Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga

 PlayStation 2
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 42 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 42
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 42
  3. Negative: 0 out of 42
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  1. Gaming Target
    73
    But with a story falling well short of its potential, fairly generic party members, dungeons that run on far too long despite the game being extremely brief for its genre, and a feeling of a Nocturne recycling project all drag this game down into disappointment range.
  2. Games Master UK
    73
    Strong RPG that's a little bit different to usual fare. [Aug 2006, p.82]
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  3. PSM2 Magazine UK
    72
    An extremely well realised RPG retaining all the bizarreness of its Japanese roots without the incecipherable combat and customization you might expect. [July 2006, p.84]
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  5. Game Informer
    70
    Digital Devil Saga's freakish story may turn heads and demand attention, but the time you spend in this flesh-eating world quickly becomes mind-numbingly dull. [Apr 2005, p.126]
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  6. GameSpy
    70
    If, like me, you want a little more story to chew on, you'll probably want to find a game packed with a little less extension and a little more pretension.
  7. Cheat Code Central
    70
    An intriguing world steeped in mystery with plenty of action and unanswered questions. If anything, this game will create a population of rabid gamers waiting impatiently for the release of the sequel.
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  8. Gamestyle
    70
    Having spent considerable hours grinding through DDS, the ending does come as an anti-climax. The only consolation is that the sequel will award bonuses if it reads a DDS save on your memory card.
  9. GameShark
    70
    While the gameplay got at least a thin margin better, the story took a hit with very little meat between the bordering-on-the-ridiculous number of battles and an ending that was clearly designed to get players to buy the next game coming out later in the year.
  10. Official Playstation 2 Magazine UK
    70
    A commendably original RPG which throws up plenty of surprises and improves substantially on previous outing, "Lucifer's Call." [June 2006, p.93]
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  11. Into Liquid Sky
    67
    Suffers from the fact that once the story really gets going, the game ends, leading into the upcoming sequel. This is a shame as the slow build up starts to really feel rewarding and then... BAM! Too be continued.
  12. games(TM)
    50
    In the long wait for Digital Devil Saga we’ve been spoiled by some bar-raising and envelope-pushing efforts in the RPG genre, which make it seem rather tired and staid. [July 2006, p.136]
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Awards & Rankings

49
#49 Best PS2 Game of 2005
68
#68 Most Discussed PS2 Game of 2005
36
#36 Most Shared PS2 Game of 2005

User Reviews

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User Score
5.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 263 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 124 out of 263
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 263
  3. Negative: 127 out of 263
  1. AlienSpaceBats
    Feb 24, 2014
    5
    I really wanted to like it, but Digital Devil Saga tried its hardest to make me hate it, and ended up hating it I did. From the second chapterI really wanted to like it, but Digital Devil Saga tried its hardest to make me hate it, and ended up hating it I did. From the second chapter all the way to the final end boss, it was a repetitive, dull and grindy chore. A non-stop barrage of identical dungeon corridors, random encounters and downright dirty AI scripting. The combat is the game's main draw, and is very strategic. It can be enjoyable with its press turns, enemy weaknesses, etc. but the tedium and monotony outweighs any positives I had during my 30 hours playing the thing.… Full Review »
  2. EricL.
    Sep 9, 2009
    7
    The Shin Megami Tensei series is my favorite game series, and this game isn't too bad. The story seems to be the only thing that most The Shin Megami Tensei series is my favorite game series, and this game isn't too bad. The story seems to be the only thing that most critics seem to agree is great, and I was suprised that it actually was! It doesn't have that level of interaction in most other games in the series, but it still written really well. There also is an art style, but it's only noticible during cutscenes, the music is good, and the combat requires a lot of strategy as always. However, there are just too many things about this game that bug me. I'll start off by mentioning that my biggest problem is the random battles, because they are just waaaaaay too frequent. I thought they came often in Nocturne, but I grew to accept them in that game, but in this one there is one every couple of steps, and that is no exageration. The next thing is that you only get to play as your crew, but each member can use the same skills once learned, making the only differences in combat their stats, gun attack, strengths, and weaknesses. It takes away the sense of discovery found in the other games of the series. Also, the level design is terrible, I can never tell if I'm going where I want to go (thankfuly there is a mini map that expands as you explore), and that wouldn't be that huge of a problem if it didn't take forever to get from point a to point b due to the random battles. Also, the stage designs seem to be full of copy/paste, like in Nocturne, but in that game it actually worked well because if there was a blood stain or something, my attention would instantaniously be drawn towards it, making it quite impactful. In this game there rarely is any blood, even around corpses. I'm assuming that since the story revolves around the subject of cannibalism the developers either wanted to make it look like there were no "leftovers", or didn't want it to look like some sort of gore-fest. Lastly, the puzzles are headache inducing, and tediouse as can be. Fortunatly they are not as frequent as in Nocturne, but they're still present. I know I'm refering back to Nocturne a lot, but there are really a lot of problems here that shouldn't have been present. All I can say is that even though I realize that I've spent forever talking about the problems, it's still a pretty fun game, and it's rare too, so show it off to everyone who may be jelouse.… Full Review »
  3. NickL.
    May 31, 2006
    10
    This game is Excellent!! Big fan of the series love each one, used to import the first titlesfrom Japan before they started being released in This game is Excellent!! Big fan of the series love each one, used to import the first titlesfrom Japan before they started being released in the UK, let's hope Digital Devil Saga 2 will also be released over here.… Full Review »
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