Although 2022 was intended to be the year ofPersona,Atlus has spent a significant amount of time focused on the latestShin Megami Tenseispinoff:Soul Hackers 2, a sequel to anotherSoul Hackersgame that’s over two decades old. RPG fans have had plenty of time to enjoySoul Hackers 2by now, but Altus isn’t through with it yet, as indicated by a major patch for the game that’ll release in November, including a variety of demons and changes to in-game movement. This patch is fairly unusual for Atlus RPGs, soSoul Hackers 2may hint at Atlus' future approach toPersona 6.
The nextPersonagame hasn’t been revealed yet, despite Atlus confirming thatPersona 6is in the works, and Atlus has implied that it won’t revealPersona 6for a while yet. Nevertheless, fans want to know what the game will look like. For the time being,Soul Hackers 2may be the best blueprint available for fans, considering how it already borrows fromPersona’s social systems, despite being closer to theShin Megami Tenseiseries overall. It’s possible thatSoul Hackers 2is intended to act as the bridge betweenPersonagenerations in more ways than one, based on this upcoming patch.
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The Soul Hackers 2 Patch Could Suggest Long-Term Support
Fans ofSoul Hackers 2have a lot to look forward to in the upcoming patch. Atlus will add a Dash function that increasesRingo’s walking and slashing speedsin dungeons, which should help players navigate the Soul Matrix and other locations more quickly. On a similar note, Fast Battles sound like they’ll save players time. Aside from these pacing changes, the patch adds a handful of new demons to the game, including Neko Shogun, Aitvaras, the Egyptian goddess Isis, and a new version of Pixie. These come alongside a range of minor balance and performance changes.
In terms of the game industry,Soul Hackers 2’s patch is pretty standard, making healthy adjustments while offering a bit of new content. However, the patch is unusual for Atlus RPGs. Generally these games stand on their own two feet after launch, rather than receiving entirely new mechanics and summonable beings in the months after release.Persona 5got its share of DLC, but outside of this, Atlus didn’t make a habit out of free updates bringing major changes to combat or exploration.Soul Hackers 2joining the industry trend of downloaded updates that add more content could meanPersona 6will have its own fair share of post-launch support.
Regular updates could be great forPersona 6,especially if it borrows heavily fromPersona 5.For instance,Persona 5’s dungeonsmay have had more personality and engaging mechanics than previous games by largely ditching randomization, but this also hurts their replay value.Persona 6’s dungeons could stay interesting if regular patches from Atlus add more Shadows to each dungeon’s battle rotation. At the same time, occasionally patching new mechanics intoPersona 6would encourage fans to pick the game back up to see how these changes offer a different experience on an additional playthrough.
There are definitely downsides toPersona 6potentially embracing post-launch updates. Not every RPG fan plays with an Internet connection, for instance, and it would be a shame if these fans missed out on major content in the next game. Heavy post-launch support could also be a dangerous temptation forAtlusto release a more bare-bonesPersona 6than usual; patches must only cherries on top of aPersonaexperience that feels robust and complete at launch. Ultimately, the value of post launch support inPersona 6will come down to execution. For the time being,Soul Hackers 2’s patch is at least a good sign that Atlus just wants to build on top of solid RPGs.
Soul Hackers 2is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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