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[Draugoth]

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Game Information
Game Title: Soul Hackers 2

Platforms:

• Xbox Series X/S (Aug 26, 2022)
• PlayStation 5 (Aug 26, 2022)
• PC (Aug 26, 2022)
• PlayStation 4 (Aug 26, 2022)
• Xbox One (Aug 26, 2022)

Trailers:

• Soul Hackers 2 — Devil Summoning and Combat | PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC
• Soul Hackers 2 — DLC Lineup | PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC
• Soul Hackers 2 — Aion's Allies & Mission | PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC

Developer: Atlus

Publisher: SEGA

Review Aggregator:

Critic Reviews

Bazimag - Sina Golabzade - Persian - 8.5 / 10

Soul Hackers 2 sits very comfortably in a place between both the main Shin Megami Tensei series and the Persona series while also putting its own unique spin on the ideas it is borrowing from those franchises which gives it an all new identity. This is yet another successful endeavor from Atlus which everyone should experience.

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Cerealkillerz - Nick Erlenhof - German - 8 / 10

Overall, Soul Hackers 2 is a very good introduction to the Megami Tensei franchise. If you can enjoy the dull dungeons and don't constantly compare it to other parts of the franchise, you'll definitely have fun here and get a really good, if not great, JRPG.

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Console Creatures - Bobby Pashalidis - Recommended

Overall Soul Hackers 2 is a great yet familiar gameplay experience that continues to push Atlus’ envelope of RPG titles. Persona 5 fans will be right at home as Soul Hackers 2 brings over some past features including gameplay systems, its approach to cinematic cut scenes, and a fantastic cast of English voice actors with a fresh coat of paint.

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Digitally Downloaded - Matt Sainsbury - 4.5 / 5

Quote not yet available

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Gamer's Palace - Manuel Eichhorn - German - 75 / 100

There's a lot to like about the story, setting and tactical elements of the fighting system and development of the demons. But that's a sharp contrast to the otherwise bland, even repetitive gameplay. Oh, and Soul Hackers 2 has been the first game in a while that made me angry with its loading screens.

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Gaming Nexus - Henry Yu - 8.5 / 10

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.

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Hardcore Gamer - Adam Beck - 3.5 / 5

Soul Hackers 2 is a by the books turn-based JRPG that doesn't do anything particularly memorable nor offensive.

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PlayStation Universe - Garri Bagdasarov - 8 / 10

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.

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Prima Games - Lucas White - 7.5 / 10

It turned out to be a pretty interesting combination of classic SMT systems, lots of nerdy skill tinkering and a story about adults fighting for a world very similar to our own and figuring out why along the way. Not bad for a series that can’t get its own name straight!

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The Outerhaven Productions - Scott Adams - 4.5 / 5

Quote not yet available

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Twinfinite - Cameron Waldrop - 3.5 / 5

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Worth Playing - Chris "Atom" DeAngelus - 8 / 10

Overall, Soul Hackers 2 is a good - but not great - entry into the franchise. I had quite a lot of fun with it, and I think the cast is one of my favorites in the SMT games, but it has a "low-budget" feel that is difficult to escape, and the Soul Matrix concept feels lackluster. It has a good combat system, fun character customization, and everything I'd expect from a SMT spin-off. For some fans, I'd imagine that the change from the franchise norm will feel refreshing.

 

[Ezquimacore]

Persona without the scores

 

[Punished Miku]

Persona without the scores

It has a score of 0.5 heart.

Soul Hackers - Persona with half the heart.
SMTV - Persona with no heart.

 

[Fbh]

Eh, will wait for a steep sale or something....if I bother at all.
I wish we'd get something a bit different from Atlus. We have persona, we have SMT, do we really need a third game in the same style? Whatever happened to project Re:Fantasy?
The ugly art direction on this one doesn't help either.

 

[Rac3r]

I'll still cop but it's been a while since I truly "loved" an Atlus game. They've been slipping imo.

 

[anthony2690]

Genuinely surprised it is only in the 70s tbh.

Sega/Atlus must've been confident about the game though, to allow it's reviews out a week prior to launch.

I'm looking forward to trying this out myself


Edit:
Watching the IGN review, the dungeons look so dull, like the other Atlus games I've played (Digital Devil saga, Tokyo Mirage FE)

Are dungeons this dull looking on persona 5 royal as well?

 

[Rac3r]

Danjin44 punching the air rn

 

[Skifi28]

Lazy question: Do I need to have played or know anything about the first game?

 

[adamsapple]

Still day 1.

Lazy question: Do I need to have played or know anything about the first game?

I'm gonna say no, even without now knowing full well myself, as the first game was an obscure as fuck Saturn game.

 

[hemo memo]

Persona without the scores

Or the budget.

 

[Punished Miku]

I'm gonna say no, even without now knowing full well myself, as the first game was an obscure as fuck Saturn game.

Also on 3DS. Frequently on sale for $10 and the eshop is offline soon for anyone interested.

 

[F0rneus]

Genuinely surprised it is only in the 70s tbh.

Sega/Atlus must've been confident about the game though, to allow it's reviews out a week prior to launch.

I'm looking forward to trying this out myself


Edit:
Watching the IGN review, the dungeons look so dull, like the other Atlus games I've played (Digital Devil saga, Tokyo Mirage FE)

Are dungeons this dull looking on persona 5 royal as well?

Hell no. The dungeons in Persona 5 are the game's highlight and are all amazing and filled with fun gimmicks.

 

[Fbh]

Edit:
Watching the IGN review, the dungeons look so dull, like the other Atlus games I've played (Digital Devil saga, Tokyo Mirage FE)

Are dungeons this dull looking on persona 5 royal as well?

I only played the original Persona 5 (didn't like it enough to spend another 100 hours on it).
But most dungeons in Persona 5 are way more visually unique and varied than what I've seen from this game, and they usually have their own gimmicks and mechanics. There's only one over arching dungeon that you go back to several times during the game (Mementos) which falls into this visually boring and repetitive nature.

The only issue with dungeons in Persona 5 IMO is that they start to drag on towards the end. The first few have the perfect length.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Don't care about scores, still getting Ringo's game.

That said, I might wait for a sale if the game turns out to be easy or if the soundtrack sucks. A banger ost and challenging gameplay is what drives me to play those games.

 

[anthony2690]

Hell no. The dungeons in Persona 5 are the game's highlight and are all amazing and filled with fun gimmicks.

I only played the original Persona 5 (didn't like it enough to spend another 100 hours on it).
But most dungeons in Persona 5 are way more visually unique and varied than what I've seen from this game, and they usually have their own gimmicks and mechanics. There's only one over arching dungeon that you go back to several times during the game (Mementos) which falls into this visually boring and repetitive nature.

The only issue with dungeons in Persona 5 IMO is that they start to drag on towards the end. The first few have the perfect length.

Thank you both for the responses.
I'm hoping I enjoy this upcoming soul hackers 2 & I'm really looking forward to Persona 5 Royal as I always see nothing but glowing praise for the game.
+ I want to support jrpgs on Xbox.

 

[lh032]

30/100

 

[Graciaus]

Don't really care about "professional" review scores. Atlus rarely misses and I'll be there day one.

 

[Chukhopops]

Still preordered, I don’t think you can trust mainstream sites about that type of game.

Especially the complaints about budget make no sense to me.

Might not jump straight into it after playing Xenoblade though.

 

[drganon]

Decent enough reviews, aside from gamingtrend, a site I've never heard of anyway. I'll be getting it on ps5 after I'm through with xenoblade 3.

 

[Meowtor]

I really need to go back and beat the first one on 3DS. is the 2nd one a direct story sequel or a standalone?

 

[LordOcidax]

IGN reviewer points out that the turn-based battle system held back the game.. . Looks like this game is their first ATLUS jrpg game or he was the wrong person to review the game.

 

[Shifty1897]

I really need to go back and beat the first one on 3DS. is the 2nd one a direct story sequel or a standalone?

As I understand it, it's technically a story sequel but jumping in on this one won't affect your enjoyment of the game, like the Xenoblade series.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

Danjin44 punching the air rn

Yeah it's a pass from me.

 

[jm89]

Gonna wait for a deep sale. Those samey dungeons will put me to sleep, can't justify full price

 

[Captain Toad]

Don't really care about "professional" review scores. Atlus rarely misses and I'll be there day one.

Atlus misses quite often.

 

[Cao Cao]

Will buy it soon, have not read or watched anything of this game, will just buy blind and see.

 

[Danjin44]

I enjoyed majority of Atlus games regardless what score it got, still day one for me.

 

[The Cockatrice]

Pretty much what I expected even tho the fans in the other thread were shocked how I could notice this but yeah the dungeons tod look boring as hell and its even clearer now. Wait for sale it is.

 

[nightmare-slain]

gOnNA wAiT for A deEp saLe /s

day 1

 

[Danjin44]

gOnNA wAiT for A deEp saLe /s

day 1

I mean original Soul Hackers also got this type of score....

Chances are if you enjoyed original game you might enjoy this game as well.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

.

 

[MagiusNecros]

I think the peeps that are all about wanting turn based battle RPGs should pick this up. Looks like a fun time.

 

[Roman Empire]

Didn't expect much. It's more of the same, I guess.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

.

 

[Metnut]

The key for me is that if you’re going to spend most of your time in dungeons, how interesting are they? Are there all sorts of cool settings to find/explore? Or are they awful like Persona 4 or the those 2-3 SMT 5 dungeons.

If the exploration/level design is world class, then I’ll pay full price for this.

 

[Nautilus]

like the Xenoblade series.

Ehhhhhh... knowing prior XC games story DO affect the enjoyment of the other games though.

(Haven't finished XC 3 yet, no spoilers).

 

[Captain Toad]

I enjoyed majority of Atlus games regardless what score it got, still day one for me.

Shocked!

 

[Chukhopops]

I mean original Soul Hackers also got this type of score....

Chances are if you enjoyed original game you might enjoy this game as well.

When it comes to turn-based games you can see some reviewers just plain don’t like the genre to begin with and need flashiness and distractions.

Games like Etrian Odyssey DS, Labyrinth of Refrain or Dungeon Travelers 2 (ok maybe this one is a bit special) are at 75 MC and are great if you like the genre.

It’s ok not to like it if you want something more story-based.

 

[Punished Miku]

I think Atlus scores have been inflated for a long time. The score honestly fits what I've played of their past stuff. Average JRPG that will be fine for fans.

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

Not surprised at all. Just the mainstream gaijin dudebro audience hating on a game because it’s “anime” and “turn based”.

It’s got anime characters, experience points, and dungeons. It’s a perfectly cromulent JRPG. If you don’t like it, that just means you don’t like JRPGs.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

Looking forward to seeing reviews from anyone but Famitsu. One of the least trustworthy publications in game journalism. I especially hope reviews will touch on how much sexualization and other problematic content is buried in the experience, since a lot of reviews often gloss over how gross the Persona games are.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

Still day 1.



I'm gonna say no, even without now knowing full well myself, as the first game was an obscure as fuck Saturn game.

The PS1 did get the sequel but that one wasn't translated at the time IIRC.

 

[drganon]

Looking forward to seeing reviews from anyone but Famitsu. One of the least trustworthy publications in game journalism. I especially hope reviews will touch on how much sexualization and other problematic content is buried in the experience, since a lot of reviews often gloss over how gross the Persona games are.

You copied that from resetera, didn't you?

 

[Punished Miku]

It’s a perfectly cromulent JRPG.

75 is a very cromulent score.

 

[thicc_girls_are_teh_best]

You copied that from resetera, didn't you?

You know it

 

[Shifty1897]

75 is a very cromulent score.

I consider myself to have an extensive English vocabulary and I had never seen this word before.

 

[nocsi]

The game reviews well with japanese audiences, the scoring from western, not so much. It’s not an SMT game bent to appeal for western audiences, and that should be appreciated. We have people from radiant historia and nier: automata involved in this game.

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

I consider myself to have an extensive English vocabulary and I had never seen this word before.

Watch The Simpsons and embiggen your vocabulary.

 

[nocsi]

Reading the reviews (both western & Japanese), I think I can summarize them as if you liked Tokyo Mirage Sessions, you’d like this. It’s the same director.

 

[Barakov]

Seems like.....it's just pretty good. That's fine. Not every game needs to be a classic. I'm still there day 1.