Soul Hackers 2 is a grim look into a future without privacy

polygon.com:

In a world inhabited by unimaginable demons, the most frightening sight was a familiar face.

Protagonist Ringo and her band of Devil Summoners were near the finish line — they had finally unmasked the identity of their nemesis and were ready to take them down. But on their way to the encounter, as they ran through isolated alleyways and infinite rows of shipping containers, one particular demon stood out from the rest. They looked just like Ringo: same clothes, same hair, same sword in their hands. The only difference was a shadow cast upon their head that covered their eyes, and the ear-to-ear grin as they prepared to attack.

It was the first time I laid eyes on a Doppelganger in JRPG Soul Hackers 2. This demon, which has been present in several games in the Shin Megami Tensei series (of which Soul Hackers, like Devil Summoner and Persona, is a spinoff), has the ability to mimic someone’s appearance. As if finding a reflection of yourself wasn’t eerie enough, the universe’s description adds to its unsettling presence. In Soul Hackers 2, the Doppelganger is considered a “phantom copy of a living being.” The demon is usually regarded as an omen of bad luck — while it’s common for others to spot them from afar, it’s said that “one may see their own Doppelganger in the moments before they die.”

While Ringo survived the encounter, I was left with an uneasy feeling. Later on, as is common in developer Atlus’ suite of games, I had the chance to recruit the demon, and they greeted the group with mockery: “I’m Doppelganger… or maybe you’re the fake, and I’m the real one.” The mimic was not only uncanny, but proud of re-creating the protagonist so easily. In the context of Soul Hackers 2, in which society is under constant