Review: Soul Hackers 2

destructoid.com:

I’m a simple man: I see a Shin Megami Tensei game, and I’m interested in it. Although the cadence has been off and on for various subseries, Atlus managed to muster up Soul Hackers 2, which is a follow-up to the 1997 original — and the first Devil Summoner game in roughly 14 years.

It’s a good thing Devil Summoner doesn’t miss.

Soul Hackers 2 (PC, PS4, PS5 [reviewed], Xbox One, Xbox Series X)Developer: AtlusPublisher: SegaReleased: August 26, 2022MSRP: $59.99

Despite going with a setup that could be considered confusing in some other works, Soul Hackers 2 is surprisingly frank and forthcoming with its narrative conceit.

As an organic avatar named Ringo, your job is to save humanity at the whim of Aion, an AI. Aion has determined that it needs two key people to survive to prevent an impending cataclysmic event, which is where you come in. Using a demi-god-like ability called a “soul hack,” you can save a portion of someone’s soul, and cheat death. The kicker is that doing this too often can mess with the fabric of reality. Again, all of this is easy to follow, conveyed naturally through dialogue, and there’s even reminder story text on loading screens (as well as chat logs in case you accidentally skipped a cutscene or forgot what just happened).

Soul Hackers 2 takes a bit to get going in earnest, but until then, you’re quickly united with new summoners that become core party members. You slowly learn the details of Aion’s aims and the real world alongside your buddies; including the wrinkle of needing to locate covenants (powers that, when gathered, can cause destruction). The vibe is still very much occult (with demons galore) and cyberpunk, but there’s also an air of mystery and espionage to the day-to-day critical