GamesRadar+ Verdict
Pros
- +
The unique setting and art style
- +
Building your demonic army
- +
Playing paranormal detective
Cons
- -
Tedious
- -
frequent battles
- -
Limited combat abilities
- -
Some locales revisited too much
Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.
Shin Megami Tensei has always stood out from the role-playing pack. While the typical RPG is firmly rooted in swords 'n sorcery, Megaten (as the cool kids abbreviate it) gives us stories that take place in dystopian present-day worlds. The art style, environments, and character designs of Megaten are dark and hauntingly beautiful, as opposed to the sunny fields and feather-haired heroes we've come to expect from Square Enix. Oh yeah, and there are demons. Megaten always has lots of devils, monsters and assorted beasties, culled from pretty much every religion and mythology out there. Some are friendly and cute, some are wicked and nasty. Most of them fit somewhere in between.
Still, as Devil Summoner shows, developer Atlus is willing to break with their own conventions to deliver a new game experience. Rather than a straightforward turn-based RPG, Devil Summoner is the unholy offspring of an adventure game and an action-RPG, set in a time and place that's underrepresented in the gaming world - 1920's Japan.
