Shin Megami Tensei V has been a long time coming. The last mainline entry in the series was released over eight years ago for the 3DS, while the last home console entry was another ten years before that. Moreover, Shin Megami Tensei V was one of the first games ever revealed for the Switch, mere months after the console itself was first shown to the public. All those years of hype have thus generated some awfully high expectations. It was never in doubt that Atlus would give this release the attention it deserves, but the question has always been whether it would be good enough to get over the high bar set by its predecessors. Fortunately, any such concerns can be cast aside — Shin Megami Tensei V is the best entry in the series yet and stands as an impressive achievement for a beloved franchise.
Right from the off, it’s made abundantly clear that Shin Megami Tensei V is every bit as ‘heavy’ as its predecessors. Things start off seemingly normal as you follow your character through a typical day of school, but there’s an ominous tone to the announcement at the end of the day that advises students to travel home in pairs. People have been disappearing and there are rumors of violent attacks taking place around Tokyo, but nobody really seems to have a clear idea of what exactly is going on.
Then, in practically the blink of an eye, Tokyo is gone.
In its place, your character finds himself trapped in a sand-swept hellscape littered with the crumbling ruins of skyscrapers and streets. Strange demonic and angelic creatures roam these wastes and there’s scarcely another human to be found. The world has already ended and you are alone, although this changes quickly when you meet an entity named Aogami, who fuses with you and turns you into a being called Nahobino. Invigorated with this newfound power, you thus begin a lengthy journey to both uncover what exactly happened to the world and to fight a whole lot of angels and demons along the way.
The story is something that really needs to be experienced to be understood, and we won’t rob you of the fun by spoiling anything further here, but suffice to say Shin Megami Tensei V tells quite a compelling tale. This is a story that is still very much marked by the weighty philosophical and moral ruminations that defined past entries, but Atlus has smartly decided to make this a more character-driven narrative than many previous games.
For example, the main shopkeeper in the game is a memorable, green-skinned ghoul named Gustave. Gustave is a friendly fellow. He seems like he genuinely wants to help you on your quest. But he …….
Source: https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/nintendo-switch/shin-megami-tensei-v