[h1][b]TL;DR - 5/10[/b] [i](Debateable).[/i][/h1]
[i]An absolute visual stunner. The character designs, demons, animations are all spot on 10 on 10 stunners. Sadly, it is marred by a difficulty that is best described as difficult for the sake of being difficult. And a story/character development that comes off lacking, and edgy for the sake of being edgy.[/i]
[h1][b]Longer review.[/b][/h1]
[h2]Gameplay - 5/10[/h2]
Oh I would so love to put this higher, the mechanics of the fights are brilliant and there's a lot of depth when you look deep. However, the fights are basically decided on a macro level. Each boss is essentially a puzzle to solve. You prepare for bosses, sometimes changing out a heavy portion of your build and squad and plan. There are a few nice little team additions and innate skill synergies that cheese it, but if you are to go that route, you are limited with the number of things you can do. The whole schtick IS to have the bosses as their own tiny little puzzles. This sort of breaks the rhythm, for me personally. Going in full well knowing I would die, but just to get information for the next try, and then repeating is not super fun. The immediate improvisions or knowledge to bail out are few and far between. Sure, maybe checking the wiki or something will mitigate that, but I prefer to do things blind, and I don't think external guides should be a reference point to consider. At that point, it just becomes an exclusive chore. Affinities for instance, if you build for affinities, you get pierced anyway.
The difficulty is 'difficult' for the sake of being 'difficult'. The bosses aren't necessarily hard, more so tedious. (Some bosses having this effect is nice, but in SMT V, it felt like pretty much every other boss is this way.)
[h2]Art and Design: 10/10. [/h2]
I cannot overstate how carefully crafted the designs are. The intricate unique moves from say Lord Shiva, or heck, the first eye opener, from Qadistu. They excel at what they serve to showcase. And the love and attention to detail that went into it is clear.
[h2]Music: 8/10. [/h2]
I did enjoy the music and sound design. It was atmospheric and lovely, and constantly elevated the experience, especially with the sound from the demons around. However, I can't rate it higher as nothing stuck with me like say Hades 2, Undertale or Persona for instance.
[h2]Story: 3/10. [/h2]
Oh boy. There's literally no 'depth' in the story. It's edgy for the sake of being edgy. I still can't get over how the characters change so drastically from pretty much nothing. And the 'subtle' cues are all bland and don't do enough to justify the change in personalities. I don't mind random bs go in a story, but with some semblance of structure would have been nice. It's just over the top for the sake of being over the top. Not earned.
[h2]Overall: 5/10. [/h2]
I would only recommend this game if you are into the 'grind and prepare' for pretty much every fight sort of loop. But if you feel the freedom of say BG3 wherein you can dictate your style quite well, or Hades where overall knowledge and mechanical mastery is awarded are the sort of qualities you would look for, this is NOT the game for you. If you can get over this however AND don't mind the subpar story, I would highly recommend it, the combat, and the art/design are just impeccable.
