I’ve played a lot of RPGs from Atlus over the years. Recently, they have used the success of the Shin Megami Tensei and Persona franchises to start trying some new things narratively and mechanically. Soul Hackers 2 is a game that will feel very familiar mechanically to SMT or Persona fans. However, it narratively sets itself apart in some interesting ways.

Before I get into the premise, any prospective player should know that Soul Hackers 2 deals with a lot of mature themes and concepts. Death, murder, what it means to be human, love, betrayal, and all sorts of other concepts are present in ways that aren’t suitable for most young children. Considering the first Soul Hackers game was a spinoff of the Shin Megami Tensei franchise called Shin Megami Tensei Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers, this shouldn’t be surprising to most people but is worth mentioning anyway.

Soul Hackers 2 drops most connections with any previous SMT title (including its predecessor) and is set in a futuristic Japan. Within cyberspace, an advanced AI consciousness called AION has been quietly growing and observing humanity. At the same time, humanity is protected from demons in secret by two factions of Devil Summoners. One faction, Yagatarasu seeks to protect humanity. The other faction called the Phantom Society intends to remake the world with the help of The Great One.

AION sees the possibility of The Great One being summoned, and creates Ringo and Figue, two individuals with physical forms. AION tasks them with stopping the arrival of The Great One and sends them to investigate the current situation. Without spoiling anything, what comes next is a journey that teaches Ringo and Figue what it means to be human, while they meet and recruit Devil Summoners that are intrinsically linked to the impending catastrophe.

Gameplay for Soul Hackers 2 is relatively standard fare. You alternate between dungeon crawling and exploring the various city areas. In the city areas you’ll be talking to NPCs, upgrading equipment, fusing demons, and undergoing side quests. During dungeon crawling segments, you’ll explore the environment, interacting with your demons as they perform “recon” to collect items, money, and even provide you with other demons who may want to join you.

Outside of Story Dungeons, you can utilize the Soul Matrix, which is an ever-evolving dungeon (similar to Persona 5’s Mementos) that lets you create deeper bonds with each of your party members. The Soul Matrix manifests paths that represent locked memories and emotions in your allies. As the story progresses, you’ll be able to go deeper into each Soul Matrix dungeon and learn more about your allies, gaining bond-exclusive perks in the process.

Growing your bond with one character might increase your EXP gain, while other characters may offer perks like increased loot, increased stats, and more. The Soul Matrix is also a vital place to gain XP and money, which you’ll be needing a lot of. Even on the easiest difficulty, Soul Hackers 2 provides a challenge. With that being said, people new to this sort of RPG probably won’t have any issues on the easiest difficulty once you start to understand the combat mechanics.

Combat is similar to Persona or SMT games, with a few differences. As in the other franchises, targeting enemy weaknesses is vital. By stacking on the weaknesses, you build up the counter for something called a Sabbath. The Sabbath is an attack that comes at the end of your turn and deals damage to all enemies. The more weak points you hit in a turn, the higher the damage. Additionally, some demons have Sabbath Skills that can trigger, healing party members or providing buffs at the same time.

Combat is challenging, strategic, but also relatively easy to understand. You’ll be regularly rotating your demons in and out of the party to make sure you cover enemy weaknesses. Additionally, once you level a demon and learn all their skills, they’ll give you an item and be functionally at their peak. They can still learn new abilities, but it can be more cost-effective to fuse them for stronger demons at that point.

Demon negotiation in dungeons is similar to how recruiting Demons works in Persona 5 and Shin Megami Tensei V. However, you don’t have weirdly esoteric or obtuse questions to answer, so in a lot of ways it can be much more simple. The fusion mechanics are simplified somewhat from the Persona franchise too, so this is a great place to start if you find the Persona games intimidating.

In terms of complaints with Soul Hackers 2, I really only have one. The level designs are bland. Persona games and Shin Megami Tensei titles tend to have visually stunning environments and thematic staging. Soul Hackers 2 goes for a more grounded take, and while the town areas and non-combat areas are visually beautiful, the dungeon areas feel simpler.

With that being said, there is an Accessibility feature that was included that most people probably wouldn’t notice. You can adjust the size of the map and even move it somewhat if you need to. For people that have a hard time seeing a smaller map, this is a fantastic addition.

Other than the bland level design, I really love Soul Hackers 2. The story is compelling, the side quests are interesting, and the combat is satisfying and strategic. The visuals are gorgeous on PlayStation 5, and the loading times are almost nonexistent. I think this probably still plays well on previous gen hardware and could even run on Switch. Regardless, the PS5 version plays well and doesn’t have issues like crashing or stuttering.

Soul Hackers 2 has everything I love about the sibling franchises it splintered off from, and yet still manages to set itself apart thematically from them. If you’re a fan of either of the franchises mentioned in this article, or just want a solid RPG to sink your teeth into, you can’t go wrong with Soul Hackers 2.

A PlayStation 5 Review Copy of Soul Hackers 2 was provided by Atlus for this review.

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Soul Hackers 2

$59.99

9

Score

9.0/10

Pros

• Great Story
• Interesting Characters
• Accessible Difficulty and Gameplay
• Engaging Progression System

Cons

• Bland Dungeon Designs