Let's get this out of the way: the story and characters are near the worst in the series (but for very different reasons than in Apocalpyse). Yes, I'm not playing SMT for the story or characters primarily, but even though they were kept relatively minimal (hello, one of many Nocturne influences), they still mostly just left me unfulfilled or annoyed. While we're talking negatives, the two and a half "dungeons" are also a big low point for the series. They've been on the decline in terms of focus for a while now, but they felt like a shell of themselves this time around. The all-revealing map, lack of anything to find aside from items, and monotonous aesthetics really made these feel as barebones and uninviting as ever (and I enjoy the more in depth dungeons in the series when they get proper focus like in SJ, so this is not a knock against dungeons of any kind). They felt like a stripped down version of Da'at.
Speaking of Da'at, let's get to the positives. The open world style of exploration is V's biggest new contribution to the series, and they did a pretty good job here. Plenty of collectibles and nooks to explore, and huge swaths of totally optional areas that you just want to check out to see what demons, items, side quests, and Mimans you'll find. The areas did get a little samey after a while, and I got a bit sick of the environments and themes during my second "full exploring" playthrough, but at the very least on a first time through it's pretty great to scour the map for anything and everything. The music throughout the game is also strong, though I wouldn't call it my favorite of the series' offerings (this might be due to overexposure; I imagine it'll grow on me shortly after a small break). And coming from IV, V fixes one of my biggest "small" complaints: a cohesive artstyle. Seeing every demon roaming the world in 3D is a joy, and having a uniform style of models with great renders for party icons is such a relief. Presentation overall is solid, with the aforementioned probably being the highlight, and the mostly-reuse of TMS's UI was a pretty quick adjustment, if nothing to really write home about. Gameplay is kept mostly the same as Apocalypse, which is probably the peak of the series in that aspect, but with a couple hit or miss changes. Magatsuhi as the sort of replacement for Smirk/Partner Skills is... alright. It reminds me of Smirk in IV: a solid foundation, but could use some refinement. I like the idea behind the race talismans, and many of them had interesting effects, but I found that most were simply inferior to Critical in general, which was a little disappointing. Essences as the new way for the MC (and demons) to learn skills is in a similar spot. It's an interesting replacement for Magatama/Whispers, and I especially like the affinity inheritance, but I think it could use some tweaks, mostly in acquisition. If there was a more guaranteed way to get an essence (maybe on learning a final skill, or an itemization option in the World of Shadows), I think it would be more satisfying (also, being able to hold more than 1 per demon). It's a little sad that it also sort of renders long fusion chains of past games much less useful, but the convenience is definitely nice in many cases. Overall I would say combat is about on par with Apocalypse, which is still a compliment. Also, while I was skeptical when it was announced, I have to admit the "Return of the True Demon" DLC was great and a really fun love letter to Nocturne. If that was what we got instead of the usual eventual rerelease (I know, but let me hope), then good job Atlus.
In the leadup to V's release, I was really hoping it would be the "perfect" SMT that combined all of the best aspects of previous games while avoiding their pitfalls, and throwing in some fun new ideas. Did we get that? No, unfortunately not quite. This feels just like the previous handful of games (Apocalypse/IV/SJ/Nocturne) where it has some great strong points, but also some weaknesses that just hold it back enough to keep it from being called a clear favorite to me. That's not such a bad thing though, as more SMT games are always welcome, and I still enjoyed it a lot overall as simply an SMT game in the modern age, though on a really weak console. Performance was honestly pretty rough overall on the Switch, and it really felt like the hardware was holding the game back. Here's hoping the next entry nails it and we finally get that "perfect" game, though V was still a solid entry to the series overall.
Speaking of Da'at, let's get to the positives. The open world style of exploration is V's biggest new contribution to the series, and they did a pretty good job here. Plenty of collectibles and nooks to explore, and huge swaths of totally optional areas that you just want to check out to see what demons, items, side quests, and Mimans you'll find. The areas did get a little samey after a while, and I got a bit sick of the environments and themes during my second "full exploring" playthrough, but at the very least on a first time through it's pretty great to scour the map for anything and everything. The music throughout the game is also strong, though I wouldn't call it my favorite of the series' offerings (this might be due to overexposure; I imagine it'll grow on me shortly after a small break). And coming from IV, V fixes one of my biggest "small" complaints: a cohesive artstyle. Seeing every demon roaming the world in 3D is a joy, and having a uniform style of models with great renders for party icons is such a relief. Presentation overall is solid, with the aforementioned probably being the highlight, and the mostly-reuse of TMS's UI was a pretty quick adjustment, if nothing to really write home about. Gameplay is kept mostly the same as Apocalypse, which is probably the peak of the series in that aspect, but with a couple hit or miss changes. Magatsuhi as the sort of replacement for Smirk/Partner Skills is... alright. It reminds me of Smirk in IV: a solid foundation, but could use some refinement. I like the idea behind the race talismans, and many of them had interesting effects, but I found that most were simply inferior to Critical in general, which was a little disappointing. Essences as the new way for the MC (and demons) to learn skills is in a similar spot. It's an interesting replacement for Magatama/Whispers, and I especially like the affinity inheritance, but I think it could use some tweaks, mostly in acquisition. If there was a more guaranteed way to get an essence (maybe on learning a final skill, or an itemization option in the World of Shadows), I think it would be more satisfying (also, being able to hold more than 1 per demon). It's a little sad that it also sort of renders long fusion chains of past games much less useful, but the convenience is definitely nice in many cases. Overall I would say combat is about on par with Apocalypse, which is still a compliment. Also, while I was skeptical when it was announced, I have to admit the "Return of the True Demon" DLC was great and a really fun love letter to Nocturne. If that was what we got instead of the usual eventual rerelease (I know, but let me hope), then good job Atlus.
In the leadup to V's release, I was really hoping it would be the "perfect" SMT that combined all of the best aspects of previous games while avoiding their pitfalls, and throwing in some fun new ideas. Did we get that? No, unfortunately not quite. This feels just like the previous handful of games (Apocalypse/IV/SJ/Nocturne) where it has some great strong points, but also some weaknesses that just hold it back enough to keep it from being called a clear favorite to me. That's not such a bad thing though, as more SMT games are always welcome, and I still enjoyed it a lot overall as simply an SMT game in the modern age, though on a really weak console. Performance was honestly pretty rough overall on the Switch, and it really felt like the hardware was holding the game back. Here's hoping the next entry nails it and we finally get that "perfect" game, though V was still a solid entry to the series overall.