Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance – Review

When it originally launched in 2021, Shin Megami Tensei V marked a significant growth in the franchise’s role-playing game (RPG) formula, placing a heavier emphasis on platforming, exploration, and discovery. Yet, there was more that could be done to progress the series in terms of improving upon archaic design choices such as confusing map layouts, cumbersome navigation, fixed save points, and poor difficulty pacing. These elements highlighted the need for further refinement to fully meet modern gaming expectations.

Thankfully, developer Atlus recognises the value in fine-tuning and enhancing their titles, as seen in games like Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse and Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux. This commitment is also evident in the polished iterations of Shin Megami Tensei’s sibling series Persona, with Persona 5 Royal and Persona 3 Reload and following this trend, Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is an updated and expanded relaunch of the 2021 classic, and introduces a wealth of quality-of-life improvements, new plot points, and fresh mechanics. 

Collectively, these advances make Vengeance the definitive way to experience the latest chapter in the Shin Megami Tensei series.

One of the biggest additions to Vengeance is the Canon of Vengeance story path, which can be followed right from the game’s earliest moments. If this is your first dive into Shin Megami Tensei V’s world of Da’at, fret not — the original Canon of Creation story is still available. However, Vengeance takes the original story and blasts off into something completely different, including new characters, as well as a bunch of fresh endings to chase.

This new path introduces Yoko Hiromine, a student from another school trained in exorcism, who harbours a grudge against her institution. She appears early on and actually becomes a character you can control in your party for a big chunk of the game. Plus, old pals like Tao Isonokami get more involved too, joining your crew earlier and sticking around for the ride.

Vengeance cranks the difficulty of Shin Megami Tensei‘s classic turn-based combat way up, even though the game is still all about figuring out enemy weaknesses and building your demon team to exploit them. But things get more brutal in Vengeance, even on normal difficulty, and enemies can demolish you in a single turn if you’re not careful. It’s punishing, but that’s what makes the combat addictive — it pushes you to master the system, making the victories feel more rewarding.

Vengeance has also thrown in a bunch of awesome features that make the game smoother and more enjoyable. For instance, the new Demon Haunt hub area at save points allows you to interact with your demons (complete with unique dialogue for each demon), sometimes receiving items or stat boosts from them. This hub also grants free bonus stat points to boost the player character’s attributes as you progress.

When it comes to exploration, the massive, maze-like overworlds become easier to navigate with a handy bird’s-eye view so you can plan your route and find those hidden areas. Shortcuts called Magatsu Rails have also been sprinkled throughout the world, allowing players to zip across the map or reach secret spots faster. And the best part? You can now save anywhere, so no more losing hours of progress after a brutal enemy encounter.

Overall, Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is a substantial upgrade to the original, offering almost an entirely new experience. This expansion builds on the original with a completely new story path featuring fresh characters and a deeper dive into the world. The combat still tests your skills, but quality-of-life improvements make exploration less frustrating. Whether you’re a fan or a newcomer, Vengeance offers a compelling reason to return to (or discover) this dark and rewarding RPG world.

Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.