t1z4l

Variants of the Jack Frost from Soul Hackers 2 will appear in gacha machines from late November 2024. These include versions of Jack Frost that look like differently-flavored ice cream or shaved ice. [Thanks, Hobby Watch!]

As mentioned earlier, these Jack Frost toys will appear in gacha machines around Japan and will cost 300 JPY per attempt. That would convert to around $2. In total, there are six variations of Jack Frost figures and the name of the collection is “Shaved Ice Frost,” which is a reference to how the color schemes look like common flavors of shaved ice syrups.

The Jack Frost variants you can get are: Blue Hawaii Frost, Strawberry Frost, Milk Chocolate Frost, Melon Frost, and Lemon Frost. All of them have bodies that look like their flavor, while all of the accents like the hood and shoes are white.

Jack Frost isn’t just a mascot for Soul Hackers 2. It’s one of the mascots for the Shin Megami Tensei series as a whole. Aside from appearing in the majority of its fantastical games, it also shows up on Atlus's social media s and as merchandise. It appeared outside of the series as well, such as in Etrian Odyssey and Puzzle and Dragons.

Soul Hackers 2 is readily available on the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Windows PC.

The post Soul Hackers 2 Jack Frost Variants Will Appear in Gacha Machines appeared first on Siliconera.

The Xbox Game update for the second half of February 2024 and early March 2024 is live, and the games mentioned include Tales of Arise and Soul Hackers 2. We already knew the one RPG would be arriving, and now we know the other is leaving.

Tales of Arise is the latest entry in Bandai Namco’s action-RPG series, and it is on both Xbox Game and the PlayStation Plus game catalog for certain subscription tiers. It follows Alphen and Shionne as they go around their world, dealing with the Renan people’s abuse of power toward the Dahnan people. 

Meanwhile, Atlus’ Soul Hackers 2 is another Shin Megami Tensei series RPG spin-off that is leaving Xbox Game on the last day of February 2024. It follows an AI entity named Ringo as she attempts to work with certain Devil Summoners to save the world.

Here is the full Xbox Games game schedule for the rest of February 2024:

• Bluey: The Videogame (cloud, console, PC) - February 22, 2024
• Indivisible (cloud, console, PC) - February 28, 2024
• Madden NFL 24 (cloud, console, PC) - February 27, 2024
• Maneater (cloud, console, PC) - February 27, 2024
• Return to Grace (cloud, console, PC) - Available Now
• Space Engineers (cloud, console, PC) - February 29, 2024
• Tales of Arise (cloud, console, PC) - Available Now
• Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun (cloud, console, PC) - March 5, 2024

As for the two games leaving on February 29, 2024, those are Madden NFL 22 and Soul Hackers 2. The former is the EA Play title for consoles and PCs. The latter is the Xbox Game title with cloud, console, and PC .

The post Xbox Game Gets Tales of Arise, Loses Soul Hackers 2 appeared first on Siliconera.

Microsoft announced next round of Xbox Game games, and both Soul Hackers 2 and Wo Long are among them. The former marks the Atlus JRPG heading to the subscription service for the first time since its 2022 launch. However, the latter will be appearing day one on the service when it makes its March 2023 debut. In addition, Octopath Traveler will be leaving when the month ends.

Here’s the full list of games that will be heading to Xbox Game between February 21, 2023 and March 3, 2023.



• February 21, 2023: Atomic Heart (cloud, console, PC)
• February 28, 2023: Merge & Blade (cloud, console, PC) and Soul Hackers 2 (cloud, console, PC)
• March 2, 2023: F1 22 (console, PC)
• March 3, 2023: Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty (cloud, console, PC)

As for the Xbox Game games leaving on February 28, 2023.

• Alien Isolation (console, PC)
• Crown Trick (cloud, console, PC)
• Dragon Ball FighterZ (cloud, console, PC)
• Far: Changing Tides (cloud, console, PC)
• Lightning Returns: FFXIII (console, PC)
• Madden NFL 21 (console, PC)
• Octopath Traveler (cloud, console, PC)

This comes right as Octopath Traveler 2 makes its debut. That will launch on the Switch, PS4, PS5, and PC on February 24, 2023.

Soul Hackers 2 is available on the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC. Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty will launch on the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC on March 3, 2023.

The post Soul Hackers 2 and Wo Long ing Xbox Game Games, Octopath Traveler Leaving appeared first on Siliconera.

The 1.02 patch is live for Soul Hackers 2, and the update adds the extra demons and dash function Atlus promised. The developer said at the beginning of October 2022 that it intended to offer more quality of life additions.

At the time, there was only a general November 2022 release window. Now that the month really kicked off, all the extra characters and features are there.

All four demons coming to Soul Hackers 2 are returning characters. Aitvaras, Isis, Neko Shogun, and Pixie all appeared in multiple Shin Megami Tensei mainline games and spin-offs. However, this version of Pixie will look a little different. She’s specifically referred to as a “Soul Hackers version of the demon.

Also, the dash function won’t be the only way to speed up Soul Hackers 2 gameplay. When taking part in a fight, people can now choose “speed up” to increase the pace.

Here are the full update details for Soul Hackers 2 from Atlus' official patch notes for 1.02.

A full list of changes can be found below:

Newly added functions:

Dash function
A “Dash” function has been added to Ringo’s movement.
The can toggle between “Normal” and “Dash” at will. While in Dash Mode, Ringo’s walking and slashing speeds will increase.
Due to the addition of the dash function, the effect of the Summoner Skill “Assassin’s Steps” has been changed to: “For a given distance, enemies will ignore Ringo.”

Fast Battle Mode

A “Speed Up” mode has been added to battles. Players may freely toggle between normal and high-speed combat.

Adjustments

• Adjusted how long loading-screen tips are shown.
• Changed the flow of on-screen prompts during soul level increase to reduce the risk of incorrect input from accidental button presses.
• Added the ability to teleport directly to shops from the City Map.
• Adjusted enemy spawn rate in dungeons.
• Adjusted skill inheritance rates during demon fusion.
• Other minor changes.

Other changes

Added four new demons: Pixie (Soul Hackers Ver.), Neko Shogun, Aitvaras, and Isis.

Note: The above bonus demons do not count toward the Registration Percentage in the Demon Compendium or the achievement “Compendium Completionist.”

Soul Hackers 2 is available for the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC, and people can update to patch 1.02 immediately.

The post Soul Hackers 2 Update Patches in 4 More Demons appeared first on Siliconera.

Atlus plans to improve the Soul Hackers 2 experience for all players with an update for the game. The Soul Hackers 2 patch will add some new features designed to make crawling dungeons less of a crawl, as well as to speed battles up. The update should arrive in "a few weeks", or sometime in early November 2022.

In its news post announcing the Soul Hackers 2 patch, Atlus detailed some of the changes planned.

The main addition is the "Dash" function. This speeds up Ringo's movement in dungeons so she and the party can cover more ground. The Dash function is a toggle that can be set anytime. It also accompanies an adjustment to one of Milady's Summoner Skills, "Assassin's Stride". Previously, the skill increased movement speed temporarily during exploration. Following the patch, it'll cause enemies to ignore Ringo for a set distance.

Second, the Soul Hackers 2 patch adds a "Speed Up" mode to battle. This speeds up combat animations.

Other adjustments include tweaks to loading screen tips, changes to on-screen prompts shown during Soul Level Increase to reduce instances of accidental input, adjustments to enemy spawn rates in dungeons, and the ability to move directly to shops from the City Map screen.

Lastly, the patch adds four new demons to fuse and use:

• Pixie (Soul Hackers Ver.)
• Neko Shogun
• Aitvaras
• Isis

The update lands in early November 2022. Soul Hackers 2 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. Check out Siliconera's official review of the game.

The post Soul Hackers 2 Patch to Add Dash, Demons, Faster Battles appeared first on Siliconera.

Atlus has ed a new trailer for Soul Hackers 2 in commemoration of the game’s August 26, 2022 release date. The trailer, which is called ‘Beating Heart,’ is just over a minute long and shows both gameplay and cutscenes. Most of the trailer focuses on combat sequences and out of context clips.

You can watch the Soul Hackers 2 Beating Heart trailer here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1iyR6-yc3c

Beating Heart does touch a little bit on the main plot of the game. The sentient AI system Aion sends Ringo and Figue to the human world in order to stop the apocalypse, and Ringo uses her Soul Hack ability to revive party Arrow, Milady, and Saizo. During the process, Figue obtains something called the Covenant, which is what the main antagonist is after. Once he collects all of the Covenants, he plans on ending the world.

The trailer also gives a quick look at some aspects of the battle system. You can see Ringo use a Sabbath, which is essentially an All-Out Attack that you can power up with Stacks. You gain a Stack every time you hit an enemy with the element they’re weak to. Throughout the trailer, you see the human characters fighting, which is another difference between Soul Hackers 2 and most other Devil Summoner games. Rather than collecting demons that act as party , demons are like Persona you can equip to your four human characters.

Soul Hackers 2 is readily available on PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and Windows PC. You can read our review of Soul Hackers 2 here. Here are some beginner tips as well for those starting their soul-hacking journey.

The post Soul Hackers 2 Release Trailer Shows Off Story and Combat appeared first on Siliconera.

Soul Hackers 2 is out now, and you might be wondering how you'll save the world equipped with nothing more than a COMP, a handful of demons, a few friends back from the dead, and the unlimited power of a sentient supercomputer. Fear not, because we're here with our very quick Soul Hackers 2 starter guide, highlighting a few quick reminders, tricks and tips to make your first hours as a Devil Summoner a little bit smoother. Read on to get started in its stylish cyberpunk world.

Save Often! 1es1c

This one's a standard bit of gameplay advice, but an eternally relevant one. Soul Hackers 2 allows saving almost anywhere, but it's relatively lax on maintaining its auto-save slot. Use the manual save regularly to make sure you don't lose any progress, particularly before or after a pitched dungeon run.

Fix Your Camera! 5t5m6e

One advantage new buyers of Soul Hackers 2 will have over the review- and guide-writing crowd is a day one patch Atlus issued just before release. The patch addresses, among other things, the slightly wonky default camera perspective in dungeons. By default it was locked a little too low and a little bit too close to Ringo's knees, making it disorienting to maneuver through the dungeon corridors. It even set off motion sickness for some reviewers. The patch adds a "Camera Distance" setting to the configuration menu. Use it and zoom the camera out a bit to increase your comfort in dungeons, if you find yourself affected by the default view.

Max Your Stacks 113u61

Stacking is Soul Hackers 2's main new combat mechanic, and how the game rewards targeting enemy weaknesses. Every time you hit a weakness, a point gets added to your Stack counter in the upper right of the screen. At the end of your turn Ringo triggers the Sabbath, a powerful attack that damages the entire spread of enemies.

When fighting regular mob enemies, hitting one or two stacks and letting Ringo clear the field is a great way to efficiently clear weak enemies. Against bosses it's a powerful dose of extra damage, though it won't usually end the fight outright. Later on you can unlock abilities and Commander Skills that add additional effects to the Sabbath, expanding the benefits you gain from getting the Stack counter up high.

Master Your Commander (Skills) 68256f

Ringo is the core of the party in Soul Hackers 2. Though thankfully you won't lose a fight if she goes down, her Commander Skills and Sabbath are a key part of the game's combat system. Commander Skills are earned a little way into the game, just after your first brush with the Soul Matrix dungeons. Accessible in battle by pressing a shoulder button (R1 on the PS4), they're basically skills you can use for no cost, after a certain amount of turns have ed in any given battle. They're invaluable in expanding your tactical options. In fact, one skill stands above all in the Soul Hackers 2 early game: Conversion.

You want to get Conversion as soon as possible (it's an your COMP purchased at the COMP Smith), because before you get it, you won't be able to change anyone's equipped demon in mid-battle. That means you'll suffer extra damage in fights on the off chance your party isn't equipped with a demon that can target an enemy's weaknesses. So before you do much else on the side, run the main story until you unlock your first expansion of options at the COMP Smith, and grab Conversion as soon as you're able to.

Other Commander Skills will be useful, like artificially adding to the Stack counter, or triggering special effects. But Conversion's definitely the first with an unbeatable "must-have" quality.

Don't Sleep On Recon 33oj

Upon entering any dungeon you'll see a small cutscene play of Ringo sending out her demons to do some scouting. This is "Demon Recon", and it's not quite what it sounds like. Rather than, say, mapping out the dungeon for you, the demons place themselves at points on the map and act a bit like treasure chests. Talk to them whenever you can, as they confer many benefits. They'll restore your health and MP, give you items, and even recruit new demons to your roster. In fact, until you unlock fusion, your Demon Recon will be your main initial source of new demons.

She Who Strikes First, Shuffles Around and Attacks From Behind 5r3e2e

When tramping through a dungeon, enemies can appear in close proximity. Pressing a button (Square on the PS4) will cause Ringo to attack, knocking the enemy down and letting you go in for the kill. You can even get the first hit in with "Ally Ambush" and do a bit of damage before the first turn.

I did notice that Ally Ambush is a bit fiddly, though, and doesn't always trigger just from touching a downed enemy. Whether it's actually randomized effect or if it relies on positioning, I'm not completely sure, but I've been able to get an Ally Ambush to trigger more consistently by touching a downed enemy from the side or behind to open the fight. Take the time to do a little shuffling before the opening move to improve your chances.

Be A Dear for Gear 4r1v3o

Soul Hackers 2 can be a challenge even at normal difficulty, as enemies can hit hard, and in the early game, you don't have a lot of demons to fill in the gaps with skills. To maximize your chances in combat, visit the accessory shop in Shinsando and the COMP Smith to upgrade your accessories and COMPs, respectively. Accessories are a relatively minor boost, but even a 1-3 point gain in stats or defense can significantly increase your durability or damage output.

COMP upgrades are critical, because COMP attacks cost no MP, making them efficient for dealing with weak enemies. Plus, you can unlock special ive skills that do things like reduce the cost of entire categories of spell when used. COMP upgrades also increase the elemental affinities of your Summoners. These affinities can determine what Mistiques they can equip, as well as how well their effects scale. For example, at first, Saizo might not be able to equip Mistiques that augment his Fire damage, but upgrades to his COMP can make that possible.

It's the Friends We Soul Hacked Along The Way p2x44

Your bonds with your team are determined by your "Soul Level". It's basically a score for each party member that is boosted by choosing certain dialog options and hanging out with them at Bar Heidrun. The Soul Level is critical, as you need to raise it to access the deeper levels of each party member's Soul Matrix dungeon. Thankfully, it's easy to tell what choices a character will favor: It's indicated on the upper right of the screen whenever you have to make a dialog choice that will have a Soul Level effect. In general, it's better to raise your party's Soul Levels evenly, so you can progressively unlock their dungeons in sync.

Besides Soul Levels, you can also improve your dungeoneering prospects with a good group meal. Early in the game you'll unlock meals, items you can spend at the safehouse to get everyone some grub. Meals will bestow consistent buffs that last for the duration of the next dungeon run, improving things like your defense, stats, and even critical rating. Party also have their own preferences, which can increase the effect of certain foods' buffs. You can buy meals from shops on the map, and party will sometimes give them to you in-game.

Be Ginko's Guest: Take That Request 1i211f

You'll unlock a place called Club Cretaceous early in the game. The club and its proprietor Madam Ginko are the hub for Soul Hackers 2's Request system. Requests are basically minor sidequests, tasking you with doing things like destroying certain numbers of demons, finding items in dungeons, or even fighting optional battles. Doing so nets you useful rewards, like items, money,  accessories, and even unlocks of equipment in the stores. Do every one you can in the spaces between your main story missions.

The Soul Matrix dungeons also have their own request system, too: Aion Directives. Aion Directives are issued by Flamma at the Axis (your hub area for tackling the Soul Matrix). They have a similar reward structure, but your ability to complete them is gated by your overall Soul Matrix progress, so you'll tackle these in step with the main story and your bond-building.

Get Abusin' That Fusion 5f165

The old standby system of demon fusion returns in Soul Hackers 2 via the Goumaden, a circus-like zone that's accessible after your first Soul Matrix dungeon expedition. There, fusion works similarly to how it does in other Shin Megami Tensei-related games. You can fuse two demons to get a different demon of a higher level, and carry over a selection of skills from both fused demons. Demon fusion is the key to improving your combat power in the game, and you should try to fuse every demon you can. That said, take care to any demons you level up to the Compendium before using them as fusion fodder.

Why? Because a leveled demon with more skills is better fodder than a freshly recruited one. Leveling a demon and learning all its skills can also reward a "Mistique", a special piece of equipment with powerful ive effects. ed demons can be re-summoned from the Compendium for a monetary fee, saving you a lot of time and helping find the ideal lineup. Special fusions of three or more demons to get a specific, powerful being also return. You can unlock special fusions through story progress as well as completing certain requests and Aion Directives.

Soul Hackers 2 is available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Check out Siliconera's review.

The post Soul Hackers 2 Starter Guide: 10 Quick Beginner’s Tips appeared first on Siliconera.

Soul Hackers 2 launches in just under a week, and Atlus wants potential players to get a taste of its opening minutes. To that end, it ed the Soul Hackers 2 opening to its official YouTube .

Check out the Soul Hackers 2 opening at this link.

The opening features Arrow going through his morning routine. Other scenes from the early parts of the game, featuring Ringo, Figue, and the rest of the party, play out alongside the theme song.

Besides the Soul Hackers 2 opening, Atlus West also issued streaming guidelines for players showing the game. Companies occasionally place such rules into practice to prevent streamers and Let's Players from spoiling too much of a game's story for their viewers. The guidelines vary from game to game and company to company. Enforcement also varies. Bandai Namco's guidelines for Digimon Survive amounted to a polite request. Atlus, meanwhile, set off a backlash due to having streaming guidelines perceived as overly strict for Persona 5.

For the most part, Atlus' streaming guidelines for Soul Hackers 2 are fairly loose. Unlike the guidelines issued to reviewers, there are not spoiler-based rules in place. A request to include spoiler warnings in video titles and descriptions, and to "be mindful of the content you post" is all.

The main restrictions apply to streaming the game before release day on August 26, 2022. Similar restrictions apply to ing background music of streaming for the purpose of distributing Soul Hackers 2 music. Additional rules discourage requiring payment to watch the stream or archive, as well as not to use Soul Hackers 2 streams to slander others.

Soul Hackers 2 releases on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on August 26, 2022. Check out Siliconera's official review.

The post See the Soul Hackers 2 Opening and Streaming Rules appeared first on Siliconera.

Playing Soul Hackers 2 sometimes feels like taking a long road trip across the United States. There's a lot of boring traveling in the doing. You'll through a bunch of places that look the same, no matter where you go. Every so often, you'll take a stop, see the sights, talk with friends, and have quite the fun experience. But it won't always be enough to erase the monotony.

Soul Hackers 2 presents itself as a halfway point of sorts between the character and narrative focus of the stereotypical JRPG and the combat and mechanical focus of the stereotypical dungeon-crawler. Even the marketing seems to position the game as trying to split the difference and succeed in the middle ground between Shin Megami Tensei and Persona. In reality, it's weighed quite a bit more on the dungeon-crawler (read: SMT) side of the equation. The story is quite simple, and despite the stylish visuals, Atlus doesn't present it in the most engaging way. Yet, Soul Hackers 2's playable cast is appealing enough to make you want to know more about them, and thus want want to play through the plot.

As I mentioned in the preview, that plot of Soul Hackers 2 is as straightforward as the setup from the trailers. Ringo and Figue are agents of Aion, which is essentially a sentient supercomputer. Aion sends them to the human world to save it from the apocalypse. To do so, they need a man named Arrow, but Ringo finds him dead. Using the powers of Soul Hack, she revives Arrow. She then does the same for two more companions: Milady, and Saizo. According to Aion, all three of them are Devil Summoners, who use their gun-like COMP systems to call demons to fight for them. They're all instrumental to saving the world from the apocalypse Aion predicts.

What's not clear from the trailers is that this all happens in just the first half-hour or so of the game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MG-SqnJsT0

Soul Hackers 2 is structured so that the narrative doesn't overstay its welcome or interfere with the meat of the game - dungeon crawling – but doesn't give the setup much weight. Why are you in this particular area of the city to dungeon-crawl? How did you meet up with these characters? The narrative build-up doesn't feel organic. As a result, it may be difficult for players to care, particularly those coming in with their expectations set by Persona's narrative focus. If you play this game specifically for the challenge and dungeons, however, then that is not an issue.

This issue persists as you continue on with the game. Soul Hackers 2 presents major epiphanies with the same amount of fanfare as a minor plot twist. Just like how there is little time for you to feel anything for the plot or characters before the game shuffles you along to the next dungeon, there are no hints or foreshadowing at all. It feels like watching a murder mystery film, but you're not told who died and how, only to cut to the detective unmasking the killer and playing the closing credits. The meat of the plot feels missing somehow.

Soul Hackers 2 shines through in its characters, though it does take a while before this particular silver lining shows itself, unfortunately. As you play through the game and explore the Soul Matrix, you learn more about their particular subplots and histories. Hangout events, as well as the story, also allow you a glimpse of their private lives and fun idiosyncrasies. Even Figue, who isn't really a party member, is very likeable. I love how earnest she is about everything. Of the cast, Ringo is probably the hardest character to relate to. Everyone else has an actual stake in the story. In contrast, and despite being the leader, Ringo just seems to be along for the ride most of the time.

[gallery ids="933775,933776,933777" link="file"]

Though the narrative falls short in some ways, it's clear that the dungeon-crawling is really the whole point of Soul Hackers 2. The battle system is detailed and engaging. While it is turn-based, it feels fast and smooth. Demons can be equipped to party like weapons, giving the characters access to the equipped Demon's abilities. Therefore, no single set of demons can carry you through the entire game. You'll need to vary things up to exploit enemy weaknesses and build a stock of "Stacks", points used to activate Ringo's special abilities.

Ringo also has Commander Abilities that can be used without consuming a turn. Keeping track of your Stacks is necessary for a smooth run. The game is challenging enough that you can’t mindlessly charge through it. However, it's not so difficult that you will ever get stuck or feel like you've lost a lot of progress. On the rare occasions an enemy encounter went sideways, I could simply escape with a Trafuri Bomb, Traesto to the town map, and go to the safehouse to recuperate. The auto-save function before boss fights also helps if you mess up. Those who want a more “classic” SMT difficulty experience may want to start from a harder difficulty level.

And yet, though the whole point and large portion of Soul Hackers 2 is dungeon-crawling, it does have its low points. Dungeons you visit for the story vary enough in gimmick and appearance that they can stand additional visits to handle optional requests. However, the Soul Matrix dungeons for Arrow, Milady, and Saizo – the dungeons you will likely traipse around for the majority of the game – all look exactly the same. They all have the same color scheme and enemies. It doesn't matter whose Soul Matrix you are in, they're all like that, and there is no escape.

[gallery ids="933778,933779,933780" link="file"]

It would not be so bad if the Soul Matrix varied from character to character. Say, if Milady’s Soul Matrix were red and had more Herald demons, versus Arrow’s Soul Matrix being blue and having more Yomas. Even minor alterations like that would make the journey easier. For a game that's so focused on its dungeon-crawling side, the crawling shouldn't get so unbearable at times.

Unlocking the floors for the Soul Matrix also requires a certain Soul Level. You can level that up through hangout events. The majority happen through story dialog choices. The illusion of choice is nice, but it can get old. More and more rarely do you see a dialogue option you'd actually want to say as the game goes on. Instead, you'll choose it because it helps you unlock the next part of someone's Soul Matrix.

Even if I couldn't care less about Arrow's opinion on a given topic, I still have to ask him. If I don't, then I can't access 4F of his Soul Matrix. In my opinion, this aspect of the Soul Matrix would've been better served by a different unlocking method. That way you could interact with Soul Hackers 2 characters because you like them, rather than just needing them.

Soul Hackers 2 succeeds at fusing appealing character elements and story into a more traditional dungeon-crawling mode. In a lot of ways it does manage to travel that middle path between the extremes of its sibling series. But its bright spots don't quite mask the moments where the moments where both its halves can fall short.

Soul Hackers 2 will come out on August 25, 2022 in Japan and August 26, 2022 for North America. It'll debut on the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Windows PC.

The post Review: Soul Hackers 2 Relieves Dungeon-Crawls With Character appeared first on Siliconera.

Atlus has revealed the DLC content that will appear in Soul Hackers 2 after launch. Some of the DLC will already be available in the game if you purchase the Digital Deluxe version or Edition. The normal game costs $59.99, Digital Deluxe costs $69.99, and Edition costs $89.99.

There are five different types of DLC that will be available at launch. They are:

• Bonus Story Arc: The Lost Numbers
  A bonus story arc about Nana, who is a new Devil Summoner. This story arc will also grant access to a new dungeon and boss that is not in the base game.
• Costume & BGM Pack
  This pack will allow you to get outfits and accessories from Persona 4, Persona 5, Shin Megami Tensei IV, and more. You can also change the battle BGM to the ones from those games.
• Bonus Demon Pack
  This pack includes eight demons. They are Tzitzimitl, Anahita, Armaiti, Zaou-Gongen, Nemissa, Mara, Masakado, and Satan.
• Booster Item Pack
  This pack will increase the frequency of getting items from battle.
• Useful Item Set + Extra Difficulty
  This pack will give you essential items, as well as unlock the Very Hard difficulty mode.

Here is the trailer for the Soul Hackers 2 DLC:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gE0CuiJIdk

Soul Hackers 2 will follow Ringo, who is an agent of Aion on a mission to stop the apocalypse. The game is a JRPG with dungeon crawler elements. You can read our preview of Soul Hackers 2 here.

Soul Hackers 2 will come out on August 25, 2022 for Japan and August 26, 2022 for other territories. It will come out on the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Windows PC. You will be able to purchase the DLC separately, or through purchasing the Digital Deluxe or Edition versions of the game. Siliconera's official review will come later in the month.

The post Atlus Reveals Information on Soul Hackers 2 DLC appeared first on Siliconera.

From my time with its early hours, Soul Hackers 2 feels like the logical accumulation of the many lessons that Atlus learned with its recent SMT-related games. The majority of the game still consists of dungeon crawling. However, having three human party with their own goals and distinct personalities hooks players hoping for a substantial story. Meanwhile, the difficulty and general structure of the game’s progression can endear it to fans of classic SMT games.

The gist of the story is that Ringo and Figue are artificial humans that AION created. AION is essentially a super-computer that has predicted the end of the world. To stop it, it creates Ringo and Figue and sends them to the human world. Once there, Ringo uses Soul Hack to revive Arrow, Milady, and Saizo. All three of them are Devil Summoners that Ringo believes are instrumental in stopping the apocalypse.

[gallery link="file" ids="933131,933132,933133"]

In combat and gameplay, the three humans also help to keep players engaged. I am not a fan of aimless dungeon crawling. However, as the Soul Matrix unlocked more information on the pasts of my enigmatic allies, it became less a chore and more an extension of the main story, a new way to get to know my people. All four often talk to each other in battle. The exchanges range in tone, from encouraging and rebuking tones. While it can get old hearing the same lines over and over, it was still an engaging form of background noise. Milady and Arrow’s occasional cat-and-dog spats over enemy weaknesses were also amusing.

As for the difficulty of the game, it is accessible enough to not be immediately overwhelming. However, it has a bit of a learning curve for those who are not used to SMT and its iterations. Indeed, as someone who was more of a Persona fan, and whose exposure to "classic" SMT difficulty amounts a few hours of Nocturne, my army of demons was sorely lacking. It took me a while to start to focus more on creating specialized demons rather than sweepers, as well as keep track of what I already had in my arsenal. Granted, the game is rather forgiving. You will seldom have trouble with the random mobs, and the game's autosave before boss fights means you probably will not have to redo any progress even if you lose.

[gallery columns="2" link="file" ids="933135,933136"]

There was one issue worth mentioning that shouldn't be a problem for most s. That's because Atlus is already working on a Day One patch to solve it. The issue is that the default camera angle always presented Ringo at a slight angle rather than hovering directly behind her. It made going through the dungeons disorienting at times. As well, the mini-map super-imposed on the screen can make the screen very busy. This is especially bad in some of the larger dungeons, such as the second floors of everyone's Soul Matrix.

[gallery columns="1" link="file" ids="933137"]

Soul Hackers 2 feels like the best of both worlds so far. It has enough story content and character intrigue to keep an average JRPG fan interested, but with just the right level of challenge to potentially satisfy a veteran Shin Megami Tensei player. The majority of it is still dungeon crawling though, so players will likely find themselves needing to enjoy the combat and exploration elements of the game, as much as the actual plot and characters.

Soul Hackers 2 will come out on August 25, 2022 in Japan and August 26, 2022 for North America on the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Windows PC. Look forward to Siliconera's official review closer to release.

The post Preview: Soul Hackers 2 Balances Challenge and Story appeared first on Siliconera.

Soul Hackers 2 releases in just under a month, and Atlus wants to make sure everyone's on the same page, story-wise. The new Soul Hackers 2 worldview trailer serves that purpose.

Formally called the "World Overview Full Explanation", the Soul Hackers 2  worldview trailer is narrated by Tomokazu Sugita. Sugita's narrated quite a few Atlus trailers, including daily demon features for Shin Megami Tensei V.

Check it out below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4CEzltBAnM

The Soul Hackers 2 worldview trailer establishes the setting as the mid-21st century. It's a time when human technology has stagnated, and its culture has entered slow decline. But lo, the Singularity looms. Technology spontaneously leaves the hands of its creators, evolving on its own. Within the communications network Neuron, a will emerges: Aion. Predicting the imminent end of the world, Aion creates two agents to make first with humanity: Ringo and Figue.

Meanwhile, in the shadows, secret organizations battle over the Covenant, the "keyword" to change the fate of the world. The Phantom Society and Yatagarasu war using Devil Summoners. Devil Summoners can form contracts with demons, calling on their power. It's into this Maelstrom that Ringo and Figue enter.

The worldview trailer bills Soul Hackers 2 as a next-gen game to "succeed" the Persona and Shin Megami Tensei franchise. It ends with the release date, as well as promoting the game's editions and pre-order Persona tie-in DLC.

Soul Hackers 2 launches on August 26, 2022 worldwide. It'll appear on the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

The post Soul Hackers 2 Worldview Trailer Sets up the Plot appeared first on Siliconera.

Back in the beginning of June 2022, Atlus offered a tease of the English voice acting in Soul Hackers 2. Now, there’s a full reveal. A new trailer appeared. It goes over the entire English dub cast for Soul Hackers 2.

The trailer goes over the Soul Hackers 2 English dub cast one by one as their characters appear. People get to see the person they’re playing, then hear a few voiced lines from them. Things begin with Ringo, the lead heroine, with Figue, Arrow, Milady, Saizo.

Here’s the full list of the Soul Hackers 2 English cast so far.

• Arrow: Zach Aguilar
• Figue: Erica Mendez
• Milady: Erica Lindbeck
• Ringo: Megan Harvey
• Saizo: Griffin Puatu

Here are the Japanese voice actors, to compare.

• Arrow: Kaito Ishikawa
• Figue: Nanako Mori
• Milady: Ami Koshimizu
• Ringo: Tomoyo Kurosawa
• Saizo: Masaya Matsukaze

And here’s a trailer showing off the Soul Hackers 2 English voice acting.

Soul Hackers 2 will come to the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC on August 25, 2022 in Japan and on August 26, 2022 worldwide. Standard and special editions will be available.

The post Soul Hackers 2 English Dub Cast Revealed appeared first on Siliconera.

At the Summer Game Fest 2022 showcase, Atlus shared a new trailer for Soul Hackers 2 featuring English voice acting. Multiple characters’ voices can be heard. While they show up, people can see Ringo and snippets of gameplay. Pre-orders are also open on multiple platforms.

Here’s the full Soul Hackers 2 English voice acting trailer. Its brief, but offers a hint at what to expect.

In addition to the trailer, pre-orders opened for Soul Hackers 2 via multiple platforms. People can call dibs on the Microsoft Store, PlayStation Store, and Steam. The standard edition is $59.99. The Digital Deluxe is $69.99. The Digital Edition is $89.99. Different tiers include different amounts of DLC.

Soul Hackers 2  will come to the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC on August 25, 2022 in Japan and on August 26, 2022 worldwide.

The post Hear Soul Hackers 2 English Voice Acting in a New Trailer appeared first on Siliconera.

Atlus shared new information concerning Soul Hackers 2 digital versions and DLC. A total of four digital editions will be available to purchase at varying price points. Each one will come with a select amount of content. As it stands, a total of three pieces of DLC have been announced, with Atlus planning to release more in the future.

The most expensive digital version of the game is the Soul Hackers 2 Anniversary Edition. It will cost 15,739 yen (or roughly $117) and include a digital version of the 25th anniversary album, the 25th anniversary book, the Mary-style maid outfit, and the Ai-ho DLC. Pre-orders for the Anniversary Edition will open in Japan on June 9, 2022.

Three versions will release through Steam. Pre-orders will open on June 10, 2022 and include the Persona 5 costume and BGM set. This includes a standard version, a Digital Deluxe edition, and a Digital edition. The standard version will cost 9,878 (or $73). The Digital Deluxe edition will cost 11,550 yen (roughly $86) and will come with the Additional Scenario: Lost Numbers and All-in-One Additional Money, Incense and EXP set. The Digital edition, which costs 14,630 yen (or $109) will come with everything included in the Digital Deluxe edition, but will also have the All-in-One Additional Costumes and BGM set, the All-in-One Additional Demons set, and the Mary-style maid outfit and Ai-ho DLC.

Concerning DLC, Atlus will release content that will add background music from other Atlus titles in Soul Hackers 2. Additional Soul Hackers 2 DLC will allow players to unlock and summon powerful demons like Mara and Masakado. Atlus also has plans to release DLC that will make it easier for players to obtain money and EXP in-game.

Soul Hackers 2 releases for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC on August 25, 2022, in Japan, and globally on August 26, 2022.

The post Soul Hackers 2 DLC and Digital Editions Announced appeared first on Siliconera.