This series is made exclusively for fans of the game. The pacing is inconsistent and jumpy, and the core ideas were spread out in a messy way. For someone who hasn't played Persona 5, I can't recommend the anime at all.
Characters aren't given enough time do develop the emotional connection you would have in the game - and perhaps it's hard, given in the game, you'd be spending a few dozen battles with these friends, and getting to hear about the banters and fun they have with each other. As a result, there are some situations that were significant in the game to the development and motivations for the characters simply don't land in the show - in fact, it seems ridiculous and over-exaggerated. The time to explore your friends and pals really help develop them and understand why these are such important moments to them.
In order to keep this in 25 (26?) episodes, they had to really cut some stuff, and unfortunately, that means a lot of the explanation as well. Having played the games multiple times myself, I already knew and understood all the concepts, but I can imagine a lot of new comers would be confused. These skips also reduces the significance of palace crawling - in the game, these are gruelling, difficult tasks. While it isn't uncommon to finish the first part of the palace in a single run, it's very obviously taxing on the characters, and this isn't something that is conveyed well in the show. The first part is often skipped with just a few scenes.
The little Easter eggs in terms of animation seems really out of place without the context of the game. All out attacks, travel menus, etc don't really match the style of the rest of the animation. Without that context, it can seem like the animators were lazy, but it's actually just the animators paying homage to the show.
On the other hand, for those who played and love Persona 5, this was the perfect tribute. We already know and love all of these characters, and seeing the story come through again was a treat. The music from the game(s) plays at the time you would expect it to, they even added in the transit screen, all out attack, and executions. The humour of the banters are kept great, and there's a little bit of each character in the show.
The story isn't altered much, other than parts that need to speed up the story to help it get through it in a much shorter package. There's a few extra scenes here and there that are just great to see, and Joker has a LOT of voice lines.
If you loved the games, this is the perfect tribute to top it off, but don't expect anything out of the ordinary. If you haven't played Persona 5, I don't recommend you watch this show at all.
