Soul Hackers 2 Review (PS5): In Search Of Its Own Identity | Backlog Battle

[@RwnEsper]

Alex, this is a VERY good review! I watch a LOT of game reviews, and for SH2 in particular the discourse has been...interesting, to say the least. Your insights regarding this team purposefully trying to seperate their IP from SMT and Persona are something that I haven't really heard anyone else talk much about; certainly not so thoughtfully. Thanks for that! I'm only just starting the game, but so far I am really enjoying it. I find the characters charming, especially Figue. And yes, it is GREAT to have an adult cast for the first time since Persona 2.

[@BacklogBattle]

Thank you so much for your compliment! I always try to find ways to talk about games outside of the usual graphics, sound, gameplay discourse, so I'm happy that you noticed this! I just wish more people check it out! I really think more people should!

[@ecroy121212]

Another great review, easily my go to place on KZbin for JRPG content. You do an amazing job of talking about the game from multiple perspectives, such as veteran and newer player, and the way the review is presented usually sells me if I was on the fence about a game. Didn’t have a lot of stock in this one other than knowing it was coming out, but now I gotta pick it up. Cheers🤟🏾

[@BacklogBattle]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate it! I tried to do my best to approach the game from a different perspective than most, so it's important for me to do so!

[@ZAYVERYRARE]

Apparently I can still watch this, you must have the video unlisted. Well I’m going to finish this review. I plan on pre ordering it tomorrow.

[@d_shuffles]

Not going to lie I think I have been anticipating your review more than the game as I was cautiously approaching this one. I enjoyed your breakdown on the systems, it sounds like a fresh take on SMT systems and that makes me want to play more now!

[@BacklogBattle]

I literally just posted a new video just now that details the systems more, if you want to check it out! Spoiler-free, as always 😉

[@JamesBantz]

Glad to see this series get new life. I grabbed my copy from your fanatical link. Hopefully it works on steam deck if not my laptop will be a great place to play this.

[@BacklogBattle]

Thank you for your support as always!

[@Treblebeatgames]

Eiji Ishida and Mitsuru Hirata are directors who I love. Hirata directed Radiant Historia, one of my top 10 of all time, and Tokyo Mirage Sessions, which is one of my favorite "feel-good" games. I say this because even with TMS being a relatively high school age setting, the characters act more mature without all the pointless melodrama that always comes. There is one scene in TMS where a character gets an acting role another character wanted. This could easily slide into sabotage, or resentment, or jealousy, but instead, the person who wanted the role accepted it, and even decided to help the other character when struggling. It was a small thing, and didn't mean much at the end of the day, but it's still something I greatly appreciate about thr character writing.

[@BacklogBattle]

Agree with you on all fronts! I think the decision to make Soul Hackers into a more adult-centric series is a good idea, especially given their history!

[@DylanCisGood4Me]

Happy to see Atlus sprawl out under the MegaTen umbrella and realize there’s room for more than just mainline and Persona. Not sure when I’ll get to check Soul Hackers 2 out but I’m more than looking forward to it whenever that is.

[@BacklogBattle]

Thanks for checking out the video!

[@DylanCisGood4Me]

@@BacklogBattle Of course, good of a review as always!

[@rang5612]

I really enjoyed your review! I’ve only played Persona 2 and Persona 5. I’ve not played any of the Devil Summoner or SMT games but I really want to play Soul Hackers 2, especially after watching your review.

[@BacklogBattle]

Thanks! If you do play it, I hope you come back and let me know what you think!

[@iamergoproxy3476]

the way you get demons is interesting and unique to this Atlas titles, the way the main party members gather and the implied complexity of the soul matrix is a plus as well. this is a good, I'd dare say great game, but because Atlus didn't give this series the love it's given SMT or Persona there would be obvious shortcomings and if that's all people would think about looking at this game they shouldn't bother with it

[@BacklogBattle]

I guess my question is “what does give enough love even mean?” When you make something that takes several years, I think you gotta make the best decisions based on what you’re capable of doing, and I don’t think throwing money at it isn’t going to solve whatever it needs if you don’t have the right people, for instance.

[@iamergoproxy3476]

@@BacklogBattle the right team is part of love. Don't get me wrong this game SLAPS as far as I'm concerned but the issue this game faces as you said in a video is the legacy of other atlus franchise's

[@BacklogBattle]

Ah, I get it! I agree with you there, for sure. I also think though that trying to find the right team is just as important, and you don’t really get to know that before they take on something, you know? That said, I do know that people responsible for Strange Journey and TMS were part of this, so there’s reason for them to be successful this time. I still think they will find it, and I’m just happy that Atlus gave them a chance this time and use the time in between games to find the people they need to deliver a banger next time!

[@kevinbarnes8528]

Good or bad I was stoked for this game, saw the tandem abilities and I'm even more stoked, reminds me of the combo's you got in Tokyo Mirage Sessions which is like my ULTIMATE guilty pleasure JRPG. Awesome review as always Alex!

[@BacklogBattle]

I need to confirm this, but I think this game has some of the staff from TMS!

[@kevinbarnes8528]

@@BacklogBattle I think you're right, I feel like it's the same director?

[@kevinbarnes8528]

Or not... but that's in my brain for some reason

[@Bowflex2480]

this looks really good! if i wasn't hyped for another upcoming JRPG Just a Little bit more than soul hackers 2 i would be getting this day one! cant wait til im able to play this though. Thanks for the review Alex and i hope your able to finish it!

[@BacklogBattle]

I hope you enjoy it! The combat and progression systems are addicting! Much more than just demon negotiation and fusion this time around!

[@Bowflex2480]

@@BacklogBattle thanks , yeah i see that! nice refreshing update to the system. As much as i enjoy the other games in the series its nice to see something a little different from time to time.

[@Hexentric8]

Are you gonna leave us hanging? 🤣 what JRPG are you talking about? Star Ocean, Valkyrie Elysium? I dunno what other JRPG's are releasing this year

[@Bowflex2480]

@@Hexentric8 ah sorry🤣 trails from zero thats releasing next month

[@alexterieur8813]

Really well articulated review, i enjoyed it! Will definitely pick this up at some point on sales: do you know if playing the first soul hackers is needed to fully understand the game?

[@BacklogBattle]

Not at all! The Phantom Society is an entity in the first game, but only in name. Otherwise, there are no connections between both games

[@DavJoestar]

graphically it's impressive, and I'm very happy that you don't need to talk to enemies, but dungeon-wise it's a huge disappointment and I'm not so sure about buying it anymore, since there is much of the experience in the gameplay

[@BacklogBattle]

Understandable! A colleague of mine asked me if I was bored playing through the game - and I wasn't - so I had to reverse engineer and find the reason why someone would get bored of the game. I found that the dungeon design to be the biggest culprit. That said, I was told its designs were in line with Soul Hackers 1 - but that game was first released on the Saturn/PSOne LOL

[@virtualstring2925]

I'm currently playing through Tokyo Mirage Sessions, does this game have a better quest/objective management system? In TMS, it's hard to keep track what requests, side missions and other things I need to do. What's worse, some of the quests only provide cryptic dialogue so you figure out where to even go, which can be irritating in a long jrpg while it's in a sidequest. Does Soul Hackers 2 do this better, as they are both from Atlas?

[@BacklogBattle]

I think it does things better, yes. There’s still a few obtuse objectives but they’re generally easy to find out!

[@McLort]

I know I shouldn't watch this, because I know I will buy it after and I don't need more games! Thanks for review as always XD.

[@JNCGaming]

I love me some turn based combat Ill be sure to pick it up day 1!

[@OxyNayuta]

Thx for the vid

[@LoneWolfAudio0524]

Really enjoyed the story - issues aside - and loved that for once, there was no silent protagonist. I've always disliked "YOU are the character" tropes. Give me an actual character to play with. The music was good and the voice acting worked well - when it was present. Genuinely did not enjoy the Soal Nexus. Liked it thematically, but the gameplay left a lot to be desired.

[@spectrumbots4268]

The game looks good and this is a solid review on it! I'll be getting it in the future.

[@BacklogBattle]

Thank you so much for watching it!

[@spectrumbots4268]

@@BacklogBattle Anytime!

[@ddrrdd1010]

This seems as a pretty good game, but I decided to wait for persona 5 multiplatform. I don’t have a PlayStation console so I feel this is the most important thing for my Altus journey now as a lot of their games are compared to persona 5 and I sometimes feel that this game is a role model for devs and a masterpiece for gamers. Can’t wait to play it! And then I’ll maybe try this soul hackers 2 game when it goes on sale ;)

[@BacklogBattle]

Maybe it’ll go on Game Pass too, who knows?

[@kian26master]

So other than the convoluted dungeons it's pretty much a go for me. I'm sure I've played worse when it comes the dungeon crawler. Every thing else is up my alley so yup my preorder already locked. Hoping the PC port is great.

[@BacklogBattle]

I'm glad to see this! The stuff they stacked (no pun intended) on top of demon negotiation and fusion is super fun! It's the thing that saved the dungeon explorations for me.

[@gnoclaude7945]

This isn't soul hackers. It's lacking the 90's cyberpunk themes that made it so beloved. This is persona x Tokyo mirage sessions which was just another persona to be fair. I love persona but miss when their other games were unique. This kind of stinks. Smt5 felt same and now this.

[@akiradkcn]

The cyberpunk still there, but yeah gameplay is just poor's man persona

[@keegan289]

Great review, the story looks cool and stylish kinda like every persona game might pick this up after xenoblade 3. Its to bad the dungeons looked kinda weak my favorite persona game was 4 so doesn't bother me to much if gameplay is good

[@BacklogBattle]

I think the big difference is that P4’s dungeon floors are significantly smaller and help control the pacing of the dungeon. SH2’s floors are massive, as shown

[@Beavernator]

Seeing this, make me want a true modern remake of Strange Journey...

[@akiradkcn]

It doesnt need one, Redux is already enough

[@Beavernator]

@@akiradkcn I'd like more modern dungeons... Some of the later ones are confusing as heck...

[@Danny-px4oi]

Thanks for the review U have my 👍 Sadly im skipping this one Most of the issues i was worry turn out to be true so yeah maybe ill get it later on a discount

[@BacklogBattle]

I think the PC version is 20% off, but understandable!

[@DarkAlkaiser]

Personally, I found this games art style gorgeous. I love it. The only issue I find with it's art is the places you go. They are lifeless and very depressing. I'd rather go to a place in SMT on SNES over any hallway in this game, and that's very very sad. I think this game got rushed, no necessarily low budget. That's the only reason I can see the dungeons were so clearly half finished feeling.The fact that they aren't proedurally generated every time you go in, doens't mean they weren't procedurally generated at the time of creation and then locked in place, like numerous bethesda games have done. I think that's exactly what was done myself. I found this game VERY disappointing, but I really hope they don't take it's poor performance as a reason to not make Soul Hackers 3, I think they can really improve this if they take feedback in a sequel.

[@JuliaSin]

Saizzo is the adult that needs an adultier adult lol

[@AshXXMayftw]

Eh, after playing through Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and enduring Chapters 5 and 6, and the ending, I need something simpler.

[@BacklogBattle]

Is that a good thing for Soul Hackers 2? 😅

[@AshXXMayftw]

@@BacklogBattle Yes. XD I don't believe that being simple is a bad thing. If it's fun to play and has decent characters, chances are I'll enjoy it.

[@lucianofutemma]

Maybe they went too oldschool with the dungeon designs.

[@BacklogBattle]

I was told that the dungeon designs are in line with the first game, which was released on the Saturn and PlayStation 😂

[@dnaseb9214]

I enjoy playing this game more then persona 5 royal. Persona 5 has too much story and cutscenes and not enough gameplay. Soul hackers 2 has more enjoyable characters and more gameplay.

[@JamesBantz]

I'm also thrilled to have another JRPG with adults. It is really nice to have protagonists I can relate to more ( Thinking of Yakuza Like a Dragon)

[@MrDarksol]

Yeah that's what got me into this game immediately the fact that we have adults as the main characters and not teenagers for the 100th time is really a huge I'm gonna buy this game. Don't get me wrong you can write good teenage protagonists but when it comes to SMT it's been a bit repetitive to say the least.

[@Gchampion89]

Same here, as much as I love the high school settings in the other games, it does feel good to see these stories from adults perspective. Just because we are no longer in school does not mean we stop growing and learning new things

[@pawnpure123]

Yeah I really like the banter between the cast, being in my 30’s it makes it much easier to relate to.

[@iamergoproxy3476]

I see you are a man of culture

[@expat8460]

Seems to be a common thing in jrpg. Western rpg don't tend to have teens as protagonist that much.

[@teddycheddar1114]

As someone whose only experience with this series is SMT4, I look forward to adding this to my backlog, where it can squeeze in between Persona 5 and SMT5. I’m actually glad that they all have their differences! Though boy howdy, that dungeon design, yeesh. Great video as always! I haven’t been watching your channel for the longest time, but you really are becoming a master of the reviewing craft, in my opinion.

[@BacklogBattle]

Thank you so much for the compliment! I've been changing and mixing it up ever since I started the channel, so I'm glad to see that you've been enjoying the little changes I've been implementing!

[@zevzero]

Going to watch whole video after work but watched the closing. Great video and I am really excited to play Soul Hackers 2.

[@wolf0491]

Game is sounding great. cannot wait for it to show up soon. I think it will be nice to have main characters that are adults. Have played many a game where its contantly the "adults" destroying the world lol

[@BacklogBattle]

That's a breath of fresh air indeed!

[@Ock_mantis]

I'm mostly excited to finally play a smt game that's not persona and That's not on Nintendo. For me that's a big deal. It is a shame it isn't on persona level in terms of quality. I really didn't want another game in another school setting tho lol. If this game is a means to try new things. And potentially bring about new ideas within the series I'm all for it's existence. I just hope by the time the credits roll I don't feel like I was ripped off.

[@BacklogBattle]

I personally don't think I was. I always ask myself if the game I'm playing was worth paying full price for, despite getting it for free. And I think I set some pretty good expectations of what the game experience will be like through the review. Provided that you're ok with everything I mentioned here, you should be fine!

[@Ock_mantis]

@@BacklogBattle fare enough. When it comes to stuff like this I'm more prone to listen to your opinions more then others, you say its solid, then I'm confident all will be well. You haven't let me down yet.

[@robstramma]

I really love the structure of your review, starting with the thing that most people would be interesting in and working your way through new and noteworthy parts. Especially as opposed to some checklist reviews that just focus on story, gameplay, and graphics, your reviews are such a breath of fresh air! Even though I seldom have the time to play video games, I really enjoy your reviews so much! Thank you for all the work you put into them :)

[@BacklogBattle]

I'm not a fan of checklist reviews at all, so the fact that you identified that is super cool to me! And thank you for watching my reviews! It really means a lot!

[@eastcoasttone3952]

I💚Ringo

[@Hexentric8]

Call me crazy but I'm not getting this just because it's called Soul Hackers 2. If it had like a subtitle I would have gotten it... now it would seem so random on my trophy list and my OCD won't allow it 😅😵

[@BacklogBattle]

hahaha I can totally relate

[@HybridAngelZero]

While I don't think I'll be able to get it day one, SH2 is absolutely gonna be finding a spot in my collection. Bland dungeons isn't a thing that ever really bothers me, especially when the rest of the visual style is so stunning. And it is nice to see more RPGs about adults. Even though characters being in high school, or high school age, certainly isn't a deterrent, it's always refreshing to see a series expand into new potential stories and themes.

[@BacklogBattle]

Very true! I think there’s a wealth of experience to be had with a more mature cast!

[@Gchampion89]

Can't wait for my birthday, my black is going to get huge

[@BacklogBattle]

You're gonna have a blast!

[@dblsomeday]

Really enjoyed the review! The best I’ve watched so far. I’m going to buy the game (maybe even tonight), but the dungeon design is just sooo disappointing. It doesn’t necessarily turn me off from the game, I enjoy dungeon crawling quite a lot, but I was really hoping for them to have some more life to them so I can enjoy them even more. With all that said, I really hope this game does well so we can get more and maybe that can result in SH cementing itself as a big dog next to the others. And I think it will…as long as it can find its own identity.

[@hoihoi13]

I got this one game pass this week and bought smt5 on sale too. Started playing both at the same time and I feel in term of dungeon design smt5 is actually quite boring too? After play both for a few hours I actually kind of miss soul hacker 2 a little more, am I strange to feel that? I need to pick one to focus on finishing please give me your thoughts🙇🏻‍♂️

[@BacklogBattle]

I don’t think it’s strange! Soul Hackers 2 has a lot more character development than the more gameplay focused SMT V, so I’d say stick to this one!

[@hoihoi13]

@@BacklogBattle thanks man! Your channel deserves more love

[@armandof6453]

I really wish Atlus had given SH2 a bigger marketing push. When it was first announced, all I thought to myself was "oh, neat. Guess I'll play it sometime", vaguely remembering the first game. But the more I saw about it, the more my interest grew. The thing is, I had to go looking. Where the marketing cogs for it in japan never quite stopped, posting video after video, it feels like the west barely got anything to help spark interest in what SH2 is doing differently and what makes it special and worth playing. Especially with the forthcoming and long anticipated persona ports coming later this year, I suspect a lot of people will find themselves making a tough choice and I fear that Soul Hackers 2 may suffer for it. Of course I hope I'm wrong because I've become very interested in this game and want it to be great and do well despite its apparent flaws. But it's hard to deny that SH2 is fighting an uphill battle.

[@BacklogBattle]

As long as there are fans like myself who are willing to go to bat for these games, they'll be in good hands! I also appreciate that I went the completely different route in my review than every other review out there, definitely helping out more fans in the process!

[@kian26master]

Apparently based on what I've heard Sega put no marketing dollars behind it. All marketing was done on Atlus' KZbin channels (both Atlus Tube and Atlus West) and their website. While I don't know if it's exactly true it is a shame. However I think Soul Hackers 2 have garner enough attention to sell decent all things considered.

[@gilded_lady]

I'm about halfway through, and for what it is meant to be, I think its an 8 out of 10. I think the lower budget comments come from two places: the fact that this was done in Unity vs Unreal (SMT V) or their own proprietary engine (P5) and that the dungeons are so empty. Given how much care is usually given, it just feels like there was cost cutting there. That said, I *love* the art style and would love to see more of it.

[@BacklogBattle]

I understand the comments about the engine change, but I should point out that technically, the dungeon quality *is* on par with the first game in terms of aesthetic diversity and design. It does make me wonder if they just thought it’d be ok since it’s keeping with the original game

[@gilded_lady]

@@BacklogBattle That's an interesting thought, but not an excuse that makes sense given that the original game was 1st person and developed 25 years ago so had hardware limitations that we just don't have now.

[@akiradkcn]

7 out of 10 at MAX for me

[@netherfire50]

I wanted to see a review of this game to see weather I should bother making the jump. And yeah, no. There is a lot of cool things that I can see in here, but maybe give it a sequel and maybe things might see more approachable. Plus the mature audience is within my range, Im at the age where Im only really jumping into a mature world now. Maybe in a few years, I can relate to some of these characters more, but for now at least, Ill wait until maybe a more interesting story gets intergrated. I dont mind the dungeon design though. Could be better in the sequel

[@wndbreak]

Finished the game today and I must say Solid Review

[@NachtKaiser666]

I'm still really looking forward to play it next week!

[@bobbywrtm]

I think in terms of dungeon, Soul Hackers 2 have the same problem with Astral Chain.... Both of the game have beautiful looking city/hub but when the protagonist moves to the dungeon/other realm.... They are lacking in personality in design

[@BacklogBattle]

Not a bad comparison!

[@MrDarksol]

Wow this game feels very divisive. On the one hand the dungeons for the story feel very very drab and boring when compared to say SMT5 and persona 5 but on the other hand you can do way more with everybody than you could with any of the persona games namely Persona 3, 4 and 5 meaning you get more room to customize your characters like with Digital Devil Saga. And the fact that we have adults that are playable which is something we will probably never ever ever ever ever get in a persona game ever again with the exception of one character from strikers, I'm willing to stomach the generic and drab dungeon design if it means we finally get adults as playable characters. And that's the keyword here these are characters that actually do develop from what it sounds like and not just because we are teenager and therefore we have to fully develop them because the story can't. Instead they do develop in the story but they also develop in that soul matrix thing which already feels like a way better version of the momentos mess from persona 5 because this actually has something to do with developing the characters rather than just feel like filler. Plus at least the demons do seem to get a little bit more character development pretty much like what they do in the mainline SMT games but the humans also get the development that they should get in the mainline games but not limited to just the persona games. So that is a good amount of improvement and the game play while it does borrow stuff from both mainline and persona it does just enough of its own thing that again with the exception of the dungeons at least everything else is still intact except for the fact that there's no demon negotiations in this one which I am totally cool with that because going through persona 5 and SMT5 with demon negotiations and getting mad that I didn't get anything that I wanted was very very very upsetting. Good to see that this game took a page from devil survivor 1 and 2 in terms of how easy it is to get demons for the most part lol. Overall I'm still gonna be looking forward to getting this game because I am so burnt out from persona 5, I gave up on SMT5 because I just wasn't really yelling on anything from the characters and also the feminine main character did not help at all and I just beat Xenoblade Chronicles 3 so this will be a good time sink. Also the other reason why I'm getting this one ringo looks pretty I do love the design of everything and the fact that she can speak is already a huge step in the right direction lol. Nice early access code review of the game Alex!

[@BacklogBattle]

Thanks! Glad to be able to review this early too!

[@AzureIV]

This video was recommended because I just watched RamZaes' review. This is good stuff. I have liked, subscribed, commented, and will need to watch your other videos.

[@BacklogBattle]

Thank you so much! I do hope to read more of your comments in the future!

[@lavayuki]

Im a fan of Persona, and also loved the slightly similar Caligula games so this game is one on my to play list for sure. The dungeons don’t look great, but I always loved character episodes and choosing dialogue

[@BacklogBattle]

That’s a good comparison actually!

[@RyderTZ]

I'm glad to hear/see it really tries to make itself different from Persona/SMT (My only experience is with Persona though). That was one of my worries, with P5 having such a huge splash and all. A shame about the dungeons like many have said... I'll probably play on hard difficulty. Some questions below... 1: WIthin the city area, is there any other activities? Like some minigames? 2: Was your 60 hours just in one playthrough or does that include new game+? Great review!

[@BacklogBattle]

Great questions! 1. No minigames. There's stores and fusion. 2. Just one playthrough. I've heard others finish the game within 40 hours

[@76golong73]

Excellent review as usual, Alex! I am, admittedly, super hyped for this game. I LOVE the Persona series, but I want Persona to be Persona, and Soul Hackers to forge its own identity. From what I've seen and heard, it seems like that's exactly what the dev team is trying to accomplish. Yeah, the dungeons do seem drab (I felt like Tartarus was really drab also, especially after fighting your way up hundreds of floors) but otherwise I'm loving the presenation and style of this game. Can't wait to play!

[@BacklogBattle]

I think what makes Tartarus ok with me is that it actually had a point, despite having hundreds of floors. It was deeply part of the storytelling, and not just a locale. That said, I welcome the experimentations the team has made and I hope others can appreciate what they're trying to do here as well!

[@_2D_]

I've put 5 hours into the game so far. There's a lot that I'm liking so far, especially the fact that it bucks some of the more common trends that have been set by other JRPG's such as Persona. -Your entire team is assembled in the first few hours of the game, no need to wait 60 hours and 4 dungeons later to have your entire group. It made the game feel streamlined and focused. -No need to upgrade/decorate your base. That just gets exhausting. (Looking at you Scarlet Nexus) -Not having to worry about romance. I don't have to worry or stress about the correct dialogue choices, the game presents Soul Levels in a clear and easy way. I also find non-romance relationships far more interesting. I also find the game's presentation much more subdued. Persona, as gorgeous as it is, is a constant barrage to the senses. Yes, this game does have bright, vibrant colors. But things are less hectic and feel really smooth. The quiet and almost haunting piano pieces in the dungeons also came as a welcome surprise. I feel like it all adds to the more adult vibe this is going for. Hopefully the game continues to get better as I play, because I think it would be cool if this acted as a third pillar to Atlus' JRPG repertoire.

[@BacklogBattle]

Definitely keep me updated on this! I appreciate reading your thoughts as you play! And you are right that the dungeon music and the subdued nature of the presentation adds to the maturity that they’re trying to hit.

[@vladik87]

Thank you for the review. I was wondering what this game would be like, and I think you described it well. Sounds like it’s carving out its own identity and it has, but some players may miss the mark. I’m just speculating since I haven’t played, but this is what your review conveyed.

[@BacklogBattle]

You've nailed it!

[@spiritdancer36]

Another great video, thank you. This was a pre-order for me and I’m excited. I will be curious how much the dungeons affect me after SMTV. I was that person that loves the fact that there were only 2 or so dungeons so going back to giant ones may be an adjustment for me. So ready for adult storylines and characters!

[@BacklogBattle]

I think the character stories are great! I love them all!

[@Brandon667x1]

Been waiting on this. Thanks for another great review! I’m looking forward to jumping into this.

[@BacklogBattle]

You're very welcome!

[@Anni_ka]

*sighs* On my wishlist this game goes then xD Now, I'm really confused: people really didn't like the visuals? I think they're absolutely gorgeous!😅 Not the dungeons, for sure, but the demons and characters look great! I just feel sorry for the woman in the red jacket (Milady?), the way her back is bent (e.g. at 9:32) looks like she needs to see a doctor xD Anyhow, I'd definitely be interested in a non-high school setting, with more grown up characters, so I will keep this one on my radar for sure!

[@BacklogBattle]

Wasn't this one of the games you've been looking forward to this month? And yea, I'm just as surprised as you are with people's reactions to the presentation! Not everything can be Persona 5, you know! 😂

[@Anni_ka]

@@BacklogBattle Yes, it was, haha! But I wasn't sure whether I wanted to get it immediately, and I think I will wait for now. I'm trying to be a bit more financially responsible xD Which is such a pity! I like JRPGs for the anime art style, but I wouldn't want all of them to look the same. And I feel like the more saturated colours and somewhat 'rougher' style definitely set this game apart a little, while still maintaining similarities to Persona or SMT 🧐

[@Zuhri69]

Lol, great work. But for me, it's not so much the 'cheap' presentation that deters me. It's how close the camera is during the exploration and the rotating Ringo during the battle transition. It just felt tacky.

[@BacklogBattle]

I think that's reasonable. I'm always of the mind that even though I find a lot of enjoyment in games, if my reviews give you guys insight on whether or not YOU will like the game, then I did my job! That said, I think the day one patch is going to alter things about the camera.

[@Zuhri69]

@@BacklogBattle Lol, noted. Thanks again.

[@kirbdini]

I appreciate this review judging it as its own game. Sounds like you have wording and the structure of your reviews perfected. The clarity in the mic has improved As well. As a fan since 99, atlus hasn't let me down on games they've developed. A few titles published by them missed the mark for me though. I'm glad first person dungeons are gone, at the same time it may have helped the dungeons not blend together.

[@BacklogBattle]

You must’ve heard me at my “I have a new mic and this thing has a crappy filter” phase lol I’m always constantly trying to improve the production quality of my videos, probably more than most

[@kirbdini]

@@BacklogBattle the quality sounds great and stays even. I like to listen to stuff in the car and always notice balance. I've been subscribed since around scarlet Nexus/tales of arise. Always striving for more will help keep the feeling of moving forward and not feeling stagnate

[@azureknight729]

Just got the platinum for the game last night, i had a really good time with it. Great review like always!

[@BacklogBattle]

Congratulations!

[@azureknight729]

@@BacklogBattle thanks! Quick question: do you go for platinums on games you like?

[@BacklogBattle]

@@azureknight729 unfortunately I don’t have the time! I like playing lengthy games, so there really isn’t any opportunities for me to just play one game for a long time, especially since KZbin is my livelihood!

[@sonictelephone1526]

Not playing as yet another high school student is a breath of fresh air and makes it appealing on its own. Much prefer adult characters than high pitched kids 👍 Always tend to enjoy rpgs with a more mature cast. Yakuza 7 for instance.

[@BacklogBattle]

I'd love to see more JRPGs with a more mature cast

[@AwsmNix]

I’m so excited! It’s downloading now and it looks so well made to my personal tastes

[@Aaron-gt2qe]

Great work as always Alex. I scrubbed this to get your impressions since I’ve already decided to experience it myself Looking forward to coming back when I’m done to watch in full 💖

[@lunasteelmaster2799]

I did end up preordering the game off of fanatical, and I loved how you went into such an in depth analysis of the mechanics in this review. The fact that the characters are adults with a mature portrayal is a big deal to me. By the time persona 5 came out I realized that I just didn’t relate to all the melodrama and immaturity of the high schoolers’ coming of age stories. Like I’m 32, give me characters I can relate to! With that being said, I can’t wait to sink my teeth into this game. I’m okay with a straight forward plot as long as the characters are well fleshed out, and to be honest I kind of would rather have narrative complexity come from character interaction than plot twists. I’m curious, though….am I drawing the correct inference in that there’s some pretty deep analysis of the main cast’s traumas? Some of the footage that’s out seems to imply that. Also did they follow the almost shamanic vibes that the first soul hackers title had? Sure it was pretty barebones and tied to mechanical skill acquisition in soul hackers, but as a shamanic practitioner I find it very rewarding to see elements of my faith alive in media these days, even if only a little.

[@BacklogBattle]

Glad to answer that! If I'm understanding what you mean with shamanism and what not, I don't think Soul Hackers 2 has that. That said, there are some deep analysis of the main cast's traumas throughout the game, which are also tied to the Soul Matrix and the Hangouts.

[@lunasteelmaster2799]

@@BacklogBattle Sweet! That's exactly what I was hoping to hear about the character arcs. I'm not upset about a lack of any shamanic stuff but most of the "work" done in that practice is just....well...a dive into your inner world to heal yourself from traumas, so....this is fine, really. I'm really looking forward to the Soul Matrix! This game seems like it's going to be really accessible, and I'm definitely going to be relishing the challenge of Hard mode.

[@lunasteelmaster2799]

@@BacklogBattle Update: the vision quests are exactly the kind of psychospiritual stuff that my wife and I reflect on when we're getting jiggy with our shamanism stuff. Classic Shamanism is all about everything having a soul and modern interpretations of the thought-processes focus on human development and the process of personal ideation. But the fact that they straight up CALL them vision quests make me happy. It's a very liberal interpretation I'm making here but the point is if you have a working knowledge of psychology and belief in a soul you can use reinterpretations of ancient spirituality to grow and develop your sense of self and identity.

[@GG256_]

I loved SH2, but to assume it had anything but a small budget is copium. Im not trying to sound rude or combative, I love smt. The game is presented well, paying homage to the visual novel style environments and characters that literally have no models seen in older smt games, (like the comp smith/ying yang palace lady/cirque de goumaden dude, etc.) but it obviously incorporates this to make use of a “less is more” mentality. I wouldn’t call this an assumption, it’s obvious; it’s not exactly like Atlus or the TMS team were trying to hide this. It was a very fun and fulfilling turn based rpg, but I’d be lying if I said this wasnt sometimes frustrating. Especially in moments like the escape from Iron Mask in the subway. We don’t even get a cutscene to show how the party got away. No dialogue, nothing. We only get a brief scene showing Dr. Mangetsu’s fight, etc. These are nitpicks, but I know what Atlus is capable of. The level design wouldnt have bothered me if it wasn’t inverted and reskinned (east and west shippig district/subways) and literally tacked on worse than a ps2 rpg. I mean the 24th ward looked worse than the Kingdom Hearts Little Mermaid levels on PS2. If they wanted to make a battle centric game, they should’ve made the format entirely based on a visual novel and omitted the terrible levels entirely. It obviously didnt cost even half of what games like Smt5 did to make. All in all I think you reviewed the game very well, and I personally loved the game, but it was not given the same love or attention by Atlus as a real SMT game. I mean hell, like you said, they even took its title away. It was a great game, but definitely not even close to other games like DDS, Strange Journey, Personas, SMT, or even both Raidous. 7.5 out of 10. I still loved it but I have a bias towards smt and jrpgs. Its not for most people.

[@dontdropthatshit]

I have enjoyed my time with the game. Its by no means on the level of Persona 5. I just wish the dungeons were more visually appealing. I got bored walking around from time to time. But the gameplay and characters work

[@BacklogBattle]

I'm with you. It's definitely not at the level of P5 or even SMT V, but the makings of a potentially good new franchise is there. Here's hoping that the next game's ideas get more solidified during production though!

[@omdhdk]

Not sure if I'm entirely sold on this game. It's refreshing to see an JRPG with adult characters but the dungeon design looks so bland. My main critique of Tales of Berseria was the dungeons and this game looks to suffer the same problem. Although I am kinda intrique by an Atlus game with a non silent protagonist. It makes it feel less like the MC is a spectator and more an actual part of the plot imo

[@BacklogBattle]

They didn’t waste that opportunity either, so having a vocal MC actually adds to the story a lot due to her background. It helps dig into the nuances of each relationship

[@omdhdk]

@@BacklogBattle good to know. I mainly play JRPGs for the story anyway. So if the story is great then I can see past some mundane design choices

[@BacklogBattle]

@@omdhdk as I said in the video, the main story isn’t what you’ll be enjoying here, but more of your party’s backstories. So hangouts, Soul Matrix and all that jazz.