Soul Hackers 2 is an anomaly. This feels like a game made by a small team for a lower budget aimed for release on the PSVITA or 3DS sometime around 2012 that somehow got stuck on a time vortex that caused it to end up as a multi-platform release on current generation home consoles. For all intents and purposes it should be a failure... Yet it is one of the most refreshing games ATLUS has released in the last few years.
Once you put aside the very obvious drawbacks like the limited presentation, minuscule scope and repetitive content, Soul Hackers 2 is a game that effortlessly breathes life into the genre by allowing ATLUS to use its smaller scale and budget to take bigger risks on elements that the company hasn't explored in decades. With a stronger focus on an adult cast and with a subversively uplifting theme that ties together technology and occultism, this game breaks free of the bland cynicism of current Shin Megami Tensei entries and instead presents players with a strong story that takes advantage of the complexity of an adult world.
Despite its limited resources however, Soul Hackers 2 is still an exemplary case of ATLUS' great attention to detail to the design sensibilities of their games. Despite being graphically outdated, the game oozes personality and charm in every scene, character and environment. With the help of outside artists like character designer Shirow Miwa and sound studio MONACA, the game even manages to stand out aesthetically from other ATLUS games in a way that makes it, once again, so very refreshing.
It is only a shame that the game is tied to the Soul Hackers IP. Not because it fails to live up to its potential, in fact, I think it more than exceeds the quality of the first game which is fairly mediocre for the time. It is a shame because it stands completely on its own while simultaneously alienating hyper fans of the first which reject anything that doesn't follow the same aesthetics as the first, or more mainstream fans that have little to no recognition or interest in the name.
Despite that however, the game may not achieve the heights of Persona 5, and it may be a while before it reaches the cult status of its predecessor, but Soul Hackers 2 is the little game that could. It is a game that leaves a lasting impact with so little to work with, and that, I find, is respectable and I would love to see ATLUS make more of these smaller and experimental games in-between their big releases instead of endless spinoffs. Hopefully as time goes on, the game's rating and fan reception will improve.
Once you put aside the very obvious drawbacks like the limited presentation, minuscule scope and repetitive content, Soul Hackers 2 is a game that effortlessly breathes life into the genre by allowing ATLUS to use its smaller scale and budget to take bigger risks on elements that the company hasn't explored in decades. With a stronger focus on an adult cast and with a subversively uplifting theme that ties together technology and occultism, this game breaks free of the bland cynicism of current Shin Megami Tensei entries and instead presents players with a strong story that takes advantage of the complexity of an adult world.
Despite its limited resources however, Soul Hackers 2 is still an exemplary case of ATLUS' great attention to detail to the design sensibilities of their games. Despite being graphically outdated, the game oozes personality and charm in every scene, character and environment. With the help of outside artists like character designer Shirow Miwa and sound studio MONACA, the game even manages to stand out aesthetically from other ATLUS games in a way that makes it, once again, so very refreshing.
It is only a shame that the game is tied to the Soul Hackers IP. Not because it fails to live up to its potential, in fact, I think it more than exceeds the quality of the first game which is fairly mediocre for the time. It is a shame because it stands completely on its own while simultaneously alienating hyper fans of the first which reject anything that doesn't follow the same aesthetics as the first, or more mainstream fans that have little to no recognition or interest in the name.
Despite that however, the game may not achieve the heights of Persona 5, and it may be a while before it reaches the cult status of its predecessor, but Soul Hackers 2 is the little game that could. It is a game that leaves a lasting impact with so little to work with, and that, I find, is respectable and I would love to see ATLUS make more of these smaller and experimental games in-between their big releases instead of endless spinoffs. Hopefully as time goes on, the game's rating and fan reception will improve.