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Soul Hackers 2 is a sequel to the 1997 Soul Hackers game from Atlus and is also a part of the overarching Megami Tensei franchise. Unlike many other Megami Tensei games, this is set in a more modern dystopia. Instead of exploring a world that’s already ruined, players are trying to prevent the end of the world.
This preview will feature a few spoilers. Also, I am only about 18-20 hours through Soul Hackers 2. A full review will come later in the month. The game brings a few features from the Persona and Shin Megami Tensei games and has a pretty unique visual design that I’ve quickly become a fan of.
Still exciting and gritty 15 hours into Soul Hackers 2
In the 21st century, Soul Hackers 2's story focuses on a pair of rival devil summoner groups. Yatagarsu is trying to stop the actions of the Phantom Society, which seeks to summon the Great One. The Great One can be summoned to create their desired society if they can control all five Covenants.
Thankfully, the loading screen shows which characters currently hold Covenants, so it’s easy to see if players get lost or confused. Ringo, the main character, is known as an “Aion” and is paired with Figue. They are born from the datastream of information, making them, in their way, Digital Devil Summoners.
While avoiding the main details of the story, several characters join the party who are also devil summoners but have perished through the course of the story. Somehow, Ringo’s able to give them a second chance at life, provided they help her.
The ultimate goal is to prevent the destruction of the world, but I cannot help but wonder at this point if there comes a change when we can hasten it. Many Megami Tensei games have multiple endings, so I’m inquisitive to see where that goes. It has new features, like shops, difficulty options, and a safe house, all of which enhance the overall experience.
What to do in Amami City?
When it comes to Soul Hackers 2, players aren’t constantly just fighting and summoning demons. The fictional Amami City has plenty of things to see and do. Soul Hackers 2 adds some light character interactions, where players can meet up with their allies around the city.
Ringo can buy items, upgrade their COMP (for devil summoning), summon and fuse demons at the Cirque du Goumaden, unlock requests at Club Cretaceous, and so much more. There are plenty of places to visit and be nosy, much to my delight.
This interaction and the right dialogue choices in the story will increase Soul Level between Ringo and the others. This will help unlock special attacks and, when diving into the Axis, can help unlock portions of the dungeon.
Axis exists in the Soul Matrix and has dungeons linked between the other three main protagonists: Arrow, Milady, and Saizo. It’s said to be a reproduction of Ringo’s mental state, and she gains a better understanding of her allies through exploring the dungeon.
It’s a dungeon that grows in size as the players build their relationships with each other, and I found it pretty easy to get Soul Levels increased with my party. This is also a great place to grind experience and complete Requests. Requests are our side quests, which exist in Axis, as well as in the normal realm.
It adds a lot to the world to have all these places to go, but I wish it would be a bit clearer when showing me where I’m going next for the various requests. It wasn’t difficult to figure out what I was doing, but it would be nice to see them on my minimap when exploring.
Combat has a new Sabbath system and how to recruit demons
Combat is exactly what I expected it to be. In a turn-based system, your party goes, then the demons take a turn. Unlike some Megami Tensei games, Soul Hackers 2's skills don’t use HP, only MP. Each demon has its strengths and weaknesses, so be aware when unleashing attacks.
However, what makes it interesting is the Sabbath system. When a player hits an enemy's weakness, it adds a Stack to the Sabbath meter. Multiple targets only grant one Stack, but certain abilities can increase that.
At the end of your turn, based on how many Stacks you have, Ringo summons the demons on the team and delivers a powerful AOE attack. It makes many fights much easier and rewards the players for exploiting their weaknesses.
I like combat. It’s what I remember from previous games. It feels like many of the strengths and weaknesses of the demons in previous games hold, making combat a little easier. In the first ten hours or so, I lacked power in combat regarding AOE elemental skills, but before long, I was able to correct that.
Unlike Persona, players cannot recruit demons in combat. When Ringo enters a dungeon, she sends the various demons on the team to scout. Talking to them in the dungeon will grant items, heals, and demons who may want to join the team.
One thing to note is that if you have a full roster of demons and angels, you cannot replace someone. Instead, they’ll give you an item, or money or something. You have to remove them from the party, head to the Circus, and fuse a few.
The aesthetic is sharp and the music is catchy
I like the design of Amami City, and the music is catchy, keeping my interest. The battle menu was a little hard to read when I first started. It felt like it was crammed on the side of my TV in the living room, but that wasn’t the case on a smaller screen in my office.
The sharp purple used in the menus is a solid choice, and the city feels alive. You can’t walk through the whole city, but you teleport to various areas and then explore those. It doesn’t look like a vast, futuristic megalopolis, more like a regular city one might see while exploring Japan.
In conclusion
So far, Soul Hackers 2 has been genuinely fun. It’s pretty challenging on Normal, or can be, if you aren’t spending time grinding. It's easy to jump into Axis and battle demons and retreat to the hideout for a full heal.
I love the character interactions in Soul Hackers 2. The back-and-forth dialog is excellent. It often feels like what people might say in some of these situations. The character designs are solid, and the demons look exactly like they did in SMTV and other Megami Tensei games.
I still have a long way to go with Atlus' Soul Hackers 2, but I like what it’s got going on so far.
