With an eye-catching aesthetic and stylish presentation, Soul Hackers 2 promises a unique blend of story-telling and turn-based combat. Here are 15 things you should know before it launches on August 26th worldwide for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, and PC.
Story
As a follow-up to 1997’s Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers, Soul Hackers 2 is set in the mid-21st century. Civilization is on the decline, technological development has come to a standstill and two factions of Summoners – the Yatagarasu and Phantom Society – are at war. Foreseeing the end of the world, Aion sends agents Ringo and Figue to stop it with the mysterious Flamma passing down its will. From there, their journey and interactions with humanity begin.
Cast
While Ringo is more curious about human society, Figue is calmer and more composed, serving as support on the backlines. Throughout their journey, key figures emerge that will play a role in the world’s fate. There’s Arrow, a quiet but honest Summoner from Yatagarasu who died at the hands of an acquaintance Kaburagi. Then there’s Milady, a realist who worked with Phantom Society as a Summoner before the leader of the “C” project Iron Mask had her assassinated. Finally, there’s Saizo, a freelance Summoner who’s generally well-liked and, you guessed it, killed by his ex Ash (who didn’t intend for it to happen) and Phantom Society’s artificial demon Zenon.
Using Soul Hacking, Ringo resurrects each one and adds them to her party. What is the “C” project and what does Iron Mask have planned? It’s up to Ringo and her allies to find out before it’s too late.
Dungeon Exploration
Dungeons are one of the core elements of a Shin Megami Tensei game and Soul Hackers 2 is no different. Various enemies roam a dungeon, as denoted by red symbols on the map, and will chase you upon detection. Slashing at them allows for gaining an advantage at the start of a battle. Alternatively, you can try and run past them to skip combat altogether.
Demon Recon
Fortunately, you don’t have to dive into the thick of battle unprepared. At the start of a dungeon, allied demons can be sent out for recon purposes. As you explore the dungeon, you’ll rendezvous with said demons and either receive free items or introductions to other demons for recruitment. There’s also Mimi, Figue’s drone that will accompany Ringo and friends, informing them of the danger level of enemies and drawing attention to demons sent for recon.
Combat
Combat is very similar to other Shin Megami Tensei titles with elements and weaknesses. Tandem Attacks also have a chance to trigger, dealing status ailments to foes or healing allies. The main difference is that there are only Fire, Ice, Electricity, Force and Almighty elements. Exploiting an enemy’s weakness allows for summoning a demon which is called a Stack. At the end of a turn, you can use the accumulated Stacks in an All-Out Attack referred to as a Sabbath. This sees all of the summoned demons attacking the remaining enemies. Up to 16 Stacks can be accumulated for massive damage and different Stack Optimization skills can be used for increased actions and other benefits.
COMPs
Each party member is armed with a weapon known as a COMP. These can range from sais to guns and can be customized with different effects at the COMP Smith. Each ally has unique skills and combat styles as well. For instance, Milady focuses on Fire attacks and recovering MP from slain enemies while Saizo provides healing and support. Utilizing each party member’s skills correctly, and even re-equipping demons during battle (which can be done at the cost of a turn) is essential for success.
Demon Fusion
When encountering demons in combat, they can instead be recruited through negotiation. Alternatively, there’s Demon Fusion. When fusing two demons, you can bestow different skills to one of them and adjust their combat roles accordingly. Special Fusions require specific demons, sometimes two or more, for some very potent summons. Level up a demon and along with improved stats, they’ll learn new skills, which can lead to them providing Mistiques as presents for your COMPs (which can reduce MP cost, utilize specific skills, and more).
Safe Houses and Vendors
Along with venturing to different dungeons, players will also discover Safe Houses, vendors and restaurants. Restaurants offer meals with different buffs but you can also pick up meals from vending machines to eat on the go. Vendors include Delamancha which provides different healing and support items and Yoyojo with battle and exploration items (along with some rare items). Of course, you’ll also find facilities like the COMP Smith for upgrading COMPs and Cirque du Goumaden for fusing demons. Safe Houses are where you’ll rest and heal along with cooking meals and interacting with party members.
Hangout Events
Much like the Persona series, there are different social sim elements outside of combat. These include hanging out with party members. As you spend more time together, your Soul Level will increase and different abilities can be unlocked for use between Ringo and that party member in combat.
Soul Matrix
When visiting the Aion home base, you’ll come across something called the Soul Matrix. This can be used to enter specific dungeons that are connected to your party members. As you become closer to a party member and increase your Soul Level, more of their respective dungeons will become available to explore. Defeating bosses will also unlock new skills for that party member, though caution is advised given the presence of powerful Risky enemies within each dungeon.
Vision Quests and Aion Orders
As you delve deeper into the Soul Matrix dungeon for a party member, you’ll experience Vision Quests and learn more about their past. These will help make Ringo stronger while also providing additional details on your allies. There are also Aion Orders – side objectives which can be picked up before entering a Soul Matrix dungeon and range from collecting items to defeating specific foes. Completing these nets different rewards including new Summoner Skills (like higher stats or more stacks with a Sabbath attack).
Difficulty Options
As you might expect, multiple difficulty options are also available with Easy, Normal and Hard. Very Hard difficulty will be added later as free DLC. If these are anything like Shin Megami Tensei 5 or Persona 5, then sticking to Normal is the safest bet, offering a decent challenge without being too overwhelming.
New Game Plus
Of course, there’s also New Game Plus which allows for carrying progress from a completed save over into a new playthrough. New side quests, battles against tougher foes, and personal events can be experienced while character levels, COMP Mods, currency, Magatsuhi, items, Magic Stones, the Demon Compendium and Fusion History will carry over.
System Requirements
For those playing on PC, minimum requirements include an Intel Core i5-3470 or AMD Ryzen 3 1200, 8 GB of RAM, and either an Nvidia GeForce GTS 450 1 GB or AMD Radeon HD 5770 1 GB. This is to play at 1080p resolution and 30 FPS at Low settings with an 80 percent render scale. Recommended requirements include a Core i5-8600 or Ryzen 5 3600, 8 GB of RAM, and a GeForce GTX 760 2 GB or Radeon HD 7870 2 GB. This allows for 1080p/60 FPS gameplay at High settings with a 100 percent render scale. In both cases, you’ll need 22 GB of storage space. Overall, some pretty generous requirements.
4K and 60 FPS Modes on PS5 and Xbox Series X
If you’re looking to play Soul Hackers 2 on PS5 or Xbox Series X, there’s good news – both versions offer Performance and Graphics Modes. The former favors a 60 FPS frame rate while the latter favors a 4K resolution. While the exact resolution and frame rate for both modes hasn’t been outlined, they should ensure higher fidelity visuals in the current-gen versions.