Soul Hackers is a video game from 1997 and falls into the same lore as Persona and Shin Megami Tensei, but apart from a 2012 re-release on Nintendo 3DS Atlus had never shown interest in making it a saga. Thanks to Eiji Ishida and Mitsuru Hirata, already together for Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE, here’s the surprise: a direct sequel after 25 years. With Persona and Shin Megami Tensei, Soul Hackers shares the turn-based combat system and the monster of enemies, but otherwise takes a completely independent path in the narrative, presenting itself as a sort of detective story. The title is, however, completely unrelated in the understanding of its salient points: it is not necessary to have played even Devil Summoner, another Atlus RPG closely linked to the universe of this one. The beginning is this: an artificial intelligence named Aion creates two avatars, Ringo and Figue, to counter the destructive rise of anime hackers, the Phantom Circle. The two avatars will go to the aid of the summoners on the side of good to restore order.
With a very mature and dark plot, Soul Hackers 2 finds its strength in the narrative. As well as in the depth of character construction and summons, with plenty of possibilities and the explicit request for a careful selection of skills and weaknesses. A problem arises when the gameplay, at times diluted and repetitive, breaks the rhythm of the story with long and often very difficult sections of the game to complete if not after numerous attempts. Soul Hackers 2 meets its greatest limits in the technical realization: apart from the excellent character design of Shirow Miwa, the urban settings are bare and the dungeons made in an approximate way. Note of merit for the demons, always convincing and well made. On the latest generation consoles the 60 frames per second are granite, but certainly you will not feel like you are playing with a title in step with the times, at least visually. Excellent pop soundtrack by Keiichi Okabe.
Format: PS4, PS5 (versione testata), PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S publisher: Sega Developer: Atlus Vote: 7/10