Soul Hackers 2's Dark Tone May Point Toward Persona's Future

gamerant.com:

Atlus may only have revealed Soul Hackers 2 recently, but it has released a lot of important details about the game since then. It has provided fans with major spotlights on all the game's central characters, ranging from protagonist Ringo and her fellow Devil Summoners to the mysterious antagonist Iron Mask. Soul Hackers 2 have also gotten a look at the game's mechanics, which combine demon management in the style of Shin Megami Tensei with social elements from Persona. Even though the broader Devil Summoner franchise stands on its own two feet in the Atlus RPG family, Soul Hackers 2 still seems like an interesting bridge between SMT and Persona.

Its Persona influences are particularly notable because of how Soul Hackers 2 could affect Persona's future. Soul Hackers 2 trailers strongly suggest that the game will be far darker than recent Persona games overall, and while that isn't inherently surprising, it does feel significant when paired with the game's potential appeal to Persona fans. Atlus may intentionally be trying to warm Persona fans up for future titles that involve a lot more graphic violence and other dark themes than the Persona 5 suite of games involved. Persona 6 could be tapping into the franchise's darker past.

Persona 5 Coming to Xbox Seems More Likely Thanks to Soul Hackers 2

Trailers for Soul Hackers 2 haven't pulled punches in terms of violence. As a Soul Hacker, Ringo has the power to bring people back from the dead, meaning there'll be several sequences where she brings supporting characters like Arrow back to life while they're still lying in their own blood; Soul Hackers 2 trailers have already shown off some of these sequences. Another Soul Hackers 2 trailer has shown Iron Mask blasting Ringo in