Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army [PC] | REVIEW

Atlus’ decision to remaster Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army – now rebranded as Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army – came as a bit of a surprise, albeit a pleasant one. Originally released in 2006 as an action RPG spin-off to the Shin Megami Tensei series, it now returns with a fresh lick of paint, overhauled combat, and thoughtful quality-of-life changes to make for a more accessible experience for players. The result is a slick reimagining that brings the game closer to modern standards, even if some dated design choices still remain.

Check out some screenshots down below:

Set in a stylised 1931 Japan, Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army casts you as Raidou Kuzunoha XIV, a teenage Devil Summoner who works at the Narumi Detective Agency. It’s a good cover for his true mission, which is to protect Tokyo from supernatural threats with the help of some demon allies… pretty sweet gig, really. The story begins when a young woman begs Raidou to kill her before she is kidnapped by mysterious, red-cloaked figures, and from there, the narrative spirals into a mix of demon conspiracies that ensure the story is engaging from start to end thanks to its oddball twists and intriguing occult themes.

As expected in any Shin Megami Tensei-related game, demons remain central to the experience in Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army. Over 100 demons are available to recruit through negotiation, whilst captured demons can be fused to create stronger allies, inheriting skills and traits from their parents. This fusion system is intuitive and addictive, encouraging constant experimentation to craft the ideal team for both investigations and battles. It feels like a collectathon in a way, and believe me, it’s easy to lose hours in the game simply building up your own demon army.

Exploration is divided between the detective segments and dungeon crawling. As Raidou investigates, he traverses Tokyo’s districts, questioning locals and gathering clues. Using demons to assist during investigations adds a fun and fitting twist to your investigative work, whether it’s when using them to read minds to uncover secrets, calm hostile NPCs, or clear obstacles in the environment. This system ensures that building and rotating your demon team feels meaningful outside of battle (more on that in a bit), giving the game a wider sense of scope that makes its varied gameplay more enticing.

“Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army is an impressive modernisation of an overlooked RPG, with its combination of stylish detective storytelling, demon-collecting, and slick combat creating an experience that feels both nostalgic and fresh.”

Objective markers have been added to streamline progression through these sections (a welcome change from the original’s vague guidance), though navigation can feel a little cumbersome due to the constant backtracking and having to remember where specific NPCs or shops are located. It gets easier the further you progress, but I don’t want to admit how many times I got lost as I simply tried to progress through the game…

Where the remaster shines brightest is in its completely revamped combat system. Gone is the simplistic, repetitive hack-and-slash approach of the PlayStation 2 original, with fights now taking place in small 3D arenas with real-time action mechanics reminiscent of modern action RPGs. Raidou can freely move, block, dodge, jump, and execute light and heavy attacks – light attacks generate SP that fuels your demons’ abilities, while heavy attacks deal more damage but lack that resource-generating utility.

It helps to create a satisfying combat loop centred on dishing out damage whilst continually supporting your demon allies. Your summoned demons – up to two at a time – attack enemies automatically, casting powerful skills using your replenished SP. Hitting enemy weaknesses with demon spells staggers them, allowing Raidou to extend combos to deal more damage with his heavy attacks or to simply recover even more SP to maintain the process. Over time, Raidou gains access to new skills that enhance his offensive options, including elemental magic, gun upgrades for crowd control, and flashy special attacks triggered under certain conditions, with everything coming together to make for a robust and enjoyable combat system that feels like it continually evolves as you progress.

Check out some screenshots down below:

That being said, there are some elements of combat that can feel a little weak. Heavy attacks can feel redundant due to the importance of light attacks in sustaining SP flow, some battles can drag due to inflated enemy health pools, whilst your AI-controlled demon allies can act unpredictably during some encounters. These aren’t big issues by any means, but it can be noticeable in some of the game’s tougher encounters.

Visually, Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army feels like a hell of a lot more than a remaster. The original game’s static pre-rendered backgrounds have been replaced with fully realised 3D environments, making Tokyo vibrant, immersive, and full of personality. The character models have been massively improved too, and whilst there are better looking modern RPGs out there, the overall aesthetic ensures that the game is a real looker.

The game’s roughly 30-hour length feels refreshingly brisk compared to your typical Atlus RPG too, with the pace of the game actually perfect for the adventure. It never outstayed is welcome by any means, and by the time I hit the end, I felt like I got everything I wanted out of the experience. However, be warned: there are some nasty difficulty spikes, requiring players to grind or rework demon builds before they’ll be able to succeed. A few caught me off-guard, and given how accessible other modern RPGs are with the lack of a need to grind these days, it did hurt the pacing at times. Oh, and the side quests? They’re pretty weak, so you might feel a little underwhelmed if you’re a completionist.

Developer: Atlus
Publisher: SEGA
Platform(s): PC (Reviewed), PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch
Website: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2288350/RAIDOU_Remastered_The_Mystery_of_the_Soulless_Army/