Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance Review – IGN

SMT has always staked its claim on unforgiving turn-based combat, and there are moments in which Vengeance doubles down on that principle. You’re still honing in on the elemental affinities of your enemies and building a roster of demons who can exploit those weaknesses. But in this version, I got “SMT’d” more often – meaning I’d get absolutely wiped by an enemy in one turn and there wasn’t anything I could really do about it. Of course, in the most tense battles where I needed to carefully think steps ahead to plan buffing spells, hit weaknesses to earn extra turns, or strategically substitute different demons in my party based on elemental affinities, I was reminded that SMT’s combat system has some of the best turn-based mechanics around, even if it can be as punishing as it is rewarding.

You’re still negotiating with demons to capture them, having them fight in your party, and fusing them to create more powerful demons, and the typical flow of building your roster remains one of SMTV’s strengths. There are a handful of new unlockable perks to help you in battle and some of the new demons I earned through fusion are ones that came in clutch in the late-game. It’s that satisfying Pokemon-like nature of cycling through increasingly powerful monsters and staying on top of covering your bases as you level up your main character, and making good use of them in critical moments.

Having played on normal difficulty, being at the same level as the bosses alone is not enough to get through them, and you will be tested on your mastery of the system as a whole. Even when you come prepared and think tactically about all the support skills, items, and elements available, your party is going to be fragile. There comes a point where mainlining the story isn’t enough to keep pace, either, essentially encouraging you to seek out sidequests and level up that way. And boy howdy, does Vengeance lay on a thick serving of sidequests.

As far as I can tell, all of the original ones remain in the Vengeance route, and the aforementioned new region is jam packed with its own set of sidequests. Some of them rope you into tough minibosses, require you to find items out in the world, or spin off into short minigames. Big and small, sidequests all feed into painting a more detailed world as you develop a better understanding of the relationship dynamics of the demons in SMT’s mythological multiverse. There’s a humanizing aspect to some of these little stories, so to skip out on sidequests would also be to miss a bit of SMTV’s charm – particularly in Vengeance, where it can get as silly as it is challenging.

There’s something special about the attitude of an SMT game that I can simply describe as badass – much of which comes through in its atmosphere and art direction. From the deranged demon designs that have evolved over the years to the sinister vibe of a Tokyo destroyed by the hand of godly powers, SMTV manages to evoke a unique sense of dread that lingers over its world. It knows it’s cool and doesn’t care too much about being pleasant or palatable; even when Vengeance appeals to our humanity more so than the original, it still maintains a certain darkness the series is known for.

It’s also a credit to its soundtrack, which effortlessly pumps you up for specific battles or sets an unmistakable mood in its overworld, bouncing between synth-infused metal and eerily catchy ambient tunes. The new battle theme is an improvement over what was already a great track, and sometimes I’d sit there mid-battle not doing anything just to listen to it loop multiple times. SMT soundtracks get into thrash-style rock as often as it gets experimental with its instrumentation to create some haunting melodies and harmonies, and Vengeance still carries that tradition.

New music was one of the things I looked forward to most with Vengeance, but on the more technical side it was lovely to replay SMTV as a much better visual experience. If you play on PC, PlayStation 5, or Xbox Series X|S, you’re treated to significantly higher resolutions and frame rates along with better draw distances to let SMTV’s world pop in a way it simply couldn’t when it was a Nintendo Switch exclusive. Vengeance is still available on Switch with all the essential features, of course, but I do think you’d be missing out on one of the best parts of this rerelease playing it there, especially considering how the original struggled in terms of technical performance.

Quality of life improvements don’t end on the technical side either. New mechanics also make the experience smoother without sacrificing the challenging nature of SMTV. For example, the Demon Haunt is a hub area you can visit at save points and talk to demons in your roster, who will then sometimes offer items or get a boost in stats. As you progress in the story, you’ll be able to get free bonus stat points to boost the main character’s attributes in the Demon Haunt as well. Exploration in the overworlds was quite tedious in SMTV (and still kind of is) but now you can pull up a bird’s eye view at any point to get both a lay of the land and a better idea of how to get to hard-to-reach areas. This coincides with the addition of Magatsu Rails which are shortcuts sprinkled throughout the open regions that you skate on to get across the map faster or reach secret areas. And being able to save anywhere now is so much more convenient, because no one wants to lose chunks of progress because they got unfairly “SMT’d” in between save points.