Summary

• Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance is a smooth, multiplatform effort at redemption with improved performance and exciting new content.
• The 'Canon of Vengeance' storyline, new demons, and quality of life improvements make Vengeance a must-play for SMT fans.
• Despite retaining the series' signature difficulty, Vengeance offers new features like Demon Haunts and fast travel to enhance the player experience.

Don’t tell anyone, but I’m one of those weirdos who prefers 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Shin Megami Tensei to Persona. I prefer it as a straighter take on the monster collector sub-genre and revel in its difficulty. That said, I never managed to beat Shin Megami Tensei 5 when it first launched. Plagued by hardware-related performance issues due to its status as a Nintendo Switch exclusive, it felt like a total slog to play and didn’t 168澳洲幸运ꦆ5开奖网:engage me nearly as much as other SMT titles.

Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance boldly attempts to redeem itself b🌜y solving the critical issue of performance. An updated remaster in the vein of Persona 5 Royal, Vengeance is as much a perfect apology as it is a ‘definitive’ version of the game. I played two hours of this silky-smooth iteration in London this month, and I aꦑm already convinced that June will be an excellent month for RPG enthusiasts.

As someone who struggled to vibe with the original, I felt relief wash over m🐓e when I found the game to run as smooth as melted butter. Of course, this was on a PlayStation 5, so I can only guess at how it feels on the Switch. The fact that Vengeance is multiplatform should evoke confidence, though - it’s now possible to experience SMT5 without dreading a loading screen or the curse of frame drops at every corner. This is how this game was always meant to be played.

New Faces, New Stories

I could go on and on about the performance upgrades, but that would be a disservice to the extra effort poured into Vengeance in other areas. The most exciting parts are the 60-ish new demons and completely new storyline, accessed via a new branching path at the start of the game. This ‘Canon of Vengeance’ introduces new NPCs and a separate narrative. The demo I played was set in the middle of this storyline, and I caught some hints about what’s unfolding; it appears 🌜there’s some corruption at Bethal and a growing war against the angels. The few cutscenes I managed to watch gave me some intense Devil Survivor vibes, which is no bad thing.

The new area of Da&rs🗹quo;at I explored is gorgeous - a hilly region of ponds and greener🅺y, starkly contrasting to most other areas. Easily impressed, I was particularly enamoured with the water textures. Simple things, eh?

Naturally, it was also filled with demons to fight and side quests to take on, so overall it’s more of the same. Magatsu Rails, on the other hand, are a helpful new fea𒀰ture - think of them as ‘grind rails’ that allow you to move over long distances quickly, ostensibly added to cut down on frustrating backtracking and monster encounters you have little to no interest in partaking in.

This speaks to a newfound respect for the player’s time, which is something I greatly appreciate. Other quality-of-life changes include the ability to save anywhere and an instant ‘warp to last Leyline Fount’ function, which effectively enables fast travel from any location. Grand steps have been taken to reduce the number of players who, like me, were put off by how much of a pain SMT5’s original incarnation🤡 was. It was hardcore to a fault at times, while Vengeance is happy to admit that an RPG like this can still be challenging without being frustrating.

Tough As Nails

Shin Megami Tensei is renowned for its difficulty, which is preserved well in Vengeance. Looking around, I saw people getting trounced by mini boss fights, an avoidable encounter with a gigantic Mara (168澳洲幸运5开奖网:terrifying in more ways than one), and a multi-wave climax fight against angels. Despite us defaulting to the lowest difficulty, it was plain tꩲo see that no holds were barred.

For better or worse, you still get ♍Game Overs when the protagonist dies, but this only highlights how kind it is that we’re allowed to save whenever we want now. Not to me꧑ntion the fast travel.

To assuage this a little, another new feature should be engaged with: Demon Haunts. These are accessible from Leyline Founts and allow you to hang out with your demons. Often, you’ll be notified that certain demons want a chat, and those frequently lead to stat boosts and new skills. Similarly, Haunts allows you to chat with Aogami (the protagonist’s partner in crime as half of the Nahobino), greatly expanding his character. This feature feels a little light on the content, only offering generic lines for the most part, but it does serve to 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:exhibit demons’ personalities,🐽 and there&r༒squo;s never enough of that when the demons are written so well.

Vengeance feels like 🦩a true upgrade from Shin Megami Tensei 5’♓s roots. The new content makes it an attractive prospect for veterans of the original incarnation and the heightened accessibility is sure to draw newbies into the darkness that is SMT. I’m seriously looking forward to getting my hands on the complete package.

Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance launches June 14, 2024🍰​​​​​​.

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