Beneath the Mask of

Persona 5 is a Japanese role- playing game influenced by the Jungian concepts of the persona, the shadow, the collective unconscious, individuation, and archetypes. A hermeneutic analysis of plot and gameplay mechanics was conducted to evaluate the congruence between Jungian theory as defined in analytical psychological literature and the conceptual implementation in the plot and gameplay. It is supplemental to a game insert, or pamphlet, that was created to bring public attention to the psychological influences present in the game in the hopes of sparking interest in psychology. It was found that there were significant discrepancies between the in-game applications of persona and the literature on the concept in analytical psychology; however, applications of shadow and the collective unconscious were congruent with their psychological definitions. The influence of individuation and archetypes, although they are not mentioned in-game, were also explored due to their overt presence. The present analysis also explores some theoretical perspectives related to nuances of the plot and gameplay.