The Phantom Thieves of Hearts have stolen another title, as Persona 5 Royal was the highest-rated game of 2020 on Metacritic.
Persona 5 Royal is an updated version of Persona 5, which adds a ton of new content to the game. The Phantom Thieves gain a member, with the mysterious Kasumi having a huge role in the new third semester, which takes place after the storyline of the original game. The party members have all gained a ton of new powers, which they'll need if they want to take on the protagonists of Persona 3 and Persona 4 in DLC boss battles.
Persona 5 Royal was a highly-acclaimed game at launch, with most outlets agreeing that the new content improved what was already an incredible game. It seems that all of those good reviews added up, as Metacritic has revealed that Persona 5 Royal is the highest-rated game of 2020, with a score of 95.
A few games came close to challenging Persona 5 Royal, as Half-Life: Alyx, Hades, The Last Of Us Part 2, and Ori and the Will of the Wisps all earned a 93 on Metacritic. The only other RPG to challenge Persona 5 Royal was Dragon Quest 11 S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition, which is also an updated version of one of the best RPGs of the previous era. Dragon Quest 11 S also earned a 93 on Metacritic. It's surprising to see that Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Yakuza: Like A Dragon never broke a 90 score, as they received an 87 and an 83 respectively, and they're arguably better games than Persona 5 Royal.
Some fans might dispute Persona 5 Royal's victory, as it's an updated version of a game that was released several years ago. There's no denying the sheer quality of Persona 5 Royal's production, and the scope of its new content is enough to classify it as a separate entitiy. The original Persona 5 was robbed back in 2017, as it lost out to Super Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but the Phantom Thieves of Hearts staged a comeback, and they finally earned their place at the top of Metacritic.
Persona 5 Royal is available now on PS4 and PS5 through backward compatibility.
Source: Metacritic