Shin Megami Tensei V Review – Beauty In An Unforgiving World

Shin Megami has been a reflection of the cruelty and darkness in the world that we live, reminding us how unfair situations can lead to great losses. But it also captures the beauty of rising up against those daunting challenges to stand tall – even when things seem impossible, we somehow persevere. That’s what makes the Shin Megami Tensei franchise shine, but the road to these victorious highs is filled with demoralizing lows. It may not sound like a great idea to volunteer your time and energy in something that takes extra effort, dedication, and patience, but Shin Megami Tensei V has given me the satisfaction of putting my skill to the test and allowing me to feel the rush of victory. 

SMT V sticks close to the franchise’s roots, meaning if you’ve played any entry in the series, you know what to expect: confronting a world in ruin, taking on extremely challenging bosses, and feeling the rush of getting more powerful by recruiting demons to fight at your side. Shin Megami Tensei V is content giving fans more of the same while making a few improvements along the way, mainly in the scope of the world and customization available for your protagonist and demons’ skill sets. These are worthwhile enhancements, and the core formula remains wildly entertaining, but I’m disappointed that Atlus didn’t take more risks and shore up more of the series’ weaknesses, such as confusing map layouts, archaic save points, and maddening difficulty spikes. 

Despite these frustrations the brilliant gameplay and progression loop kept my attention. The turn-based combat is at its best in SMT V, and it’s reminiscent of III’s Press-Turn system. Optimizing your turn takes a lot of thinking. It comes down to using buffs/debuffs as well exploiting elements weaknesses. Watching your bonus actions pile up each turn by landing critical strikes or hitting an enemy’s weaknesses is a delight. Special “Magatsuhi skills,” which can be used once you fill a gauge by doing things like blocking or landing attacks, only add to the fun. These special skills drastically change the tide of battle, doing everything from refilling your party’s MP to guaranteeing critical strikes. I experimented more than I ever have with finding complementary skills to increase damage, and I loved coming up with new tactics based on my demons’ powers. 

SMT V can be a difficult game. You will most likely lose your progress and die at times. The tension that came with trying to keep one step ahead was what I loved. It allowed me to improve at each turn. The key to your success lies in demon recruiting and creating the perfect party for each location. You must choose dialogue options, present gifts, and negotiate with demons to win their support. It can sometimes be difficult to guess what they will say. Although you can unlock the skill, it will give you another chance in case you fail. However, their behavior changes and they may be more likely to follow you. For instance, a full moon may be too bright for them, so they won’t negotiate. Sometimes, they might be able to offer them money, items, or join me on their own accord. These additions made it less difficult to get demons than previous entries. 

Demon Fusion is an extremely rewarding process that allows you to merge the demons you have recruited for stronger ones. It is a joy to see my creations succeed and to decide which skills I want to share with them. Atlus introduced essences, a feature that allows for more customization. Once you gain a demon’s essence, you can transfer its skills to other demons or your protagonist. The latter can also gain a demon’s affinities. For example, if you find a demon’s essence that blocks or reflects multiple elements, your main character can inherit those for the upper hand in battle. Although it may seem like an insignificant thing, this can be a significant difference in fights that are difficult. It allowed me to share my skills with newly recruited demons, who had only a handful of abilities.

The demon fusion system is what makes the grinding tolerable, as there’s great reward for leveling up in battle. These milestones were exciting, whether your demons gain powerful abilities or your main characters opens up new options for fusion. However, this doesn’t excuse SMT V’s nasty difficulty spikes toward the end of the game, and I felt forced to put my progress on hold just to grind. There is something to be said for the feeling of being stronger again. The best thing about SMT V is the satisfaction it gives when you combine a powerful demon with a boss. They may prove to be completely useless in the next battle. It is impossible to rely on just one demon. You must always combine forces in order to create the most balanced and effective party. 

The expanded exploration was another area I found appealing. It offers a verticality that allows you to platform your way to new discoveries. I was compelled to scour every inch of each area and found worthwhile rewards for doing so, such as statues that raise all your demons’ levels and special bosses/quests. Miman, which are small creatures that live in difficult-to-reach areas throughout the globe, can also be found. You can improve your party by collecting these tiny creatures. It would have been nice if the area you were exploring was more impressive visually and easier to find your way around. It felt almost like I was looking for the right path in a maze. The game has a few short dungeons, but they’re hit-or-miss. One that demanded fans be used to send your character over certain ledges was a faint. However, I did enjoy a later one where you had to stop time to find the correct order to enter the doors.

There is still room for improvement in the narrative. SMT games have a compelling topic matter that I enjoy, and they are filled with philosophical puzzles about the world. But the execution is often haphazard. Shin Megami Tensei V is no different. You play as a modern-day student who gets transported to an alternative apocalyptic version of Tokyo called “Da’at” after an earthquake. From here, you earn special powers to survive in this dangerous landscape and learn that not only is the future of Tokyo in jeopardy, but there’s a war waging between the angels and demons. 

You could see the end of the world. And, just like in past SMT games. The power lies with you to save it as well as decide its future. Is it better to maintain the status-quo, change existing structures, or create superior societies? The game is slow and cryptic, making these interesting questions difficult to answer. Characters represent different philosophies, spanning law and chaos alignments, on how you reshape the world, but they don’t offer much explanation or reasoning. In fact, by the time I got to this big decision, I didn’t feel like I had a compelling choice to make. Every aspect of the game points to this crucial moment. I felt as though I was blindly throwing darts at a board while selecting my answer. The path that I chose had interesting insights. SMT V is a dark and intense film. I find it enjoyable, although there are some scenes that can be quite rewarding. 

If one thing can be said for SMT V, it’s that it demands the player give their best at all times. You can’t just blindly spamming your attacks into battles or sleepwalking through them. Instead, you have to think carefully about every move. And weigh the risk against the reward. This is an exhausting challenge for someone who enjoys playing a lot RPGs. Still, I can’t deny the feeling that washed over me as I saw the credits roll, especially after taking on a seemingly endless spawn of bosses to get there. The world felt bigger than it was, as if I were the one who could make the decisions. Still, Shin Megami Tensei V makes smart improvements to its already strong core, creating an entertaining and rewarding journey I won’t soon forget.