Shin Megami Tensei V

About Shin Megami Tensei V

Shin Megami Tensei V dropped on November 12, 2021, for the Nintendo Switch as the fifth main entry in Atlus's long-running series. You play a high school student who stumbles into Da'at, a ruined version of modern Tokyo. This world lacks gods and is ruled by demons. Your character fuses with another soul to become a Nahobino, a being that defies both human and demon classifications. The game pits you against conflicting ambitions from divine forces while you navigate a dying landscape. You must decide which path leads to salvation or destruction. Atlus built this title as a direct sequel to previous entries but updated the engine for the current console generation. It remains a single-player adventure focused on narrative choices and demon interaction.

Gameplay

Sessions revolve around exploring ruined districts of Tokyo using a first-person camera with over-the-shoulder combat views. You encounter demons in real-time encounters where you dodge attacks and select commands from a menu. The core loop involves recruiting these demons to your side through negotiation or force. You then fuse multiple demons together in the Velvet Room to create stronger offspring with combined skills. Battles rely on exploiting elemental weaknesses to trigger critical hits that grant extra turns. This turn-based system demands careful planning for every move since mistakes can end a run quickly. The game features no multiplayer modes and focuses entirely on your progress through the story. You manage inventory, skill sets, and demon relationships while making moral choices that alter the ending.

What Players Think

Critics gave Shin Megami Tensei V a Metacritic score of 84 out of 100, reflecting strong reception from professional reviewers. PlayPile users report an average playtime of 45 hours for a standard run, though completionists spend over 70 hours chasing all endings. Community moods skew heavily toward "challenging" and "atmospheric," with 88 percent of reviews recommending the title to RPG fans. Players praise the demon fusion system as a standout feature but frequently cite the difficulty spike in mid-game chapters as a hurdle. Achievement data shows only 12 percent of users have unlocked all trophies, suggesting high replay value for those seeking perfection. Review snippets often mention the dark tone and complex narrative as defining elements that keep players engaged long after the main story concludes.

PlayPile's Take

This game is worth buying if you enjoy turn-based combat that demands strategic depth over reflexes. The $60 price point feels justified given the 45-hour average runtime and multiple endings. You should expect a steep learning curve with frequent deaths, but the demon fusion mechanics offer enough variety to keep things fresh. PlayPile rates this highly for its world-building and sound design alone. Skip it if you need hand-holding or casual pacing. The achievement count remains low because the final boss requires specific preparation that many players overlook. You get a dense experience without filler content, but only if you can handle the difficulty.

Storyline

The protagonist, a high school student living an ordinary life, wanders into another world called Da'at. He then fuses with a mysterious man and becomes a Nahobino, a forbidden being, throwing himself into a battle between gods and demons. The ambitions of god and human clash amidst the horror of a dying world. Neither human nor demon, the newly-forged Nahobino and his friends must decide what is worth saving... and prepare to sacrifice everything in its name. In a world without its Creator, which path will you choose?