Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance Hands-On Preview

Shin Megami Tensei 5released in 2021 to strong reviews, furthering Atlus' already-strong and still-growing presence in the JRPG space.Shin Megami Tensei 5reviewspraised its approach to storytelling and world-building, its cast of characters, and its strong use of common JRPG and franchise features. Now, 3 years later, the JRPG is getting a new definitive edition inShin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance.

The modus operandi ofShin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeanceappears to be “more.” At its core,Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeanceis more of everything - more stories, more demons, more characters, and more to love. This approach should bold well for the title, as it builds on everything that came before in new and exciting ways and truly represents what a “definitive edition” should be. Game Rant was recently able to check out some of this content during a hands-on preview.

Shin Megami Tensei 5 Tag Page Cover Art

Shin Megami Tensei 5’s Canon of Vengeance

InShin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance, players will have two storylines they can play through:Canon of Creation and Canon of Vengeance. The former is the originalSMT 5storyline, featuring all the improvements of this new edition but otherwise telling the same story. Canon of Vengeance is the new tale, and what was immediately clear is that the returning characters of the original storyline are not changed drastically. Motivations and rationales stay the same; there’s just a twist in the overarching direction. Canon of Creation and Canon of Vengeance both follow a similar path until about the midpoint in the game, until the latter breaks off and brings to players a new story dealing with the Qadistu. Their entry changes things significantly from that point, and while we only experienced teases of their plans, what we saw was indeed intriguing.

The Star of Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance

One new feature inSMT5: Vengeanceis the ability for human NPCsto join the player in battle, which is something seen in priorSMTtitles that didn’t quite make it into the original launch. With this back, it’s a great way to play with the beloved cast, but the new “remake girl,” as Atlus fans have taken to calling these characters, manages to steal the show. Yoko Hiromine is a saint, not unlike Tao Isonokami, but she’s incredibly different.

There’s an aura of mystery around her, as she seems to be quite dodgy about her past, and she doesn’t really mince words. She’s friendly enough to themain characters ofShin Megami Tensei 5, but she definitely has an edge to her. During one scene, she blatantly says someone would feel better if another character were just to be killed, showing she has a darker side. It remains to be seen how she develops, how she ties in with the Qadistu, and how her character arc impacts those around her, but she’s an exciting addition nonetheless.

Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance Takes Players to Da’at Shinjuku

Shin Megami Tense 5: Vengeancealso features a new location in Shinjukufor players to explore. This snow-laden hellscape is visually impressive at every turn, with it easy to get lost just by seeking out the shiny, attractive environmental feature in the distance. Here, players are tasked with investigating the Qadistu and seeking why humans are being turned to salt. Beneath the snow, players will find city ruins, powerful demons, and major challenges. It doesn’t skimp on the difficulty, either. Despite being buffed up with a solid team of demons, there were times when we were killed quicker than we could escape. The new area alone offers a lot of content to explore, and being subject to a teaser is a fate worse than Da’at.

All of this is capped off with various other improvements to performance, to gameplay, and to practically every element of the game. There are more demons than ever before, expandingShin Megami Tensei 5’s roster of demons, and new ways to combat them to boot, including powerful new Magatsuhi attacks, combos, and so forth. Ally demons now have unique skills, Demon Haunts let the PC speak and bond with key demons, and certain level caps can be increased. That’s really just the tip of the iceberg too. At the end of the day, it’s clear thatShin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeanceupgrades nearly every element of the game, and combined with its major new story, characters, and content, it embraces the idea of a definitive edition in every way.

Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeancereleases June 14 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Game Rant was provided travel and lodging for the purposes of this preview.