Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is an enhanced re-release of Atlus’ 2021 dungeon-crawling RPG, originally exclusive to Nintendo Switch, and makes its long-awaited debut on PS5 and PS4. It takes a great game and it gets even better with a slew of essential quality of life improvements, a shiny graphics upgrade and a new storyline, all running at a steady 60 frames per second. That said, it’s a considerably more hardcore experience than players of Atlus’ other tentpole franchise, Persona, might expect. It’s very combat heavy, with its dense storylines, full of pontification about the nature of God and the demons, which are few and far between.
The biggest appeal of Vengeance is its new storyline, the Canon of Vengeance. It introduces many new characters to interact with and is more engaging than the game’s original story, now known as the Canon of Creation. Locked into one or the other from the start, players take on the role of a student-turned-demigod known as the Nahobino. While the Canon of Creation tells a more traditional SMT story, primarily concerned with the machinations of Heaven and Hell, the Canon of Vengeance introduces new antagonists in the form of a mysterious demon group known as the Qadištu, as well as all new companions, such as Yoko Hiromine.
Both paths initially share much of the same content, but later diverge, and the Canon of Vengeance features a few entirely new endings. Atlus says players will need about 80 hours for a single playthrough, which is accurate; less so if you’ve played the original, are familiar with its mechanics, or aren’t trying to do everything. What’s quite nice is the addition of human guest characters this time around, who can fight alongside the Nahobino and captured demons, and occasionally chime in with additional story bits.
Set in modern-day Tokyo, the main character is an ordinary high school student who, after being embroiled in a mysterious earthquake, finds himself in the post-apocalyptic underworld of Da’at, where the eternal battle between angels and demons rages. He is nearly killed in an accidental accident and is saved by a being known as Aogami, with the two merging to create a being known as the Nahobino, neither human nor demon and essentially closer to a God. The stakes only increase from there, and the semi-open areas of Da’at correspond to actual areas of Tokyo, like Shinjuku and Yoyogi, serving as dense open-air dungeons full of demons to fight, talk to, or capture. you see it well.
Persona is known to be a subseries of the main Shin Megami Tensei series, but those evolutionary paths diverged almost 30 years ago now. While Persona has only become more popular, innovative, and appealing to an ever-widening audience, SMT has remained stubbornly true to its roots, for better or worse. Both series have pacing issues, but if Vengeance is going to be your first SMT game, it’s worth knowing that combat and demon fusion are the focus here, and where you’ll spend the vast majority of your time. Everything else is secondary. .
Building on the series’ Press Turn system of elemental exploitation, combat is a tense, turn-based affair where a single mistake or lapse in concentration can result in a game over. Players must try to attack weak points and thereby gain extra turns to overcome the enemy. The level of difficulty is quite high and requires attention to every move. Of course, the fiendish AI operates under the same system and will ruthlessly exploit any weakness you present. If the Nahobino falls at any point, the game is over immediately, so one bad turn can seal your fate.
While quality of life improvements are rarely worth writing home about, SMT V: Vengeance’s inclusion of two in particular are truly groundbreaking: the ability to save the game anywhere and the ability to teleport back to the last visited Leyline Fount (fast travel points/demonfusion stations, previously the only place you could save) greatly reduces the amount of backtracking required, and the frustration experienced when battles inevitably go wrong.
The addition of 40 new beasts in Vengeance, which already serves as a much more mature version of Pokémon, means there are now more than 270 demons, with many of the most powerful only available via fusion. Demons born from fusion can inherit their former abilities, so you’ll spend a significant amount of time creating new, more powerful monsters, which you can customize to overcome the next progress-blocking boss. All of these demons now have innate abilities, which activate automatically under the right conditions, and new Magatsuhi abilities, which give specific demons unique attacks and are only usable after the corresponding meter is filled.
Demonic Conversations have been given a bit of a boost, and instead of being coded with paper scissors, they now include some really surprising quizzes or mini-games. Winning these battles of wits will result in additional EXP and Macca (money) being awarded, and the Nahobino can now chain consecutive battles together for greater risk and reward. To help with the mandatory grinding, Auto-Battle has also received an overhaul and can now be split between Auto-Attack and Auto-Skill, allowing players to maintain or spend MP as needed. Meanwhile, there are Magatsuhi Rails scattered throughout the area, making it easier to travel and access secret areas.
If the Netherworld ever lets you down, Demon Haunts are newly added resting places, where the Nahobino can interact with the demons under their command, human allies, or Aogami, depending on the situation. Gifts can be given to demons that can be found anywhere in the world, resulting in stat increases, sometimes offering valuable items in return. You can even use a free camera mode in these areas, allowing you to take cheerful photos of your favorite enemies.
Finally, the music is about as excellent as expected, with haunting, evocative soundscapes for exploration, interspersed with black metal and howling guitars for thrilling boss encounters. The character dialogue is also quite good, and there’s a surprising amount of voice acting in the game, but the barking of Demon navigators quickly becomes abrasive, with the same three lines being reused ad nauseum.
Conclusion
Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is the definitive way to play Atlus’ fiendish game of demon fusion, with a new set of bells and whistles to smooth out what can still be a grinding gameplay experience at times. It’s incredibly combat heavy, which can become oppressive, but the work towards raising that perfect demon remains as compelling as ever.