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. NicholasW
    Nov 21, 2021
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. SMT V is one of the most beautiful and fun JRPGs available on the switch, but it's held back by a lackluster story, parts of it's design, and presentation. On the surface, SMT V is one of the best looking games on the switch and it performs fairly well albeit with a couple instances of frame drops as you explore the world of Da'at and during cutscenes. The OST throughout the game is fantastic and might be my favorite across all of the mainline SMT games. Combat is also fast-paced and takes on many of the great aspects from the past two mainline entries (SMT IV and IVA) but with enough new additions to still feel fresh. Demon negotiation and fusion are as addictive as ever with new QoL improvements that eases the frustration that people may have had in past entries. Gameplay is still decently challenging without being overtly frustrating due to how much customization you are given between the protagonist and demons.

    Exploring the world of Da'at is really fun and the maneuverability of the protagonist is a big reason why. Being able to jump and run across Da'at allows players to have a new level of verticality that makes exploring areas feel a whole lot more engaging. However I can't help but feel like the level design is where the game has some issues in. The world of Da'at contains 4 main regions that are very unique in both tone and presentation but some of them suffer from having a confusing or tedious layout that makes exploring them a chore. The game also does feature 2 dungeons although they are rather hit-or-miss due to either being boring to navigate or having an interesting mechanic that isn't used much. Certain dungeons in SMT III also have some of these issues but in that game they are lessened by the unique and creative puzzles that these dungeons offer which isn't necessarily present here.

    The story of SMT V is where I felt the game was really lacking. While there are ideas here that I found to be really fascinating (especially the concept of a Nahobino) they unfortunately aren't explored or presented well enough here to create a solid and compelling narrative. Most of the really exciting plot points are introduced during the early and late game, while mid game feels like filler when it really should have been used for more world building (like introducing the different branches of Bethel) or more character development. Characters in this game serve as exposition dumps as they tell you in chunks regarding the world they reside in. There are hints of decent character development here but only for a select few while the rest of the cast barely get any screen time or a chance to really shine. Even some of the characters who are presented as important to the story are thrown away as side characters and only shown through subquests or unceremoniously killed off. All of this comes off as poor storytelling and ultimately leads to one-note characters that makes it hard to be emotionally invested in them when everything falls apart.

    Alignment and what ending you get in this game unfortunately comes down to a single dialogue choice made at the end of the game rather than based on choices you made throughout like how it was implemented in SMT IV. Some may like it because you can obtain any ending you want but I feel like this design hurts the game's replay value as any of the story choices you make throughout the game is meaningless. The story progression is basically the same for each playthrough and unfortunately doesn't offer any unique branching paths in them like in IV. Although I will admit the alignments in this game are a really nice surprise in who represents them and how they are presented but out of the available endings only one them was really good and felt complete. Overall, the story starts off strong, falls off mid game, and only picks up once you reach late game, but even then it felt really rushed.

    The voice acting here is serviceable, although oddly enough not every scene in the main quest is voiced like in SMT III HD, IV, and IVA. Some subquests are also voiced but only parts of them and some of the ones that seem really important in context of the main story aren't. It's a really odd decision considering what we got in the last three mainline entries. On the English dub side I found it to be really strange that only some of the demons are dubbed while the rest are strictly in Japanese. This might be due to budget constraints so I won't hold it against Atlus but it is very inconsistent.

    All in all, SMT V is a fun game and if you were someone who cares more about the gameplay rather than the story then this is the perfect game for you. The combat is challenging yet fun and exploring the world of Da'at has its own merits at times. But if you play games more for their story, then this game is likely going to disappoint you. I can see a lot of potential here but the game just falls short of being the best JRPG on the Switch.    … Expand
  5. LEMAZZATE
    Nov 18, 2021
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Scusate ragazzi, vorrei farmi piacere 'sto gioco ma non c'è La Mecca. Grande occasione sprecata… Expand
  6. Kkodss
    Nov 16, 2021
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The first area was really great. But then you finish it, and this is what follows:

    There is a pretty crude exposition dump, with a bizarre tone shift and an introduction of a new character that we're supposed to care about even though we just met her

    There is a high school 'dungeon' area which looks borderline PS1 in terms of look and textures, and runs at about 10fps

    The second large area is exactly the same as the first, only with a red filter, and a further performance hit, making the game run largely as a slideshow    … Expand
  7. Segafan
    Nov 13, 2021
    10

    Just buy the game. Its a fantastic and very challenging JRPG. One of best games on Nintendo Switch.

    Gameplay: 10/10
    Graphic: 10/10
    Music: 10/10
    Story: 9/10
    Characters: 8/10
    Optimization: GOOD
    Difficulty: HARD
  8. Tzelanit
    Mar 8, 2022
    2
    People on Metacritic love to rate things as either a perfect 10 or flat 0, which makes the user scores essentially useless. Nothing is either the greatest thing ever created or pure **** that's completely irredeemable.

    That being said, SMT V is a missed opportunity for what has been a solid mainline series of SMT games. Switch hardware was a generation old the day that it was released,    People on Metacritic love to rate things as either a perfect 10 or flat 0, which makes the user scores essentially useless. Nothing is either the greatest thing ever created or pure **** that's completely irredeemable.

    That being said, SMT V is a missed opportunity for what has been a solid mainline series of SMT games. Switch hardware was a generation old the day that it was released, and it really shows here with a low framerate with constant fps dips and bad textures.

    The story, which is usually the meatiest part of mainline SMT, is stripped down on favor of aggressive repetition and an emphasis on exploring and grinding.

    This is essentially Persona without the cringe romance and relationships, which basically makes this a D- entry in an otherwise fantastic series. I worry for the future of mainline SMT. Up until now, Persona contained all of the cringe, but those design ethics are bleeding out and will begin to hurt the series starting with this entry if it keeps up.

    If you're one of the handful of people who still own a Switch, if Persona 3 was your first SMT game, and if you enjoy generic anime bull****, SMT V will be a 10 for you. If you actually have good taste and standards, it won't be more than a 3/10 on its best day.    … Expand
  9. drsnap
    Nov 15, 2021
    1
    Another boring JRPG, where its only strenght is its variety in partymembers. The game is a grindfest that most of the time relies on who has the most HP points. Its understandable JRPG fans swollow this, but all other people. Just avoid! The main character are paperthin, and you never really get to know him or any compainions.
  10. lalahand
    Jan 1, 2022
    0
    Lower my rating to 0 because this game is sold for $32 in just one month. RIP for fans who bought at $60. Original rating is 5 because it is a very boring jrpg with outdated combat system and poor story.
  11. WombatWarrior
    Nov 14, 2021
    3
    Game is nothing like persona games no social links story is horrible, side characters are bad and combat feels worse huge downstep from persona 5
  12. thedaarkbatty
    Nov 13, 2021
    0
    The gameplay is legitimatly awful. It's just doing the same thing over and over again. Overall it's not the worst game I've ever played but i rate 0% to balance score out
  13. Kroosh
    Nov 14, 2021
    9
    Jrpg of the year and maybe beat jrpg on the Switch
    You can play this game and the time fly with out knowing that and this what i meen by a good game and nice story but the gameplay is breathtaking and the world its just to good
  14. CtrlAltDefeat
    Nov 15, 2021
    10
    After a long, LONG wait - we've received the best iteration of the SMT formula yet. The combat system is more refined and customizable than ever, without sacrificing the difficulty that these games are known for. The demons are all beautifully modeled and animated, and it's obvious that the art team gave it their all. Paired with the phenomenal soundtrack, fantastic as usual worldAfter a long, LONG wait - we've received the best iteration of the SMT formula yet. The combat system is more refined and customizable than ever, without sacrificing the difficulty that these games are known for. The demons are all beautifully modeled and animated, and it's obvious that the art team gave it their all. Paired with the phenomenal soundtrack, fantastic as usual world building, and improved depth of exploration, this is a must play JRPG if you consider yourself a fan of the genre.

    To address the elephant in the room, Shin Megami Tensei is not Persona. Persona was created in an attempt to do something new with the SMT formula. Mainline games have never been focused on their characters (with a few exceptions) or social aspects. You will not find them here, and that's definitely okay, as this game aims for a different experience. I could go on for longer, but that strays outside of review territory.

    This game delivers on everything it promises to be and more. Easy recommend.    … Expand
  15. Minato-Arisato
    Nov 22, 2021
    0
    Como fan de la saga Megaten, este titulo es simplemente decepcionante.
    Una trama lenta que tarda mucho en iniciar, personajes carentes de carisma (algo inaudito en la serie) y ciertos problemas técnicos muy molestos. Hacen que sea una secuela muy difícil de recomendar.
    Casi prefiero decirle a los demás que solo prueben los anteriores, y que rehúyan de este. Atlus la arruino muy    Como fan de la saga Megaten, este titulo es simplemente decepcionante.
    Una trama lenta que tarda mucho en iniciar, personajes carentes de carisma (algo inaudito en la serie) y ciertos problemas técnicos muy molestos. Hacen que sea una secuela muy difícil de recomendar.
    Casi prefiero decirle a los demás que solo prueben los anteriores, y que rehúyan de este.
    Atlus la arruino muy seriamente con este.    … Expand
  16. That_Guy_333
    Nov 14, 2021
    9
    Pros
    - Fun, deep and rewarding combat system.
    - Monsters and party setup are highly customizable. - Environments look great and are fun to explore. - While some side-quests are the typical "Kill X", they tend to be be more fleshed out than the JRPG norm. - Creature designs and animations are stellar. - Soundtrack is great and goes well with the world/battles. - It has an easy mode    Pros
    - Fun, deep and rewarding combat system.
    - Monsters and party setup are highly customizable.
    - Environments look great and are fun to explore.
    - While some side-quests are the typical "Kill X", they tend to be be more fleshed out than the JRPG norm.
    - Creature designs and animations are stellar.
    - Soundtrack is great and goes well with the world/battles.
    - It has an easy mode and apparently a story mode will be patched for those that want something more accessible.

    Cons
    - Light on story/characterization. What is presented is cool but, there's just not much of it.
    - Non-ideal performance. It's not a deal-breaker but, there's some pop-in and light stuttering.
    - Monster recruiting is (seemingly?) more random that I would like.

    Bottom line IMO
    While those are looking for an elaborate plot should look elsewhere, it's really awesome if you want an immersive, great looking and sounding, monster collector game that leans towards the challenging.    … Expand
  17. Rileycuipd8
    Nov 13, 2021
    10
    Best jrpg of the year !!! Love the music and it really looks great for a switch game and it's my game of the year
  18. 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
  19. 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
  20. ClayLamm
    Sep 19, 2022
    10
    People who don't like Shin Megami Tensei mainline games, who in many cases have never played them, played this and didn't like it because it wasn't Persona 6.

    It's one of the best JRPGs of all time, and it's a damn good SMT game. Period.
  21. MechGundam13
    Jul 18, 2022
    9
    I've never played a SMT Game before, SMT V was a great introduction for me into the Series.
    SMT V has great visuals, the Monster Design is fantastic and the Story is interesting.
    But I should note that the Game is really Grind Heavy.
  22. Nnorvv
    Nov 18, 2022
    9
    Could be better in terms of story and characters, but gameplay and exploration is rock solid, fun and exciting. Played for 90h finishing game 4 times on all endings.
  23. 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
  24. 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
  25. 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
  26. 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
  27. 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.
  28. 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
  29. 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.
  30. 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
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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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