Soul Hackers 2 Review

Introduction: I have to preface this review for Soul Hackers 2 by saying I haven’t completed the game to it’s end credits. This review will be based on a few completed dungeons, side missions, exploratory hubs/shops, in-game choices etc.

Also, I feel due to the upcoming schedule of future game releases I might never get to finish Soul Hackers 2. So this is my way of moving on and getting some closer from this good JRPG.

I’m sure most videogame reviewers don’t always complete the games they review yet never tell you the reader. When I write a review on this website I will make sure I let you know if I haven’t beaten the game to it’s credits. Okay, now with the formalities out of the way let’s get into the review of Soul Hackers 2.

Presentation: Soul Hackers 2 is my first Soul Hackers Shin Megami Tensei Devil Summoner game that I have played. I have beaten Persona 5 if that counts. It doesn’t? Anyways, Soul Hackers 2’s overall presentation was decent with my only gripe being that some of the dungeons did get repetitive and annoying at times to navigate. Call it a balance issue.

Technically speaking I didn’t noticed any major bugs or glitches. However, I have experienced multiple occasions when frame rate slowdown was present while on performance mode. Oh duh, I forgot this review is based off the Playstation 5 version. For the most part everything was A-Okay on a presentation level. No complaints with the sound or visuals from what I played.

Story: Soul Hacker 2’s story revolves around saving the world from an impending apocalypse. Aion births two celestial humanoid beings named Ringo (main protagonist) and Figue (support). Ringo soul hacks important devil summoners who are humans (Arrow, Milady and Saizo).

Mission is to stop a evil big bad man Iron Mask from obtaining special celestial orbs called covenants. Collecting the covenants is where my story ends due to me having to quit playing the game early.

Soul Hackers 2 seems to have a solid overall arching story going for it. Along the way you meet and fight quite a few NPC/Bosses that are tied directly to main party members and or the story. Cutscene and dialogue choice option sequences flesh the story out further.

Gameplay: Soul Hackers implores a turn based combat mechanic that relies on collecting demons who in turn have specific abilities. Demons you collect can be focused of support buffs, elemental, physical or gun damage. Here is where Soul Hackers 2 reminds me of Persona. The entire premise of collecting and upgrading demons in battle.

Soul Hackers 2 can be challenging when fighting bosses and higher level enemies. You have to have the correct demons by your side going into battle and stay conscience of HP/MP levels. You can analyze enemies for weaknesses during battle.

Sabbath attacks are special build-up attacks only Ringo (main protagonist) can perform. Let’s say your team of Arrow, Milady and Saizo hit enemies with weakness attacks totaling 4 times. You can build up to four sabbath level where Ringo releases all your demons at the enemies at once.

To keep Ringo and her team strong you unlock districts and hubs with special shops. At said shops you can buy accessories, items, collect bounty missions and fuse demons into more powerful demons. Gameplay was good overall. The only issue I had were some of the dungeons got repetitive and annoying. Like I said above and below.

Keep in mind the majority of your playthrough you will be dungeon crawling in Soul Hackers 2. Story sequences emerge in dungeons and out into the various districts as well. One important hub area is Arrow’s Safehouse. Here you can cook meals that buff your team and discuss further story missions.

Visuals/Graphics: I do like the stylish painted bright color anime influence in Soul Hackers 2’s presentation. Graphic textures are hard judge since there are no realistic visuals being portrayed on screen. All I can say is if you dug Persona 5’s art and visuals you will love Soul Hackers 2.

Sound/Music: Music and sound design are solid. I enjoyed the original music and sound design through out the dungeons and various hub areas. Voice acting was solid. Again, if you enjoy Persona’s music and sound design you will enjoy Soul Hackers 2.

Final Verdict: Soul Hackers 2 is a really good JRPG but has too many convoluted dungeons compared to hub areas. It needed balancing where you spend equal time in dungeons and in hub areas. I prefer the balance in the Persona games more.

With that said as my first Soul Hackers Shin Megami Tensei Devil Summoner game I had a fun stylish time. Before I forget make sure you check out my Soul Hackers 2 Video Gallery Playlist article if you want to watch gameplay. Thank you for reading – Jason