Episode Aigis is an epilogue to Persona 3 Reload — a remake of the additional scenario that first appeared in Persona 3 FES on the PS2. Much like Reload itself, this expansion is pretty much a one-to-one recreation in terms of core narrative and structure, but it's bolstered by all of the remake's quality of life and combat system improvements. This makes the experience much easier to stomach on a mechanical level, as the dungeon-based excursion often felt like a serious slog back in its original form.

Having said that, Episode Aigis still revolves around dungeon crawling almost exclusively. The expansion does away with the social side of the Persona formula, and simply tasks players with getting to the bottom of a new, Tartarus-like creation. As you progress, story beats attempt to keep you hooked, as your SEES party members are forced to unravel the truth of this fresh trial, with you taking on the role of mechanical companion Aigis.

The plot deals with some intriguing character-driven themes, but the pacing is a real sticking point. For much of the adventure, you're fed scraps of what can barely be called exposition, with the actual character development locked behind a lot of grinding. It's a tall order considering your levels and equipment don't carry over from the base game; you're effectively starting from the bottom again, albeit with a wider roster of party members readily available.

You've got to ask yourself whether the grind is worth it; whether your enjoyment of Reload's dungeon crawling is enough to justify another 20 hours of often paper-thin and sometimes frustratingly contrived storytelling. For what it's worth, Episode Aigis does offer a greater challenge than the core release — something that may appeal to more hardcore players. But even then, the expansion is priced at $34.99 / £28.99 — and that feels expensive for what is, essentially, a new dungeon populated with reused enemy assets.

Episode Aigis is one for the super fans. Its worthwhile story beats are rare and buried beneath a lot of all-too-familiar dungeon crawling, and it's undeniably expensive in terms of asking price. At best, it's an intriguing but flawed epilogue; at worst, it's a completely unnecessary addition to a fantastic game.