Soul Hackers 2 Reviews
Check out Soul Hackers 2 Review Scores from trusted Critics below. With 37 reviews on CriticDB, Soul Hackers 2 has a score of:
The world and aesthetic of Soul Hackers 2 is brilliant. Taking place in a stagnant future where everything is subtly hopeless but delightfully neon, the game doesn’t feel especially far-removed from our own reality. Seeing the different characters all manage this rough future – especially with the potential apocalypse that Ringo was made to stop on the horizon – adds a bittersweet tone to the story. Through sidequests and the aforementioned party social events, you get a good idea of what the game’s story is all about, beyond the main narrative.
After 25 years, a sequel to Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers is finally here. Soul Hackers 2 is a part of the popular Atlus franchise Shin Megami Tensei and resembles the studio’s most recent games. With all the flair and fashion of Persona 5 in a concise package, this JRPG is an absolute blast to play.
Many fans of the Persona series saw the success of Persona 5 and Shin Megami Tensei V and wondered, what's next? Our answer came in February 2022 with a trailer of Soul Hackers 2. The community was super excited that we saw a new game from Atlus just a few…
Soul Hackers 2 is yet another stellar JRPG from Atlus. It may take many of its themes and gameplay elements from other JRPGs within the company’s umbrella, but it somehow still manages to feel unique thanks to its fresh setting and characters. Whether or not you’re familiar with its predecessor or the Shin Megami Tensei games in general, this is a must-have if you want to conquer dungeons while exploring an intriguing vision of our future.
One of the greatest appeals of the Shin Megami Tensei series is how the game is able to take its core ideals and implement them across a variety of settings, storylines, and concepts. Sure, the main games swing wildly between different backdrops, effortlessly going from semi-modern Tokyo (Nocturne), to feudal Europe (IV), and back to Tokyo (okay, they really like Tokyo). But it’s when the concept of the pantheon of demons decides to venture elsewhere that things get weird and interesting. S...
I wandered into Soul Hackers 2 expecting a general sense of quality from Atlus, and ended up getting sucked into its world. While dungeon design can feel samey at times, it’s not enough to distract from the flashiness of the game as a whole. As usual, Atlus really nails the details; it was fun to hang out with this crew and see where things went.
Soul Hackers 2 feels like a culmination of everything Atlus learned from previous iterations of its games. It's beginner friendly enough for newcomers to join but also brings just enough challenge to entice veterans of the series. It leaves a unique mark with some genuinely creative mechanics while retaining core elements of Persona and Shin Megami Tensei, but is bogged down by some poor design choices. Painted in a fresh neon coat of cyberpunk and drenched in a deeply wrapped narrative, Soul Hackers 2 still deserves the attention of any JRPG fan.
Some of the best turn-based combat around mixed with a surprising amount of customization makes Soul Hackers 2 another engrossing winner courtesy of Atlus.
There’s nothing abhorrently wrong with Soul Hackers 2, it’s a solid JRPG with plenty to like, but nothing here feels as unique or creative as it could be given the source material. Fans will no doubt still enjoy it, but it’s a missed opportunity to push the boundaries further.
Soul Hackers 2 modernizes the Devil Summoner formula while retaining the unique cyberpunk aesthetic of Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers. Ringo charges into the Devil Summoner underworld with an interesting narrative and signature Megami Tensei series combat. Soul Hackers 2 is worthwhile experience for JRPG fans wanting another great ATLUS adventure.
Soul Hackers 2 is the latest spinoff of the apocalyptic RPG franchise Shin Megami Tensei. This new game brings a lot of changes to the standard formula, which had me worried at first. I’ve been a Shin Megami Tensei fan for at least a decade. I’ve been there through the franchise’s highs and lows. Needless to say, I have very strong opinions about what makes Shin Megami Tensei good—and different from its sister series, Persona.
Soul Hackers 2 feels like a budget title whose developers did the best with what they had. It's still a solid game with plenty to love that fans of the genre will certainly enjoy. A strong addition to the Shin Megami Tensei franchise with great combat and art direction only held back by uninspired dungeons and exploration.
Soul Hackers 2 inherits the essence of Devil Summoner: Soul Hacker, while evolving the game concept with a more defined art style, addictive RPG gameplay and next-level storytelling.
Overall, Soul Hackers 2 is a great new entry to the SMT franchise, offering enough differences from its comrades that it doesn't feel like the exact same game. With its wonderful cast of characters, Soul Hackers 2 delivers a story that shows plenty of heart as well as heartbreak, with a theme that resonates with today’s world. Despite the bland dungeons, the combat is more than satisfying enough to make up for it, and the music is just a bonus to an already stylish game. If there’s an itch to play an SMT game, Soul Hackers 2 is sure to scratch it.
Soul Hackers 2 is a great spin-off to Shin Megami Tensei. While the game isn’t as ambitious or long, it is a friendly starting point to the franchise.
Although shy in some respects, Soul Hackers 2 at least provides cool characters and deep combat & strategy.Given Atlus' recent history, Soul Hackers 2 can't avoid comparison with Persona 5. Soon after Soul Hackers 2 [...]
Soul Hackers 2 comes in as a satisfying enough RPG that doesn't really push the series forward in any way outside of giving its protagonist a great personality.
If there’s one thing that keeps the Shin Megami Tensei going, it’s coming up with creative ways that the world will end. Some titles see the beginning of the apocalypse while others narrowly avoid the irrevocable transformation of the world. Atlus’ latest JRPG builds off the original namesake solely in name alone to create Soul Hackers 2, a new JRPG fix that might be perfect for one that’s never touched the series before.
I didn’t run into any major bugs outside of an infuriating inability for the game to start on my main monitor on PC. Every time it would choose either my left or right monitor for the display despite it saying it was on the main monitor in the settings. The only way to fix it was to change the display away from and then back to my main one. Other than that things ran well, I had no crashes, and it was an all-around pleasant experience on PC. One thing to note is that the default speed for text is far too slow and you’ll want to bump that up to fast otherwise you’re left waiting for 2-5 seconds with auto mode turned on.
We tell you, it’s a good game! It’s not average! It might have some problems here and there, but you have to admit it is a “Good” game.
Soul Hackers 2 is a fun budget JRPG that has a repetitive design, but the developers tried their best to deliver an experience that should please fans of the Shin Megami Tensei and Persona series.
Soul Hackers 2 takes inspiration from both the Persona and the mainline Shin Megami Tensei series while including new things into the mix to varying degrees of success. As a result, it is best to not compare it to any other title in the franchise.
The story of Soul Hackers 2 is by all means the biggest highlight for the game. That's not simply because the game is rather content light in every other area, either. Getting to experience Ringo discover the depths of humanity while navigating a strange new world was fun. Every character feels very well written and real. The nicely strategic combat with having to judge risk and rewards and play with weaknesses truly made me never shy away from combat as I never got sick of fighting.
Soul Hackers 2 is a by the books turn-based JRPG that doesn’t do anything particularly memorable nor offensive. The story is lacking in scope, dungeons are bland, and there’s questionable design choices to tried and true systems. It doesn’t help that there’s less-than-stellar load times on the current generation consoles, especially considering the amount of traveling that’s required. With that said, there’s decent character development, a fantastic combat system and of course all your favorite demons and creatures you’d expect, and then some. On top of that, the visual aesthetic (at least outside of dungeons) is tremendously vibrant, bringing your screen to life in the most enticing way possible. In the end, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the game, but it comes with numerous flaws. Soul Hackers 2 has all the trappings of a great Shin Megami Tensei game, including heart, but lacks the substance to make it special.
Soul Hackers 2 is a stylish, engaging JRPG with great characters, but dull dungeon design dampens the experience.
Soul Hackers 2 is an adequate, experimental Megaten entry with some bright spots, but it doesn't quite come together as well as I hoped it would.
Soul Hackers 2 is an ambitious game at war with its past, never quite daring enough to summon its full potential.
The market for a shorter Persona experience is there; Not everyone has the time to sink so much time into a single game. Even for fans of the franchise, the idea of experiencing everything Persona offers in the span of a couple of weekends sounds like heaven in a world where an array of games demand our attention. But Soul Hackers 2’s attempt to deliver a palatable streamlined experience for anyone and everyone should have taken more time to do some soul searching.
Soul Hacker 2 does a really good job crafting an enjoyable high stakes story and populating it with realized characters. Combat has been left mostly unchanged, which is for the better, but there's a lot to be desired in the copy-paste treatment of the large Soul Matrix dungeon.
With the world on the brink of apocalypse, an AI sends conjured humans Ringo and Figue down to Earth in order to save its future.
The group of bounty hunters gathers in their favorite bar once more. For the first time, protagonist Ringo pays attention to the lush cherry blossom decoration over the rooftop. Her friends say the real ones are even more beautiful and laugh at the idea of a bunch of Devil Summoners having a picnic and watching the flowers. The friendly mockery leads to a funny yet endearing message: “I think we oughta show Ringo the fun side of being human, don’t you?” Sadly, Soul Hackers 2 doesn’t seem to agree with the sentiment.
While its unclear whether Soul Hackers 2 was an attempt to make a more inviting Shin Megami Tensei game for newcomers, the end result is a disappointingly streamlined RPG that both newcomers and long-time fans will inevitably bounce off of. It's a perfectly fine RPG, but so much of what makes SMT special is sorely lacking here in a palpable way.
“Soul Hackers 2 innovates when it comes to RPG gameplay, but its story is a step down compared to Atlus' recent hits.”
Soul Hackers 2’s only saving grace is its visual design. The characters look cool, the town is interesting, and the UI is somewhat stylish, but that’s it. It’s not broken or anything, just incredibly uninteresting. There’s absolutely no substance to the story, characters, battle system, or level design. It’s such a shame, because that style is very appealing, but there’s absolutely no reason to play the game otherwise.
Soul Hackers 2 made a phenomenal first impression on me despite never having played any Persona games, Shin Megami Tensei, or the original Soul Hackers. With its cinematic opening and a story featuring some of the strongest characters in recent years, it provided an impressive gameplay experience from start to finish.
Soul Hackers wasn’t a game that fans ever thought they would see a sequel to, especially after being absent for over a decade now. And yet with the SMT branding removed, Soul Hackers 2 has finally arrived, offering an action-packed JRPG experience that feels more like Shin Megami Tensei-lite, for al