video takes place in Fortress of Meropide. This is one of the new locations that appeared after the 4.1 update, and it is a pivotal point of interest in both “To the Stars Shining in the Depths” and “Cataclysm’s Quickening.” It takes place deep in the hold, with Fontaine characters Wriothesley and Clorinde preparing for a potentially devastating situation alongside the Traveler and Paimon.

Square Enix helped end a debate ahead of the next Final Fantasy release. It took to social media to reveal how to pronounce the name of the character Cait Sith in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. It noted the proper pronunciation is “kate sihth.” As some entries didn't feature voice acting, it was uncertain until the remake entries' release.

Here’s the official reveal.

The way to pronounce Cait Sith in Final Fantasy VII has been debated long before the release of Rebirth. This is because people were unsure if it would be more like how it is spelled (kate sihth) or like the Gaelic pronunciation (ket shee). Since the character has had an Irish accent in some forms of media, people would go with it sounding more like the Celtic kind of fairy. For example, the other pronunciation is often referenced in the Shin Megami Tensei and Persona games for the character with the same name.

Microsoft revealed the initial batch of games coming to Xbox Game Pass in October 2023, with the lineup including Yakuza spin-off Like a Dragon: Ishin. The company confirmed six titles will be joining the service between October 3-17, 2023, including two “day one” releases.

Here is the full list of games coming to Xbox Game Pass in October 2023:

• October 3, 2023: Gotham Knights (PC, Xbox Series X/S and cloud) and The Lamplighter’s League (Day one – PC, Xbox Series X/S and cloud)
• October 4, 2023: Warhammer 40,000: Darktide (Xbox Series X/S, cloud)
• October 10, 2023: Forza Motorsport (Day one – PC, Xbox Series X/S and cloud)
• October 12, 2023: From Space (PC, console, cloud)
• October 17, 2023: Like a Dragon: Ishin! (PC, console, cloud)

There’s yet another new Tamagotchi model out there, with the latest version of the virtual pet line being the Tamagotchi Uni. Unlike others, which can have a keychain attached or hole for one, it comes with a watch band for wearing it all the time. While it isn’t great at being a watch, due to it not really displaying the time and being helpful in the way the Tamagotchi Smart was, it does make for a great virtual pet that’s always on hand.

As usual, raising a Tamagotchi Uni virtual pet is like caring for any other model. Your goal is to maintain the hunger and happiness levels. Your attentiveness determines which form it evolves into at each stage of its life. There are a handful of minigames you can play to boost its happiness and earn in-game money once it is out of the baby phase, which consist of a movement-based dancing game that is terrible and inaccurate, one in which you serve fast food, and a third seasonal minigame with objectives that change based on the four times of year. You earn icons for performing certain sorts of care to show milestones you hit. You can use in-game currency to buy them toys, cosmetic accessories, room options. You can also get a pet for a character by leaving an item outside. It’s all very easy to do, and since it does only need the three buttons for almost every actions, I found it super easy to accomplish while on my wrist.

Dene Carter, perhaps best known as the co-creator of the original Fable and developer Bullfrog's much-loved Dungeon Keeper, has released his brand new Ultima-inspired roguelike RPG Moonring on Steam, and he's made it completely free.

Carter describes Moonring as a "retro-inspired open-world, turn-based, tile RPG in the style of the classic Ultima games" - albeit one "created from the ground up with modern design sensibilities" - and it all plays out across the mysterious land of Caldera, a place of "Devotion and Dreamers, Gods and Gifts", where players take on the role of Dreamless.

"Travel, trade, sneak, fight and sail the world of Caldera," teases Moonring's Steam page. "Speak with the townsfolk, learn Caldera's secrets, and challenge the Archon for his throne... or even overthrow the Gods themselves!".

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Once a distant star on the horizon, Starfield arrived on Xbox and PC on September 6, with a five-day early access period for those who shelled out for the deluxe edition. It’s now been in the hands of gamers worldwide for a little over a month, with folks pouring over its vast world and searching every nook and cranny…

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Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, due out on February 29, will be giving Cait Sith, a cat-like party member from the original Final Fantasy VII, his proper introduction in the Remake timeline. We’ll be getting a lot of face time with our feline friend in the sequel, but that naturally means people are going to be saying his…

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When I was a computer science student, I developed a messaging app called HYPE with a few of my (more-talented) peers. It worked really well, and we even used it to talk during lectures, but of course we never released it out into the world and after leaving uni it was abandoned. Years later, I saw the brand called HYTE and my immediate reaction was "They stole our idea!"

Of course, my reading comprehension is poor, and HYTE - the iBuyPower PC case company - is unrelated to my unreleased, unannounced Linux-based chat app.

And so it falls to me to tell you that if you don't have a knee-jerk reaction to four-letter words that look like acronyms but aren't, and you like small PC cases, you might be interested in this US deal for the HYTE Revolt 3.

This critically-acclaimed Mini ITX PC case is down to $112 at Newegg or Ebay, a cut below its regular price of $200 and MSRP of $250. $112 is a bloody brilliant price for this case, especially as it comes with a pre-fitted 700W 80+ Gold SFX power supply.

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Lexar has been making flash storage since 1996 - in fact, their 'JumpDrive' USB sticks were synonymous with the format for a decade or more - but over the past few years they've switched to producing high-end NVMe SSDs, including our current best cheap PCIe 4.0 SSD pick: the Lexar NM790.

Today you can pick up the massive 4TB size of this high-end PCIe 4.0 SSD for just £170.97, a nice discount from the next-best price (Amazon, £187) and a sizeable departure from its original UK RRP (£199) by using code TECHDEAL10 at the checkout.

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Cooler Master probably aren't the first people that come to mind when it comes to mechanical keyboard, but they've produced a fair few models over the years including some rather lovely ones. Today you can pick up one of my favourites from their collection, the SK652, at a decent £15 discount from Scan in the UK. That brings the price of this low-profile, full-size mechanical keyboard to £35, quite a fair price for a keyboard of this size and quality - especially when you get a free XXL mousepad thrown in for free.

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Want AMD's fastest consumer graphics card for a good price? We've got just the deal for you - the RX 7900 XTX, after debuting at a tidy $999, is now down to $889.99 at Newegg. That's a nice $110 discount that brings the card into new relevance, especially as the first two FSR 3 frame generation games arrive. If you're not a Newegg fan, the card is also available at Amazon for $909.99.

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Nearly 18 months after its initial unveiling, Blizzard's free-to-play strategy game Warcraft Rumble has a release date and will be launching for iOS and Android on 3rd November, its arrival coinciding with the start of this year's BlizzCon.

Warcraft Rumble - formerly known as Warcraft Arclight Rumble - promises a blend of strategy and tower defense across a its 70-mission single-player campaign, which features some familiar heroes and villains from the Warcraft universe, including Warsong chieftain Grommash Hellscream and Archmage Jaina Proudmoore.

In order to tackle Rumbles' various scenarios, players must assemble an army, choosing leaders, troops, and spells from the game's 65+ collectible character Minis, each of which has its own distinctive "talents" for use in battle. These also come into play across Rumble's other modes and features, including co-op, PvP, guilds, raids, and dungeons.

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Larian Studios set a release date for the Japanese version Baldur’s Gate 3. The fantasy RPG game will be released on the PS5 in Japan on December 21, 2023. This version of the game will arrive about five months after the initial release worldwide on August 3, 2023. It will be priced at 8,580 yen ($57.55). Pre-orders for the physical version are being taken starting today at Japanese game retailers nationwide. [Thanks, Game Watch!]

Spike Chunsoft will be publishing this release of Baldur’s Gate 3. Earlier today, it shared the Japanese opening movie for the game was uploaded on the Spike Chunsoft official YouTube channel. You can see that footage below:

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaGK2tlS6ew[/embed]

By pre-ordering the physical version of Baldur’s Gate 3, players will receive an “Adventurer’s Guide” strategy guide book as a bonus. It contains information about how to progress through the game and details on the game’s Dungeons and Dragons-like gameplay system. In particular, it will explain how the dice roll mechanic works.

The Japanese version of Baldur’s Gate 3 will be released on December 21, 2023. The game is already available to play in English now on the PS5 and PC. It will also come to the Xbox Series X in 2023.

It was announced today that a Final Fantasy XVI collaboration event will begin on October 9, 2023 in the Japanese version of GungHo Online’s mobile game Puzzle and Dragons. During the event, players can acquire the Final Fantasy XVI characters Clive Rosfield, Joshua Rosfield, Jill Warrick, and Dion Lesage through the in-game gacha. The event was announced on both games' official social media accounts in Japan.

Each of the four featured Final Fantasy XVI characters in the collaboration event appear in the Puzzle and Dragons style, complete with dynamic backgrounds and effects. When transformed, Clive summons Ifrit, Joshua summons Phoenix, Jill summons Shiva, and Dion summons Bahamut.

You can view each new illustration of the Final Fantasy XVI characters in the gallery below. Each one shows how they look in the Puzzle and Dragons style.

[gallery link="file" columns="4" size="full" ids="989534,989535,989536,989537"]

It has been about four years since the last Final Fantasy and Puzzle and Dragons collaboration. In the past, other characters from the series have appeared in the game, such as Cloud and Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII and Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII.

Surprise, Attack on Titan, the mega-popular manga series, is getting a new volume in 2024, years after the series’ highly contentious conclusion.

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Minecraft Live, the blockbuilder's annual event, will take place on October 15th, and bring with it news of the next update and the by-now traditional mob vote. Mojang have started to outline the mobs players will be able to vote upon, with the winner to be added to the game, and the first of the trio is an adorable crab.

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Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 arrived on PC back in 2020 via the Epic Games Store, which is where it has remained for the past three years. Today it arrived on Steam. A game coming to Steam isn't always the biggest news, but who hasn't longed to slide their deck on the Steam Deck? Now you can.

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Dang!, the developer of fabulous glaive-tosser Boomerang X, are closing down. The studio announced on Twitter that they made the decision after failing to find funding for their next game.

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Naughty Dog, developers of Uncharted: Legacy Of Thieves Collection and The Last Of Us: Part 1, are cutting back on contract developers. According to a report on Kotaku, the studio is cutting contracts short for at least 25 developers, with most having worked in quality assurance.

The news comes amid a period of layoffs in the game industry, which has included cuts at Team17 and Creative Assembly in the UK, as well as 830 people at Epic and Mediatonic.

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This year's MineCon Live - developer Mojang's annual celebration of all things Minecraft - is right around the corner, and ahead of the big day on 15th October, the studio is holding its yearly mob vote, with choice number one having now been revealed as the crab.

Minecraft's annual mob vote, if you're unfamiliar, gives players the chance to collectively decide on the creature they'd like to see added to the blockbusting survival sandbox next. Previously mob votes have resulted in the likes of the Glow Squid, Panda, Phantom, Llama, and Sniffer all ending up in-game, and the crab is now vying for a place in that illustrious line-up.

As per Mojang's animated video introducing the crab, should voters shunt the little fella into first place, it'll be found within the mangrove swamp biome. We're also told about its crab claw, which, once acquired, will enable players to place blocks further away than would normally be possible - a bit of a builder-focused utility, then, this one.

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The Yoasobi opening theme song for the anime series Frieren: Beyond Journey's End ranked number one on the latest Oricon Weekly Digital Singles Ranking. The song is called "Yuusha.” As a reminder, Yoasobi is a duo made up of the Japanese artists Ayase and Ikura. This marks the duo’s 13th single to hit number one in their entire career. [Thanks, Oricon News!]

The song was written under the supervision of Kanehito Yamada, the original writer of Frieren: Beyond Journey's End. The anime series premiered with a two hour special on September 29, 2023. The full official music video for the song was uploaded four days ago on the Yoasobi YouTube channel.

You can watch the music video for “Yuusha” below:

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIBODIPC_8Y[/embed]

In addition to "Yuusha" hitting number one, the song recorded 26,000 downloads in its first week. On top of that, Yoasobi’s other popular single released earlier this year, "Idol," exceeded 500,000 downloads. It is the opening theme song for the anime series Oshi no Ko. It also recently appeared as a song for a dance troupe performance on America’s Got Talent.

A new Jujutsu Kaisen Cafe will appear at several locations throughout Japan for a limited time, starting on October 19, 2023. The cafe will offer exclusive menu items, including items like a Sukuna Finger Hot Dog, or a Prison Realm Tiramisu. More food and drink items will be announced in the coming days. Additionally, exclusive merchandise goods will also be sold at the cafes. [Thanks, PR Times!]

Here’s a list of the exclusive character food and drink items available at the Jujutsu Kaisen Cafe, alongside a gallery of images:

• Sukuna Finger Hot Dog (Yuji Itadori) – ¥1,600 yen (~$11)
• Ginger Sauce Chicken Fried Rice (Megumi Fushiguro) – ¥1,600 yen (~$11)
• Barasushi (Nobara Kugisaki) – ¥1,600 yen (~$11)
• Caramelized Banana Waffle (Kento Nanami) – ¥1,500 yen (~$10)
• Prison Realm Tiramisu (Satoru Gojo) – ¥1,500 yen (~$10)

The Official Atlus West YouTube channel posted a second English spotlight trailer showcasing the upcoming spin-off tactical RPG Persona 5 Tactica characters. This trailer showcases six playable Phantom Thieves: Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, Makoto, Futaba, and Haru.

The trailer breaks down the unique gameplay elements each Phantom Thief will bring to the battlefield. In the trailer, we can see Ryuji using his weapon of choice - the shotgun. Captain Kid, his Persona, is also shown defeating enemies with shock attacks. His unique skill is Brigantine Blitzkrieg, which immobilizes enemies in a straight line.

Ann is shown using her submachine gun to wipe out enemies. Her Persona, Carmen, can be used to attack and burn them too. Her special skill is a bomb attack called Femme Fatale.

Yusuke uses an assault rifle with a large range. He can also freeze enemies with his Persona, Goemon. His special ability, Like a Phantom, can create decoys of himself on the battlefield and confuse enemies.

Makoto fights with melee attacks and her Persona, Johanna. Her special skill is Full Throttle, which has the potential to knock enemies out of cover.

Like her original role in Persona 5, Futaba assists her teammates off the battlefield with her Persona, Necronomicon, by restoring their HP and SP.

Haru uses a grenade launcher to fight. She also uses her Persona, Milady, to hypnotize enemies to come closer and become vulnerable to an AOE attack.