Shin Megami Tensei 5: Release date, new trailer, what to expect, and more

The upcoming addition to the MegaTen series, Shin Megami Tensei 5, is finally getting its official release on November 11, 2021, on the Nintendo Switch.

With it finally going live in a few days, fans of the mainline series are pretty excited to get their hands on the title, which has been a long time coming. While the arrival of Shin Megami Tensei 5 was first announced in 2017, it was only earlier this year that Atlus studios started to provide the community with trailers, gameplay visuals, and other updates on the title.

The recent “World in Ruins” trailer provides players with a lot of insight into what they can expect from the upcoming title. The mainline Shin Megami Tensei games are not as popular as the offshoot Persona titles, which the developers are much more notorious for.

However, with Sin Megami Tensei 5, Atlus will try to make a mainstream entry with the series, which is precisely why the game will play out a whole lot different than the previous mainline titles.

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So here are some features that players can look forward to from Shin Megami Tensei 5 when the title officially goes live in a few days.

Things to look out for in Shin Megami Tensei 5

Magatsuhi skills

The concept of the Magatsuhi will be introduced a bit differently in Shin Megami Tensei 5 than how it was portrayed in previous titles. Notably, in Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne, Magatsuhi was shown as an important substance in the vortex world that imparted sustenance to the demons after the “Conception“.

They were made from the flow of strong emotions, primarily humans, who have an abundance of it. They affect summon strength as well and act as very powerful mediums in the post-apocalyptic Tokyo of Nocturne.

In Shin Megami Tensei 5, the Magatsuhi will play a more active role in the game and allow players access to combat techniques known as the “Magatsuhi Skills”. This is the first introduction of the feature to the mainline series, and this additional attack can only be cast once the gauge bar is filled.

The gauge bar can be filled by either letting turns pass or obtaining certain upgrades by performing specific actions in the game.

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The Magatsuhi skill feature in Shin Megami Tensei 5 will seek to add a bit more strategical depth to the game’s turn-based combat and will make players think long and hard on when to use the skill, as just casting it once will completely drain the gauge.

Additionally, enemies will also be able to use their Magatsuhi skills during combat. Hence this is an additional combat mechanic that players need to be constantly wary of.

More quality of life in world exploration and difficulty settings

Contrary to previous titles, Shin Megami Tensei 5 will provide players with a more streamlined experience in combat and world exploration.

The open-world will have orbs that players can come across, which will help recharge their health, mana points, or even their Magatsuhi gauge. There will be return pillars across the map, and players can use them to save their game, return to a previous checkpoint, restore health to everyone in the party for a small fee, or even conduct demon fusions.

Moreover, Shin Megami Tensei 5 will also come with a difficulty setting that will boast three options: Casual, Normal, and Hard. This quality of life update will make it much easier for Persona players, and those uninitiated to a mainline title to have a much easier time with the game.

SMT 3 meets SMT 4

While Shin Megami Tensei 5 has a lot of new things to offer in terms of gameplay and combat, its core mechanics are nothing revolutionary. Atlus is sticking to the winning formula, and when it comes to base gameplay, the upcoming title will be quite similar in design to Shin Megami Tensei 4.

However, when it comes to narrative and world design, the developers have taken a page out of Nocturne, and it evokes a similar charm of a desolate post-apocalyptic Tokyo.

Atlus will not reinvent the wheel this time around, and Shin Megami Tensei 5 will play out like a turn-based monster killing and monster collecting game.

Choices will affect story progression

Mainline Shin Megami Tensei games often prize themselves for providing players with multiple endings to the story. Choices play a big part in Atlus’ titles, and in the upcoming title, the developers will be implementing choice-based storytelling.

The three factions of Law, Neutral, and Chaos will also be integral to the story, and players will need to align themselves to one of the ideologies. The alignment they choose will significantly impact the ending that they get.

It’s important to note that Shin Megami Tensei doesn’t necessarily have a right ending or what players like to call the true ending, which can be seen in the Persona titles. Hence, fans of the mainline series can expect something similar in the upcoming title.

Demon negotiations and fusions

Demon negotiations and recruitment is relatively new feature in the Persona games. However, it has been one of the core gameplay mechanics in the mainline series ever since Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei.

Demon fusions and negotiations will be back again. However, there will only be 214 demons in the game. While it’s much more than Persona 5 Royale, it’s far lesser in comparison to other mainline titles.

Players will be able to negotiate with demons while in the middle of combat, recruit them, catalog them, and finally fuze them to create more powerful demons.

Elemental and other physical weaknesses will also play a significant role in combat once again, and hitting enemy weaknesses will grant extra action turns.

Edited by Yasho Amonkar