Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is darker, harder, and smoother

Just when you think a game likeShin Megami Tensei V can’t get any darker, a new version comes for blood.

On June 21, the Nintendo Switch RPG is making a comeback with the souped-up Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance. The updated version brings the former Nintendo console exclusive to PlayStation and Xbox. Vengeance doesn’t just beef up the original’s visuals and performance, though – it’s bringing a whole new story path dubbed Canon of Vengeance. Fans of the original can dig into an entirely fresh narrative about angels and demons, filled with new characters and locations.

It isn’t a small morsel of new content either. Earlier this month, I played two hours of Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance’s new content. The story-driven demo teased an incredibly grim story about retribution that’s sure to spark some raw moral debates. Of course, that’s paired with some hard as nails RPG challenges that have already wiped the floor with me.

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Out for blood

My demo was broken up into two hourlong chunks. The first was a more story-focused section (I’d only fight one battle at the end) that gave me an introduction to Canon of Vengeance’s tone and major players. The big addition here is a new character: Yoko Hiromine. When I meet her, I learn that my party found her in the wastelands of the demon-infested Tokyo. She was a student of St. Marina’s Girls High School, where some considered her to be a “saint” since she had the power to exorcize demons. She’s long since dropped out, but she signs up at Jouin High School to stay closer to the protagonist as they look to help Bethel Japan rid the city of monsters.

At first, I can’t get a read on who Yoko is. She seems like a perfectly polite, if chilly, student. It’s one sequence near the end of my first demo that clues me in to her dark