Soul Hackers 2 review from igamesnews.com

Released on Saturn in 1997, it can’t be said that Soul Hackers is the most famous title in the Shin Megami Tensei (SMT) franchise. At the time, apart from a start reserved for Japan, the saga was not really well known outside of the Japanese archipelago. Inevitably, it was sixteen years before Soul Hackers reappeared with a port to 3DS, this time available worldwide. Despite it, With the release of Persona 4, but especially Persona 5, Shin Megami Tensei has become well known in the west as one of the essential J-RPG sagas.

And if you don’t know this franchise, let us remind you Shin Megami Tensei are turn-based role-playing games in which you face demons from folklore around the world that you can recruit and merge to constantly strengthen your team. Given the success of Persona 5 Royal, Atlus decided to release more and more episodes of its flagship franchise worldwide. Following Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster, we’ve been treated to a new numbered opus with Shin Megami Tensei V, exclusive to Switch. Now it’s Soul Hackers turn to take center stage with a direct sequel, Soul Hackers 2, which is inspired by Persona in many ways.

A colorful cyberpunk world in the grip of the apocalypse

In Soul Hackers 2, humanity has reached such an advanced technological level that it has stopped evolving. In the shadows, out of the sea of ​​abstract, information-saturated data that defines contemporary society, a new life form called Aion has emerged. As a unit beyond comprehension, Aion observes the history of humanity, but also its future, which it can predict. When the end of the world seems inevitable This transcendent collective decides to create two beings with a physical body, Ringo and Figue, so that they can infiltrate among humans and prevent catastrophe

. During his mission, Ringo, the heroine we play, meets Arrow, Milady and Saizo, who will help him recover the five covenants that, once united, will allow him to invoke the Supreme Being that will make every wish come true leaves. Obviously, if this falls into the wrong hands, it could lead to the destruction of the world, as the Ghost Society wants to build a new society by wrecking the current one.

More than his scenario The great strength of Soul Hackers 2 lies above all in its universe and its graphics. We’ll discover a cyberpunk world with anime aesthetics and flashy neon-style colors that give the title a real identity. This can even be felt in the designs of the main characters, which shine for their originality, but also in the design of the merchant menus, which are very successful and are reminiscent of Persona 5. So it’s quite pleasant to explore the streets of this futuristic Tokyo, colorful that also benefits from a cel shading style with inked effects that look particularly good. Shin Megami Tensei’s iconic demons, which we find from one game to another, also benefit from this graphic facelift, to the delight of fans of the saga.

If the title is visually enduring thanks to its artistic direction, However, we find that its technique is quite simple, with fairly simple textures and environments if we look at them in detailwho are camouflaged by their anime site. In terms of exploration, we’re not in an open world, we’re moving using a map that allows us to get to different places in the city that, like in the old games of the series, take the form of small areas. Another point of detail: we also regret that the title has so many small loads here and there on its PS5 version, while with the console’s SSD everything should appear immediately when everything could have been optimized specifically for the next-gen machines.

An agreed scenario for Shin Megami Tensei

If you’re a fan of Shin Megami Tensei, these end-of-the-world themes of restoring a new society might look pretty familiar to you, and for once Soul Hackers 2 isn’t particularly original in this area. Something to commemorate Shin Megami Tensei V that was pretty similar in that regard. However, If the scenario isn’t the greatest strength of the Soul Hackers 2 universe, the latter can still count on its characters to arouse the player’s interest. Each member of the team has a past and interesting motivations that can be discovered in particular in the Soul Matrix, a kind of dungeon that allows you to relive their memories and get closer to them.

One of the first Persona 5 inspirations that we find in Soul Hackers 2 is precisely the possibility of interacting with his partners to get closer. So, certain dialogue options will make one of your teammates happy, while you can go out for drinks with one of them to increase their soul resonance. The higher this meter, the more you can explore the Soul Matrix and open doors that only open when you are close enough to your companions.

Effective battles for an outdated level design

Besides walking the streets of this futuristic Tokyo to buy items and equipment, the heart of Soul Hackers 2 is above all exploring dungeons, defeating groups of demons and advancing through the story. Regarding the fight The title uses the classic Shin Megami Tensei mechanics that have stood the test of time. Battles take place turn-by-turn, and each member of your team can use the abilities of their assigned demon. The goal is then to find the enemy’s weak point and exploit it as much as possible to create a Summon, a group attack that triggers at the end of the player’s turn. This attack gets stronger the more attacks you perform that match your opponent’s weak point.

Outside of combat, you can recruit demons and then assign them to one of your characters so they can use their abilities. However, while in most Shin Megami Tensei you had to deal with them mid-battle before they joined you, now it’s your own demons looking for them in the dungeons and you just have to accept whether or not you give in to theirs whims to get them to join you. And in order to become more powerful, it is more interesting to merge your creatures, instead of leveling them, in a circus intended for this purpose, typical functionality of SMTs. Finally, you can also upgrade your characters’ COMPs in shops, a kind of device that allows them to harness the powers of demons. In general, you should always walk around town to shop and buy gear that increases your allies’ defenses or recovers healing items. To complete the customization, our heroes can also restore their own skills thanks to their COMP, but also through progression in their soul matrix.

Soul Hackers 2 therefore uses the solid combat system of the Shin Megami Tensei series to offer effective confrontations that require strategy. Even more so since Ringo, our heroine, has access to very handy abilities, such as transforming demons in battle or boosting summons, giving additional tactical options. Unfortunately, Some choices make the experience more complicated than other games in the series. In Persona 5 or Shin Megami Tensei V, being able to negotiate with demons made it possible to have enough to merge to create the ideal creature to defeat a boss for example. Since you can’t recruit easily here, sometimes you’ll get stuck if you don’t have the right demons. Fortunately, it’s always possible to change the difficulty at any time to circumvent this problem.

Furthermore, Above all, the biggest problem with the title is the layout of its dungeons, which are just a succession of corridors full of enemies struggling to be exciting. We therefore follow the straight paths until we reach our goal, meeting tons of enemies along the way and our own demons that can heal you or bring back items. Additionally, exploration takes place in settings that are often simple and mundane, contrasting with Tokyo’s colorful and flashy art direction. Something to commemorate Shin Megami Tensei III, who also suffered from the same problem, except that the empty appearance of his decorations matched his post-apocalyptic atmosphere and sense of loneliness conveyed. So we’re quite a distance from Persona 5’s palaces, which shone with their originality and visual identity, and we’re rather closer to Memento, the randomly generated dungeon used to gain experience.

Conclusion

Points cont

• Beautifully colored cyberpunk anime aesthetic
• The effectiveness of the combat system à la Shin Megami Tensei
• Friendly characters with original designs

weak points

• Bland dungeons that are just a series of corridors
• A deja vu story for fans of the saga
• Technically quite simple and poorly optimized on PS5

Behind its colorful neon lights, Soul Hackers 2 remains an “old-school” RPG, different from more recent titles in its franchise like Persona 5 Royal or Shin Megami Tensei V. Beyond its cyberpunk anime aesthetic, Atlus’ game relies on an always effective and proven SMT-like combat system, but also on its friendly cast of characters that stand out for their original designs. Unfortunately, the experience is enhanced by a story that is ultimately quite simple, some technical flaws, but above all by its dungeons, which are far too simple and repetitive and difficult to stimulate the player. A title that has something to offer seasoned RPG enthusiasts.

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