Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance has a lot of new mechanics and content compared to the original 2021 version, but one thing hasn’t changed: You still can’t romance humans or demons in the game.
The game may have some romantic-looking cutscenes or spicy camera angles, but romance doesn’t affect the story, character stats, or game progress in SMT V: Vengeance. There are a few friendly smiles and hugs but no romance mechanics as a gameplay factor. While we’re still playing through the game and don’t know the full plot, any romance would likely be narrative only, with no impact on gameplay. So, while there might be romantic cutscenes, romance as a game mechanic is not part of the game.
The absence of such a system may surprise Persona fans, as it’s a spin-off of Shin Megami Tensei and features social and romance systems. In Persona 5 Royal, for example, you can unlock powerful perks and additional skills for characters you romance, making these interactions worthwhile even if you don’t care about the story. But none of the main Shin Megami Tensei titles ever had romance as a mechanic, and Vengeance follows that trend.
In an interview for Famitsu earlier this year, SMT developers said they wanted Vengeance’s quests to explore characters’ relationships and motivations in more depth than the original. For example, Yoko’s addition helps with this narrative understanding. But this exploration didn’t lead to any romance mechanics.
Since romance doesn’t exist in Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance, the only way to boost your character and allies’ power is through leveling up, using Balms and Incenses, or changing their skills and affinities with Demon Essence. If you care about romantic scenes, your best bet is to play through side quests involving human characters and hope for hints of a connection between them. Otherwise, you can build that loving connection yourself and always use characters you like the most in your party, so they’re always by your side.
