Soul Hackers 2 preview: Style and substance

If you've played any of the Shin Megami Tensei games before, the term Devil Summoner is probably not a foreign one - they're people who can commune with and form contracts with supernatural beings to do their bidding. However, where things tend to get confusing is when folks start discussing the various spin-offs, such as the Persona and Devil Summoner subseries. 

Now, the former certainly needs no introduction, seeing as most people have either dabbled in the games or listened to the amazing soundtracks Atlus has blessed our ears with over the years, but the latter is a different and much more obscure story.

To date, this branch of the SMT family tree has only spawned four titles compared to Persona's whopping thirteen, but come Aug 25 though, we'll finally be getting the fifth entry: The titular Soul Hackers 2.

Formulated as a sequel to Devil Summoner: Soul Hacker from 1999, SH2 revolves around Ringo, who along with her partner Figue, are essentially A.I. operatives given human form by their parent program, the sentient digital database Aion. As Ringo, players have been tasked with stopping a world-ending event from taking place somewhere in the near future, and to do so, they'll have to bring together a group of Devil Summoners from opposing factions. 

Yet, Ringo isn't your typical, unliving-as-steel android protagonist, which is great. Apparently, Aion saw fit to grant both her and Figue their own unique personalities to develop, and in our short preview run with it in late July, it's quite endearing to see how they go about attempting to understand human emotions and vulnerabilities over the course of the narrative. 

But that..is as much as I'll say about it. From what I've played, I think they've got something quite interesting going on here, and it's probably best if you experience it for yourself. However, to make up for it, what we can talk about is the general gameplay experience.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree

Fundamentally, Soul Hackers 2 is a JRPG that takes many pages out of its parent franchise, meaning you'll probably spend the bulk of your time dungeon-crawling, interacting with NPCs, or fighting (duh.). In the pockets of time in between missions though, you'll be able to tackle a variety of standard-fare RPG additions, including side quests, bonding with teammates, or going shopping for new apparel and gear.

Speaking of which, although the game doesn't give you as much explorative freedom as a full-fledged open-world title, there's still lots to see and do in SH2's cyberpunk-themed city, and it's easy to lose track of time marvelling at all the little details too.

But aesthetics aside, combat is where things start to get really interesting. Soul Hackers 2 features a turn-based combat system that's relatively similar to SMT's Press Turn format. You can have up to four characters on the player's side at any given time, each with their own modifiable roster of supernatural Devils.

Much like Pokemon, you'll have to factor in each character's elemental weaknesses and resistances when choosing which skills to use, and will be able to buff your team with stronger Devils as you go along, either by fusing your existing summons or recruiting them directly within levels. 

Naturally, there are other factors and combat features in play too, but those deserve their own time in a review, and generally speaking, the basics are simple enough that anyone, even those who aren't familiar with SMT or any of its spin-offs, should have no issues picking it up.

Paired with the glitzy, eye-catching aesthetics, I really enjoyed the short window of time I spent wandering around and fighting in this sleek city. 

Plus, going by what Atlus has released over the years, we probably won't be disappointed by the final product either, especially with the loads of DLC content and costumes to try out. Suffice to say that Soul Hackers 2, with its flashy aesthetics, sassy dialogue, and simple-but-dynamic combat already has me sold on it even before release, so all that's left is to wait for Ringo and company to arrive.

Soul Hackers 2 releases for PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC (via Steam) on Aug 25 (or Aug 26 for some regions). For more information, feel free to check out the official website.

This article was first published in HardwareZone.