In a means, Souls Hackers 2 is a recreation I’ve been ready for from Atlus for some time now. As fond as I’m of mainline Shin Megami Tensei and Persona titles, I’ve at all times held a particular affinity for the assorted Megaten spinoff entries – particularly within the PS2 period with titles like Digital Devil Saga or the Raidou Kuzunoha duology. With the shift to HD growth, these kinds of spinoffs grew to become extra sparse, with a couple of principally opting to move to Nintendo’s handheld techniques. The authentic Soul Hackers even obtained its first official English localization with a port for the 3DS, practically a decade in the past.

As the discharge of Soul Hackers 2 approaches, I personally see plenty of pleasure for it, together with some uncertainty about what the sport may be like. With Atlus RPGs typically exhibiting an considerable array of assorted types and recreation focuses, I think the expectations positioned on Soul Hackers 2 are additionally different, relying on what any given participant may be particularly in search of in an RPG. So, I believe it is value describing intimately what Soul Hackers 2 is definitely like and what it’s not.

This could also be apparent, however it’s value stating anyway. Soul Hackers 2 shouldn’t be a Persona recreation. It’s not fairly a correct Shin Megami Tensei title both. Ultimately, Soul Hackers 2 can draw some parallels from many inspirations in Atlus’ library.

Soul Hackers 2 would not dwell lengthy in its opening moments. Within the sport’s first hour or so, you’re launched to your everlasting playable solid of Ringo, Arrow, Saizo, & Milady (pronounced mill-luh-dee), you study the sport’s story premise of halting the resurrection of the so-called “Great One” by gathering 5 macguffins generally known as Covenants, and you’re all of the sudden thrown into your first dungeon-trek.

This most likely should not be an excessive amount of of a shock in the event you’ve performed the unique Soul Hackers, however Soul Hackers 2 locations numerous give attention to dungeon-crawling. It’s not in first-person like its predecessor, however most of the time all through the course of the sport, you may be inside one of many recreation’s dungeon layouts, battling enemies and powering up your characters. While you may see a good quantity of story-focused scenes & character interplay, it is the dungeon crawling & fight that take up nearly all of Soul Hacker 2’s runtime. The recreation’s default digicam angle locations you proper up in opposition to the again of Ringo (maybe uncomfortably so), and it really works to not less than considerably emulate that forward-facing dungeon-crawler really feel – simply not in first-person.

For some bookkeeping, it is value noting that I performed an early PC model of Soul Hackers 2, which included varied choices to tug again the digicam a bit and play the sport extra like a typical third-person RPG. PlayStation and Xbox variations can have this performance added in a day one patch. Even in the event you resolve to change the digicam on the first alternative as I did, I believe its default place is considerably telling about the kind of recreation Soul Hackers 2 was envisioned to be.

Soul Hackers 2 didn’t go away me with an incredible first impression in any respect. After an understandably unremarkable tutorial dungeon and being shortly launched to the sport’s central solid, I used to be all of the sudden thrown into the Soul Matrix, a kind of persistent facet dungeon that’ll you may revisit a number of instances over the course of the sport, with extra flooring unlocked periodically as you progress by the principle narrative. Let’s simply say the dungeon design right here early on, each aesthetically & functionally, was merely boring. Large swaths of those areas amounted to linear paths with a couple of lifeless ends – so easy as to be mundane.

The opening move to Soul Hackers 2 is considerably unusual on the whole, opting to throw gamers right into a sterile, lifeless, and prolonged side-dungeon so quickly earlier than the principle thrust of the sport has actually even begun.  Even so, the sport’s first ‘correct’ dungeon afterward is not significantly better, sadly, principally sticking to linear paths and easy encounters. For as a lot time as the sport was putting me in these areas, all the pieces felt plodding and monotonous. And do not get me flawed, I like dungeon crawlers on the whole! Just not when the dungeons are so boring.

In reality, it took roughly 10 to fifteen hours for Soul Hackers 2 to lastly start to develop on me, not less than a bit of bit. It wasn’t till the sport’s subway dungeon that I truly felt like there was *one thing* to see within the Soul Hacker 2’s core gameplay sides, and even then I want the dungeon design and fight elements had been extra partaking than they had been turning out to be in that second. In any case, the early hours of Soul Hackers 2 are a dreary gradual burn, mechanically.

If the dungeon design itself wasn’t compelling, maybe the fight might preserve issues fascinating, however this too begins off with one thing of a whimper.

Combat in Soul Hackers 2 is a turn-based affair, however it is not fairly Shin Megami Tensei‘s “Press Turn” or Persona‘s “Once More”. There aren’t any additional turns to be gained or misplaced by hitting weaknesses or resistances. Instead, hitting an elemental weak point will increment a counter generally known as a Stack. At the top of each fight spherical, Ringo will carry out a “Sabbath”, the place all of the Stacked demons will deal a wave of harm to the enemy group – with the next Stack depend dealing extra injury. This feels most just like Strange Journey‘s Demon Co-op greater than anything.

Each character of your fight get together can equip one demon at a time. You can form of consider it just like the older Persona titles right here, the place any character could be outfitted with any demon of your selecting. You may even change demons on the fly in battle, with some restrictions. While the demons themselves do not seem on the battlefield, the outfitted demon will dictate what talents that character can use, in addition to that character’s elemental defenses.

So, though you needn’t handle and optimize additional turns this time round as you’ll in most Megaten titles, there may be nonetheless a little bit of flexibility and strategizing that does come into play when it comes to optimizing your lineup as you progress by Soul Hackers 2. Generally talking, clearly, you need to be sure to have most of your elemental assaults coated, in addition to some therapeutic and buff/debuff capabilities.

The normal issue in Soul Hackers 2 is greater than manageable, the place following fundamental strategic tenets will get you thru simply nice more often than not. In reality, in case you are a veteran of those kinds of video games, I recommend giving the Hard Mode choice a attempt to actually carry essentially the most out of the sport’s fight encounters. Luckily you’ll be able to change at any time, so you are not caught with anyone choice right here. It’s additionally value noting that, even when Ringo falls in battle, you’ll be able to nonetheless proceed combating – there isn’t any basic “SMT Game Over” right here in that case.

I come away considerably ambivalent about Soul Hackers 2’s fight, however I do recognize the try to combine issues up only a bit from a extra typical Megaten-style battle system. Some of the most effective encounters within the recreation are those you’ll be able to tackle in elective quests, which regularly could require extra specified methods to return away victorious. Combat does get increasingly compelling as you get deeper into the sport, thankfully, however I felt it by no means reached the heights that Megaten video games have been proven to be able to.

The major means you energy up your characters in Soul Hackers 2 – apart from by fusing higher-level demons with higher talents – is thru the COMP Smith. Here is the place the sport takes its strongest inspiration from Tokyo Mirage Sessions, by incessantly handing over monster drop gadgets to enhance the capabilities of a personality – solely this time by their COMP as a substitute of a Carnage. There can be a associated “Mistique” system in place, which might alter a personality’s capabilities by what’s successfully a glorified accent slot.

To get into all of the minute particulars of Soul Hacker 2’s COMP and Mistique system would most likely be extra wordy than essential, however what it boils right down to is that every character’s capabilities enhance over the course of the sport, and never each character has similar utility. While any character can equip any demon, it seems that sure characters are *barely* higher fitted to sure sorts of assaults. Milady is the character finest fitted to dealing Fire-based injury, and Saizo is technically the most effective healer & help character, for instance.

There are a couple of different locations the place Soul Hackers 2 adjustments issues up from the standard components. For instance, demons could be recruited to your get together, however not by the standard Demon Negotiation mechanics you typically see in different Megaten titles. When you meet a demon in battle, you’ll not have the chance to speak to them for any motive. Instead, Soul Hackers 2 makes use of one thing referred to as Demon Recon.

Demon Recon is actually quite simple. In every dungeon of the sport, you’ll be able to chat with demons out of your inventory at locations alongside the dungeon path. Where they present up is semi-random, however they both provide you with an merchandise, cash, therapeutic, or an opportunity to recruit a demon. If you give the demon what they need, they will be a part of you straight afterward.

I’m of two minds of this mechanic. Once you enter a negotiation, you needn’t fear about RNG, demon personalities, or the demon simply leaving for no motive. As lengthy as you give them what they need, they will be a part of, each time. The drawback is that as a result of demon recruitment is restricted to semi-random Demon Recon spawns and never simply from any battle, your precise variety of alternatives to recruit a demon is much smaller. So in brief, whereas demons are simpler to persuade to affix you, truly discovering the chance to persuade them within the first place generally is a bit tedious. In reality, I typically felt utilizing the Demon Compendium and fusion was typically a better technique to get a demon I needed – moreso than hoping I’d discover it in a Demon Recon.

Soul Hackers 2 does have a personality affinity system, however it’s a lot, far more streamlined than what you’ll discover in a Persona Social Link. You, the participant, by no means truly must resolve tips on how to spend time or who to spend time with. Instead, you may elevate Ringo’s affinity with Arrow, Milady, or Saizo in one in all two methods.

First, you may be given some dialogue decisions by the sport’s essential narrative that may elevate a sure character’s ‘Soul Level’ affinity. These decisions don’t have any bearing on the storyline of the sport, and they’re going to explicitly present you which ones character will obtain an affinity increase. Second, as you progress by the sport, you may unlock ‘Hangout Events’, that are basically little facet conversations among the many characters that will even increase their Soul Level.

These Soul Level-related story occasions and Hangout occasions all occur at pre-determined moments all through the sport. As you elevate your Soul Level, you may unlock additional flooring in that character’s Soul Matrix dungeon. Besides its introduction and one different occasion, the Soul Matrix is generally an intensive elective dungeon that gives a bit of little bit of backstory data on the solid of characters, in addition to unlocks some new talents for them to make use of.

If you had been to quantify it inside the context of the sport, roughly half the content material in Soul Hackers 2, if no more, is discovered within the Soul Matrix. If you’re the kind of participant to typically not skip content material, you may be spending plenty of time right here. The later flooring of the Soul Matrix do ultimately turn out to be extra fascinating than the early ones, for certain, when it comes to dungeon design. You’ll get your warp puzzles and barely extra labyrinthian mazes. They by no means attain the heights of another Atlus dungeons, however they not less than turn out to be respectable by the top of issues.

As far because the characters themselves go, I discovered them to be largely serviceable, however not far more than that. With the solid being adults in a franchise normally saddled with youngsters, they do are likely to take care of different types of non-public struggles than different protagonists within the broader collection. Ringo herself is a really uncommon talking Megaten protagonist, and being successfully an AI assemble herself, she’ll spend a good bit of time studying about humanity, feelings, and so forth. She would not achieve affinity with the opposite characters to try to romance them. It’s extra about understanding them as people, with distinct personalities and motivations. It’s fascinating conceptually, even when the execution is merely satisfactory.

The essential storyline itself additionally comes throughout as a bit threadbare. There aren’t any plotholes, egregiously poor writing, or something like that. Much like different elements of Soul Hackers 2, the storytelling is only a bit skinny on the whole, in the end coming throughout as considerably hackneyed and done-before. It’s troublesome to say greater than that with out spoiling a lot, however I’ll reiterate that Soul Hackers 2 plainly appears to place extra emphasis on dungeons and battling.

Soul Hackers 2 feels just like Atlus’ PS2 period of Megaten titles, for higher and for worse. It’s a bit extra experimental in varied methods, and its scope is extra centered, although a bit restricted. This does consequence within the recreation typically feeling ‘low cost’, with many rigidly awkward mannequin animations, incessantly reused environmental belongings, and restricted voice appearing. The English voicework general can be solely simply serviceable, and regardless of normally being keen on Atlus English-dubbed voices, I personally suppose it is most likely finest to go together with the Japanese voice solid this time round. In any case, Soul Hackers 2’s restricted growth scope feels evident, and I believe the mechanics and ideas it locations on show aren’t fairly sufficient to make up for it. At least the music by Monaca is nice.

That stated, I’m nonetheless glad that Atlus determined to publish a recreation like Soul Hackers 2, focusing extra on a specific imaginative and prescient regardless of limitations slightly than a massively polished mega-game aiming for broad attraction.

As an compulsory ultimate word, the PC port of Soul Hackers 2 was largely nice throughout my playthrough, although with a few bizarre behavioral quirks. The recreation by no means appeared to open on the correct monitor of my multi-monitor setup, and typically it could wrestle to really shut the sport once I requested it to. There was additionally the occasional stutter in battle sequences, though it was exhausting to inform if it was as a result of port itself or if it was merely inherent to the sport. Otherwise, coming from Shin Megami Tensei V on Nintendo Switch, it was admittedly good to see clear character fashions and environments with out vital aliasing whereas operating at 60+ fps framerates.

Depending in your perspective, Soul Hackers 2 could be seen as a contented medium between dungeon crawler, RPG, and social simulation. Or it may be seen as being in a kind of no man’s land, the place it incorporates parts of every whereas not fairly excelling at something. I come away feeling extra towards the latter right here, the place no singular ingredient of the sport actually managed to excite me past base satisfaction. Soul Hackers 2 is an satisfactory, experimental Megaten entry with some vivid spots, however it would not fairly all come collectively in addition to I hoped it could.

7