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Reviews Digital Foundry | Shin Megami Tensei V on Switch - The Digital Foundry Tech Review

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ILikeFeet

Warpstar Knight

A huge amount of requests for this one! Shen Megami Tensei V is a rare thing - a Switch JRPG exclusive, built on Unreal Engine 4, no less. Oliver Mackenzie goes in-depth on this one, covering what sets this game apart, along with how the metrics stack up for a game that obviously challenges the Switch hardware.
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  • lighting and shading is a step above Persona 5
  • baked global illumination
  • no TAA or ambient occlusion
  • camera and per object motion blur, though artifacty due to resolution
  • great bokeh
  • object and shadow cascade draw are extremely apparent
  • NPC animation is half rate at a very close distance
  • menu transitions are choppy
  • dynamic res 1280x720-1536x864 (typically res 792p)
  • handheld 960x540 - 1280x720 (typical 648p)
  • lack of AA makes docked mode look clear
  • handheld looks better in portable
  • targets 30fps, spends most of the time in 27-29
  • feels like it's targeting a lower framerate
  • possible cpu bottleneck
  • cinematics are in the low to mid 20s, due to Switch's low bandwidth
  • it's not a UE4 on switch issue as there are better performing UE4 games on switch
 
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Definitely one of the best looking UE4 games on Switch to me, tied with DQXI S. Visually it is very pleasant.
 
No wonder handheld looked amazing/decent, it was near native resolution (648p but also dynamic).

Obviously it could be better on strong hardware but I'm really satisfied with what Atlus has done with this game.
 
Awesome! I was thinking they'd skip this one and was disappointed we hadn't seen this one yet. Looking forward to watching it!
 
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That resolution is higher than expected to be honest.

It's annoying that it's just shy of 30fps.
 
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It's a turn based JRPG. I'm not concerned with the performance in the slightest. It has yet to hamper my experience, save for being a bit blurry at times.
 
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It does look really great in handheld.

Also, the difference in attitude here and on other parts of the internet in regards to performance/graphics is incredible. In lots of other places the words "trash" and actual anger at games for not being technically perfect get thrown around so often
 
I like how the animation looks in a distance for whatever reason, it looks like 2D objects in a charming way. Maybe there's something wrong with me lol but I find it very unique.
 
ToniC139 said:
It does look really great in handheld.

Also, the difference in attitude here and on other parts of the internet in regards to performance/graphics is incredible. In lots of other places the words "trash" and actual anger at games for not being technically perfect get thrown around so often
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Like I’ve said before, a lot of people who watch DF take the absolute minimum and claim that it’s the average.
 
That's honestly higher numbers than I thought it would have. Just shows I dont really have much knowledge about this really :p
It's a bit rough at times but it's ok. My biggest problems was always and will forever be in a post BOTW world - areas that looks like they should be reachable but arent for some reason bother me alot (thinking mostly about those broken windows in the wrecked buildings)

Doug Bowser Jr said:
I like how the animation looks in a distance for whatever reason, it looks like 2D objects in a charming way. Maybe there's something wrong with me lol but I find it very unique.
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I think it was the same in SMO - Remember DF talking about in that video at least, saving some juice for other stuff.
I kinda like it to :>
 
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This is probably my GOTY but the performance actually bothered me a lot in one area of the game specifically (second big open zone). Kinda wish they had some footage of that place but it's just short. Overall it was plenty playable though, but it wasn't unnoticeable.

Edit: They do have some footage of the spot in the game that bothered me, I'm blind apparently. Does seem like it's worst performing area in the game.
 
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Hopefully they go back to take a look at the LiS Switch port. Curious for details on what it cost to get the image quality that team achieved for an UE4 PS4 game downported to Switch. One of the reviewers made an unsubstantiated claim that they used AMD's FSR and I'd like to know if that's actually true
 
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Took them long enough!

Nah I appreciate the effort. Looks like Atlus really struggled with the framerate which makes sense from what I've played. I agree with all the praise they gave the visuals, it's definitely the most ambitious Atlus game yet on that front.
 
Ozzie said:
No wonder handheld looked amazing/decent, it was near native resolution (648p but also dynamic).

Obviously it could be better on strong hardware but I'm really satisfied with what Atlus has done with this game.
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totally
great game, and visually pleasant
 
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ILikeFeet said:
Before Digital Foundry
"wow Monster Hunter Rise looks so crisp!"

After Digital Foundry
"Vita-tier image quality"
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This tripped me-up so much and taught me not to trust hard resolution numbers solely when it comes to indicating quality. I prefer MH Rise in terms of clarity so much more than SMTV (which I had to stop playing because of performance), even though the former apparently has lower resolution in portable mode.
 
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This was legit one of the worst running games I've played since Bloodborne in 2015 and the video confirms it. He calls the framerate horrible. It would have been a straight 10/10 if not for the performance, but that fact that the game stutters virtually all the time affected my enjoyment considerably.
 
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It's one of the best looking Switch games and definetely the most graphical and scope ambitious Atlus game ever. I'm eager to play it. I'm kinda underwhelmed by the frame rate but, eh, in portable I'll probably not even notice
 
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ILikeFeet said:
Before Digital Foundry
"wow Monster Hunter Rise looks so crisp!"

After Digital Foundry
"Vita-tier image quality"
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The fact that a lot of people overlook Monster Hunter Rise as one of the best looking Switch games is absolutely baffling to me. Seriously, look at the attention to detail on a lot of the monsters.

I say this as someone who thought the initial trailer was rough.
 
The demon/angel models and effects work is indeed very nice, and resolution was actually higher than I expected for a UE4 game on Switch, but it does seem a bit insufficiently optimized given that, as they point out, we've had other great looking Switch games that run much more smoothly.
 
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AngryAlchemist said:
The fact that a lot of people overlook Monster Hunter Rise as one of the best looking Switch games is absolutely baffling to me. Seriously, look at the attention to detail on a lot of the monsters.

I say this as someone who thought the initial trailer was rough.
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i struggle to differentiate rise and world
 
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The game's graphical performance is pretty disappointing, but once you get used to it, the game is amazing.

About the low fps for objects in the far, I find them quite funny, specially Miman's who move like 5fps. It's weird, but very enjoyable in the end.

About the menu UI looking less nicer than Persona 5, honestly we shouldn't care about it. The way it looks is enough, it's easy to use and simplistic. And I like the music that sounds everytime you open the menu.
 
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ILikeFeet said:
Before Digital Foundry
"wow Monster Hunter Rise looks so crisp!"

After Digital Foundry
"Vita-tier image quality"
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Honestly the transition of opinions on MH: Rise's visuals on Era was absolutely hilarious. It went from "has to be Pro or PC footage" with the first trailers to "this is one of the best looking Switch games" at launch to "looks terrible" after the DF video, without the actual visuals changing at all
 
I have 0 problems with the performance, it's hugely overblown. It has frame pacing issues, but a lot of other games have them, and this isn't the worst example. The menu transitions seems laggy but I think it's intentional. Resolution is on par with most Switch games.

I really don't know what all the ruckus is about.

Also, it's funny that the DF review compares SMTV to DQXIS since I think the latter performs much worse in terms of visuals. The framerate is stable, but the resolution is pretty bad, models close to the camera look very blurry and it has the worst pop in I've ever seen in any game. I still think it's a good port, but it bothered me a lot more than SMTV.
 
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Definitely awaiting the long rumored PC version, 30fps games are not my cup o tea and actively give me headaches.
 
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Leo said:
I have 0 problems with the performance, it's hugely overblown. It has frame pacing issues, but a lot of other games have them, and this isn't the worst example. The menu transitions seems laggy but I think it's intentional. Resolution is on par with most Switch games.

I really don't know what all the ruckus is about.

Also, it's funny that the DF review compares SMTV to DQXIS since I think the latter performs much worse in terms of visuals. The framerate is stable, but the resolution is pretty bad, models close to the camera look very blurry and it has the worst pop in I've ever seen in any game. I still think it's a good port, but it bothered me a lot more than SMTV.
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The problem is some people are more sensitive to them and can cause headaches and motion sickness. Thankfully while I'm generally good with them, I know people who it can actively cause problems. Seriously, don't handwave this.
 
Quoted by: Leo
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I am sensitive to frame pacing and while the drops are appearant, this is not something that bothers during regular gameplay.
Although, it is possible that you can occasionally get unlucky with platforming sections. But even that is a stretch.

The game has other issues anyway. Which is a shame because its strenghts (level design - and not graphics, I insist - progression system, combat gameplay and enemy design) is near the top of the genre. So we have a 10/10 game core surrounded with a 4/10 coating.

It's like a gazeous planet. Its core is remarkable and a joy to study but the rest is dull as shit. And don't get me wrong, shit is the right word here. It's a unfathomably unequal experience.
 
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I'm excited to watch this. I think the game looks pretty rough overall, but the style helps a lot and my eyes adjust to it pretty quickly. I'm not a graphics snob, but it's very jarring to jump between PS5 on a 4k OLED to SMTV.
 
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Mendinso said:
The problem is some people are more sensitive to them and can cause headaches and motion sickness. Thankfully while I'm generally good with them, I know people who it can actively cause problems. Seriously, don't handwave this.
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I understand that, but I don't think "handwaving" is the best term in this situation. The team did what they could, it's a demanding game for the hardware, it's not like they had the choice and purposefully made the game like that to spite people who have motion sickness, it is what it is.

I understand if someone says the game makes them sick, but most people I see complaining don't mention that, they're just shitting on the game saying it's unplayable because it's not 1080p with a stable frame rate. It's far from unplayable unless in those specific cases.

Saying "i suffer from motion sickness so I can't play the game because of the uneven frame pacing" is different from "this is unplayable trash not even 30fps switch 2 when"
 
Leo said:
I understand that, but I don't think "handwaving" is the best term in this situation. The team did what they could, it's a demanding game for the hardware, it's not like they had the choice and purposefully made the game like that to spite people who have motion sickness, it is what it is.

I understand if someone says the game makes them sick, but most people I see complaining don't mention that, they're just shitting on the game saying it's unplayable because it's not 1080p with a stable frame rate. It's far from unplayable unless in those specific cases.

Saying "i suffer from motion sickness so I can't play the game because of the uneven frame pacing" is different from "this is unplayable trash not even 30fps switch 2 when"
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This is fair. I just meant there has been issues in the past where people have disregarded that, despite people speaking up why it bothered them. Apologies for jumping the gun on that.
 
Quoted by: Leo
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Mendinso said:
This is fair. I just meant there has been issues in the past where people have disregarded that, despite people speaking up why it bothered them. Apologies for jumping the gun on that.
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No problem! I also apologize, I should have mention people who are legitimately having motion sickness issues as an exception in my post :)
 
NabiscoFelt said:
Honestly the transition of opinions on MH: Rise's visuals on Era was absolutely hilarious. It went from "has to be Pro or PC footage" with the first trailers to "this is one of the best looking Switch games" at launch to "looks terrible" after the DF video, without the actual visuals changing at all
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The best part is that the graphics did change; they actually got better. The early footage had a lot more pop-in of stuff like grass that was fixed/improved in the final release.
 
My biggest performance concerns come from the fact that I can’t play it in TV mode without getting really bad headaches. Note: SMTV isn’t unique here. For example, MH also gives me pretty bad headaches.
 
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Love this game, including the Ocarina of Time vibes:
  • The main character grunts exactly like Link in OoT
  • the framerate drops to close to the 18 fps of OoT often
  • Navi's
 
The game runs fine to me for what it is. The art style really carries it through the low res output.
The frame drops are also acceptable to me since they are either predictable (scene change/menu) or inconsequential (cutscenes). That said I'm of the type that can gobble HW:Age of Calamity despite its notorious chucks and chokes so I'm aware my experience will be quite different from the consensus.
 
slsk said:
Love this game, including the Ocarina of Time vibes:
  • The main character grunts exactly like Link in OoT
  • the framerate drops to close to the 18 fps of OoT often
  • Navi's
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Are we sure it's not the same voice actor? I mean, they sound so similar that I swear it has to be the same person
 
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Yeah, this game was clearly not built for Switch from the outset. It's gonna end up on PS5 or PC within months.
 
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It sound like it's less that the game was not built for the Switch and more like Atlus had trouble optimizing the game for the system; which makes sense since this is their first foray with UE4. As DF stated it's not a Switch issue since there are other UE4 titles that perform better. My guess is that Atlus had some growing pains using an engine they are not familiar with, but they'll improve as they get more experience.
 
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slsk said:
Love this game, including the Ocarina of Time vibes:
  • The main character grunts exactly like Link in OoT
  • the framerate drops to close to the 18 fps of OoT often
  • Navi's
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Delicious. Lovely.
 
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I did not have any issues with the games performance dampening my enjoyment(not saying they don't exist) I actually think the game looks good and I regularly game on my series X. but I Also did't have any problems with MH rise which some ppl said had terrible performance
 
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Seven said:
It sound like it's less that the game was not built for the Switch and more like Atlus had trouble optimizing the game for the system; which makes sense since this is their first foray with UE4. As DF stated it's not a Switch issue since there are other UE4 titles that perform better. My guess is that Atlus had some growing pains using an engine they are not familiar with, but they'll improve as they get more experience.
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Agreed. It seems more an issue of optimization than not being built for the Switch. As well as them being new to UE4, they also haven't done much work on either the Switch or with this level of graphics tech before.

Poor performance doesn't mean a game was made for other hardware; look at Age of Calamity after all.
 
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