Shin Megami Tensei V is developer Atlus' latest iteration of a franchise that's historic impact on the JRPG genre spans decades. It has also been a series in search of a home, with Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne debuting on PlayStation 2 while Shin Megami Tensei IV made its home exclusively on Nintendo 3DS. Shin Megami Tensei V on Switch represents a technological leap forward for Atlus' brand of demon-summoning, and it's in the innovations within this largely traditional entry that the adventure shines the most.
Shin Megami Tensei V follows a high school student who quickly finds himself embroiled in what appears to be an apocalyptic event in Tokyo. From the beginning, SMT V plays with the expectations of those who have experienced this kind of journey before, and many of the story beats that appear on surface level to be rote are used to set up a twist later. It's a deft bit of storytelling that's both familiar to long-time followers of Shin Megami Tensei and a big enough departure that the narrative feels fresh, which is vital for a game that's marriage to traditional conventions of JRPGs in other areas is its most grating feature.
That constant struggle between the innovations made possible by a 2021 release on Switch and the sacred cows of past SMT entries is always present, but never moreso than in combat. Shin Megami Tensei V uses the Press Turn System of turn-based battling, which sees a player and their roster of demons attempt to exploit enemy weaknesses to get a bonus turn - and avoid letting their foes do the same to them. It's the rock-paper-scissors-style of combat that's also made Pokémon popular, but it's significantly more unforgiving, and with so many familiar demons, abilities, and systems, the grind of these battles can become less compelling over time. In a game that takes around 45-50 hours to complete (ignoring virtually all side content to do so), this can be a problem.
Luckily, the new elements in Shin Megami Tensei V save its combat from eroding into monotony. The Magatsuhi Gauge allows for deeper customization of combat approaches than previous entries, and Miracles, which act as passive bonuses to the protagonist that help further shape playstyle, can enhance that depth of strategy even further. Essence Fusions help switch the protagonists strengths and weaknesses, alongside their skillset, and can be used on demons in a party to also alter their currently available skills. This helps alleviate some of the pressure on perfect Demon Fusions - losing track of a valuable skill somewhere along the path to an uber-powerful demon can now be fixed not just with the Demon Compendium's registration function allowing for do-overs, but with essences simply gifting the required skill as well.
Shin Megami Tensei V does not shy away from complexity, but it also doesn't get overwhelmed by the presence of these potentially confusing systems. Demon Fusion is just as compelling as it is in past entries and in the Persona series, with the excitement of adding a new party member - especially ones from familiar backgrounds in mythology - making the next several dozen battles more interesting. This gameplay loop helps both refresh the potentially stale mechanics tens of hours into SMT V and train a player in the most important subtleties of its gameplay, which is necessary in a game that's difficulty, even on lower settings, will challenge most casual users.
That challenge is better balanced than past entries, however, with a more vibrant world to explore, though not necessarily colorful. The dinginess of the post-apocalypse still seeps into many of the environmental designs found in Shin Megami Tensei V, but the size of the maps and the traversal of them makes them feel intricate and interesting. There are treasures littered virtually everywhere, with both items and collectible demons to be found. These demons, known as Miman, are often hidden cleverly across areas of the map, whether they require vertical movement from the hero or adjusting camera angles to find them. Miman collection also results in additional Glory, the currency used to pay for the aforementioned Miracles, and bonuses for every five found.
Enemies also appear on the world map now as full models of demons, rather than silhouettes that make looking for specific combatants a little harder. This is especially useful given the series' reliance on its Demon Negotiation feature, which returns in its usual form to let players attempt to persuade demons to join their side. It's also exceptionally helpful in the grind that's required to level up both the protagonist and their allies, as exploiting known weaknesses can result in some exceptionally easy battles, and tracking which demons to pursue and engage with makes that simpler.
All of these features are crucial in enjoying the overall Shin Megami Tensei V experience, which constantly comes close to moving past familiarity and into stagnancy. So many of the game's features have existed within the franchise for years, and elements of the game have begun to show their age. The grind of the title is especially noticeable because many JRPGs have found ways to make that slog more appealing, and while a "Safety" difficulty is coming with free DLC post-launch to help make SMT V more accessible, the problem doesn't necessarily lie within the mechanics of combat itself but rather in its frequency. That's true of traversing the open world as well, which is engaging and exciting - right up to when it isn't, as new areas that look similar to old ones open up and back-tracking to former locations for side quests becomes more commonplace.
Shin Megami Tensei V is an excellent game that more than lives up to the expectations of its specific series. While its innovations grate against its more ancient elements, what emerges is still something that manages to capture attention for its hefty playtime. It's not quite perfect, but it's probably up there with the best of SMT. Shin Megami Tensei V is perhaps the apex of its series thus far; whatever comes next should be its evolution.
Shin Megami Tensei V releases on November 11, 2021 in Japan and November 12, 2021 worldwide on Nintendo Switch. Screen Rant was provided with a digital Switch code for the purpose of this review.