Soul Hackers 2 Review

Release Date: August 25, 2022

Composer: Keiichi Okabe

Developer: Atlus

Genres: Role-playing video game, Adventure game

Platforms: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, Microsoft Windows

Publishers: Atlus, Sega, Sega Europe Limited, SEGA of America

Series: Megami Tensei, Shin Megami Tensei: Soul Hackers

"Review Copy Provided By Atlus"

Atlus has been knocking it out of the park lately with their releases following Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal as well as the long-awaited Shin Megami Tensei V. If you have a desire for incredible RPGs then Atlus has had no shortage of them especially if their name happens to be Persona or Etrian Odyssey; so, what happens when they decide to revive a long thought dead sub-series of SMT and rebrand it? Well, you get Soul Hackers 2. There are a few interesting things about Soul Hackers 2 that many may not realize and that’s it’s the sequel to Soul Hackers from 1997 on the Sega Saturn (and the 2013 Nintendo 3DS remake) and it also has dropped the series header of “Shin Megami Tensei - Devil Summoner” from the title leaving us with just Soul Hackers 2. I assume that this is done so that people do not feel as if they need to play the original (you don’t at all) and to reboot and rebrand the sub series. So, what is the Soul Hackers experience like and is it worth Atlus reviving this subseries? Let’s find out!

"Soul Hackers 2 Requires no knowledge of the 1997 original in order to enjoy this game"

The story of Soul Hackers 2 has an opening movie that plays when you first boot up the game and has you seeing one of the protagonists, Arrow, fighting alongside his summoned demons against several humans and demons until he is ultimately shot in the head and killed. Once you get to the title screen and start the game, you’re introduced to the character known as Ringo. Ringo is created by Aion who is a digital sentient being that is an observer of humanity and is sent out into the world to prevent the apocalypse along with another recently created being known as Figure. Ringo and Figue are given human like bodies as well as sentience and self-awareness (which develops into them having human like personalities and thus freewill).

As the two go about the world, they are made aware of Devil Summoners from the organization known as the Phantom Society (an active organization from the first Soul Hackers) and their war with their rival Devil Summoner organization which is what Aion sees as the impending cause to the end of the world. Ringo is then tasked with recruiting several Devil Summoners and then going on to stop the leader of the Phantom Society known as Iron Mask who is out to collect the Covenants of which if all are obtained can give the bearer of them the power to destroy the world.

What I like about the main characters of Ringo and Figue is their natural development over the course of the game. Ringo is incredibly likeable and witty character who often breaks the fourth wall with her commentary on people and situations while Figue acts like the big sister to Ringo and the Devil Summoners. Ringo and Figue start off the game finding humans and their interactions to be very confusing (let alone the limitations of themselves being in human-like bodies) and thus the subplot of the game explores their gradual grasp of humanity and become more humanized as the story continues. The Devil Summoners of the party are all varied and often contrast one another, Arrow, Saizo, and Milady all have interesting dynamics with one another and have some really well-developed backstories that explore their motivations and reasons for why they do what they do and their outlooks on situations. While not out adventuring, the crew all hangout Arrows’ loft and even a bar to chat amongst themselves about various things which help Ringo and Figue understand them better with an added option of allowing Ringo to explore their souls and witness fragmented parts of the Devil Summoners’ pasts.

We’re thrown into the cyberpunk semi-futuristic version of Japan where you’ll be treated to some amazing bright neon lights that pop out of the screen. The games’ visuals are absolutely stunning due to the futuristic techno neon colors that are everywhere and on characters which makes this game stand out from other SMT games. The character models are like what you would see in Persona 5 and even the character art style and cutscenes are very similar to it versus what we saw in SMT V and the previous Soul Hackers game. The OST of the game is catchy and atmospheric while the voice acting for the main cast and enemies is matching for the look of the characters that they are portraying.

Exploration of the city is one of the core aspects of the game as it is how you be able to not only progress the story but also is how you get sidequests, access dungeons, and shop. You’ll roam around areas on the city map such as Karakucho (a nod to Kamarocho from the Yakuza franchise) and talk to various residents, visit Bar Heidrun and get the latest scoops, shop at De La Mancha for accessories, head to the Mansei Realm which is only accessible to Devil Summoners, and more. There’s a fast travel feature you get once you’ve explored areas and is easily accessible.

As you interact with the various humans, you’re often given the opportunity to increase each of the Devil Summoners’ Soul Levels by way of Soul Points which is effectively a showing of their bonds with Ringo. There will be situations where Ringo will need to mediate between the party and the player will be prompted top make a choice which will deepen Ringo’s bond with one character or another. The Soul Level system of bonding is nice for what it is but is ultimately not that deep in comparison to something like the Social Links in Persona games, however, the game does push the player to interact with their party as it gives the player what’s called Map Skills which are used in dungeons and allow you to open up certain pathways as well as avoid certain level enemies and gain a buff to your running in dungeons.

When it comes to the dungeons of Soul Hackers 2, there are several of which you will be traveling throughout. Upon entering a dungeon, Ringo will activate an ability called Demon Recon which will send out the demons she has at her disposal which will go about finding various items and demons in the dungeons. How the Demon Recon changes up the SMT formula is in how you now no longer look for chests in dungeons and don’t need to fight demons to initiate Demon Negotiation as now when you find one of your Demons that were sent out via Demon Recon they will either give you items or introduce you to other Demons that will ask you for something (health, magic points, etc) in order for them to join you. You can choose to give them what they want or decline it and if you already have one of the Demons in your party, then they will decline joining you and will give you either items, money, or will heal you.

While in dungeons, enemies are visible as you explore and appear as large walking masses of black abyss with glowing orbs on them. You can approach them to initiate a battle and or swing Ringo’s sword which will knock them down, enemies that are knocked down and approached for battles will have you performing a preemptive strike which damages all enemies. Aside from the normal enemies, you’ll run into a stalker variant known as a Risky type that has stronger enemies several levels above yours and is immune to knock downs as well as a Rare type which drops rare items that you can sell for high prices yet they will try to run after a few turns.

The way battles play out in Soul Hackers 2 really changes up the formula of the turn-based system found in the SMT and Persona games and streamlines them substantially. Gone is the series standard “Press Turn” system when you hit an enemy with their weakness, what will happen in its place when you hit an enemy with their weakness is a number added in the top right corner called a Stack which can be “stacked” up to 4 times to deal a finishing attack at the end of the players turn known as the Sabbath which deals more damage based on the number of Stacks that you have. Commander Skills is useful for turning the tides of battle, yet they have their own set of requirements to activate. Commander Skills allows the player to swap out Demons mid battle which allows you to switch up your strategy and tactics as the battles continue.

Each character can be outfitted with a singular Demon of which will determine their stats as well as if they get any additional buffs, each demon has a starting level as well as an elemental attack and special ability of which they can gain more as you level them up. Each character is equipped with a weapon known as a COMP, a defensive item, and an accessory known as a mystique which have various stat buffs and bonuses. You can upgrade your COMPs as well as purchase new abilities for them as your progress in the game.

Soul Hackers 2 is a great addition to the SMT lineup of games and while it may not be as long or as ambitious as a mainline SMT or Persona title nor have as complex of a battle system, Soul Hackers 2 has its own unique identity and flavor which separates it from the other games all the while allowing it to stand right next to them on near equal footing. If you are looking to get into the SMT/Persona series, then Soul Hackers 2 is definitely a great starting point for newcomers and for franchise veterans like myself it’s a great new entry into franchise that you will not want to miss out on.