Optimising each party member for the elements that they specialise in can become vital in the second half of the game, as each character also has affinities to certain elements which can be upgraded to equip better, stronger accessories to boost said elements. The two male characters can have their Gun skills boosted, for example, while the two female characters have equivalent upgrades for their Physical skills. These new mechanics are easy to understand while still encouraging late-game optimisation, making Soul Hackers 2 an approachable yet strategic experience.Īs the game progresses, each of the four party members begins to gain access to skills and upgrades which can considerably boost their effectiveness with certain damage types. Elemental attacks can be boosted quite considerably using accessories bought in shops or gifted from demons, which can either boost damage output or reduce MP costs for certain elemental types. Given the limited number of demon skill slots, this adds an extra layer of strategic decision making to combat, as certain Tandem Skills can be quite powerful by applying poison to enemies or leeching MP from foes. Learning to make good use of Stacks and Sabbaths is the key to victory.Įach of these mechanics increase in complexity throughout the course of the game, such as certain demons learning Sabbath-related skills called Tandem Skills which are randomly activated in combat to, for example, do bonus damage in the Sabbath or heal allies in proportion to damage dealt. At the end of Player Turn, all the demons in the Stack are unleashed on enemies to deal bonus damage based on how big the Stack is, in what is called a Sabbath attack.
Striking enemy weaknesses with one of the game’s non-Almighty elemental types (Physical, Gun, Fire, Ice, Electricity, Force and Ruin) will do bonus damage and add a demon to the Stack, which is a brand new mechanic in which demons accumulate in a Stack throughout each Player Turn. Battles are split between Player Turns and Enemy Turns, with each individual having only one action by default unless special skills are used later in the game. The best way to approach Soul Hackers 2’s combat is to forget everything you know about other ATLUS games and start from scratch. It is when viewed through this lens that ATLUS’ latest JRPG hits the mark far more than it misses. While Persona seeks to create the ultimate student life experience while commentating on contemporary society, and SMT focuses much more heavily on grand philosophical themes in an age-old battle between order and chaos, Soul Hackers 2 opts to explore human souls on an individual level, asking interesting questions about what makes us human and how we can come to understand each-other better. In many respects, Soul Hackers 2 aims to be seen not as a mere mimicry of ATLUS’ more mainstream Persona and Shin Megami Tensei titles, but instead as a third pillar standing alongside them equally as proud of its own achievements. Its combat is simple to begin with, but gradually increases in complexity throughout as more skills and upgrades become available and teammates start to specialise in certain damage types. Additionally, the art style is consistently pleasing to the eye, while the music - composed by MONACA, the team behind NieR: Automata’s sublime soundtrack - always fits the mood it sets out to achieve with great success. The main cast of characters are well written and have great emotional depth, and the gritty atmospheric world of near-future Tokyo is filled with mature, interesting and at times philosophical stories worth paying attention to. On the other hand, however, everything else about Soul Hackers 2 shines brightly, often exceeding expectations to create a memorable and at times emotional JRPG that condenses itself into an approachable 40-50 hour playthrough without losing any of its soul. On the one hand, uninspired dungeon designs lifted straight from the mid-2000s will undoubtedly mire the experience for many fans who have seen the improvements made in this respect across other ATLUS titles in the past few years. Soul Hackers 2 is, just like many other ATLUS JRPGs, a game of two distinct halves, and the disparity between these halves is clearer than ever.
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Platforms: Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 | Reviewed on: PS5 Developer: ATLUS | Publisher: ATLUS/SEGA | Genre: JRPG |