Shin Megami Tensei V SteelBook Edition - Nintendo Switch

This is only my second SMT game I've beat (after SMT 3) and I thoroughly enjoyed it for the obvious: battle system, fusions, music, and world. SMT games never fail to deliver with nailing the atmosphere in their games. I was surprisingly impressed with the platforming elements in this game and it's kind of necessary since you can find treasures hidden all over the maps. The only slight I have is against the story. The story is probably the weakest element of the game which is unfortunate because I like some of the characters.

[Employee of bestbuy] Average is being generous for this game. The steelbook is beautiful, but this game is a lackluster shallow grind.

Beautiful game and hours of gameplay. Its a grinders dream

I don’t have a big history with the Shin Megami Tensei series. I’ve played the opening hours of IV on my 2DS and enjoyed it, but the high level of difficulty and lack of “truly” easy options in past games has always deterred me from diving in and staying committed. The Persona series has captivated me in past years, however, due to the heavier emphasis on character interactions, story, and the inclusion of easier difficulty options. Fast forward to SMT V’s release and I pulled the trigger entirely due to the fact that there would be not only an easy option, but an optional patched download for a safety option. Knowing I could always resort to the safety difficulty if it began to become too daunting, I was confident this would be “the one”. And… it was. I played the first 10 or so hours on easy/casual and easy immediately drawn in to the wonderfully weird/dark world of Da’at. The story, while admittedly very light and the characters had me interested from the beginning and kept me wanting to see what would happen the rest of the way through. The exploration, combat, menu navigation, and Quest system was some of the best I’ve experienced in a JRPG in a long time. Everything flows together so well, is quick and easy to navigate, the movement and light-platforming made running around the semi-open worlds a blast — in addition to there being hidden items and NPC’s to discover around nearly every corner. Dialogue was interesting and fun. The graphics were gorgeous and the color vibrancy and vast and unique environments kept everything feeling fun and exhilarating to discover. And the soundtrack. Oh the soundtrack… one of the best, by far, I’ve heard in a LONG time. It fit the atmosphere and mood, cutscenes, combat, and exploration SO well. Every track was expertly composed and hauntingly beautiful to very hype. I switched over to safety mode after those initial 10 hours and never regretted it. It allowed me to freely enjoy exploring the world, fulfill side quests, fight bosses, and enjoy the combat system at my leisure and didn’t detract one bit from my enjoyment of the game — in fact, it made me enjoy it more fully and to completion (which can’t be said for IV or other games in the series that I found to just be too consistently challenging). Overall, whether you’re like me and want to enjoy the game without a challenge, or want to go in and prove your metal by raising the difficulty, if you enjoy JRPG’s, like darker stories, have enjoyed past SMT or Persona titles, or like post apocalyptic worlds, this game couldn’t be recommended more.

Good JRPG with good graphics for Switch. Load times aren't bad at all. Framer ate can take a hit sometimes, but I never found it to ruin the experience. This one can get a bit grind heavy due to the trash monsters low levels that quickly taper off in XP value, but battles are fun. The fusion system is addicting and keeps pulling you in to keep going for a better demon. I haven't finished it yet so I can't comment on the late story, but it seems standard faire for SMT....nothing groundbreaking, but decent. I will say that those looking for another Persona game should not look here. This is not a game focused on personal relationships and more stylized presentation. This is more 'hardcore' JRPG with a more serious tone and focus on the combat strategy and demon collecting.