In the modern era, Atlus has arguably surpassed Square Enix as the JRPG community’s preferred developer. With its intuitive and rewarding combat system, a great mix of dungeon crawling and social elements, and a healthy dose of style you can’t get anywhere else, Persona 5 ensured the series’ place in the hearts of RPG fans after a slow start.
However, Atlus has been developing a wide variety of JRPGs for years, not just Persona but also Shin Megami Tensei, from which Persona is a spinoff, and Soul Hackers.
Information On Soul Hackers 2 Release, Including Trailers, Gameplay Videos, And More
Another offshoot of SMT, Soul Hackers, has been waiting 25 years since its lone entry came out in 1997 for a sequel to be announced in 2022. If you’ve been enjoying this developer’s recent output, you’ll find a lot to look forward to in Soul Hackers 2, and we’ve compiled all the information we have so far.
Announcing the return of the discord server; updated to be the Soul Hackers 2 waiting room
Join if you want to discuss the very much upcoming PVs of SH2, or post your SMT memes
Either or pic.twitter.com/Ef2LJbULQ8
— Has Soul Hackers 2 Been Released Yet? (@FindSoulHackers) March 4, 2022
Release Date
We’re very excited that a release date for Soul Hackers 2 has been revealed. The launch date for the game across all regions is set for August 26, 2022. Since Atlus usually delays their western releases in favor of Japanese releases, this is an unusual move on their part.
Platforms
Soul Hackers 2 will be ported to nearly all current-gen consoles and PCs. The PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC are all supported platforms. However, a Switch port wasn’t even hinted at.
Gameplay
Soul Hackers 2’s combat system is a happy medium between those of Persona 5 and Shin Megami Tensei 5, so players of either will feel right at home. Fight in turn-based battles with a party of four characters. The demons used to power the characters’ abilities are just as robust and vulnerable as the antagonists they face.
Attacking a foe’s weakness won’t make them lose a turn, but it will add to a Sabbath ability that acts like Persona’s full-power attack. If your character has the necessary skill, you can easily take advantage of an enemy’s vulnerability the moment you learn about it.
Otherwise, the battle system will be fairly standard, with HP, SP, items, and equipment all needing to be managed in a turn-based fashion.
You can equip demons on your character during a battle with a COMP, but doing so will cost you a turn. These are the individual weapons that can be customized for each playable character. If you’re looking for a social scene, you can check out futuristic Japan and other Realms frequented by Demons.
Multiplayer
Soul Levels are increased through social interactions with party members, such as going out for a drink. This is very similar to the Persona series’ Social Links.
During battles, demons can be purchased through negotiations, albeit on a much more streamlined system, or fused to create new and more powerful allies.
True to its roots as a Japanese role-playing game, Multiplayer Soul Hackers 2 features a robust online multiplayer mode. That means there will be no online multiplayer features, but there will be a lengthy single-player campaign and possibly a new game-plus mode. To anyone who has played an Atlus game before, though, that should come as no surprise at all.
Pre-order
On the day it was announced, fans could pre-order Soul Hackers 2. You can reserve a copy for your preferred platform on the game’s official site, but there are three different editions to choose from Standard, Deluxe, and Premium. See what each one has to offer below.
For $60, You Can Get The Standard Edition Of Soul Hackers 2
which includes the game, and the Persona 5 Phantom Thieves Outfits pack that was available as a pre-order bonus.
For An Additional $10, You Can Purchase The Deluxe Edition
Which includes everything in the Standard Edition as well as
- An assortment of supplemental materials
The Lost Numbers Premium Edition ($90) Includes A Bonus Story Arc.
If you’re ready to go all-in on Soul Hackers 2, the Premium Edition includes, among other things,
- Extra devilish goodies
- Ensemble of garb and background music
- The dress was worn by Mary’s maids
- Demon with an ai-ho
Trailers
Naturally, the first clip is the announcement trailer for Soul Hackers 2. Ringo is awakened by a voice she recognizes as Figue in the opening scene, which takes place in a surreal, out-of-time setting. Before the music starts and the trailer really starts, she floats through a black void made of cubes.
We hear Ringo’s discovery of the nature of Devil Summoners and get a look at a diverse cast of characters all working to stave off the end of the world. The trailer uses several terms, such as the “Great One” and the “Phantom Society,” that viewers aren’t expected to fully grasp at this time.
Combat, shopping, exploring, and talking are just some of the many game modes that follow. A “superintelligent being born from the sea of information,” as Ringo puts it, is the final revelation of the piece. And I’ve come to put an end to the end of days. It means whatever you want it to mean.
The remaining shots serve primarily to establish the tone of a stylish cyber adventure filled with fashionable protagonists and the familiar demons from previous Atlus titles.
The official trailer for Soul Hackers 2 is significantly shorter than the first one and begins in the same way. We see some of the characters we haven’t seen before, hear some dialogue that doesn’t make much sense out of context, and are tasked with saving the world once again.
The trailers don’t reveal much, but the game’s official website has plenty of information. Here, we learn that the world has progressed to the point where people are so reliant on modern conveniences and commercialism that they are obsessed with technology itself. The Yatagarasu and the Phantom Society, two groups of Devil Summoners, are at war with one another below the surface.
Aion is a collective intelligence that was developed using human data; it foresees the end of the world and uses this knowledge to create two agents, Ringo and Figue, who must stop it.
At this time, it appears that Ringo, Figue, Arrow, Milady, Saizo, and Mimi are all part of your playable cast. Figue, a supporting character who controls the owl-shaped drone Mimi, was developed alongside Ringo at the same time. Arrow, Milady, and Saizo are the other members of the party, and they represent the Yatagarasu, the Phantom Society, and the freelance Devil Summoner communities, respectively.
The leader of a C Project within the Phantom Society, Iron Mask, as well as Iron Mask’s artificial demon creation, Zenon, and the other members of the Phantom Society, all play significant roles.
We can’t say for sure just yet, but it seems like you won’t need to have played the original Soul Hackers to enjoy Soul Hackers 2. Everything about the story up to this point is fresh and new, including the fact that the entire cast consists of original creations.