Soul Hackers 2 is the latest Shin Megami Tensei spinoff to follow in the wake of the explosive success of Persona 5 and its enhanced rerelease Persona 5 Royal. Its announcement in February came as something of a surprise to SMT fans, since Soul Hackers 2 is releasing 25 years after its prequel, pushing its way forward amongst successful franchise cousins like Shin Megami Tensei V and the aforementioned Persona 5. Screen Rant got a chance to go hands-on with the game at Summer Game Fest this year, to get a sense of where it stands when compared to the rest of Atlus’ lineup.
One of the most recognizable differences between Soul Hackers 2 and Persona 5 is its setting. Persona 5 took place in a version of Tokyo that was close to the real world, with the obvious exception of the secret mental world existing just below the surface. In Soul Hackers 2, humankind freely interacts with SMT‘s iconic demons, who can be encountered in the overworld just as readily as human NPCs. Players who got introduced to the franchise through Persona 5 Royal‘s excellent writing will likely be shocked to see a Jack Frost calmly walking down the street, but this difference opens up some fascinating worldbuilding opportunities. Actions like upgrading weapons and, most importantly, fusing demons, can now freely happen in the Overworld, since all the NPCs the party is dealing with are aware of the existence of these mystical creatures.
Unlike in Persona 5, where the protagonist could use the powers of multiple Personas while the other characters only had one each, Soul Hackers 2 lets the whole team freely equip their counterpart demons. Just as in Persona 5, these creatures provide characters with the vast majority of their skills in combat. The ability to freely swap demons for the whole party should offer a broad range of customization, and make the demons recruited in the field that much more valuable. To that end, Soul Hackers 2 also overhauls Persona 5‘s infamously confusing Shadow negotiation. Rather than asking a series of questions with obtuse and hard-to-predict answers, demons will simply request a resource or item from Ringo and her party. If Ringo agrees to the trade, the demon will join on the spot.
Soul Hackers 2 Combat & More Persona Differences
Another key difference is the age of the player characters. Unlike in Persona 5, the player characters are all adults, which opens up social opportunities and nuances that were difficult – if not impossible – to explore with a cast of high schoolers. This was showcased readily in the Soul Hackers 2 Summer Game Fest demo, which saw main protagonist Ringo stop by the bar to share a drink with her teammate Arrow. Ringo is also fully voiced, and contributes readily to social scenes like this, which is another sharp departure from more stoic Atlus protagonists like Persona 5‘s Joker.
When it comes to combat, there’s a lot that fans will recognize. There’s still a myriad of damage types that both enemies and player characters will have different relationships to, but unlike in Persona 5 teammates won’t get knocked down if their elemental weakness is struck. The biggest change in combat is the Stack system. A stack is applied whenever Ringo or one of her allies strikes an enemy’s weakness, and at the end of the round, Ringo summons her demonic allies to deal additional damage to all foes based on how many stacks the player has built up. This less impactful but more reliable alternative to Persona 5‘s All-Out Attacks synergized well with a Command skill shown off in the demo. These are powerful moves that must be built up to over time; the one featured in Soul Hackers 2’s gameplay demo grants the player a stack every time an enemy is damaged, and doubles the offering if the party strikes a weakness.
Soul Hackers 2’s Release Date Is Not Far Off
The influences from Persona 5 are obvious in Soul Hackers 2, but it stands out in some very unique ways. Combat and customization have been significantly altered to fit the vibrant new setting and striking new characters, but it remains to be seen if the game’s plot can carry the same weight as Persona 5 and its beloved cast of Phantom Thieves. RPG fans will have a chance to find out for themselves when Soul Hackers 2 releases in August.
Soul Hackers 2 releases August 26, 2022 for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC.
