Shin Megami Tensei 5: JRPG joins the Download Festival

Shin Megami Tensei 5: JRPG joins the Download Festival

This summer’s Download Festival has added a new act to its lineup.

It’s not another group, but the Japanese role-playing video game Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance.

The “immersive experience” will allow festival-goers to play games at the site in Leicestershire, battling demons in a post-apocalyptic world.

Download has called it a “first-of-its-kind experience” and is the latest in a growing crossover between the worlds of music and gaming.

The festival, which will run June 14-16, is usually known for its lineup of rock and indie bands, with acts this year including Fall Out Boy, Queens of The Stone Age and Sum 41.

They will be joined by the latest in the Shin Megami Tensei series, where players are promised a way to play the game “like never before”.

The title, which combines several previous Shin Megami Tensei 5 games with new features and a new story path, launched on the same day as the festival gates opened.

Set in an alternate apocalyptic version of Tokyo, players battle demons in turn-based over-the-top combat.

The original version of the game, made by Sonic the Hedgehog developers SEGA and ATLUS, received generally positive reviews, praising the combat and high difficulty.

While Download promises a new kind of experience at the festival, it’s far from the first time the worlds of gaming and music have come together.

Concerts where a full orchestra plays the soundtrack from the game have become popular in the past decade.

Most recently, musical performances from the multi-BAFTA award-winning game Baldur’s Gate 3 filled London’s Royal Festival Hall.

Dan Lazarides, vice president of marketing at SEGA West EMEA told BBC Newsbeat he thought the partnership would be a good way to get his game in front of a new audience that might not have considered playing before.

“The Shin Megami Tensei series is known for its amazing soundtrack, so what better place to be among the first to play the game than at this legendary rock festival.”

Not everyone is convinced though.

Following the announcement of Download on X, one user simply replied: “I think you’re wrong; this is a music festival.”