A fusion of Shin Megami Tensei’s (SMT) Press Turn battle system and classic strategy RPG gameplay, Devil Survivor plays out on smaller more tactically oriented maps. Choosing to focus more on the things that make SMT great, team building an strategic turn based combat, rather than deep and complex strategic scenarios.
This is a winning combination, the smaller maps allow for precise gameplay with most missions taking about 15 minutes to complete. Like SMT battles it’s often clear from the outset if you were prepared or not.
The story plays out in a visual novel fashion, again highlighting SMT gameplay staples: time systems and branching paths. In any given day you can pick where you spend your time, at the expense of other opportunities, ultimately the decisions you make change your characters paths, who joins your part, and what endings are available to you. It’s all over the top and a little silly, but I enjoyed the high stakes and slowly building tension.
Overall, while the game starts off a little slow, this has become one of my favorites in the Shin Megami series.
This is a winning combination, the smaller maps allow for precise gameplay with most missions taking about 15 minutes to complete. Like SMT battles it’s often clear from the outset if you were prepared or not.
The story plays out in a visual novel fashion, again highlighting SMT gameplay staples: time systems and branching paths. In any given day you can pick where you spend your time, at the expense of other opportunities, ultimately the decisions you make change your characters paths, who joins your part, and what endings are available to you. It’s all over the top and a little silly, but I enjoyed the high stakes and slowly building tension.
Overall, while the game starts off a little slow, this has become one of my favorites in the Shin Megami series.