Soul Hackers 2
MSRP $59.99
“Soul Hackers 2 innovates on the subject of RPG gameplay, however its story is a step down in comparison with Atlus’ latest hits.”
Execs
- Innovates on SMT method
- Satisfying flip financial system and technique
- Simple to recruit demons
- Development makes battles worthwhile
Cons
- Story strikes too quick
- Superficial hangout interactions
- Emotional beats fall flat
- Forgettable sideuests
I discovered my third lifeless physique about 5 hours into Soul Hackers 2. After 30 hours, I’ll discover out that corpses and plot twists are nothing to be shocked about.
Aion, the supercomputer model of God, foresees the top of the world. It creates Ringo and Figue, two humanoid representations of its consciousness, to cease this impending apocalypse. Sadly, they arrive too late to avoid wasting their targets: genius scientist Ichiro Ondo and demon summoner Arrow. That’s the place the sport’s titular Soul Hacking is available in. Convey again the soul and apparently the physique revives with it. Ringo finally ends up reviving three individuals who conform to battle collectively for the sake of their very own targets. Who’ll actually win ultimately, although?
Soul Hackers 2 looks as if it has the whole lot it must succeed as a JRPG full of sci-fi intrigue. Nonetheless, it speeds previous the stakes and character arcs in service of an anticlimactic race to the end. Fortunately, its finely crafted turn-based fight and development make an in any other case stale story straightforward to digest.
Similar however totally different method
Like different Atlus JRPGs, Soul Hackers 2 duplicates the Shin Megami Tensei method whereas meaningfully constructing on it. Recruit demons, battle with them, and fuse them into stronger allies. As soon as in battle, gamers must rigorously use sort benefits and switch financial system to wipe enemies out as rapidly as attainable or survive a brutal battle. One misstep will be the distinction between getting bodied by a full crew of demons or knocking all of them out with a multi-hit ending transfer.
Soul Hackers 2 has a knack for making each motion really feel prefer it’s price one thing.
Soul Hackers 2 makes use of this identical method to an extent with notable iteration. It brings again the Shin Megami Tensei mechanic the place the demons will be fused collectively to create ones with greater stats in comparison with ones pulled straight from the Compendium. It additionally helps you to degree up at an inexpensive tempo so that you just don’t must grind endlessly, with sufficient new talents and demons to maintain you shifting ahead.
One other perk? Preventing demons helps you degree up and accumulate drops for buying and selling. You possibly can meaningfully improve your COMP with stat boosts and passive perks (aka your weapons) utilizing enemy drops or objects your demons discover from exploring. Some drops are additionally meant to be traded for therapeutic objects and powerups, so useful resource gathering is a extremely rewarding expertise with a number of functions.
Soul Hackers 2 has a knack for making each motion really feel prefer it’s price one thing. Shin Megami Tensei spinoffs sometimes contain exploiting enemy weaknesses to attraction to the flip financial system. On this case, you acquire “Stacks” every time you hit an enemy weak spot. Ringo releases these stacks in a “Sabbath” on the finish of every flip for added injury. Some demons even have their very own “bonuses” that activate throughout these Sabbaths. One would possibly poison all enemies, whereas one other might grant the celebration a little bit of well being. It’s straightforward to stack the turns in your favor, as when you’re doing the RPG equal of couponing, and have a persistently satisfying time constructing out the proper celebration composition.
Now, if solely the story impressed me as a lot because the gameplay.
Extra exhibiting, much less telling
My English professors used to emphasize “present not inform.” Sadly, Soul Hackers 2 does numerous telling and never a lot exhibiting. I stand by my preview, the place I wrote that the story rapidly misplaced its shock worth after the primary three deaths. I get it. Aion beings can carry folks again to life with soul-hacking superpowers and everybody has an issue with their ex.
Soul Hackers 2 strikes quick. It dives into the reminiscences and regrets of Arrow, Milady, and Saizo early within the plot. To some extent, Soul Hackers 2 tells the story of three Demon Summoners who got here again to life to handle their regrets and save the world. It doesn’t meaningfully weave the threads collectively, although. The three heroes convincingly react to their nemeses ultimately, however the buildup to that second is lacking. Actually, a few of their motives are hidden behind plot twists later within the story. The explanations for maintaining these intimate moments outdoors of the primary plot make sense in context, however that implies that you’ll need to be in for the lengthy haul as you wade by lackluster plot and character improvement.
I all the time felt like a bystander quite than somebody who was within the second myself.
A few of it may even be resulting from having Ringo because the protagonist. To be clear, I like Ringo as a hero. Her spunk and humorousness carried in any other case stale conversations. Nonetheless, she’s additionally primarily a new child.
Soul Hackers 2 tackles what it means to be human and what Ringo and Figue be taught from their passionate allies. Ringo because the protagonist simply seems like a waste when Arrow, Milady, and Saizo have such advanced backstories that we solely really feel within the third particular person. I all the time felt like a bystander quite than somebody who was within the second myself.
A technical afterthought
Soul Hackers 2 paces its fight completely, even when it strikes too quick to savor the story. Nonetheless, there are different shifting elements that might have used some work.
Areas just like the Axis and Membership Courteous supply sidequests to meet, however they’re by no means something greater than fetch quests, which really feel like a waste of time. A few of them have helpful objects that make it price it, however more often than not, it’s simpler to fake they don’t exist. I additionally discovered it straightforward to disregard the Soul Matrix, which the sport reminds you to go to each different time you go to the Safehouse. Exploring it’s going to give your celebration members helpful passive perks the extra you increase your social bond with them, however you’ll need to return to a bland, repetitive dungeon again and again to take action.
Many of the controls work effective sufficient, however there are some quirks that bugged me. It’s a little bit of a problem to regulate the digicam whereas operating, and it tends to comply with Ringo a bit of too carefully. I additionally observed a lag with Ringo’s slash, an assault that can be utilized whereas exploring to stun enemies earlier than a random encounter. You’ll typically get caught in battle even when you technically “hit” the enemy as the sport registers that you just’ve walked into them and initiates the battle. I discovered myself having to time my slash early to make it hit once I wished, which made gameplay really feel a bit of unnatural at occasions.
These aren’t deal-breakers in comparison with the larger image. Nonetheless, they begin to add up when the one positives are the gameplay and development.
Our take
Soul Hackers 2 is like the center sibling of the Shin Megami Tensei household. It doesn’t have the darkish fantasy legacy of the sequence its spun off from or the identical highschool hijinks because the Persona sequence. As a substitute, it’s a wonderfully enjoyable, if inoffensive comeback sport for a long-dormant IP. Nonetheless, it doesn’t really feel prefer it’ll have the identical endurance as a few of Atlus’ latest hits. Its emotional moments didn’t land as onerous due to a missing narrative that tells greater than it reveals. It innovates on some elements of the SMT method with robust RPG programs and development, but it surely isn’t sufficient to make it one other must-play.
Is there a greater various?
Persona 5 Royal is a lengthier and extra entertaining sport with comparable RPG programs. When you’ve already performed that, there’s additionally Persona 4, Shin Megami Tensei 5, or the lately remastered Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne. They’ll scratch the itch for a compelling story higher.
How lengthy will it take?
Soul Hackers 2 is comparatively quick in comparison with Atlus’ different works. It took me between 30 and 40 hours to complete.
Must you purchase it?
Sure. It’s a gentle suggestion for Shin Megami Tensei followers, although When you’re new to Atlus video games, it’s not a fantastic start line.
Soul Hackers 2 was reviewed on a PlayStation 4.
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