The Soul Hackers franchise is another spin-off, but Soul Hackers 2 lacks the epic nature of the entry to Atlus’ newest major franchise. The smaller range provides a more focused and streamlined experience. While Soul Hackers 2 is not as difficult as the well-known Shin Megami Tensei series, it is still a challenge as enemies can hit hard even at the easiest of difficulties. Fans of the series and more casual gamers alike will love it.
You play as Ringo, the digital agent on the Aion supercomputer. Ringo builds her a physical body and sends her on a journey to stop the apocalypse with another agent, Vig. Aion’s predictive programming predicts that the three deaths of Saizo, Arrow, and Milady will lead to the end of the world, but when Ringo sets out to save them, she arrives too late. With her Soul Hack ability, which allows her soul to communicate with others, she can effectively bring them back to life. Work with Ringo to collect five vows, each one a form of energy with incredible power. The Covenant will play a major role in the impending planetary doom. Because whoever possesses them all can summon the Great Will, a mysterious and powerful being.
What sets Ringo apart from the others is that she is a fully voiced character with her own personality that sets her apart from the quiet heroes employed by Persona and Shin Megami Tensei. She jokes with the characters, and she has a terrifying and ironic side that makes her fun and interesting. He learns regarding human behavior through conversations with peers. Through these conversations, Soul Hackers 2 directs a portion of the character’s DNA.
Similar to a person’s character’s social connections and close social simulation system, Ringo chats with Arrow, Saizo, and Milady during hangouts regarding pet preferences (dogs and cats), their favorite types of alcohol, and a variety of other topics. We can discuss them. These conversations take place around a gorgeous outdoor cyberpunk bar with pink cherry blossom petals blowing in the wind and jazz music playing in the background, and the soundtrack to the game, composed by Monaka, is fantastic. Electronic music and whimsical chant singing are spread all over the world, with electric guitar tracks for intense boss fights. This really helps draw the player into the sci-fi environment of the game.
Through Hangouts, players can earn Soul Points from three characters. The higher the level, the more Ringo might enter his soul array. The Soul Matrix is an optional dungeon (similar to a character 5’s dungeon in Mementos) that can be traversed to unlock additional abilities for characters in battle.
In terms of dungeon design, Soul Hackers 2 feels as if Shin Megami Tensei V hasn’t moved into an open world. The dungeons in Soul Hackers 2 consist of very narrow lanes, much like the traditional dungeon crawling experience found in another Atlus franchise, Etrian Odyssey, and even older Shin Megami Tensei games. When you explore a dungeon like a maze, the map will automatically appear in the lower right corner.
The first “Soul Hackers” game was first-person, while “Soul Hackers 2” uses a third-person camera. I appreciate trying to evoke a sense of exploration in the same way, but the camera is too close to the back of the apple, which often makes it hard to see what’s in front of it. Also, Atlus confirmed that it will be giving console players the option to zoom out in the first day patch.
Another issue is the cute decoration of the dungeons themselves, whether it’s a subway dungeon or a transport zone, many of the dungeons look very similar, with very few background features. Villains and themes. Until the dungeon ending of “Soul Hackers 2” I felt it had an interesting design and real colors instead of the darker ones all around.
The combat system attempts to make some changes from the well-known press role mechanic from the Shin Megami Tensei series. Soul Hackers 2 is equipped with a stacking system that increases the counter at the top right of the screen every time you attack an enemy’s weak point feature. At the end of the team turn, Ringo summoned the Sabbath with a crew of demons. This is basically the same as the Persona All-Out attack, which deals extra damage with explosive bonuses to all enemies. The higher the stack, the stronger the Sabbath.
Stacking is an incredibly satisfying and fun system, almost like trying something in a casino. pile Win as many chips as you can before you go crazy. There is enough difference from the spin type to press, and it has a unique feel. I also love the demonic silhouettes that gather around the enemy when the stack starts. It’s as if they’re preparing for Ringo’s attack. A painful and addictive green aura circulates and envelops the entire battlefield – and becomes increasingly mysterious as the piles increase.
Without the Persona calendar system and the open world of Shin Megami Tensei V, Soul Hackers 2’s architecture looks cramped. It’s also a much shorter game than the other Atlus games (at least by JRPG standards), finishing my first game in 30 hours. There are also a lot of side quests to tackle to increase your playing time, and they offer excellent world building. One demon summoner must be tracked down. The demon summoner has tremendous power, but what if I misuse it?
Soul Hackers 2 has a lot to offer. Ringo’s flamboyant character makes her a formidable protagonist, and both the combative and fun characters keep players immersed in minute-by-minute gameplay episodes. Sure, Soul Hackers 2 isn’t fair when compared to Atlus’ masterpiece, Persona, but the game definitely stands on two legs on its own.
George Yang is a freelance writer covering video games and culture. His work has been published in Polygon, USGamer, Hollywood Reporter, and more. You can follow him on Twitter Tweet embed.
