Shin Megami Tensei V

 Switch
  • Publisher: Atlus
  • Release Date: Nov 12, 2021
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 760 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 554 out of 760
  2. Mixed: 47 out of 760
  3. Negative: 159 out of 760
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  1. Coded
    Nov 19, 2021
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Spent a long time thinking about this, so I thought I’d give my honest thoughts.

    Out of all the SMT line games I’ve played from mainline to spin-offs this one was probably my least favourite. The combat and demon summoning system were the same steadfast that longtime players have gotten to know and love - and I even enjoyed some of the new additions (i.e.; race specific abilities). The music was also a high point for me and generally fit with the atmosphere.

    Where the game really falls flat is on its story and overalll feel. The story for the most part is non-existent - and I’m not just talking about dialogue spews (as much as I enjoy those, usually the mainline games are less reliant on them, and manage not to suffer for it). What I can say with absolute certainty is that o felt more about the world and characters in other mainline games (Nocturne, SMT IV) and some of the less story intensive spin-offs (Strange Journey). I never thought I’d say that a cosmic game of such epic proportions could feel so inconsequential. Part of it lies in the fact that your character, for the vast majority of the game, doesn’t really make any ‘choices’. The other games did a good job of bringing clear alignment in the early game, and even if there were ways out of it you generally created a path for yourself from start to end. Having a home base of sorts where you always returned to for small tidbits of story without really adding much may have actually been a down point in the story, Abbas the few situations interacting with characters in a mostly empty world didn’t do much to make you care about them (even those they swiftly killed off).

    Generally it was a turn based slugfest, which while enjoyable in bursts, seemed to overstay its welcome. Spending tens of hours walking around maps isn’t bad by itself, but it would have been better with some pacing and a bigger sense of purpose. The environments were nice to start with, but soon grew bland (the lighting sometimes felt more obnoxious and in the way than moody - imagine trying to find a new path or a collectable when the colouring gets in the way).

    All in all, it has me a bit worried for the future.

    I still enjoyed the game for what it’s worth and I’m sure many others did to - it was just generally a step down from my historical experience and expectations. Without the classic combat system it would have fallen flat for me. And if you don’t get any enjoyment out of that, you likely won’t enjoy this game.    … Expand
  2. BlackFang
    Nov 15, 2021
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game is great overall, with the enhance graphic (which is to be expected with unreal engine), combat system is more smooth with various customization and puzzles. But in some parts it felt shallow, like your choices doesn't really matter that much until near the end. Or a personal pet peeve of mine, killing off character early. I know Tao is "reborn" in the near end but it always leave a bitter taste in my mouth. You introduce them as this nice character that cares for everyone and everyone loves, then bam, kills her early into the game, and she just re-appears near the end, and that's it. The ending felt a bit lazy, for lawful and chaos, it just your character walking across status floating in space, for true and neutral endings, it just the beginning cutscene again, I get the meaning but it just felt lazy when comparing to the other SMT games I have play before. The two biggest ones I still occasionally go back to is SMT 4 apocalypses and SMT devil survivor 2 record breaker.

    I have play SMT 4 apocalypses, that was crazy, the law and chaos are similar but you have to choose in front of everyone. Then you choose to become god, that requires you to kill all your friends and allies, which is pretty impactful. Lastly there's freeing humanity, the classics. The ending cinematic has much of a greater of an effect as you have dialogue and visual with everyone. In SMT 4 also you have more interactions with people, you form bonds and allies, and every single choices felt like it had impact. A bonus is in the DLC you get to see what you have become by choosing one path or another.

    I've also play SMT devil survivor 2 record breaker, which is my personal favorite, there's good and evil and all that but the ending is based on what path humanity should follow, all sides holds water. Whatever you think peoples' worth is from handwork or everyone is equal, or screw it, just get rids of god and let the world decided its own fate. My personal favorite is sacrificing oneself to ensure everything goes right.

    Overall, SMT 5 is very solid, which is to be expected as its the first one SMT game on switch (I don't care about Personal 5 strikers) with graphics, gameplay and variety of customization. What felt short is an important factor, your choices, I have replay certain parts of the game just to see what my choices would do, it did nothing, the game has a scripts and its sticking with it. Only the ending ones matter. It also felt so..... lonely, you don't have much interaction to start with, then they just kill one off right in front of you. I was hoping to see more allies and dialogue to understand peoples' lives and what are they fighting for, there's not much. Then there's the ending, chaos and lawful looks almost identical as well as neutral and true, I mean I got the symbolize and meaning, but I didn't felt the excitement and feeling of what impact my choices have, even at the end, what it actually effect something.

    Personal note, I love story more than anything, I also love the characters, through my playthrough I had to reset a few times, like with Tao to see if I can save her, but to surprise me, nothing have change, its a straight forward script. you choices don't matter.    … Expand
  3. Cancery1987
    Nov 14, 2021
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Music 9/10
    Graphic 9/10
    Gameplay 5/10
    Story 4/10

    This game so boring, just beautiful.    … Expand
  4. Reed618
    Dec 22, 2021
    7
    I enjoyed smt 5 but it's definitely a missed opportunity. Visually the areas you explore are pretty bland. There are a few cool dungeons with interesting mechanics though.

    The story is pretty weak. The transition into post apocalyptic tokyo was much more interesting in smt 3 and 4. In 5 it's kinda dull. The characters and voice acting are mostly just ok as well. I also thought it sucked    I enjoyed smt 5 but it's definitely a missed opportunity. Visually the areas you explore are pretty bland. There are a few cool dungeons with interesting mechanics though.

    The story is pretty weak. The transition into post apocalyptic tokyo was much more interesting in smt 3 and 4. In 5 it's kinda dull. The characters and voice acting are mostly just ok as well. I also thought it sucked that one of the bosses mispronounced its name. You just need to google cú chulainn to find how its said correctly.

    The weakest aspect is probably the structure. At one point I fought a boss that was level 58 and I was level 57... then I was put into a new area with three bosses all level 73... so at that point I needed to grind 16 levels... it really felt like they needed to pad them main quest out and that was the laziest way they could do it.

    I know this game was in development for a long time and it's such a cool series so I had very high hopes for it. I thought this was guaranteed to be my rpg of the year but both tales of arise and monster hunter rise have a lot more to offer.    … Expand
  5. ManManManMan69
    Jan 20, 2022
    7
    I decently enjoyed the game but it has a couple of problems.
    Mainly:too tanky bosses,bad optimalization and some bad design choiches that make this gane less enjoyable.
    Tanky bosses wouldnt be a problem if every skill wouldnt cost 5 times more mp than in previous smt titles,but because of this,every harder boss requires you to have at least a couple mp restoring items. The tanky bosses    I decently enjoyed the game but it has a couple of problems.
    Mainly:too tanky bosses,bad optimalization and some bad design choiches that make this gane less enjoyable.
    Tanky bosses wouldnt be a problem if every skill wouldnt cost 5 times more mp than in previous smt titles,but because of this,every harder boss requires you to have at least a couple mp restoring items.
    The tanky bosses wouldn't be that bad if you didnt have to spend every 2 turns buffing yourself and the enemy,the sole buffing isnt a problem but i fell like the buff nerf is a big downgrade from the rest of the series.
    Before smt v buffs/debuffs could be stacked 4 or 3 times and would stay until the enemy gets rid of them by using a special skill.
    Now, buffs/debuffs stay for 3 turns and can be stacked 2 times.
    and this wouldnt be that much of a difference if the bosses wouldnt be so **** tanky,even on double buffed attack and double debuffed defence most of the bosses take around 20min(on normal mode) and renewing buffs/debuffs every 2nd turn just isnt fun.
    The optimalization is bad but its not that big a deal.
    sometimes you get lags for a second and thats it.
    Now onto the good stuff:
    The explortation is great and probably the best in the series,the only problem is that there are only 3 dungeons and i kinda missed them during the game.
    The music is Great but almost all of the tracks are too similar in my opinion.
    Overall: The game is good except the bad optimalization, it just didnt stick well with me,i love the smt/persona series but the fifth installments in those series are just not for me.
    Smt 3 is very good tho i reccomend (:    … Expand
  6. Noncanon
    Dec 8, 2021
    7
    Firstly, I'm not a lifelong SMT fan. I played SMT IV on 3DS, and Persona 4 and 5. I didn't really have the nostalgia glasses on while playing this.

    I found this game to be all over the place. The demon collecting and fusing is great and has near infinite depth to sink your teeth into. The combat is fun and snappy, although it can be tough as nails sometimes. But that's part of the    Firstly, I'm not a lifelong SMT fan. I played SMT IV on 3DS, and Persona 4 and 5. I didn't really have the nostalgia glasses on while playing this.

    I found this game to be all over the place. The demon collecting and fusing is great and has near infinite depth to sink your teeth into. The combat is fun and snappy, although it can be tough as nails sometimes. But that's part of the appeal of these games. The graphics are pretty good for a Switch game, and the demon designs are fantastic, although some were a little too familiar.

    My biggest beef, and this looks like a common one, is the save system. It's so archaic that it made me frown with annoyance the first time I got destroyed by a mini-boss that I hadn't been able to prepare for, and ended up losing a ton of progress. It's not like Souls games, where you're sent back to the last bonfire but keep items you found and have an opportunity to retrieve your souls. You just load up an old save file and completely lose all progress you had made. It had me going out of my way to run back to save points sooo many times, and it definitely gets old fast. Every time I got a decent item drop or talked a new demon into joining me, I felt like I had to go back and save, and it really hurts the pacing and flow of the game.

    If you're here for the story, I found it to be just OK. I'm usually on board for "Anime BS" but I didn't really connect to any of the characters. There are some cool ideas at the macro level, but not much going on when zoomed in on the PC and his cohort. I enjoyed the music (Atlus always seem to kill it in that department) but the combat sounds were usually boring. I was confused the first time I had the PC use a melee attack and there was barely a sound effect when his weapon made contact. I felt like I hit with a nerf bat. There was no real heft or impact, which is weird since you do that so many times.

    If you're an SMT or Persona fan, it's a no-brainer. All the stuff you love is there, and it's mostly well done. If you're new to the series or on the fence, I would recommend it but with caveats. If you're impatient or the kind of person to quit a game if you lose progress, it'd be a hard pass. It also wouldn't be great for someone who likes RPGs where you can just jump in and go. You'll really have to put in some effort to get the most out of this game, but if you're up for it, there's a lot to enjoy.    … Expand
  7. HellfirePlayer
    Dec 4, 2021
    7
    Honest Spoiler-Free Review:

    -> General Verdict: A fun and flawed game. - Battles: Very polished and addictive. There are a couple of new mechanics which add some interesting depth and could be a novelty for veterans. No random battles gives you and edge on developing your party in different ways. - Music: Adequate to set the mood and ambience. Some tunes really standout and are    Honest Spoiler-Free Review:

    -> General Verdict: A fun and flawed game.

    - Battles: Very polished and addictive. There are a couple of new mechanics which add some interesting depth and could be a novelty for veterans. No random battles gives you and edge on developing your party in different ways.
    - Music: Adequate to set the mood and ambience. Some tunes really standout and are memorable.
    - Visuals: There's definitely a good artistic direction following the usual style which tries to use whatever Switch's hardware can output to acceptable results. This applies to characters, demons and environmental designs. New designs are mostly OK or great, environments feel samey but that's expected given the themes of the game.
    - Exploration: Mostly good, roaming and pseudo platforming in the different areas can be quite engaging at times, but to some degree, it feels like a half-hearted attempt as well. Some elements are straight up hand holding to get you where you need to be, and after a while the sense of discovery just wanes given the lack of surprises.
    - Fusion: It's fine but I found it way too straightforward and simplified. You can do some experimentation but it's not as deep or complex as in some previous games.
    - Customization: Very flexible and rewarding. Maybe a bit too exploitable at times which could make the game too easy for some.
    - Story: This is by far the lowest quality part of the game. The main conflict and story itself are lackluster and weirdly paced. Supporting characters, factions, choices and lore could have saved it from mediocrity/apathy, but they are shallowly exposed to the player, so they are hard to relate to. There's probably just one supporting character that gets fleshed out, but sadly it is a very annoying and inconsequential individual (SMT4 had a neat and simple way to get players to engage with the supporting cast, probably they came up with it given the limitations of the NDS. It's very sad that they didn't learn anything from it). On the bright side, some optional quests are well written and engaging; there are not too many of those though.

    Conclusion: Weirdly enough it is as worth playing as it is disappointing. New players might find a good entry point to a shallower but meaty iteration in the series, while veterans might enjoy the meat but will feel empty and a bit abused after consuming it.    … Expand
  8. Zski
    Dec 5, 2021
    6
    I have never played an SMT or Persona game prior to this one, so I don’t have much to go off of. The gameplay had a bit of a steep learning curve which made it tough to get into, but once it clicked, I enjoyed it a lot more. The mechanics of the game ended up feeling fairly simple, under the mask of making it appear very complex. You simply target enemy weaknesses, and build a team that isI have never played an SMT or Persona game prior to this one, so I don’t have much to go off of. The gameplay had a bit of a steep learning curve which made it tough to get into, but once it clicked, I enjoyed it a lot more. The mechanics of the game ended up feeling fairly simple, under the mask of making it appear very complex. You simply target enemy weaknesses, and build a team that is balanced for your average encounters, and then for boss battles you just modify your team to exploit their weakness - that’s it, that’s all the mechanics boil down to. That does not mean the game is bad though, it had a little bit of an addictive gameplay loop, but it actually feels pretty grindy. For example when I was 6 hours in, I felt like I made it super far, but I could literally run back to the beginning of the game within a minute or two, just because most of my time was spent grinding. It feels like a Pokémon game without the sense of adventure. Pokémon games were fun, but they offered no challenge - SMT5 adds a nice challenge to formula which I appreciate about the game. Like I said above, the challenge ends up coming back to having to grind, and then the lack of save points. Not a bad thing because it makes you play a little more tactfully. The plot is uninteresting, the graphics are sort of blurry, the performance is surprisingly bad, but the music is pretty good (although repetitive). I am enjoying it so far, but it’s not a game to go crazy over. The game ended up losing my attention because of the incessant grinding that is constantly demanded. I am realizing that it is artificially difficult because it requires so much grinding between each segment of the game.… Expand
  9. truemask
    Dec 19, 2021
    6
    Good game, but to me a lackluster experience.

    The story seems to be standard for SMT, and follows a common Law Vs. Chaos theme. The protagonist seems interesting at first but quickly becomes dull and lacks personality even for a Genre (JRPGS) that usually has mute characters. The actual story scene only amount to about 3-4 hours and there is practically no interaction or development of    Good game, but to me a lackluster experience.

    The story seems to be standard for SMT, and follows a common Law Vs. Chaos theme. The protagonist seems interesting at first but quickly becomes dull and lacks personality even for a Genre (JRPGS) that usually has mute characters. The actual story scene only amount to about 3-4 hours and there is practically no interaction or development of side characters.

    Exploration environments are dull and very very similar. But I am glad there aren't random encounters like previous SMT games.

    Combat and demon negotiation is similar to previous SMT games and i can't help but draw comparisons to Atlus's Persona Series, It lacks a more fluid Battle Menu and uses a more classic but slow JRPG battle menu

    It is a challenging game even on easy, but depending how much grinding/sidequesting/team building you do it can be not as challenging. in my experience its a hard game to speedrun because you do need to spend time leveling to beat hard enemies. Of course manual saves are present meaning sometimes replaying half a hour of progres after defeat which can be frustrating.

    Music was another disappointing aspect, it has typical gritty SMT music but seems to lack variety for general exploration and severely lacking for main battle music, only one track plays the entire game and it is a monotonous 10 second loop that quickly becomes grating. I found the exploration music from SMT 4 and 4A more memorable.

    overall a decent JRPG but it left me disappointed,    … Expand
  10. maniaque
    Jan 12, 2022
    6
    the game is another japanese rpg style game. theres alot japanese in this game. the game looks japanese and everything has the japanese taste. im not into this genre of games. those who like alot japanese rpg with cartoonish style and tour based fights with alot fantasy will like. it is probably a good game in this genre but mostly for hardcore japanese rpg fans. this is just not for me.
  11. pmasterfunk
    Jun 19, 2022
    7
    I do love me some good MegaTen, and SMT 5 is good MegaTen. It's close to being great, but that's also what make it so disappointing.

    I gotta say, SMT 5 is very accessible. What makes it so accessible? Quality of Life improvements, baby. First off, we got rid of random battles, which is nice. Scanning an enemy for stats and weaknesses is better. Battle animations can be skipped, for    I do love me some good MegaTen, and SMT 5 is good MegaTen. It's close to being great, but that's also what make it so disappointing.

    I gotta say, SMT 5 is very accessible. What makes it so accessible? Quality of Life improvements, baby. First off, we got rid of random battles, which is nice. Scanning an enemy for stats and weaknesses is better. Battle animations can be skipped, for snappier battles. Demon Fusion now has Reverse Search and Reverse Compendium search, making it much easier to figure out which demons are accessible, and skill inheritance remains selectable. Fast travel is quick.

    Visually, I think the game looks good, but it is pretty grainy and draw distance isn't great. The game stutters in some areas though. It's not too problematic, but still... Environments aren't super varied in looks; desolate sandy urban wasteland counts for at least 80% of the game. I wish there were more variety, like Nocturne has. The areas themselves are pretty elaborate, and some areas can be hard to navigate - which isn't a bad thing. The music is quite good, with some outright great tracks here and there. Voice acting is fine, some stuff is kinda clunky, but it's not Octopath-level cringe.

    Gameplay-wise, I have some gripes. I'm not a huge fan of Heavy-level attacks that pierce, seems like a cop-out to me and doesn't really promote skill and demon variety. And when a boss casts Impaler's Animus (basically Charge/Concentrate with the Pierce effect added), guard with your MC and just hope for the best, because it's practically a one-hit KO. Regular attacks are painfully weak, to the point of being useless. Here, skills are so essential to deal basic damage that MP is often the limiting factor in both boss battles and exploration. It doesn't help that skill MP consumption is way higher than it was in previous games. Luster Candy and Debilitate usually took about 50 MP per cast in previous games, here it starts at 150 MP with baseline support affinity.

    ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY

    Like in SMT 4,physical skills use MP, so a demon with high HP and low MP is useless. Damage output is heavily correlated with character level, and the level scaling effect seems a bit too drastic. Any fight with a level gap over 5 is often too great to overcome. Exp gain is also heavily nerfed when above enemy levels, and without a decent late-game or post-game dungeon (at least without DLC to my knowledge), late-game grinding is incredibly impractical without level-up items, which I wasn't super careful about hoarding in my first playthrough.

    So there I was, trying to beat the superboss, under-leveled and getting rekt with little recourse but hours upon hours of super slow grinding... or buying DLC.

    I mentioned earlier that the Demon Compendium is easier to fill, but at the same time it makes the whole process less exciting and more mechanical. By the end of my second playthrough, I was just fusing all the demons I didn't have, with little regard to what skills they should be getting or what role they'll have in my team, because my team was already set with all those piercing skills, anyway.

    Ultimately, when playing on Normal for a "casual" run, these issues aren't that problematic, but during my second playthrough on hard where I wanted to change up my build, these issues became a bit more obvious.

    The second playthrough also exposed some issues with the story. A lot of "important" parts end up being forgettable and irrelevant to the overall arc, and secondary characters seem like they'll have something interesting or important to say, but they just end up being background noise. Only one character gets any sort of development, and he's the most annoying character in the game. And that's really too bad, because at the start of the game, when all these secondary characters are introduced, it seems like they're going to be really important, and that they'll have all sorts of interesting things to say and do, and that we'll get to see them grow and influence the world, but nah, they don't do anything. Endings-wise the Neutral choice is kinda chaosy, Chaos doesn't feel all that chaotic, and Law is so hardcore authoritarian it's hard to consider it a serious option.

    All in all, I don't think SMT 5 will convert non-fans into stans, but it's still a decent. Will I ever revisit this game? Not for the story, it's not particularly interesting or deep. A hard run? The level scaling would probably make it a crazy slog. Purely for the gameplay? I prefer Nocturne's, honestly. I think that's what makes it disappointing; mechanically it's solid, the gameplay is fun, but ultimately the weak story and poor characterization make the experience bland and forgettable.    … Expand
  12. neph36
    Nov 25, 2021
    5
    This game is pretty overrated. It performs abysmally on Switch. The music is terrible. The story is mostly non-existent and what's there is uninteresting. The overworld is good for exploration but just doesn't keep my interest. It is a dungeon crawler without dungeons.
    The gameplay is decent enough but could be better. Overall a pretty meh game. Disappointing.
  13. OhNoItsSenpai
    Nov 22, 2021
    7
    Fun game, staying true to the SMT franchise without the annoying dungeon crawling. Definitely feels like good game direction for the series. However the sprawling open worlds brings up this games main, glaring issue. It's on the Switch. Only plaid on TV so can't speak for how bad it plays in handheld but things look a bit gross, like the background is all cardboard cutouts being moved byFun game, staying true to the SMT franchise without the annoying dungeon crawling. Definitely feels like good game direction for the series. However the sprawling open worlds brings up this games main, glaring issue. It's on the Switch. Only plaid on TV so can't speak for how bad it plays in handheld but things look a bit gross, like the background is all cardboard cutouts being moved by children. Better off waiting for the game to come out on a real console.… Expand
  14. LiterallyMe
    Nov 23, 2021
    6
    It's ok but I'm not a fan of the changes made to press turn, the relatively terrible music (compared to 3, 4, and 4A), terrible story and pacing, terrible main character design, idolmaster demons, etc.
    If you're starved for a JRPG it will probably satisfy you but this is without a doubt the worst mainline SMT game (yes, including the SNES ones)
    Definitely the worst implementation of    It's ok but I'm not a fan of the changes made to press turn, the relatively terrible music (compared to 3, 4, and 4A), terrible story and pacing, terrible main character design, idolmaster demons, etc.
    If you're starved for a JRPG it will probably satisfy you but this is without a doubt the worst mainline SMT game (yes, including the SNES ones)

    Definitely the worst implementation of Press Turn in a modern MegaTen game and the difficulty curve is broken- the game becomes a cakewalk by the time you get to the second area    … Expand
  15. lesiuML
    Jan 3, 2022
    7
    It is really good game but it is hard ass hell... To be honest I haven't found that game to be satisfying... I was more stressed out after a long battle than happy. A lot have changed when I lowered the difficulty, game was a lot more engaging than for me. The story wasn't the best I've ever witnessed. But still story is so much better than smt3...
  16. AllNewSuperfake
    Nov 24, 2021
    5
    While pretty much every mechanic in the game is enjoyable, and technical nitpicks are mostly hardwaree-related, SMT 5 fails to answer the question why I'm doing what I'm doing. There is no agency at all, just busywork with the occasional story blurb that most of the time only underlines the total absence of a narrative.
  17. Quadrin
    May 30, 2022
    7
    If you are primarily wondering if you should buy this game or not: I would definitely recommend it, despite its flaws.

    I've been looking forward to the next title of the mainline Shin Megami Tensei series for years, and the prospect of another console game (the last one being Nocturne, which was first released about 20 years ago) for my favorite game series was obviously a big thing for    If you are primarily wondering if you should buy this game or not: I would definitely recommend it, despite its flaws.

    I've been looking forward to the next title of the mainline Shin Megami Tensei series for years, and the prospect of another console game (the last one being Nocturne, which was first released about 20 years ago) for my favorite game series was obviously a big thing for me.

    After spending nearly 100 hours in total, I can say that this game is a good time. The biggest pro about it is the demon fusion, collecting, and personalization. Every single demon in some way feels unique to each other, and all the new ones, animated amazingly, have at least one unique move with its own animation and effects, so even underleveled demons feel important as the game goes on. The combat itself is the mostly the same great press-turn system from Nocturne, with a few changes. For once, the smirk system introduced in IV is now replaced with the magatsuhi gauge, which when full can be used to do an instant super move, and while there are many kinds of these super moves, only a couple are really good. The damage however in general is now level-based, meaning no matter how skillful or prepared you are for a boss, you MUST be near or at the level of the boss to even stand a chance (without an hour long cheese fest). Speaking of bosses: they have 2x health than they should, so fights at times really overstay their welcome.

    V is a new take towards the overall movement of the game. Instead of a constant line of dungeons and random encounters, you have 4 large worlds with a couple small dungeons, and demons in the overworld are pretty easy to avoid, save a specific annoying lion-falcon jerk. The controlling and movement of the MC himself is really fun, and especially the 1st world feels great to run up and slide down sandy hills.

    The visuals of this game are really impressive for the Nintendo Switch; the console will definitely overheat in just short play sessions, and there will be major pop-ins for a couple seconds for models appearing in battles and cutscenes, but you'll still have a good graphical time. As emulators have shown (which I myself didn't use), the game can look absolutely stunning, so I blame the switch rather than SMT V itself for its performance.

    Now, my biggest issue with V: the story. I often here many say that SMT V is solely for the gameplay, and the story isn't meant to be the main focus. I couldn't disagree more (I find IV to have one of the best plots in history). There are characters in this game that barely have any development, and are either sidelined or thrown out once you deal with them. While there are some good moments here and there, I can't deny that charcters that had only 5 minutes of any role in past entries had a much more profound and interesting role than most of the characters on the BOX ART of the game!

    Overall, while this game was somewhat disappointing, with a shockingly small amount of content beyond the really well-made balancing and collecting aspect, I still find it to be a good game, and honestly the best rpg of 2021, which isn't saying much.    … Expand
  18. KingGilda
    Jan 31, 2022
    7
    After putting 90 hours into this game (and going!), I can say, it is an amazing game, a true pleasure for any turn-based RPG fan. If you like action games, don't play this.
    As a fan of SMT/FF/DQ for more than 20 years, I guarantee any fan of these titles that this game is a masterpiece. As an SMT/Persona fan, specifically, this game is one of the greatest in the aeies. This one is for    After putting 90 hours into this game (and going!), I can say, it is an amazing game, a true pleasure for any turn-based RPG fan. If you like action games, don't play this.
    As a fan of SMT/FF/DQ for more than 20 years, I guarantee any fan of these titles that this game is a masterpiece. As an SMT/Persona fan, specifically, this game is one of the greatest in the aeies. This one is for those with a brain, though.

    UPDATE: After putting 130 hours into this game, and choosing the neutral path, I'm downgrading my rating, with dissapointment. The regular-neutral ending sucks, and the secret-neutral ending is impossible to get without extreme grinding. After 130 hours, I will not grind 20 more just to get AN ENDING. Great game but a horrible, horrible endgame.    … Expand
  19. Ramas
    Sep 15, 2022
    6
    Not a bad game, but not good either. If you played persona 5, so that game wins on all fronts vs this game, story, music, combat, overall quality.
  20. ericiidx
    Oct 28, 2022
    6
    It's just okay. Fans of Shin Megami Tensei and/or JRPGs in general will probably be able to look past the game's myriad flaws. The game's story beats play out exactly as you'd expect with little to no exposition, and there are no surprises for anyone who has played a SMT game before -- it's a story of angels and demons warring in some-day-Tokyo, with you right in the middle. The gameIt's just okay. Fans of Shin Megami Tensei and/or JRPGs in general will probably be able to look past the game's myriad flaws. The game's story beats play out exactly as you'd expect with little to no exposition, and there are no surprises for anyone who has played a SMT game before -- it's a story of angels and demons warring in some-day-Tokyo, with you right in the middle. The game doesn't really respect your time, whether it's the constant need for (light) grinding, or the uselessness of much of the non-story-related dialogue (I don't need a demon to tell me "there's a human up ahead," I can see them 10 feet away.) The Switch hardware both struggles to maintain 30FPS, and its age imparts a number of graphical downgrades in order to do so. The music is absolutely excellent - once again, the shining star of a SMT game - but sounds muddled, as if it were mastered to sound best coming out of the Switch's built-in speakers. The demons (who also appear in the Persona series) look better than they ever have, but again, the detail and performance is hampered by the inadequate Switch hardware.

    Every aspect of the game feels like give and take, but to me, this feels like one for the fans. For those who just want to battle familiar demons and drown themselves in a moody, wailing industrial soundtrack. I really think this game could've been an entirely different beast if it weren't Switch exclusive. Being able to pause and resume a game on a whim is always nice, though...    … Expand
  21. M3G4L
    Sep 15, 2022
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Great and fun gameplay, animations are excellent and character designs in 3D maintain their essence as in past games. But sadly the messy story beats really hurt its score, for a game that's premise is the core appeal it didn't deliver as great as it should.… Expand
  22. Netrion
    Feb 15, 2023
    7
    This game at it's core is very fun, great story, great characters, and fun gameplay, but I can't help but feel that it was too limited by the Switch and it's performance.

Awards & Rankings

22
#22 Best Switch Game of 2021
6
#6 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2021

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
84

Generally favorable reviews - based on 98 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 89 out of 98
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 98
  3. Negative: 0 out of 98
  1. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Mar 7, 2022
    80
    What a journey! After eight years of waiting, the fifth installment of MegaTen is finally here, and it manages to deliver a satisfying experience. It may not have the deepest plot or most interesting cast of human characters, but it's fun, and I appreciate that it challenged me to think more about myself, my beliefs and how I view the world around me. And how many games can do that? [Issue #57 – January/February 2022, p. 76]
  2. Universo Nintendo
    Mar 5, 2022
    90
    SMTV brought everything I expected from a new chapter in the series of one of the first RPG games made, always renewing and innovating. We have an adventure that will make you stay for more than 40 hours hoping it doesn't end. It's really a great must-have for SMT fans and highly recommended for any RPG fan.
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  3. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Feb 18, 2022
    80
    Comparing with an adored Persona cannot be avoided, but it is still a quite different experience for a different audience. Great fights, growing demons, excelent graphics and atmosphere. This JRPG succeeded.
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