Back in February, when the game was announced, there was a fair bit of hype. The existence of a sequel was made known in a cool and cryptic way, and the reveal did generate quite a lot of hype, but it attracted some negativity as well, with some noting it looked like it was straying too far from the original Soul Hackers. Some people noted the game looked too much too different, both in presentation and in gameplay. As one fan I spoke to for this article put it:
At first, it was really interesting because everything was mysterious and no one knew what to expect, a lot of people thought it was going to be a mobile game, but at reveal it immediately lost that mystique and my thoughts quickly became mixed on it as I saw its aesthetic and gameplay decisions. It felt like it was trying to ride the wave of hype of Persona 5 that was started years ago and like it was using Soul Hackers as an in-name-only way to get nostalgia bait for old fans.
The original Soul Hackers is one of the more beloved games in the Megami Tensei series, so it's easy to see why so many would be cautious. As a fan of the original, I went into this game fully expecting it to be nothing like Soul Hackers, they even went as far as to drop the Devil Summoner name from Soul Hackers 2. So, was this game Persona Lite? Simply put, no.
As odd as it seems from a surface glance, what with the animal mascot and battle UI, Soul Hackers 2 felt like no Megami Tensei game I've played, while it's not as unique as Atlus' past games were, it's still its own thing. If you are a fan of the original Soul Hackers, you won't find a similar game here, if you are a fan of Persona, you won't find a similar game as well.
Graphics and Art Direction
I think it should go without saying that Soul Hackers 2 is easily the most beautiful SMT game I've played, and I'm not just talking about graphics. The game's art direction is fantastic and I love it, it does a great job of distinguishing itself from the other games in the franchise, I had worries that the game was going to come off as Persona 5 to me visually but that is not the case at all and I'm glad.
The atmosphere of the game is also fantastic, the city of Soul Hackers 2 is really beautiful. As for the original soundtrack, I don't like it that much which was surprising. I'd be lying if I said it was downright bad, just not my kind of music which is completely surprising. Atlus has some great soundtracks but this one didn't do much for me, not saying the music is bad, just not my kind.
Gameplay
Another worry I had going into Soul Hackers 2 was the combat, I'd worried it'd be like Persona 5. Now, I love Persona 5 but the combat in that game is infuriatingly easy, the game loses all of its difficulty 12 hours in and becomes a slog in the gameplay department. Soul Hackers 2 features UI which closely resembles Persona 5's, as well as a new combat system that sounded like the One-More system.
So how is the combat? It's really solid. I like that Atlus went out of its way to create a new combat system for Soul Hackers 2, which has been dubbed the Sabbath System, instead of using One-More or even Press-Turn. While I will say I don't enjoy it as much as Press-Turn, or even One-More, it is still fun on its own and does do more to differentiate itself from mainline SMT and Persona.
Still, the game is easy too, and dungeons do seem to drag on due to this. On the topic of dungeons, the dungeon designs in this game are not good. Atlus hasn't been the best in the dungeon design department for me, from Nocturne's weird puzzles to Digital Devil Saga's complete straightforwardness, they aren't the best at it but they've been getting better at it. Persona 5's were decent, better than what I'd played at that point.
As for Soul Hackers 2, they're not great. They're mindless and tedious, it doesn't help that the camera is in a very awkward spot when you're exploring so that you can miss attacking enemies as well. Another thing about the combat is that buffs and debuffs only last for 3 turns, as was the case with Shin Megami Tensei V. I didn't like this in that game, and I don't like it here, I have no idea what led Atlus to make this decision when buffs and debuffs were one of the most criticized gameplay aspects of Shin Megami Tensei V.
Story
I want to start by saying that Ringo's a genuinely fun protagonist and I like her a lot. While I'm not saying that future protagonists follow in her footsteps, it's great that for the first attempt at an actual protagonist in the series, the game hit it out of the park. Unfortunately, that is where my positives about the story end. While I've tried not to compare this game to the original Soul Hackers cause it's clear they're both going in separate directions, I can't help but criticize anytime they bring back aspects from that game.
One of those is the main bad guys of the game, the Phantom Society. As compared to the original, it is extremely obvious to see there's been a downgrade. In the original Soul Hackers, their goals were to gain power on a global scale, they wanted to grow to become the leaders of the world on both ends, putting up a front of being the most advanced company in the world, and utilizing the power of demons and ancient deities to get what they want.
In Soul Hackers 2? They just wanna destroy the world, and this much is told to us in the first 30 minutes of the. This is such an obvious and noticeable downgrade from the first that it makes me wonder why they used the Phantom Society name at all. Another one of my gripes is the handling of the Kuzunoha. If you're unaware, the Kuzunoha family is one of the staples of the Devil Summoner series, but in this game, he's handled so poorly that it's embarrassing.
Moving on to the characters, they're all fun but mishandled as well. During the beginning of the game, we get a proper setup as to what the arc of each party member will be and I genuinely thought this was going to be a slow and gradual process. It wasn't. All three party members had antagonists who ended up being equally worthless as characters, and the only reason the player should care is that the game tells you that the antagonists matter while showing little in that aspect.
Except, if you do the Soul Matrix. The game somehow thought it would be a good idea to hide a chunk of the strong character moments behind optional content and I have no idea why. I didn't like it when Persona 4 and 5 did this, I don't like it when Yakuza: Like A Dragon did this, and I don't like that this game did this. It makes the characters come off as weaker and I hate that cause they're all enjoyable.
Verdict
Soul Hackers 2 is honestly a fun time despite all my critiques of it. During your playthrough, you will find enjoyment here, and this isn't a bad game by any stretch of the imagination, but it's clear the game needed more time in development to fix some aspects. The game fumbles in a lot of areas regarding characters, story, and combat which bring down the experience.
But if you're already a Megami Tensei fan, I do recommend checking the game out for yourself. It's not one of Atlus's best, but it is certainly not bad and is an overall solid game.
Soul Hackers 2 is a 6/10.
At first, it was really interesting because everything was mysterious and no one knew what to expect, a lot of people thought it was going to be a mobile game, but at reveal it immediately lost that mystique and my thoughts quickly became mixed on it as I saw its aesthetic and gameplay decisions. It felt like it was trying to ride the wave of hype of Persona 5 that was started years ago and like it was using Soul Hackers as an in-name-only way to get nostalgia bait for old fans.
The original Soul Hackers is one of the more beloved games in the Megami Tensei series, so it's easy to see why so many would be cautious. As a fan of the original, I went into this game fully expecting it to be nothing like Soul Hackers, they even went as far as to drop the Devil Summoner name from Soul Hackers 2. So, was this game Persona Lite? Simply put, no.
As odd as it seems from a surface glance, what with the animal mascot and battle UI, Soul Hackers 2 felt like no Megami Tensei game I've played, while it's not as unique as Atlus' past games were, it's still its own thing. If you are a fan of the original Soul Hackers, you won't find a similar game here, if you are a fan of Persona, you won't find a similar game as well.
Graphics and Art Direction
I think it should go without saying that Soul Hackers 2 is easily the most beautiful SMT game I've played, and I'm not just talking about graphics. The game's art direction is fantastic and I love it, it does a great job of distinguishing itself from the other games in the franchise, I had worries that the game was going to come off as Persona 5 to me visually but that is not the case at all and I'm glad.
The atmosphere of the game is also fantastic, the city of Soul Hackers 2 is really beautiful. As for the original soundtrack, I don't like it that much which was surprising. I'd be lying if I said it was downright bad, just not my kind of music which is completely surprising. Atlus has some great soundtracks but this one didn't do much for me, not saying the music is bad, just not my kind.
Gameplay
Another worry I had going into Soul Hackers 2 was the combat, I'd worried it'd be like Persona 5. Now, I love Persona 5 but the combat in that game is infuriatingly easy, the game loses all of its difficulty 12 hours in and becomes a slog in the gameplay department. Soul Hackers 2 features UI which closely resembles Persona 5's, as well as a new combat system that sounded like the One-More system.
So how is the combat? It's really solid. I like that Atlus went out of its way to create a new combat system for Soul Hackers 2, which has been dubbed the Sabbath System, instead of using One-More or even Press-Turn. While I will say I don't enjoy it as much as Press-Turn, or even One-More, it is still fun on its own and does do more to differentiate itself from mainline SMT and Persona.
Still, the game is easy too, and dungeons do seem to drag on due to this. On the topic of dungeons, the dungeon designs in this game are not good. Atlus hasn't been the best in the dungeon design department for me, from Nocturne's weird puzzles to Digital Devil Saga's complete straightforwardness, they aren't the best at it but they've been getting better at it. Persona 5's were decent, better than what I'd played at that point.
As for Soul Hackers 2, they're not great. They're mindless and tedious, it doesn't help that the camera is in a very awkward spot when you're exploring so that you can miss attacking enemies as well. Another thing about the combat is that buffs and debuffs only last for 3 turns, as was the case with Shin Megami Tensei V. I didn't like this in that game, and I don't like it here, I have no idea what led Atlus to make this decision when buffs and debuffs were one of the most criticized gameplay aspects of Shin Megami Tensei V.
Story
I want to start by saying that Ringo's a genuinely fun protagonist and I like her a lot. While I'm not saying that future protagonists follow in her footsteps, it's great that for the first attempt at an actual protagonist in the series, the game hit it out of the park. Unfortunately, that is where my positives about the story end. While I've tried not to compare this game to the original Soul Hackers cause it's clear they're both going in separate directions, I can't help but criticize anytime they bring back aspects from that game.
One of those is the main bad guys of the game, the Phantom Society. As compared to the original, it is extremely obvious to see there's been a downgrade. In the original Soul Hackers, their goals were to gain power on a global scale, they wanted to grow to become the leaders of the world on both ends, putting up a front of being the most advanced company in the world, and utilizing the power of demons and ancient deities to get what they want.
In Soul Hackers 2? They just wanna destroy the world, and this much is told to us in the first 30 minutes of the. This is such an obvious and noticeable downgrade from the first that it makes me wonder why they used the Phantom Society name at all. Another one of my gripes is the handling of the Kuzunoha. If you're unaware, the Kuzunoha family is one of the staples of the Devil Summoner series, but in this game, he's handled so poorly that it's embarrassing.
Moving on to the characters, they're all fun but mishandled as well. During the beginning of the game, we get a proper setup as to what the arc of each party member will be and I genuinely thought this was going to be a slow and gradual process. It wasn't. All three party members had antagonists who ended up being equally worthless as characters, and the only reason the player should care is that the game tells you that the antagonists matter while showing little in that aspect.
Except, if you do the Soul Matrix. The game somehow thought it would be a good idea to hide a chunk of the strong character moments behind optional content and I have no idea why. I didn't like it when Persona 4 and 5 did this, I don't like it when Yakuza: Like A Dragon did this, and I don't like that this game did this. It makes the characters come off as weaker and I hate that cause they're all enjoyable.
Verdict
Soul Hackers 2 is honestly a fun time despite all my critiques of it. During your playthrough, you will find enjoyment here, and this isn't a bad game by any stretch of the imagination, but it's clear the game needed more time in development to fix some aspects. The game fumbles in a lot of areas regarding characters, story, and combat which bring down the experience.
But if you're already a Megami Tensei fan, I do recommend checking the game out for yourself. It's not one of Atlus's best, but it is certainly not bad and is an overall solid game.
Soul Hackers 2 is a 6/10.