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Soul Hackers 2 | Review Thread

Rambone

Member
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.

Thinking you are dead on, I didn't realize it was the same director. Tokyo Mirage Sessions is a pretty decent JRPG, I just hope the dungeon design has improved since TMS as a lot of those felt like a chore to get through.
 
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The_hunter

Member
No goth waifu, no buy.
HOW could they not see this?

rcxq0hu7mt341.jpg
4rgJ7Av.jpg
 

Isa

Gold Member
So I'm bumping this for those still interested. I'm obviously in Day 1, Soul Hackers 2 is among my more anticipated games to play this year. I noticed a few aggregate score sites aren't updating or including more scores so here are a few more.





Sure they are more obscure and like the latter more weeb friendly(which is fine by me, they also cover a lot of visual novels). I think the GameXplain vid is perhaps more accurate for critique though, I can appreciate anyone giving their honest opinion. I suspect like the original this will be an enjoyable romp for me and rate highly. The reviewer's main complaints were the dungeons and limited music, though they mentioned that the music was good just that the game would have benefited from more tunes, especially for dungeon variety. Also the usual Day 1 DLC that's really cut content. To me the main problem the game faces is the lack of budget as it shows throughout. But I know I'm going to like it, the tunes, art, characters, turn-based combat and story. Also the game is not particularly long which is a nice bonus for me.

I also want to throw a shout out for Dusk Diver 2. Its been out in Asia and pc for a little while now, but will hit Switch and PS4 on the 30th. I imported it before it was confirmed for a western release and it was a fun time, the other characters are playable now in combat as opposed to just being assists. Its an action game with some lite rpg elements, inspired by Atlus games to a degree in terms of running around a city, not much else.

I'll be bouncing between Soul Hackers 2 and SD Gundam Battle Alliance this week.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Fucking saints row is keeping me from starting this sighhhhhh.

Can't wait to dive in.
 
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First time playing after falling in love with PS5 to hold me over till I play them for a 4th time in October. I know they aren't as good as PS5 but hoping I get a good time out of them.
 
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Isa

Gold Member
Soul Hackers 2's day 1 patch includes a lot of good camera customization options, including camera distance modifier (to see more world) and changing character placement from corner to center etc.




Yeah that camera update is really nice. I was watching reviews and it was bothering me then, its a nice option to have.

I'm really enjoying my time with it. A little restricted budget wise I'd say, but good fun all the same. I like the characters so far and the music is good. Its a nice appetizer for PS5 Royal in a few months.
 

anthony2690

Banned
I'm really enjoying this game a lot, I've played 5 hours and the game is really opening up etc.

I also zoomed my character out as far as possible today, thank you camera options, as I'm certain that wasn't available on Thursday when I got the game intially :)
 

Arsic

Member
I came into this thinking it would suck. Based off reviews and footage it just didn’t seem like it had that Atlus hook. The Persona kind of sauce .

I’m hooked.

Only a few hours in and I want more. It feels like a Persona game in many ways but cutting out some of the fluff. A more focused game in certain regards.

I can’t say how long it’ll stay good or if the story & characters will pan out, but I feel I’ve already gotten my moneys worth .

In a day and age where most games, especially JRPGs, can’t hold my interest this game has grabbed it. More than many.

I’d recommend it and go in without any preconceived notion or perception on what people are saying it is. Most 9/10 games these days are “meh”, and too many 7/10s end up being complete bangers.
 

Graciaus

Member
I'm about 7 hours in. My only complaint is the game has QOL stuff locked behind story progression.

I've put a few hours into it so far and am really enjoying it. I read a few people saying that it's much easier than most SMT games so to go in on hard if you're a fan - and it feels right so far.
There is a DLC for very hard also. But at the beginning of the game I felt the damage was annoyingly high so I went back down to hard.
 
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Rambone

Member
Game feels like Tokyo Mirage Sessions grew up, not too shabby. Only 5 hours in, the characters are okay and haven't annoyed me including the dungeons so this is off to a great start.
 
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TintoConCasera

I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
So... How's the difficulty compared to mainline SMT? I like my hee hos packing a good punch, as for me the challenge is a good chunk of the fun of those games
 
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MudoSkills

Volcano High Alumnus (Cum Laude)
So... How's the difficulty compared to mainline SMT? I like my hee hos packing a good punch, as for me the challenge is a good chunk of the fun of those games
I haven't played since the weekend but Hard felt right - early battles are a bit of a grind/battle of attrition but haven't been megaten'd yet (apart from an ill advised attempt on a risky enemy).

Very Hard sounds like a real challenge, with the added rule of no items during battle.
 
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Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
So... How's the difficulty compared to mainline SMT? I like my hee hos packing a good punch, as for me the challenge is a good chunk of the fun of those games
I’m playing on hard and in my opinion it’s definitely harder than hard mode in Persona 5, some of the challenge battle that restricts you can be tricky.
 
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TintoConCasera

I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
harder than hard more in Persona 5
Nice! Imo that games was just on the line of being too easy.

Lots of backlog but yeah, I'll be getting this one for sure a bit later. Got a bit doubtful after reading some bad impressions but, if SMT fans here say the game is cool, then it's gotta be cool.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
Nice! Imo that games was just on the line of being too easy.

Lots of backlog but yeah, I'll be getting this one for sure a bit later. Got a bit doubtful after reading some bad impressions but, if SMT fans here say the game is cool, then it's gotta be cool.
Soul Hackers 2 might not have the press turn from mainline SMT but in hard difficulty sabbath system is way less broken compare to once more and baton pass in P5, in Royal version they made it even worse by give you bonus when you do baton pass.

My biggest criticism against Soul Hackers 2 is the dungeon design is not all that exciting, which was also true with original Soul Hackers because both going for more realistic environment instead of demonic aesthetics compare to other MegaTen games.
 

Graciaus

Member
So... How's the difficulty compared to mainline SMT? I like my hee hos packing a good punch, as for me the challenge is a good chunk of the fun of those games
Hard is basically normal for SMT veterans. Very hard the damage is just increased and not worth the aggravation early on unless a masochist. The problem like almost all the games is the beginning is the most difficult part. You can get into an attrition battle early if you don't have any weaknesses. Once you get a decent amount into the game you can just ignore resistances and just nuke most things with AOE attacks. The sabbath system is a good idea but is not fully taken advantage of since you need to be far into the games character sidequests to unlock the necessary boost abilities.

With the way the fusion system works this time fusing and passing on abilities can be annoying. All the characters specialize in things but taking advantage of it is trail and error with fusion.
 

TintoConCasera

I bought a sex doll, but I keep it inflated 100% of the time and use it like a regular wife
I don't mind the game being B tier or having a bit of jank here and there. If it's challenging I know I'll have fun with it, as the SMT formula is so cool to me that it makes things like lazy dungeons or jank mechanics not matter as much.

Thanks for your feedback SMT bros, I'll get this one once I finish a few games I'm eager to play asap.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
I don't mind the game being B tier or having a bit of jank here and there. If it's challenging I know I'll have fun with it, as the SMT formula is so cool to me that it makes things like lazy dungeons or jank mechanics not matter as much.

Thanks for your feedback SMT bros, I'll get this one once I finish a few games I'm eager to play asap.
Yeah MegaTen gameplay loop is strangely very additive to me, even if it lacks some other parts, I can still have fun playing them.
 
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JayK47

Member
This game looks interesting. Too bad the Steam version uses Denuvo. I would prefer to play this on Steam.
 

Rac3r

Member
The world looks cool and the soundtrack is decent, but the character design, and especially, Ringo's voice actor are killing it for me. Might have to switch to Japanese dialogue.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
I finished Saints Row and I'm going to start this later 😁

I didn't see it in the UK sales charts so I checked on Steam and it doesn't seem like it's doing too hot for a Day 1 on PC/Xbox 😕

Those fans are very loud on forums but they didn't put their money where their mouth is. The all-time peak on Steam is only 5600 and on Xbox it's at the end of page 6 so it's #534 on the sales chart 💩💀 (the premium edition is on page 9 like #800)

I'm sure it would have sold more with the full marketing of Sony as an exclusive. Sega got fooled 😭

what the fuck lol

reign it in warrior.
 

PhaseJump

Banned
I finished Saints Row and I'm going to start this later 😁

I didn't see it in the UK sales charts so I checked on Steam and it doesn't seem like it's doing too hot for a Day 1 on PC/Xbox 😕

Those fans are very loud on forums but they didn't put their money where their mouth is. The all-time peak on Steam is only 5600 and on Xbox it's at the end of page 6 so it's #534 on the sales chart 💩💀 (the premium edition is on page 9 like #800)

I'm sure it would have sold more with the full marketing of Sony as an exclusive. Sega got fooled 😭

Fuck off.
 

GhostOfTsu

Banned
what the fuck lol

reign it in warrior.
Why are you triggered about the sales talk? There is nothing wrong about what I wrote you can check the stats yourself?

Atlus went multiplatforms for the first time in the franchise history (on Day 1 at least). We should be able to discuss the impact on the sales without fear. You're just trying to shutdown the conversation for damage control.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Why are you triggered about the sales talk? There is nothing wrong about what I wrote you can check the stats yourself?

Atlus went multiplatforms for the first time in the franchise history (on Day 1 at least). We should be able to discuss the impact on the sales without fear. You're just trying to shutdown the conversation for damage control.

The game isn't in the top tracking pages of any of the platforms it's on, not just PC or Xbox.

And this is one of Atlus's nichest franchises, not a popular one like Persona. No one was expecting it to be a chart topper.

But you already knew all this before posting your
1f4a9.png
 
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GhostOfTsu

Banned
The game isn't in the top tracking pages of any of the platforms it's on, not just PC or Xbox.

And this is one of Atlus's nichest franchises, not a popular one like Persona. No one was expecting it to be a chart topper.

But you already knew all this before posting your
1f4a9.png


YOU'RE A DISINGENUOUS HACK
Obviously it's more interesting to look at the sales on those platforms because it's the first time they hit Day 1. It was pretty big news when it was announced, no? I'm surprised you disagree.

I'm sure your reaction would be very different if it was somewhere in the top 100 😏

Also Xbox owners. Literally first Atlus game in Soul Hackers 2 after almost two generations.

We could use more.

Soul Hackers 2 will be the first Xbox physical game in 11 years.

SOUL HACKERS 2 BAYBEE !!
 
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GhostOfTsu

Banned
Sega got fooled. The almighty Sony would have saved it's sales from arbitrary niche non-chart topper status.

Indeed.

Fuck off, warrior. "HaVe FuN."
I just checked on PSN and it's #14 under Best-selling after the usual Fortnite, GTAV, Destiny 2, Apex etc. The sales seem to be doing better there so don't worry. It's a chart-topper 😃

We'll know if they reached their sales expectations next quarter. I'm hopeful because Atlus deserves a win ❤
 

PhaseJump

Banned
I just checked on PSN and it's #14 under Best-selling after the usual Fortnite, GTAV, Destiny 2, Apex etc. The sales seem to be doing better there so don't worry. It's a chart-topper 😃

We'll know if they reached their sales expectations next quarter. I'm hopeful because Atlus deserves a win ❤

Atlus deserves a win now, and before you were using shit and skull emojis, implying it's dead, and advocating for Sony exclusivity as if it's the solution to some imaginary problem on what is already a super niche game franchise only weeaboos care about.

Persona itself is lightyears ahead of it, still niche and not particularly mainstream, and yet we should pooh-pooh Atlus launching SMT side games on multiple platforms by driving it back into one platform based on the title.

Blatant console warrior logic is blatant.
 

nocsi

Member
Starting my new game plus run now. Doubt Atlus/sega will bother with Xbox next time since they mainly sold on steam and ps
 
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