As much as I love Persona and have gladly sunk hundreds of hours into the many entries in Atlus’ series of RPGs, a lot of other people actually respect their time. That means they likely haven’t played or finished a Persona game. Thankfully, Atlus made 2022’s Soul Hackers 2 for people who want to experience the joys of Persona and Shin Megami Tensei but who don’t have dozens of hours to spare. The title has been a part of Xbox Game Pass but is leaving on February 29. If this was a Persona title, that timing would mean you shouldn’t even bother getting started with it. But in this case you can—and should—finish Soul Hackers 2 before it leaves Microsoft’s subscription service.
In the spirit of Soul Hackers 2’s brevity, let’s cut to the chase: exactly how long will this game take you to beat. Howlongtobeat.com estimates it takes 31 hours on average to complete the game’s main story. In my experience you can do it even faster, with my own time to credits coming in at closer to 20 hours. And while that still isn’t a breezy under ten-hour game you could finish in a day or a leisurely weekend, it is far better than the Persona series, which takes upwards of 60 hours for any given entry. The shorter run time of Soul Hackers 2 immediately takes down one of the biggest barriers to entry of other Atlus RPGs, making it so you don’t have to deal with the “it gets good after 30 hours” problem.
Even though Soul Hackers 2 might not be the best story in an Atlus RPG, it has its charms, and it’s quick enough that it never feels overly tiring. That has a lot to do with just how refreshing the world and characters of the game are compared to other Atlus RPGs. Acting as a very loose sequel to 1997’s Devil Summoner: Soul Hacker, Soul Hackers 2 is a cyberpunk world dripping with style that melds technology with magic. The characters you control use a computer that looks like a gun to summon devils. That’s badass. You play as Ringo, a sentient AI with the coolest video game jacket ever made as she gathers a group of devil summoners in order to stop the world from ending. The overarching narrative is your run of the mill “save the world” story, but Ringo and company are a fascinating bunch to spend time with and learn more about. While there are no social links like in Persona, Soul Hackers 2 still retains the emphasis on interesting character moments.
The battle system also simplifies the Shin Megami Tensei/Persona experience to make it more welcoming to newcomers. Rather than the fully fleshed-out Press Turn system of SMT, Soul Hackers 2 is a very traditional turn-based combat system. While this makes it somewhat unexciting for Atlus veterans, it is the right amount of simplistic for newcomers. Like everything else in Soul Hackers 2, even if combat isn’t fully to your liking, the game is short enough that nothing ever feels too frustrating. It might not live up to the highs of Shin Megami Tensei and Persona, but Soul Hackers 2 still acts as a nice tasting platter of what an Atlus RPG typically looks like.
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