This isn't a world traveling rpg. It's set in modern day Tokyo and the "worlds" you explore are just an alternate world based on the general theme for that characters dungeon.
The real world setting takes place within the daily life of a transfer student who was on probation. Things happen, he meets other troubled people and y'all form a group to reform corrupt people's hearts.
The high school stuff that was crazy boring to you are still here but without going into specifics the mood and theme are much different so that happy sunshine look of 4 is replaced for a more startling, dark theme.
The main difference is how it's presented: in 4 the characters looked like kids because of the way the game was rendered whereas here they're true to form so it looks better. Each Persona game has a different style/mood so 3 was blue(edgy, abstract dark, slightly emo with a J rock/hiphop soundtrack) while 4 was yellow(upbeat, Pop soundtrack with more animu like protaganists) while 5 is Red(flashy,with stylish blacks and a more acid jazz soundtrack with some rock here and there.) This contributes to how someone vibes with the game too.
The dungeon crawling aspect is still here but instead of random hallways, they're actual handcrafted dungeons with its own layout, theme, doors, puzzles and bosses.
The QOL(quality of life) improvements are also a welcome addition. You'd have to have played 4 to notice.
The battle menu has been changed to quick button commands that make doing things much smoother. It also looks stylish as fukk. Interesting characters and dialogue, great story and amazing music with a Pokémon like meta game makes it easily a quality game. If that's not your thing then
but the praise isn't by mere happenstance, it's got a gimmick that works.