Soul Hackers 2 Critic Reviews

Soul Hackers 2 is a traditional Atlus JRPG with a super-stylish coat of paint and some welcome quality of life improvements. It has catchy music, great characters, an amazing protagonist, and a fun core loop. If you enjoyed Tokyo Mirage Sessions' gameplay, this is an essential JRPG and one of the best this year.

Regardless of potential differences in taste, I can confidently assert that Soul Hackers 2 weaves a magnificent tale of sincere humane understanding where strife, love, and belief wondrously coalesce. It isn’t afraid to agonize its cast to produce respective, varying levels of catharsis, ultimately crafting a courageous title at the apex of Atlus’ catalog.

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.

Soul Hackers 2 is a smart, evocative, and classically dark game from the Shin Megami Tensei tradition. It’s not going to turn heads like Persona 5 and SMT V did, but the developers seem to have realised this and taken the opportunity to deliver a harder-hitting and more thought-provoking narrative. To me, that’s Atlus getting back to its core vision for the broad and extended SMT property. That’s what I want from this series.

Soul Hackers 2 is one of Atlus’ best games to date. The story is compelling and rooted in familiar dark themes while avoiding the fluff to be a sharper experience. It refreshes the gameplay of Persona 5 with streamlined changes to make it approachable for a wider audience. Its parallels to Atlus’ most recent JRPGs mean it offers more of the same thrilling style along with the same minor faults. Still, Shin Megami Tensei fans will love this game.

Soul Hackers 2 is a different title than what is usually expected from Atlus, but it is also one of their best and most original games in recent years. It's a highly recommended title if you're already a fan of the company's games or turn-based RPGs in general.

Soul Hackers 2 is a worthy successor of the 1997 game, modernizing the series and putting it closer to games like Persona 5 and SMTV.

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.

ATLUS managed to surprise us again. Drawing on a hybrid system between Shin Megami Tensei and Persona, the studio has packaged an articulated and galvanizing role-playing experience, which has nothing to envy to the best JRPGs of recent years. If the Tregenda proved to be an excellent alternative to the now classic All-Out-Attack, embellishing and renewing an already articulated and profound combat system such as the "Press Turn" System, the Demonic Reconnaissance has instead been able to significantly streamline the exploratory component, as well as the collection of funds, materials and the recruitment of new Demons. On the flip side, the cross-gen nature and an inorganic artistic direction prevented the product from aiming for excellence, demonstrating once again how much ATLUS needs to improve in terms of graphics and performance. Ultimately Soul Hackers 2 may not be the new Persona 5, but that's just fine.

Soul Hackers 2 is a little and simple, but very good Shin Megami Tensei game. It is true that it's level design is pretty bland, but it's music, story, combat and characters, are pretty great.

It feels like a comfort food RPG for Shin Megami fans, one that you’ll likely enjoy while waiting for the next big thing, but not one that’s going to come close to dominating that #1 RPG spot on most lists for the year. It doesn’t take a lot of chances, and instead just tends to lean into the elements that people already enjoy from other Shin Megami games. As such, it’s not going to really bump the Devil Summoner subseries to new heights, and I suspect it’ll be a while before we see another entry in this particular series, but overall Soul Hackers 2 is a solid bit of fun, and easy to suggest to anyone that has any sort of affinity for these games.

Soul Hackers 2 made some interesting decisions—some of which I don’t totally agree with. But, even with whatever grievances I might have, I can’t deny that the game was ultimately both incredibly fun and well put-together. Devil Summoner might not carry the same weight as other spinoff series within the MegaTen universe, but Soul Hackers 2 is one heck of a ride from start to finish.

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.

While it does have its stumbles, Soul Hackers 2 is a stylish JRPG with an intriguing premise and a compelling cast, and a fantastic battle system that more than makes up for the flaws it does have.

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. It isn’t as long or ambitious as other Shin Megami Tensei titles, but it’s clearly made with the same quality. While the reduced number of demons and the simpler mechanics can be a negative for veterans, Soul Hackers 2 proves to be a much friendlier starting point for newcomers. Fans of the franchise will likely enjoy this installment, even if it lacks the complexity of other titles in the series.

There's a lot to like about Soul Hackers 2, and just one major problem: how quickly it disposes of its world and the undercurrents of the narrative there to arrive at its end goal. The characters involved and the systems at play range from rock solid to great, however, and if Soul Hackers 2 is the first in a long line of games with the same world-building and aesthetic, I'd be willing to bet it's going to be looked back on as the start of something special. For now, Soul Hackers 2 is a good JRPG, one that's well worth your time - but it could be, and hopefully will result in, so much more.

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.

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 mixes great elements of both Shin Megami Tensei and Persona to come out with a satisfying result overall. Story is well done and exciting, anime-style aesthetics are beautiful, and music by Monaca is engaging. This could be your next RPG sleeper hit.