Soul Hackers 2: Launch Edition (PS4, PS5 or Xbox Series X) Expired

While not as good as the Persona series, this still got decent reviews. Still, I will hold off for a lower price.

70 is still decent IMO

People really be exaggerating how "bad" this game is.

If you play a lot of SMT games and just that as a constant comparison point, you will not enjoy this game. Its a lot easier (not easy, just easier), the game has less budget, and the overall main story is fine but not anything lifechanging (nor does it try to be, see below).

If youre someone looking for a good solid JRPG and aren't some SMT elitist, you will enjoy this game a lot even at $40 (its definitely "worth" $60 even, but I understand many find most games not worth that price anymore).

Music in this game is fantastic. Ringo and the main cast are great characters with dialogue in this game being really engaging and interesting. The overall story looking back isnt fully of too many surprises, but the moment to moment scenes are very well done and its very entertaining to see things unfold. There is a decent amount of grinding in this game if you wanna do a lot of the side content, however the combat is honestly very good turn based combat. Would recommend playing this game passively with a podcast on when grinding side content, as its actually really fun as both a passive and active task. The characters all have interesting dilemmas, and there are interesting relationships the game develops over the course of it. While this game is low budget, the atmosphere, character designs, graphics, and load times are all spectacular. Would not recommend playing the original Xbox One or original PS4 version, they have some framerate issues, but its still playable there. I played on PS5 and PC and it ran great on both.

As for length, Im 50 hours in and not finished. If I wasnt doing side content, I'd probably be 35 hours in. This game is, again, only short if you compare it to other SMT games. I find that is the only way someone could "hate" this game, as even if it isn't for you its a very charming title. There is a free trial for PS Premium members, and I would also say the game gets better the more you play it (there is some weird dialogue pacing in the very beginning that never happens again).

I would imagine SMT fans are also upset because this game carries day 1 plot DLC. Having played this DLC myself, its a nice but not mandatory experience. There is a new main character included, she's cool, and it plays out as a seperate main component alongside the regular game, akin to like a side quest expansion. I think its worth the $8 extra I paid for it, but I understand people's reasons for hating Day 1 DLC and just Atlus's DLC business practices in general. Its definitely its own seperate thing, and Soul Hackers 2 is definitely a complete experience without it, so I probably fall somewhere in the middle: you'll like the DLC if you like the rest of the game and it's definitely worth playing, but if you skipped it that's totally fine too.

Most importantly, if the game's trailers or vibe looks cool to you, than play this game. Its exactly as it is advertised, and Ringo is one of the best main characters in any JRPG I've played. The reviews of this game don't tell the full story, and while their opinions are valid, there is a lot elitism from SMT fans with this release. Would not really use those opinions as proper gauge for this game's quality unless you yourself have played many Shin Megami Tensei games in the past.