It’s not often you find a game that plays similarly enough to an ATLUS JRPG that it can scratch that itch while you wait for the release of Persona 6. We still have no idea when the sixth installment of this beloved franchise will come out, which means you have tons of time to play the games on this list. Here are some of the best games you should play while waiting for Persona 6.
Demonschool
Inspired by the classic top-down Persona games, Demonschool was released on November 19, 2025, and blends university social-sim elements with tactical monster-fighting. This indie game has you play as Faye, who fights monsters in between the human and demon worlds with her colorful cast of friends.
Meanwhile, you also have to navigate university life. If you’ve been fiending for a Persona game that doesn’t take place in high school, this may be the game for you. It not only has a horror narrative and tactical combat, but 15 characters you can build relationships with and a school schedule to manage.
The Caligula Effect
Most recently released as The Caligula Effect: Overdose in 2017, this game is an RPG with turn-based combat with a party of 4 players that you can swap between 9 total characters. The Caligula Effect has that familiar anime art style and a story set in high school.
It’s set in an idyllic world called Mobius that lets people forget about reality’s problems, but it’s also created by a sentient vocaloid program. Although it lets you relive your high school years without any pain involved, something goes wrong, and you must escape from the false paradise. It’s the closest game you’ll get to Persona’s high school social sim elements while also having turn-based party combat.
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor
Seeing as the Persona games are spin-offs of ATLUS’ Shin Megami Tensei series, we had to include one of its games on this list. Devil Survivor was released on the Nintendo DS, later having an expanded version for the 3DS, and follows a group of teenagers in Tokyo who become trapped inside a government lockdown after a demon invasion.
During combat, the top screen will show enemies’ stats, similar to Persona, where they can be weak or strong against different magic elements. On the bottom screen, you see a top-down tactical grid for combat. Although any Shin Megami Tensei game is highly similar to Persona, this one feels the most connected.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Fire Emblem: Three Houses is one of the best, if not the best, Fire Emblem games available to play on the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. It gives you a similar game length to a Persona title if you play all three routes, and it has strategic tactical combat on a battlefield in a fantasy world.
You play as a professor who must teach a collection of students and train them in the art of war. Not only can you build relationships with them and their classmates, but there are even romance options. It’s also one of the best games to play while waiting for Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave.
Metaphor: ReFantazio
This also wouldn’t be a proper list without one of ATLUS’ most recent titles, Metaphor: ReFantazio. Thinking of this game like Persona in a fantasy world trivializes just how incredible this fantasy turn-based game really is.
Instead of Persona, you can unlock Archetypes for you and your party members to use in combat against ferocious monsters who are in this world called humans. If you can’t get enough of Persona’s unique art direction and incredible UI design, Metaphor: ReFantazio is your best choice of game to play before Persona 6.
