Two Paths Through Decimated Tokyo
I started by selecting the new Canon of Vengeance storyline right at the opening prompt. It splits away from the original Canon of Creation plot early on, introducing a group of adversaries known as the Qadištu and shifting the focus toward a revenge narrative instead of the older angel-versus-demon stalemate. Having both storylines included in the base package gives you a clear choice right away. If you already played through the original release on older hardware, you can jump straight into the new route without replaying the exact same story beats.
The ruined Tokyo landscape is an expansive wasteland divided into wide open sections. You spend a lot of time running across sand dunes, climbing rusted highway ramps, and hunting down hidden items tucked into collapsed office blocks. Traversing these maps on PC feels clean and responsive, which matters when you are trying to reach vantage points without getting snagged on irregular geometry. Full English voice acting and text interface are supported right out of the box, and the English dub carries the austere tone of the setting without dragging out cutscenes.
Turn-Based Combat That Rewards Preparation
Turn-based combat in this series has always been about exploiting elemental weaknesses to earn extra actions, and that core loop remains as sharp as ever. Hit a demon with an element it is weak to, and your party gets another turn to press the advantage. Miss an attack or hit an element the enemy resists, and your turn order evaporates immediately. Boss fights are unforgiving if you refuse to adjust your squad, but they rarely feel unfair once you inspect what resistances you need.
Recruiting demons right on the field requires passing short negotiation dialogues where you offer cash, health, or items to convince them to join your bench. It is a system that demands real attention. If you carry the right team composition into a zone, encounters take seconds to resolve. If you do not bother swapping out demons who are weak to ice when entering an area crawling with frost casters, you will stare at the game over screen inside two rounds. That pressure keeps routine trash mobs from feeling like total autopilot.
Pacing, Navigation, and Repetition
At around the twenty-hour mark, the exploration does begin repeating its basic rhythm. You enter a fresh desert zone, search out map markers, climb crumbling building rooftops to collect Glory points, and clear out red demon nests to unlock new passive miracles. While the platforming works well enough, scouring every dead end across large sand bowls can wear on your patience when you just want to reach the next narrative confrontation.
Where the game respects your evening hours is in the quality-of-life adjustments. Saving is accessible, demon fusion menus can be filtered down to exact skill configurations in seconds, and battle animations can be sped up or skipped entirely. You do not spend fifteen minutes manually grinding basic mobs just to gain one level if you fuse effectively. The store does offer separate Mitama DLC packages that boost drops for Macca, EXP, and Glory, but I managed regular progression through the main campaign without touching any paid shortcut items.
Performance and the Complete Package
Running on my desktop rig at 1440p, the game held an uninterrupted 60 frames per second without stuttering or weird frame drops during busy magic spells. The higher resolution cleans up the jagged edges that plagued the original console release, revealing sharp art direction in the demon designs and ruined cityscape. Atlus did not load this release with useless launcher bloat either, which I appreciate after dealing with rough PC ports all year.
The standard edition runs fifty-nine dollars and ninety-nine cents, which is a fair price considering it holds two full-length role-playing campaigns in one purchase. You get hundreds of demons to fuse, tough boss fights that require genuine tactical adjustments, and menus that let you execute turns without delay. It asks for a substantial time commitment, but it gives back a disciplined turn-based experience that does not waste its runtime on empty filler.
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The fusion system really does make up for the negotiation frustrations. I spent a good hour just experimenting with combinations. Thank you to Atlus for the solid PC port, no crashes at 1440p for me so far.
the fusion system sounds like the real draw here. i reckon the negotiation will drive me up the wall though, always does with these games.
What resolution are you running? I'm hoping the load times are as fast as you say, my SSD is ready but I'm on an older card.
Do the demons' eyes follow you in the menu? Asking for a friend who spent 10 minutes staring at a Pixie's sprite.
@Rory Pthe pixie eye thing is real, i spent way too long testing it with different demons. groundbreaking stuff, truly.
Y'all are fixin to pay $60 for this, that's like three breakfast platters at the diner. But if it's got two routes and snappy fights, maybe it's worth a grits-and-eggs splurge.
@guten_gary$60 - yeah, and i bet there's a day-one dlc costume pack for another $15. classic atlus.
@guten_garyGrits and eggs are nice, but I'd rather have tactical turn-based combat that doesn't waste my evening. The fusion system is proper deep, mate. Spent two hours just mixing and matching.
the desert zones look boring af in the screenshots, like an empty map from 2015, but ok i guess the combat carries it
Glad he mentioned the weird negotiation dialogue, talking to demons has always felt like complete RNG to me instead of actual strategy. Still grabbing it though, really curious how different the new story route is.
@Phil M.the new route is a wild ride, trust me. i'm not even halfway through and i already had to put the controller down once. no spoilers but the emotional beats are real.
The fusion system really does make up for the negotiation frustrations. I spent a good hour just experimenting with combinations. Thank you to Atlus for the solid PC port, no crashes at 1440p for me so far.
@danke_danthe fusion system sounds like the real draw here. i reckon the negotiation will drive me up the wall though, always does with these games.
@copperyeah the negotiation is a coin flip sometimes, i just save scum it (not proud but whatever). desert zones feel like a running sim after hour fifteen but the fusion wheel keeps me tinkering.
What resolution are you running? I'm hoping the load times are as fast as you say, my SSD is ready but I'm on an older card.
@lanternI am running at 2560x1440 with a mid-range card. Load times are indeed negligible, though the zone repetition is a concern for long sessions.
@lanternRunning at 4K here, load times are genuinely under five seconds. The only slowdown I've noticed is in the third sand zone with particle effects on screen. It's tolerable but worth noting.
two story routes you say? that's like having two toppings on a pizza - more value, unless one is pineapple. i'm in.
Bought the bundle, refunded by noon. deserts are boring.
Does the fusion system let me make a demon that looks like a microwave? Asking for a friend who really wants a kitchen appliance party.
Two story routes? Sounds like you're just driving into the same wall twice. Calling it 'immediate value' is pure marketing speak when you're probably replaying ninety percent of the same early scenes. Seen this trick before, just feels like stretching content.