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It’s been a while since I last shared a proper update on this mod. If you missed the first three from last year, check them out here: #1, #2, #3.
This past Christmas, I dropped a teaser trailer for the Persona 5 Royal Vinesauce mod on my YouTube channel. Set to Eminence by Red Vox, the video highlights dungeon exploration and battles, featuring Vinny and Scoot as playable characters.
The response has blown me away! The overwhelmingly positive feedback has been incredibly motivating, making me more determined than ever to finish and release the mod. While I initially gave a broad “2024” release window, this flexibility allows for extra development time.
Though the trailer didn’t reveal anything entirely new (most clips had already appeared on my Twitter), it still served as the first real introduction for many people. Fans especially loved the abundance of Vinesauce references, the variety of model replacements, and—of course—the moment where Scoot looked like a real-life mallard.
With the new year in full swing, I want to share some recent developments and clear up any misconceptions about the mod.
The Inclusion of Vargskelethor Joel
In its earlier days, Vinesauce was a hub for multiple streamers, each with their own distinct style, though they occasionally collaborated. Today, however, the term “Vinesauce” has largely become synonymous with Vinny himself. You can read Vinny’s own thoughts on this shift here.
Understandably, many viewers of the trailer speculated about other potential party member replacements. While I respect the broader history of the community, I also want to honor Vinny’s wishes to keep his brand distinct. That brings me to the big announcement:
That brings me to the big announcement:
Vargskelethor Joel will be the only other real-life internet personality represented in the party. He will be taking on the role of Ryuji Sakamoto, a Persona-wielding party member with lightning powers.
Given Joel’s close ties to Vinny, it made sense that fans wanted to see him in the metaverse, too. Initially, I was hesitant due to the sheer workload—replacing two full party members was already a massive undertaking. But after a lot of extra effort—sourcing and assigning hundreds of voice clips and collaborating with talented artists on new 2D and 3D assets—Joel is officially in!
If any other characters get replaced, they’ll be fictional Vinesauce references only. Think Two Face, Sponge, Birdo, Dante from DmC, and the like.
The Intentions Behind This Mod
This project began as an ironic nod to the meme about Vinny not wanting to play Persona 5 Royal. At its core, it’s a celebration of memorable moments from the past decade of Vinesauce history. However, let me be crystal clear:
The target audience is fellow chat members—not necessarily the streamer himself.
With that in mind, when the mod releases, I urge everyone: please do not pressure Vinny to play it. He’s already aware of its existence and will make that decision on his own. If he decides to check it out, great! If not, that’s totally fine too. My main goal is to create something for long-time viewers to enjoy together.
Everyone is welcome to play or stream the mod, but I ask that you do so respectfully—this mod should never be used as a means to “force” anyone into doing anything.
The Future of the Mod
Despite the lack of recent updates, I’ve been working tirelessly behind the scenes. Since Joel’s trailer dropped, I’ve been planning how to handle additional party member replacements. Even when using fictional characters, this is a ton of work and may extend the timeline.
To balance things out, I’ve made a major design decision:
The game’s story has been completely cut.
By removing the need for story-driven character replacements and custom dialogue, I can focus entirely on where the mod shines—the battles. It also avoids the risk of “flanderizing” real people like Vinny and Joel by writing too much original dialogue for them. Plus, it massively reduces the amount of text that needs proofreading and playtesting.
Originally, this was only the plan for the optional 20 Minute Mode, but extending it to the full game lets us pour all our energy into the new content. 20 Minute Mode now serves as a “demo” challenge where you see how far you can get in dungeons within a time limit.
For those disappointed by this change, there’s a simple fix. All files related to the removed story content are stored in a single folder, which can be easily toggled off in the mod’s settings. This way, you can still experience the full P5R story with the Vinesauce aesthetic intact.
About the Event Skip Development
Cutting the story wasn’t as simple as deleting files. As mentioned in Devlog #3, I developed a P5R Flag Comparer tool to track in-game progression. By carefully capturing and analyzing story progression data—over 60 hours of testing!—I was able to implement something I always wanted:
The ability to tackle dungeons in any order.
Persona 5 wasn’t designed for revisiting dungeons, let alone sequence breaking them. Many of the game’s flags are re-used across dungeons, making backtracking nearly impossible. To solve this, I created custom scripts that load predefined “game states,” allowing players to jump into fully unlocked dungeons and battle the enemies and bosses whenever they want.
In 20 Minute Mode, players will always have access to a menu to return home or switch dungeons at will. Riskier fights mean faster progression—if you’re up for the challenge!
Our Focus in the Future
With these big changes implemented, I can shift my focus back to models and voicework—the most fun parts to showcase. Expect more updates like before!
I also need to figure out how Mementos will fit into the new gameplay style. Ideally, I’d like it to act as a hub that connects the dungeons (except in 20 Minute Mode, where you can freely hop between them).
Another major task is replacing Personas and enemies with Vinesauce-themed characters. This will likely take a big chunk of development time, but I believe it’ll be well worth the effort—especially now that combat is the main focus.
That’s all for now! Thanks for sticking with me on this journey, and I’ll see you next time with more to share!
Read on in P5R Vinesauce Mod – Devlog #5, where I give a brief update on where our focus has been on the Persona 5 Royal Vinesauce Mod in late 2024.
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