You play as an unnamed student attending high school in the bustling city of Tokyo. I’m not talking about the endgame either - SMT 5 is an onslaught from the opening moments, knowingly deliberate in its morbid machinations. You’ll need to grind for experience and find a way to conquer boss battles that threatens to reset your progress each and every time you fall victim to its barrage of attacks. It’s a harder, more uncompromising affair that isn’t afraid to kick you while you’re down and have you spend several hours picking up the pieces. Related: Chris Pratt Is Runing Everything I Ever Lovedīy design, Shin Megami Tensei 5 is a less approachable game. While part of me understands this perspective, it’s gatekeeping in a way that pushes people away for no good reason. Persona has long usurped Shin Megami Tensei in the JRPG world, with hardcore followers often demonising casual fans because “they’ve yet to play a real SMT game” and fail to appreciate the legacy that made all of their virtual teenage romances possible. It’s an undeniable triumph, but it’s not going to hold your hand. The genre has moved on since then, and Atlus recognises that, enhancing this sequel with a variety of improvements and a modern attitude that learns from the countless spin-offs it helped inspire. This is a JRPG dictated by combat and exploration, imbued with a sense of challenge that wouldn’t feel out of place several decades ago. Shin Megami Tensei 5 is immovable from what it wants to be.

Evolution of combat 4