Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance

Nowhere close to as good as Metaphor Refantaszio (which is newer) or SMT-Nocture (much older). I would rate this under Persona 3/4/5 as well. I dont know why they skewed so heavily into "look it's scant-clad anime girl demons" so heavily for this game, but it's pretty awful and in your face the whole time and detracts heavily from the experience. It just feels immature. Perhaps aiming for a different market (tweenage boys perhaps)? Anyways the point is, it is not a small amount, but pretty much consistently throughout the entire monster roster, nevermind the main baddie's opening attack is slapping her ass (I mean seriously, that's not an embellishment) for an 'attack' Anyways, functionally the game is "ok" - it's SMT so if you've played any SMT or Persona game, you know what you're getting into. Its nothing special. It gets to be a slog midgame. Cest la vie. For new players, just pick "Vengeance" when you start. It's basically (taking some liberties here) like Persona 5 vs Personal 5 Royal, but instead of just having the extra content integrated out of the gate (like P5R), there's a selection screen/menu choice early on within the game intro sequence if you want the extra content. There's a few tidbits not available but they are inconsequential to the run. I would rate it a 6.5/10, but would I recommend it? No. There are better games in this genre and from this developer. Paid $12 CAD for it and would feel awful paying a penny more. It is the most "meh" Atlus game I've ever played, and I've played them all. I don't know if I have the drive to finish it after 34 hours of uninspired sameness. I wish I played Nocturne or Metaphor again (or even a Persona game) instead.

[h1][b]TL;DR - 5/10[/b] [i](Debateable).[/i][/h1] [i]An absolute visual stunner. The character designs, demons, animations are all spot on 10 on 10 stunners. Sadly, it is marred by a difficulty that is best described as difficult for the sake of being difficult. And a story/character development that comes off lacking, and edgy for the sake of being edgy.[/i] [h1][b]Longer review.[/b][/h1] [h2]Gameplay - 5/10[/h2] Oh I would so love to put this higher, the mechanics of the fights are brilliant and there's a lot of depth when you look deep. However, the fights are basically decided on a macro level. Each boss is essentially a puzzle to solve. You prepare for bosses, sometimes changing out a heavy portion of your build and squad and plan. There are a few nice little team additions and innate skill synergies that cheese it, but if you are to go that route, you are limited with the number of things you can do. The whole schtick IS to have the bosses as their own tiny little puzzles. This sort of breaks the rhythm, for me personally. Going in full well knowing I would die, but just to get information for the next try, and then repeating is not super fun. The immediate improvisions or knowledge to bail out are few and far between. Sure, maybe checking the wiki or something will mitigate that, but I prefer to do things blind, and I don't think external guides should be a reference point to consider. At that point, it just becomes an exclusive chore. Affinities for instance, if you build for affinities, you get pierced anyway. The difficulty is 'difficult' for the sake of being 'difficult'. The bosses aren't necessarily hard, more so tedious. (Some bosses having this effect is nice, but in SMT V, it felt like pretty much every other boss is this way.) [h2]Art and Design: 10/10. [/h2] I cannot overstate how carefully crafted the designs are. The intricate unique moves from say Lord Shiva, or heck, the first eye opener, from Qadistu. They excel at what they serve to showcase. And the love and attention to detail that went into it is clear. [h2]Music: 8/10. [/h2] I did enjoy the music and sound design. It was atmospheric and lovely, and constantly elevated the experience, especially with the sound from the demons around. However, I can't rate it higher as nothing stuck with me like say Hades 2, Undertale or Persona for instance. [h2]Story: 3/10. [/h2] Oh boy. There's literally no 'depth' in the story. It's edgy for the sake of being edgy. I still can't get over how the characters change so drastically from pretty much nothing. And the 'subtle' cues are all bland and don't do enough to justify the change in personalities. I don't mind random bs go in a story, but with some semblance of structure would have been nice. It's just over the top for the sake of being over the top. Not earned. [h2]Overall: 5/10. [/h2] I would only recommend this game if you are into the 'grind and prepare' for pretty much every fight sort of loop. But if you feel the freedom of say BG3 wherein you can dictate your style quite well, or Hades where overall knowledge and mechanical mastery is awarded are the sort of qualities you would look for, this is NOT the game for you. If you can get over this however AND don't mind the subpar story, I would highly recommend it, the combat, and the art/design are just impeccable.

it's good in aspects SMT should be good at(good team building/gestion experience, very damn strict and unforgiving, great OST) but as a game released in 2021 this is not it its story and characters are so boring and uninspired it feels like they didn't even try level design and bosses are subpar too

台東区コマガタまで来て常にうごめいているキューブのマップで3D酔いで具合が悪くなり断念しました。 あんな不自然に壁から地面まで全部動かす必要がどこにあるんだよ…。

音乐顶，美术顶，战斗顶，养成顶，地图顶，优化顶，这种游戏十年做一个我没意见

a lot of monsters that are more in depth than other atlus games which imo makes it more fun, but it's not as engaging since the story is non-existent. obviously don't get this game if the latter is a dealbreaker for you and you're lowkey a chud or spiritually black

You would think that the repackaged and upgraded version of the game would include all the demons, right? Thankfully, Atlus continues to surpass everyone's expectations and once again lock the best demons in the game behind paid DLC (just like they did with the original SMT V!). Atlus proves that they have learned nothing from their failures with V because Vengeance still suffers from the boring environments, painfully bad story, and unrewarding endings that base V did. In Vengeance's story, Yoko is completely hamfisted into almost every cutscene and has nothing to say other than "hm... but the world is bad!", even when it is completely inappropriate to do so. I beat both Creation of Canon and Creation of Vengeance, Demi-Fiend, Shiva, and Satan just to see what was good about this game. After 80 or so hours, all I can say positive about this game is that the gameplay is quite nice, but becomes repetitive once you gain Murakumo, and that demon fusing/collecting demons in this game is quite nice. 5/10 I'd rather kick rocks on the side of the road.

Atlus has once again delivered an outstanding RPG experience with Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance. The game builds on an already excellent foundation with expanded content, improved storytelling, and engaging gameplay that keeps every battle exciting. The world design, challenging combat, and incredible soundtrack showcase the level of care and creativity Atlus is known for. It's also a pleasure to experience and learn about the many mythologies represented throughout the game, with demons and deities drawn from cultures around the world. For both longtime fans and newcomers, Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is a fantastic example of why Atlus remains one of the best RPG developers in the industry.

[i][b]Review EN/RU (Firstly in English / Затем на русском)[/b][/i] [h2]The Best JRPG Gameplay I've Ever Experienced[/h2] https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3720826477 I won't pretend to be some kind of JRPG expert, but I've played most of Atlus' modern titles, along with plenty of games from other developers and series. The Press Turn system makes every battle tense and rewarding, largely because it punishes mistakes just as much as it rewards good decisions. You can earn extra turns by exploiting enemy weaknesses, but you can just as easily lose them by missing an attack or hitting an enemy that nulls, drains, or repels your damage. I played on Hard, and I think the game's balance is quite good—even if it's not perfect. The opening hours are challenging, the midgame loses a bit of momentum (outside of bosses, regular encounters rarely feel threatening), and then the optional superbosses at the end will absolutely put your build and your understanding of the mechanics to the test. Consumable items are genuinely useful and can completely turn a battle around when used at the right moment. Demon fusion has never been this convenient. As always with Atlus, the UI is beautiful—although I still think Persona has the edge in terms of style. The soundtrack is absolutely incredible and had me hooked within minutes. And the demon designs... well... let's just say it's probably for the best Atlus hasn't introduced demon dating yet, because I might have completely lost my mind. [h2]That said, the game does have some genuine weaknesses:[/h2] [list] [*] [h3]The story is extremely minimalist.[/h3] And, in my opinion, it simply isn't engaging enough to carry multiple playthroughs. So if you're not sure whether you'll replay the game—or you're certain you'll only finish it once—[b][i]take the girl's hand.[/i][/b] Yes, I know. That sounds a little ominous. Trust me. Yoko is a fantastic character, her route does a much better job developing many of the supporting cast, and—most importantly—you'll get four absolutely incredible villainesses. The central conflict becomes much more personal, several boss fights gain additional emotional weight, and, of course, you'll eventually be able to recruit all four demon girls. [*] [h3]The open world becomes repetitive.[/h3] To be fair, the maps have excellent vertical design, searching for secrets is fun during your first playthrough, and although many demon quests are fairly straightforward, quite a few of them surprised me with their humor and creativity. Unfortunately, once I started NG+, I quickly realized how tiring it was to run through the same deserts all over again. It doesn't help that only one of the four major regions received meaningful additions for the new story route. The other three are almost entirely reused. [*] [h3]SEGA and the DLC.[/h3] As usual, Sega and Atlus locked several pay-to-win progression boosters behind paid DLC. To be fair, the game doesn't really require grinding... unless you're the kind of player who enjoys creating absurdly powerful demons. For example, I wanted to turn Mermaid into a legitimate endgame powerhouse—and I managed to do exactly that. But if your goal is to build several early-game demons with endgame-level stats, or simply keep your favorite low-level companions viable throughout the entire game, you'll either have to spend an enormous amount of time farming stat-boosting items... ...or buy the DLC that dramatically speeds up the entire process. Personally, I'm not a fan of monetization like this, and I think it deserves criticism. [/list] https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3730513354 Despite those flaws, I ended up binging the entire game. The superbosses beat me into the ground more than once. Some of the side quests had me laughing out loud. Several tracks immediately found their way into my playlist. By the time the credits rolled, I walked away more than satisfied. If you enjoy turn-based RPGs and have somehow skipped this one, I'd wholeheartedly recommend giving it a chance. [hr][/hr] [h2]Лучший JRPG-геймплей, что мне только довелось испытать.[/h2] Я не буду строить из себя гуру жанра, но поиграл и многие современные игры Атлус, и некоторые игры других серий и разрабов. Press Turn система делает бои напряжными и увлекательными, в том числе - благодаря наказаниям. Можно как выигрывать ходы, так и потерять их, промахнувшись/ударив в null/drain/repel. Я играл на сложном, и баланс на мой взгляд выстроен вполне неплохо, хотя и не идеально. Потненько в начале, середина немного провисает (кроме боссов, особо враги не напрягают), ну и опциональные супербоссы в конце дают прикурить. Расходники полезны и в нужный момент могут перевернуть бой. Слияние демонов еще никогда не было настолько удобным. UI как обычно у этой студии приятен глазу, хотя и не настолько шикарен, как в персоне. OST просто убойный и зацепил меня с первых же минут. Дизайны демонов... ух... скажу лишь, хорошо, что Атлусы систему свиданий с демонами не ввели, иначе можно было бы потерять голову полностью. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3726757235 [h2]Но есть у игры и объективные слабости:[/h2] [list] [*] [h3]История крайне минималистична.[/h3] И, на мой взгляд, точно не увлекательна для нескольких прохождений. Поэтому, если не уверены, сколько раз будете проходить (или если уверены, что только раз...) - [b][i]возьмите девушку за руку[/i][/b]. Да, да, знаю, звучит страшновато, но не пожалеете. Юко и сама клевая, и другие НПС раскрываются в ее истории лучше, и, самое главное, вы получите 4 шикарных злодеек. Сам конфликт будет более личным, босс-файты интереснее, и, конечно же, 4 шикарных демоницы можно будет потом завербовать! [*] [h3]Открытый мир довольно монотонен и надоедает.[/h3] На самом деле, вертикальность у карт неплоха, секреты в целом забавно искать в первый раз, квесты демонов хотя и зачастую прямолинейны, есть и всякая забавность - удивили меня приятно! Но когда я бежал НГ+, меня конечно сильно накрыло уныние пробегать эти пустыни второй раз. Не прибавляет энтузиазма и то, что только одна из 4х карт была добавлена для новой истории. 3 из 4 повторяются. [*] [h3]СЕГА и ДЛС.[/h3] Как обычно, Сега/Атлус засунули в ДЛС всякие p2w штучки, ускоряющие прогрессию. С одной стороны, гринда в игре особо нет... если только вам не захочется наворотить суперкрутых демонов. Например, мне лично хотелось сделать под финал крутую Русалку - и у меня это вполне получилось. Но если вам захочется создать под финал много раннихз демонов с супер статами, или просто таскать ранних демонов с собой всю игру, придется выложить кругленькую сумму/нафармить кучу расходников на статы. Или... купить ДЛСшки, которые этот процесс ускоряют. Я такие практики не люблю, и считаю достойными порицания. [/list] Вместе с этим, игру я прошел запоем. Настрадался с супербоссами, поорал с некоторых сайдов, закинул некоторые композиции себе в плейлист, и игрой более чем доволен.

10/10 would play again 10/10 would recommend 10/10 would tell a friend