Shin Megami Tensei : Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers Review

Improvements Implemented
In the 3DS version of Soul Hackers, certain improvements are implemented. With the increased spike of difficulty in Soul Hackers before, those who are struggling with the game’s difficulty can tone it down. Also, the ability to suspend the game to continue later on makes an appearance as well. If you are annoyed to the tank-feel of dungeon crawling aspects, that can be changed as well on the option screen.

NOT

Dated Visuals
For a dungeon crawler game, I must say that this game has one of the most boring designs, though there’s nothing to be expected from a two decade year old game. The dungeons that you get to explore has the same exact shades of grey or blue. The environments that you will get to see are monotonous and the retro feel to it will give players the bored feeling when tackling through countless dungeons. However, the character designs and cutscenes holds up, especially the voice overs that comes with them.

Gameplay Not for Everyone
As mentioned earlier, the gameplay of Soul Hackers depicts the classic style of the series where not everyone will be pleased when they see this. If you are used with the new style of gameplay in other Shin Megami Tensei series like Persona or other games on the PS2 era, it will take a lot of time for you to get used with Soul Hackers. The first person mode exploration will feel akward at first, especially with the monotnous dungeon crawling designs. Give the classic elements of the game to delve into you and it might be worth playing after all.

VERDICT

As a fan of the Shin Megami Tensei series, Soul Hackers is an enjoyable experiences despite the throwbacks included. Sure, everything feels dated when compared to modern games, but the Shin Megami Tensei charms are still present. Those who love high quality graphics might be turned off, though I highly recommend you give it a try, since the core story and gameplay will surely make up for it. While it may not be the best-looking Shin Megami Tensei title, it retains a deep story that fans expect from the series and won’t be disappointed with.

[Editor’s Note: Shin Megami Tensei : Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers was reviewed on the Nintendo 3DS platform. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]