Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is the RPG every genre lover should play

Shin Megami Tensei is a series that, ironically, I was familiar with, but never played. During my time as a distributor more than 8 years ago, I remember that it was a game that specialized stores did not leave aside, since it had a very distinct consumer niche. Sometimes I had to joke with ATLUS executives about the name, that it was not very Western, which limited the reach of the franchise. This time, I got my hands on Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance thanks to a conversation I had with a colleague at another outlet, as it was like meeting someone from high school that you had a crush on, but nothing more. Now that I have seen everything that is included, this edition has definitely become the “sexy version” that I really wanted to meet.

Two roads

At the beginning, we will see a short fragment of the story before we can choose which path we want to take, the story mode Canon of Creation or Canon of Vengeance. For obvious reasons, and on the recommendation of my colleague, we took the first one, as it was the most logical since we knew nothing about the franchise.

There are two main locations in this game: the Underworld and Tokyo. We take on the role of a student who, after leaving school, is trapped in a kind of earthquake that transports him to the underworld. Upon arriving in this parallel reality, he is attacked by some demons and immediately Aogami comes to our defense, but there is a sort of “fusion” between the two characters to become a Nahobino, a being condemned to survive. This is where the adventure begins on the plot level, as Nahobino brings the human side to Aogami and the latter teaches him everything about this “other world”.

The story seems simple, but as it progresses it becomes complex for its somewhat darker elements, where a part of “human nature” and the vast lore of the series becomes evident. Little by little, we will discover what happened in the war between demons and angels that ended with the Earth, without losing sight of our main goal, which is to find our friends and get out of there.

What’s new in Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance?

First, you can record anywhere. This allows you to play at your own pace, no matter what difficulty level you choose. In addition, the visuals have been tweaked to take advantage of new consoles, PCs that support it, or laptops like the Steam Deck or the Rog Ally. In fact, we were able to run it on the Valve platform with the highest values, with a frame rate per second over 60 FPS. On the ASUS handheld, we were even able to play it in the same way with the highest values, with an average of over 40 FPS in Full HD in 15W performance mode. If you decide to use the 25W turbo mode, you will exceed 60 FPS.

A unique game mode

Without a doubt, one of the things I liked the most was the gameplay system, because it literally envelops you, because it takes you step by step. At first, it may seem like a classic JRPG, but when we least realize it, we have a huge world of skills that we can learn from our summons, that we can develop and merge. This gives it a unique and somewhat personal touch, as you get attached to them. The game allows you to negotiate with your opponents, and you will fail many times, here for example if you have a fairy, this can help you to “restart” the negotiations so that they do not become hostile. The possibilities are really endless and give a strategic touch to the battles, as there will be enemies where a good group selection will be synonymous with success. Skills will also play a fundamental role, as both our character’s and the summons’ slots are limited, so you will have to choose carefully which ones to use.

Because of the way the game runs on portable PC’s or a good desktop, good graphics, story, and dubbing performances (we play in English) Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is one of the must-play of this year. In addition, it has several endings and add-ons that ensure many hours of gameplay, I would dare to say more than the average of the genre.