"It's exactly why the industry needs more games like SMT V. Instead of aggressively sanding off any and all edges in order to appeal to the broadest audience possible, the game takes the exact opposite approach. It not only wears those edges like gleaming badges of honor, but is fully intending to stab you in the throat with them. It wants to challenge you, to desperately shake you out of complacency." This right here. Thank god there are still people in games media who don't get personally offended by a challenge but see it as a potential enrichment of the overall experience. Provided that the game gives you the means to overcome these challenges and learn from them, of course.
Agreed, one of the best lines I've ever heard in a review, speaking truth and being honest of something that might be a selling point to some and a red flag to stay away to others. Not all games are for everyone and that's ok!
@Shinobi Metroid Dread was highly succesful and that game was not made for casual gamers. We'll have to see how well SMT V sells, for now, things are looking good.
As someone who never played SMT for more than an hour so I don't know much about the story other than you choose different ideologies, would you say the story is worth it?
Thanks for the review! Almost 30 hours in and it's shaping up to be my GOTY. For those worried about the difficulty though, I don't think you should be too alarmed. There are difficulty levels that you can change, and the game lets you return to a save point at any time in a single button press. As long as you're saving regularly and exploring the map thoroughly before moving on, you'll be fine.
I don't want to act like a snob but I'm not sure how much you'd get out of the game plaything through on safety. Normal seems to be a tough (a good tough) difficulty for people with even a couple of SMT games under their belt, whilst hard seems to be giving even SMT experts some trouble. I can imagine casual still being difficult for novices to the genre and realistically, I think it's difficult but fair combat is it's selling point. There's isn't much else in the game if you remove the challenge as the story from what I've played feels week in comparison to others in the series.
@@bitterbatterdog While it would be nice to let everyone experience it as how SMT is known to be, we shouldn't shame people for choosing easier difficulties. As SMT fans we should want as many people to play the game as possible, not pushing people out. If the developers didn't want people to play on easier difficulties they wouldn't have put it in the game. I think the fact Normal is called Normal lets people understand the intended difficulty. If Safety and Casual lets people fall in love with the world of SMTV first and get used to the press turn combat system, fusing, affinities, etc, then I encourage them to. SMT is quite different from most JRPGs and I encourage people to acclimate themselves to it with easier difficulties. Then they could perhaps try Normal or Hard on a later playthrough (Remember, SMT is made for multiple playthroughs with alignment choices), they don't need to jump into it straight away.
I got the game day 1. It's the first SMT game I've ever played. 40 hours in and im glad Ben feels the same way i do about the game. Solid 9/10 experience so far.
@@wifi961 On 'Normal' difficulty it's quite hard, but not unreasonably hard. If you're careful and put some thought into your strategy, you will succeed.
SMT IV on 3DS is an absolute masterpiece, if anyone wants to try this kind of games at a cheap price. It's the reason I got into Shin Megami Tensei in the first place, and now I'm in love with the series
That's the only mainline SMT that I've played. V sounds pretty different, because what I liked about 4 was that the story was well paced. As far as difficulty, I played 4 on easy and didn't have any problems past the first couple bosses, how does V compare in that regard?
@@urmanascrewed smt 5 is very plain when it comes to the story and character s compared to 4. Smt4 is my favorite smt and jrpg of all time. Smt5 is good but the story is scattered.
@@loope9421 I've been hearing this. I usually like a good balance of story and gameplay. If I'm in the mood for a dungeon crawler than this might be a good option though.
Great review Ben! It's great you're reviewing the long awaited continuation of the shin megami tensei series by it's own merits without comparing with it's more popular spinoff. This is a shin megami tensei game on the switch should not be missed!
Finally...everything showed during Switch`s presentation almost 5 years ago is out now. Including NMH III. I`m loving every second I`m spending playing this game.
Finally, a journalist review that understands what the game is going for and that not being like Persona 5 in every way is for some reason considered bad. SMT V isn't a game for everyone, and that's fine. It has a specific audience, and they're having a blast with it.
tbf the audience for SMT games is very niche, it wasnt cool in the past to be punishingly difficult and obtuse with a weebed out map, and they have hesitated in the past to port them. Plus, more recently nocturne only sold okay. p5 on the otherhand sold incredibly well and was recieved by a much wider audience. I kind of feel like that is the point of persona so I agree they have different audiences, but in theory an SMT game should be able to tap into that mass appeal. I am loving this game because i am a long time SMT fan but if it was my like second game after p5 and I didnt know any better...would feel bad man, SMT has no chill. When SMT makes no effort to broaden its horizons and be more peoples cup of tea cant fault the reviewer for warning the casuals or not liking it.
@@Luminousreign tbh i find these smt fans to be too toxic. ign gave it a good score, so did gamespot. but they seem to have gotten mad the game got an 8 instead of a 9 or 10.
@@joeyboyjoeyboy2 The problem was not the score, but how the reviews were writen, is very rare to see any critic of those reviews talking about the score.
“It not only wears those edges like gleaming badges of honor, but is fully intending to stab you in the throat with them.” This is why I love EZA reviews 💯
Same, not to mention these are easily some of the best written video game reviews you could possibly find on the internet or elsewhere. Feels like the early days of GT, with independent journalists who are truly passionate about the medium.
Thanks for the amazing review, Brandon. Nice to see this series being given a proper shake by your team & your reviews haven't let up since the days of GameTrailers.
Awesome review Ben, i dont know if you ever look at these comments but I just really appreciate your insight on these games that I think you and I both know will tend to get overlooked. This game looks fascinating and intimidating but there's something about it just on the surface of SMT that has this really gripping atmosphere and mood.
I'm really enjoying myself so far with the game. So far I've exclusively dumped my extra stat points into Agility and while I'm not full on dodging everything, I'm dodging most things.
I beat smt 3 nocturne twice when I was a kid, a few months ago I purchased the hd remaster but I guess I’m getting rusty cause I got stuck mid game, now I don’t know if this entry is more difficult than smt 3 😫
As always, great review. Very informative and well written, honestly and clearly pointing to the strengths and flaws of the game. Taking a bit more time than others to thoroughly play the games and write the reviews truly pays off. I hope you keep doing what you do, because it's excellent.
If smt dragon quest and yes persona teaches us anything it’s that there’s still an audience for turned based rpgs. They aren’t just an inferior version of more typical combat systems the focus is on strategy and there are legitimately hard combat situations. It’s not “outdated” either again while people make mock it persona 5 is one of the most popular Jorge in years. With that in mind why can’t we have turned based combat in final fantasy again? We can’t we have focus on party composition and turned based strategy instead of poorly implemented action oriented combat?
@@Vyse195 I am not complaining. They have a deal and that's fine. I just don't happen to have a Switch, that's all. Will be playing SMT IV on my 3DS soon, though.
It's very rare in RPGs that I ever use the guard command if ever. But this is one of the few ones where I use it at least a few times during a boss fight.
@@dandon1968 How does my comment even suggest that I haven't enjoyed the review? I'm saying this because this is one of the few reviews that actually talk about the game instead of comparing it to 3 other game. This is why I love EasyAllies' content.
@@ghadamohamed6904 Well it's a great game, I would recommend it! I don't think it's too hard, but it's not easy either (on normal). If you like JRPGs you will have a great time with SMT5! But be warned, its story and characters may be a bit too minimalistic for some people :)
This is one of my favourite video game channels and as a huge jrpg fani was really looking forward to this video..also love the narrator since gametrailers
Incredible game, agree with all points (aside from narrative as am only 20 hrs in and still loving it) - but does nobody find there are a few horrendous pop-in and stutter issues? Specifically when approaching demons from afar in the overworld?
This is my game of the year, but no mention of any any technical aspects of the game is questionable. I don't care about branding or what console does what, but I do care about the choppy mess on display here. The frame rate is utterly horrible at times when traversing the open landscapes. My only hope is that it will appear in time on hardware not technically hampering it. Future Nintendo hardware or another, I just want the game to shine at its best.
I feel that's the case to blame the Switch over the game itself, hopefully, SMT V goes to stronger hardware in the near future. This game running with 60 fps on Yuzu is amazing. I cant see a way to improve the performance on the Switch tho, they did their best with UE4
@@le3571 The Switch can run in 1080p at 60 fps. If Nintendo can do it with their 1st party titles, then so can 3rd party companies. I'm sure an update with patches can remedy some of the rough edges. I'm currently playing and did not see anything game breaking.
@@21minute You're cool with Nintendo's ecosystem of older tech. The game doesn't have to be game breaking to realize that it is actually struggling to run. Close your eyes & be contempt with under powered hardware. You do you. Just expect some of us to want a "larger canvas" for the devs to create their art.
This is the review I have been waiting for and ben never fails to impress, with that said I really don’t like how most of the footage shown are from the late game instead of focusing more on the earlier parts.
Literally not true, there's nothing here beyond the midway point and what little there is of that mid point (the gray looking environment) only accounts for about 10% of the footage
I was waiting for this review. I knew Ben would give it a 9/10 😅 Seriously though, fantastic review. The vocabulary used is fantastic and I already see people quoting some of the best lines of your review. SMTV is already my personal Game of the year (30 hours in). It's everything I wanted. It's the most addictive Atlus game and I don't feel fatigued. Phenomenal game!
@@flamuralaj3302 Raidou has its own fanbase. If they implement Strikers mechanics on Raidou while keeping Raidou's primary elements, people would still flock to it. Also, Raidou games are all stand alones, I got into Abaddon first before getting to the Soulless Army, no problem understanding the whole thing.
Yea. Persona series from P3 to P5 was created for casual auditory. Meanwhile SMT series is more complicated and difficult with combat system and etc. If Persona series more about story and character's, SMT about pure combat gameplay.
This game does not seem to be my cup of tea. While I do like dark stuff, I like it mixed with happines and wholesomeness. The Manga/ Anime Series "Made in Abyss" is the perfect example of what I mean. If its just dark all the time I stop caring and it has no impact. I am not saying SMT is bad. I just think it is not fore me. And yet I want to try this game out and I probably will. Its kinda bizzar. I dont think I will like it but I still want to give it a shoot. If nothing else it looks pretty and the gameplay looks fun.
Love the game but it's jarring when you go from playing games at 100+ fps then going to something that runs between 20-30 fps. A Switch Pro would have been nice instead an oled screen that no one asked for. Wish the game wasn't held hostage by Nintendo. It would surely shine on better hardware.
no one asked for, and yet its sold out... a true upgrade would be more unavailable because it would have been sold out even faster... also, silicon shortage that is even delaying steam deck.
No one asked for it but consumers will buy anyway just because there is a shortage. Anything that is harder to acquire is more appealing to people. A faster switch is what gamers would did want and would have sold out even faster. That's something even I would be trying to buy.
Amazing review, written from the heart directly speaking to fellow gamers, being honest in the game's aspects which are blessings to some, detriments to others. Thank you Ben, you truly are the best in the biz!
I have not seen a single Switch game that uses Unreal Engine 4 look as smooth as standard Switch Games. Something about Unreal Engine is not good on the Switch IMO
this game is addicting, going around collecting demons, farming macca, fusing said demons and making your party feels super good and then you get 2 shot because the boss landed a crit on your team with an AOE... great game tho
As a person who loves platforming and hardcore JRPGs I'm really excited for this one. Excellent review, for some reason this game has attracted a really low reviewing standard? Maybe its the difficulty that is making reviewers jobs hard so they never really experiment with the systems and mark it as far more shallow than it is?
I think it's because the series is extremely Niche here. I listened to an interview with the IGN reviewer and she was like the only person interested in reviewing t to begin with. And it was a low priority for IGN with games like COD and Forza out around the same time.
The 8 year long wait for another mainline Shin Megami Tensei Game was well worth the wait. I’m definitely going to get lost in this game for hundreds of hours.
Yes Ben! An entire review without mentioning that popular Shin Megami spinoff series about high schoolers even once, unlike so many other reviews of this game. Great job! Best in the biz!
A lot of the time when SMT gets compared to Persona and is seen as hollow is usually cause fans tend to not really talk about what's good about the game and just say "we're better cause we are edgier". V was kinda more of a platformer, but at least the journey was just good clean fun in a fantasy environment like the 90s and that's what matters.
I don’t understand why this game got a 7 1/2 out of 10 on the users score section in Metacritic. I am about five hours in and I don’t see why it would be any worse than the other titles in the series. Granted I have only played a couple of others and didn’t spend a whole Lotta time in them simply because I was distracted with other games. Can anyone explain why the user score would be so low for this title?
9.0/10 with Eng dub, means 10/10 with JP voices! Nice! /s But seriously, that was an amazing review Ben, absolutely worth the wait. SMTV is my first proper SMT game and I'm ~33 hours in and really loving my time with it. With P5 and now this, future of Atlus RPGs look quite bright.
The word I would use to describe this game is "pure." I don't think I've seen a major release this pure in its focus since the days when games like this were cheaper to make.
Problem with most SMT5 reviews (I`m only considering good reviews like this one) is that they are aimed to the mainstream public/newcomers and not to the actual fans of the franchise, they use other jrpgs as comparison but not other SMT titles which is kinda frustrating.
I’m blown away at how dense some of the maps are! It feels and looks like a PS4 game at times lol! Although, I wished it was on much stronger hardware to really give this game justice in the visual and performance department! Here’s hoping it gets ported to PC!
I finished it in about 108 hours and just got one of the endings, planning on doing the rest . Somehow the gospel/grimoires felt cheap and kinda ruined the fun for the last bosses for me a bit cuz i saved a lot of the for late game. But all in all it was very much fun and worth :)
Started playing the game (3hrs now/haven't played a Shin Megami game yet but Persona 3&5) and I have to say that I love it. It has some really strange choices (the music f.e.) but it all feels intentional. Everything looks bleak on purpose but the really colourful, recruitable demons really stand out that way. The battle system is fun and also really challenging. This really does feel like a better and more mature version of Pokemon. I also like that recruitable demons feel more like they really matter compared to Persona 5 (where you switch them way too often and rarely really feel a connection to a certain Persona).
SMTV is easily my switch GOTY. It quicks the mold of what the series did, and the amount of demons available is amazing. Couldn’t recommend this enough
During PS3/X360 era, people were saying Japanese games are over... PS4 and now PS5 era, it's western games that's dead on creativity with games like CoD, BF, Far Cry, FIFA and other crap. Quite interesting how industry keep changes. Even if Japanese devs go derivative stuff, they still do it right most of the time.
Didn't think the score would be so high based on the criticism... yeah, I feel like I need a better story and more original setting. I think I'll pass for now, maybe when I'm in the mood to play another SMT I'll play this or 3. I've played IV before and really liked it.
The game isn't THAT hard. It's great!! First SMT for me, playing on hard I've found no truly crazy challenge so far, everything has been manageable pretty much without grinding. Update: I had to farm a bit to beat Shiva and haven't beat Demi-Fiend but the rest of the game was overall very well balanced. Hard was fun AF to play.
Only thing keeping me from buying this game is the switch hardware. I'm just getting too aggravated by frame rate drops these days on switch or how games could have been even better if not tethered to it's hardware requirements
the game is playable but not gonna lie the framerate can barely hold stable 30fps it shift from 25-30fps and the image is kinda blurry both docked and handheld because the dev downgrade the resolution for a more stable framerate with the first day patch.
"It's exactly why the industry needs more games like SMT V. Instead of aggressively sanding off any and all edges in order to appeal to the broadest audience possible, the game takes the exact opposite approach. It not only wears those edges like gleaming badges of honor, but is fully intending to stab you in the throat with them. It wants to challenge you, to desperately shake you out of complacency."
This right here. Thank god there are still people in games media who don't get personally offended by a challenge but see it as a potential enrichment of the overall experience. Provided that the game gives you the means to overcome these challenges and learn from them, of course.
Agreed, one of the best lines I've ever heard in a review, speaking truth and being honest of something that might be a selling point to some and a red flag to stay away to others. Not all games are for everyone and that's ok!
@Shinobi Metroid Dread was highly succesful and that game was not made for casual gamers. We'll have to see how well SMT V sells, for now, things are looking good.
@Shinobi oh buddy your comment didn't age well. It sold phenomenal
As someone who never played SMT for more than an hour so I don't know much about the story other than you choose different ideologies, would you say the story is worth it?
Thanks for the review! Almost 30 hours in and it's shaping up to be my GOTY. For those worried about the difficulty though, I don't think you should be too alarmed. There are difficulty levels that you can change, and the game lets you return to a save point at any time in a single button press. As long as you're saving regularly and exploring the map thoroughly before moving on, you'll be fine.
I don't want to act like a snob but I'm not sure how much you'd get out of the game plaything through on safety. Normal seems to be a tough (a good tough) difficulty for people with even a couple of SMT games under their belt, whilst hard seems to be giving even SMT experts some trouble. I can imagine casual still being difficult for novices to the genre and realistically, I think it's difficult but fair combat is it's selling point. There's isn't much else in the game if you remove the challenge as the story from what I've played feels week in comparison to others in the series.
@@bitterbatterdog While it would be nice to let everyone experience it as how SMT is known to be, we shouldn't shame people for choosing easier difficulties. As SMT fans we should want as many people to play the game as possible, not pushing people out. If the developers didn't want people to play on easier difficulties they wouldn't have put it in the game.
I think the fact Normal is called Normal lets people understand the intended difficulty. If Safety and Casual lets people fall in love with the world of SMTV first and get used to the press turn combat system, fusing, affinities, etc, then I encourage them to. SMT is quite different from most JRPGs and I encourage people to acclimate themselves to it with easier difficulties. Then they could perhaps try Normal or Hard on a later playthrough (Remember, SMT is made for multiple playthroughs with alignment choices), they don't need to jump into it straight away.
Also, items trivialize the game during some of the boss fights. It wants you to use them.
In a world where Guardians of the Galaxy and Tales of Arise exist how could THIS ever be your GOTY?! Doesn't even come close.
Not to mention that most bosses are more of a puzzle than anything
I got the game day 1. It's the first SMT game I've ever played. 40 hours in and im glad Ben feels the same way i do about the game. Solid 9/10 experience so far.
How hard is it? I’ve never tried SMT but the difficulty + turn based RPG is kinda off putting for me.
@@wifi961 On 'Normal' difficulty it's quite hard, but not unreasonably hard. If you're careful and put some thought into your strategy, you will succeed.
A game that breaks you down. Only to have you pick yourself back up stronger and wiser.
SMT IV on 3DS is an absolute masterpiece, if anyone wants to try this kind of games at a cheap price.
It's the reason I got into Shin Megami Tensei in the first place, and now I'm in love with the series
*_Such is a Samurai's Skill!_*
@@BknMoonStudios *Behold, my demons!*
That's the only mainline SMT that I've played. V sounds pretty different, because what I liked about 4 was that the story was well paced. As far as difficulty, I played 4 on easy and didn't have any problems past the first couple bosses, how does V compare in that regard?
@@urmanascrewed smt 5 is very plain when it comes to the story and character s compared to 4. Smt4 is my favorite smt and jrpg of all time. Smt5 is good but the story is scattered.
@@loope9421 I've been hearing this. I usually like a good balance of story and gameplay. If I'm in the mood for a dungeon crawler than this might be a good option though.
Played for about 20 hours so far and absolutely loving it. I'm so glad Ben actually gets what SMT is about and what it's meant to be.
Great review Ben! It's great you're reviewing the long awaited continuation of the shin megami tensei series by it's own merits without comparing with it's more popular spinoff. This is a shin megami tensei game on the switch should not be missed!
Finally...everything showed during Switch`s presentation almost 5 years ago is out now. Including NMH III. I`m loving every second I`m spending playing this game.
Finally, a journalist review that understands what the game is going for and that not being like Persona 5 in every way is for some reason considered bad.
SMT V isn't a game for everyone, and that's fine. It has a specific audience, and they're having a blast with it.
God that IGN review made me mad...
tbf the audience for SMT games is very niche, it wasnt cool in the past to be punishingly difficult and obtuse with a weebed out map, and they have hesitated in the past to port them. Plus, more recently nocturne only sold okay. p5 on the otherhand sold incredibly well and was recieved by a much wider audience. I kind of feel like that is the point of persona so I agree they have different audiences, but in theory an SMT game should be able to tap into that mass appeal. I am loving this game because i am a long time SMT fan but if it was my like second game after p5 and I didnt know any better...would feel bad man, SMT has no chill. When SMT makes no effort to broaden its horizons and be more peoples cup of tea cant fault the reviewer for warning the casuals or not liking it.
@@Luminousreign tbh i find these smt fans to be too toxic. ign gave it a good score, so did gamespot. but they seem to have gotten mad the game got an 8 instead of a 9 or 10.
@@joeyboyjoeyboy2 "It's called MegaTen! Not MegaEight!"
@@joeyboyjoeyboy2 The problem was not the score, but how the reviews were writen, is very rare to see any critic of those reviews talking about the score.
“It not only wears those edges like gleaming badges of honor, but is fully intending to stab you in the throat with them.”
This is why I love EZA reviews 💯
That was a great line, made me chuckle :)
@@Boopop1024 was that a jab at IGN review?
Shout out for the usage of "ascendant" and "unflinching." A very well written/produced/edited review, y'all!
I am really enjoying my time with this game ... More so than SMT 3 which I also enjoyed but this just has such a satisfying gameplay loop!
Ben killing it with the brilliant vocabulary
I recognize this voice anywhere, used to watch a bunch of reviews on gametrailers as a kid. glad you guys are still around 🙂👍🏼
Yes this channel is very nostalgic to me due to his voice from GT. Still great!
Same, not to mention these are easily some of the best written video game reviews you could possibly find on the internet or elsewhere. Feels like the early days of GT, with independent journalists who are truly passionate about the medium.
Thanks for the amazing review, Brandon. Nice to see this series being given a proper shake by your team & your reviews haven't let up since the days of GameTrailers.
All props to the game, but this is a kick ass review! Awesome writing.
Congrats to Ben for getting a huge JRPG review under ten minutes
Awesome review Ben, i dont know if you ever look at these comments but I just really appreciate your insight on these games that I think you and I both know will tend to get overlooked. This game looks fascinating and intimidating but there's something about it just on the surface of SMT that has this really gripping atmosphere and mood.
Ah, man. Ben Moore convinced me to buy a game again. Best in the biz, no question.
I'm really enjoying myself so far with the game. So far I've exclusively dumped my extra stat points into Agility and while I'm not full on dodging everything, I'm dodging most things.
Excellent review! Reviewed the game on its own terms and by its own merit. Of course Ben Moore would give the SMT series its due.
I beat smt 3 nocturne twice when I was a kid, a few months ago I purchased the hd remaster but I guess I’m getting rusty cause I got stuck mid game, now I don’t know if this entry is more difficult than smt 3 😫
I’m loving this game so far!
SMT 5 is DEMONstrably GOTY
As always, great review. Very informative and well written, honestly and clearly pointing to the strengths and flaws of the game. Taking a bit more time than others to thoroughly play the games and write the reviews truly pays off. I hope you keep doing what you do, because it's excellent.
If smt dragon quest and yes persona teaches us anything it’s that there’s still an audience for turned based rpgs. They aren’t just an inferior version of more typical combat systems the focus is on strategy and there are legitimately hard combat situations. It’s not “outdated” either again while people make mock it persona 5 is one of the most popular Jorge in years. With that in mind why can’t we have turned based combat in final fantasy again? We can’t we have focus on party composition and turned based strategy instead of poorly implemented action oriented combat?
Ben with the best SMT V review out there and Don with the KILLER EDIT. So much talent!
Atlus is one of the best developers out there. I wish this game were on the PS4/5 as well.
Because unlike Sony, Nintendo can't have exclusives without someone complianing I guess
@@Vyse195 I am not complaining. They have a deal and that's fine. I just don't happen to have a Switch, that's all. Will be playing SMT IV on my 3DS soon, though.
Smt 3 hd is on the ps4 for cheap though
@@Vyse195 Lmao I can’t count how many times I’ve read Switch people port begging.
SMT V review on the Gametrailers guy voice! I miss this reviewer, thanks! you earned a sub!
Ben Moore keeps being the GOAT of reviews.
It's very rare in RPGs that I ever use the guard command if ever. But this is one of the few ones where I use it at least a few times during a boss fight.
And you can teach your demons to fill up MP when they guard and even the mahatsugi gage
See, you can do an SMT review without mentioning Persona or Dark Souls even once. Take notes "journalists"
yet you can't resist... instead of enjoying this topic and the review itself, you prefer to comment about other's reviews of this game.
@@dandon1968 Also true lmao
@@dandon1968 How does my comment even suggest that I haven't enjoyed the review? I'm saying this because this is one of the few reviews that actually talk about the game instead of comparing it to 3 other game. This is why I love EasyAllies' content.
@@damarus87 he's just a contrarian lmao
If they did mention Persona it would have been fine. Because it's natural, and they know not to bash SMT for not being Persona, and vice versa.
hell yea, never played an SMT game but think im getting this one
I'm you from the future and I just came to tell you (me) that it's worth it!
@@Kerdukie woahh how is it? im new to SMT games so im worried it would kick my ass bcs of how brutal it can be :'D so is it worth it?
@@ghadamohamed6904 Since there are a lot of difficulty options, I think you'd be fine! Give it a try.
@@ambrosiac7 alright i will ! thank you so much !!!
@@ghadamohamed6904 Well it's a great game, I would recommend it! I don't think it's too hard, but it's not easy either (on normal). If you like JRPGs you will have a great time with SMT5! But be warned, its story and characters may be a bit too minimalistic for some people :)
It’s an absolutely incredible game!
This is one of my favourite video game channels and as a huge jrpg fani was really looking forward to this video..also love the narrator since gametrailers
Now THAT´S how you review a SMT. The score of the game may be 09/10 but this review is a 10/10
Incredible game, agree with all points (aside from narrative as am only 20 hrs in and still loving it) - but does nobody find there are a few horrendous pop-in and stutter issues? Specifically when approaching demons from afar in the overworld?
This is my game of the year, but no mention of any any technical aspects of the game is questionable. I don't care about branding or what console does what, but I do care about the choppy mess on display here. The frame rate is utterly horrible at times when traversing the open landscapes. My only hope is that it will appear in time on hardware not technically hampering it. Future Nintendo hardware or another, I just want the game to shine at its best.
I feel that's the case to blame the Switch over the game itself, hopefully, SMT V goes to stronger hardware in the near future. This game running with 60 fps on Yuzu is amazing. I cant see a way to improve the performance on the Switch tho, they did their best with UE4
@@le3571 The Switch can run in 1080p at 60 fps. If Nintendo can do it with their 1st party titles, then so can 3rd party companies. I'm sure an update with patches can remedy some of the rough edges. I'm currently playing and did not see anything game breaking.
@@21minute You're cool with Nintendo's ecosystem of older tech. The game doesn't have to be game breaking to realize that it is actually struggling to run. Close your eyes & be contempt with under powered hardware. You do you. Just expect some of us to want a "larger canvas" for the devs to create their art.
Easily my favorite Switch exclusive since BotW!
This is the review I have been waiting for and ben never fails to impress, with that said I really don’t like how most of the footage shown are from the late game instead of focusing more on the earlier parts.
Oh I felt the opposite I thought it had too much of the intro lol
I wasn't even looking at the video, just the audio portion.
Literally not true, there's nothing here beyond the midway point and what little there is of that mid point (the gray looking environment) only accounts for about 10% of the footage
I was waiting for this review. I knew Ben would give it a 9/10 😅 Seriously though, fantastic review. The vocabulary used is fantastic and I already see people quoting some of the best lines of your review. SMTV is already my personal Game of the year (30 hours in). It's everything I wanted. It's the most addictive Atlus game and I don't feel fatigued. Phenomenal game!
Been playing for 12 hours. Got wrecked once, so I run around levelling and fusing.
My kind of JRPG. Hell yea
Damn, really enjoyed the review. Well done guys!
Hoping Atlus plans to remake the Raidou Kuzunoha games after learning how well Nahobino moves through the world.
Nah, I demand for a sequel instead of a remake.
@@shinyanakagawa8241 What about a Shohei Yakumo game instead, because you'd lose people on Raidou with a third installment after so long?
@@flamuralaj3302 Raidou has its own fanbase. If they implement Strikers mechanics on Raidou while keeping Raidou's primary elements, people would still flock to it. Also, Raidou games are all stand alones, I got into Abaddon first before getting to the Soulless Army, no problem understanding the whole thing.
@@shinyanakagawa8241 If you think so, dude.
Ben waiting for this
As someone who found the battles in Persona 5 too sparse and paint-by-numbers, all of this sounds fantastic.
Yea. Persona series from P3 to P5 was created for casual auditory. Meanwhile SMT series is more complicated and difficult with combat system and etc. If Persona series more about story and character's, SMT about pure combat gameplay.
Not only an excellent and knowledgeable review, but you didn't even mention Persona even once. Bravo
This game does not seem to be my cup of tea. While I do like dark stuff, I like it mixed with happines and wholesomeness. The Manga/ Anime Series "Made in Abyss" is the perfect example of what I mean.
If its just dark all the time I stop caring and it has no impact. I am not saying SMT is bad. I just think it is not fore me.
And yet I want to try this game out and I probably will.
Its kinda bizzar. I dont think I will like it but I still want to give it a shoot.
If nothing else it looks pretty and the gameplay looks fun.
Love the game but it's jarring when you go from playing games at 100+ fps then going to something that runs between 20-30 fps. A Switch Pro would have been nice instead an oled screen that no one asked for. Wish the game wasn't held hostage by Nintendo. It would surely shine on better hardware.
no one asked for, and yet its sold out... a true upgrade would be more unavailable because it would have been sold out even faster... also, silicon shortage that is even delaying steam deck.
No one asked for it but consumers will buy anyway just because there is a shortage. Anything that is harder to acquire is more appealing to people. A faster switch is what gamers would did want and would have sold out even faster. That's something even I would be trying to buy.
Amazing review, written from the heart directly speaking to fellow gamers, being honest in the game's aspects which are blessings to some, detriments to others. Thank you Ben, you truly are the best in the biz!
I love this game. I really wish it could be on other consoles or pc though because the switch is clearly holding back the visual fidelity of it
I have not seen a single Switch game that uses Unreal Engine 4 look as smooth as standard Switch Games. Something about Unreal Engine is not good on the Switch IMO
pc port later next year has leaked
Yeah definitely going to get this on PC when it comes out.
this game is addicting, going around collecting demons, farming macca, fusing said demons and making your party feels super good
and then you get 2 shot because the boss landed a crit on your team with an AOE...
great game tho
As a person who loves platforming and hardcore JRPGs I'm really excited for this one. Excellent review, for some reason this game has attracted a really low reviewing standard? Maybe its the difficulty that is making reviewers jobs hard so they never really experiment with the systems and mark it as far more shallow than it is?
I think it's because the series is extremely Niche here. I listened to an interview with the IGN reviewer and she was like the only person interested in reviewing t to begin with. And it was a low priority for IGN with games like COD and Forza out around the same time.
Not really , it has an 86 on metacritic
Thanks for the review guys :)
The 8 year long wait for another mainline Shin Megami Tensei Game was well worth the wait. I’m definitely going to get lost in this game for hundreds of hours.
Easy Allies. One of the few reviewers that can be trusted with their assessment.
Yes Ben! An entire review without mentioning that popular Shin Megami spinoff series about high schoolers even once, unlike so many other reviews of this game. Great job! Best in the biz!
Its a shame that Ben didnt mentioned Devil survivor , yeah. Its my favorite spin off about high schoolers
If he did mention Persona it would have been fine. Because it's natural, and he knows not to bash SMT for not being Persona, and vice versa.
I'm more into the demon collection aspect so I'm playing on safety 🌚
definitely my GOTY, never been addicted to a game this year such as SMT V
I wholly disagree with the quests at times, because there are moments where you can affect the outcome of things down the lane.
Is this that game that's like persona but without the heart?
FINALLY! Been waiting for this. Had me worried there for a awhile.
God this channel is so good
Great review Ben and team.
Fantastic review as always.
Hey look at that. Not a single comparison to Persona. So it is possible to review a game on its own merit. Who knew?
A lot of the time when SMT gets compared to Persona and is seen as hollow is usually cause fans tend to not really talk about what's good about the game and just say "we're better cause we are edgier". V was kinda more of a platformer, but at least the journey was just good clean fun in a fantasy environment like the 90s and that's what matters.
I don’t understand why this game got a 7 1/2 out of 10 on the users score section in Metacritic. I am about five hours in and I don’t see why it would be any worse than the other titles in the series. Granted I have only played a couple of others and didn’t spend a whole Lotta time in them simply because I was distracted with other games. Can anyone explain why the user score would be so low for this title?
9.0/10 with Eng dub, means 10/10 with JP voices! Nice! /s
But seriously, that was an amazing review Ben, absolutely worth the wait. SMTV is my first proper SMT game and I'm ~33 hours in and really loving my time with it. With P5 and now this, future of Atlus RPGs look quite bright.
I'm surprised you didn't try SMT 3 Nocturne when it came out on Switch and Steam.
@@Ruskles06 It felt a bit expensive for a rerelease, so I decided to wait for SMTV instead.
@@sonofsparda1810 Understandable, I'm checking out 3 before 5.
Thanks for a great review Ben. This game rules.
The game is phenomenal. This review sums up all my thoughts nicely. Another great one.
No mention of that inconsistent framerate? Game looks cool though!
Easily my GOTY. So good.
"It's not good simply because it's hard" Was that a shot at From Software 😅?
The word I would use to describe this game is "pure." I don't think I've seen a major release this pure in its focus since the days when games like this were cheaper to make.
Problem with most SMT5 reviews (I`m only considering good reviews like this one) is that they are aimed to the mainstream public/newcomers and not to the actual fans of the franchise, they use other jrpgs as comparison but not other SMT titles which is kinda frustrating.
For those that played: is Hydra the Minotaur/Matador of this title?
Not really
I "first tried" Hydra.
Does it answer your question?
No
Playing on hard I died 4 times at hydra
It is Nuwa
I’m blown away at how dense some of the maps are! It feels and looks like a PS4 game at times lol! Although, I wished it was on much stronger hardware to really give this game justice in the visual and performance department! Here’s hoping it gets ported to PC!
I'm amazed they didn't even mention Persona at all
I finished it in about 108 hours and just got one of the endings, planning on doing the rest .
Somehow the gospel/grimoires felt cheap and kinda ruined the fun for the last bosses for me a bit cuz i saved a lot of the for late game.
But all in all it was very much fun and worth :)
Started playing the game (3hrs now/haven't played a Shin Megami game yet but Persona 3&5) and I have to say that I love it. It has some really strange choices (the music f.e.) but it all feels intentional. Everything looks bleak on purpose but the really colourful, recruitable demons really stand out that way.
The battle system is fun and also really challenging. This really does feel like a better and more mature version of Pokemon. I also like that recruitable demons feel more like they really matter compared to Persona 5 (where you switch them way too often and rarely really feel a connection to a certain Persona).
You'll be humming the songs years after you finish the game
Less time in cutscene and talking and more time fighting, ok, I'm sold!
Shame about the performance issues, I’m holding out for a Steam release. (SMTV was in the GeForce now leak, along with god or war, actraiser, etc.)
Great review Jelly Boy.
Great review!
SMTV is easily my switch GOTY. It quicks the mold of what the series did, and the amount of demons available is amazing.
Couldn’t recommend this enough
During PS3/X360 era, people were saying Japanese games are over... PS4 and now PS5 era, it's western games that's dead on creativity with games like CoD, BF, Far Cry, FIFA and other crap. Quite interesting how industry keep changes. Even if Japanese devs go derivative stuff, they still do it right most of the time.
Brutal battle now = cannon fodder battle in the nes days
Didn't think the score would be so high based on the criticism... yeah, I feel like I need a better story and more original setting. I think I'll pass for now, maybe when I'm in the mood to play another SMT I'll play this or 3. I've played IV before and really liked it.
Just came from the IGN review and damn the contrast. They just kept complaining how this wasn't Persona 5.
wish we could Like Bomb this video. great review EZA!
I'd like to just say I love the school uniforms. So cool looking
The game isn't THAT hard. It's great!! First SMT for me, playing on hard I've found no truly crazy challenge so far, everything has been manageable pretty much without grinding.
Update: I had to farm a bit to beat Shiva and haven't beat Demi-Fiend but the rest of the game was overall very well balanced. Hard was fun AF to play.
Very nice best reviews
No persona comparation?
Im subscribed
ben moore's game of the year
He gave two games a higher rating so wouldnt jump to that conclusion just yet
@@legendofkailia5596 which two just out of curiosity?
@@reed1645 psychonauts and metroid dread from memory got 9.5s
@@legendofkailia5596 oh nice, my two favorites for the year :)
Another fantastic review from EZA.
Only thing keeping me from buying this game is the switch hardware. I'm just getting too aggravated by frame rate drops these days on switch or how games could have been even better if not tethered to it's hardware requirements
the game is playable but not gonna lie the framerate can barely hold stable 30fps it shift from 25-30fps and the image is kinda blurry both docked and handheld because the dev downgrade the resolution for a more stable framerate with the first day patch.
The only review that matters.
Look at that, a review about SMT 5 without mentioning Persona. That wasnt so hard now was it.
If they did mention Persona it would have been fine. Because it's natural, and they know not to bash SMT for not being Persona, and vice versa.