The story of the game follows the events of the Manga/ Anime series. It also acts as a direct sequel and thus it proceeds the events following the Mugen Train. Minor Spoilers for the series!
Path of the Demon Slayer
For anyone who havent played the first game or do not recall the events of Tanjiro and his friends, they can access the Path of the Demon Slayer from the main menu. In there, the players can experience an abridged version of the game and also go through some of the boss battles from the first game. From Tanjiro vs Sabito all the
way to Rengoku vs Akaza. These battles are in the form of Player vs CPU anny unique boss element/mechanic from the first game does not return here. Fully animated and fully voice acted scenes come back as CC2 reused those assets to deliver an experience to help the players catch up.
Swordsmith Village
The story of the game is literally an abridged recreation of the popular series, thus saying its good would be stating the obvious. What i will say, is that the effort put by CyberConnect2 is commendable. They recreated locations, expressions and actions that are one on one recreations of the series.
Despite keeping some of things out of the game the key elements and structure of the story is clear. Additionally there are collectables called Memory Fragments. These fragments are small cutscenes that use still images from the animated series with characters narrating the events that the fragement covers.
Furthermore, there are characters fragments whose goal is to form a better image for certain characters. For example, a fragement explains how Muzan sees Daki. Another thing worth mentionning is that the small chapters that act as abridge between the two main arcs fill in alot of details and also show other heroes
acts. For example, during Tanjiro's recovery from the swordsmith Village, Zenitsu who wanted to spent more time with Nezuko was constantly interupted to deal with normal demons whilst Inosuke was teaching his name to Nezuko. These small side quest/stories add realism and it was somehting i appreciated.
The game is fully voice acted with the exception of some sidequest and it does a great job narrating the events of three main arcs in 8 hours more or less.
let me start with this, The game took everything that worked in the first one and improved on them in every possible way.
Demon Slayer The Hinokami Chronicles 2 is a 3D Anime fighter that blends action adventures elements, beat em up elements and some strategy elements in the main story.
Story mode:
In story mode, the player controls mostly Tanjiro. In each chapter, the game usually begins with long cutscenes before dropping the player into a sandbox area where they can freely move around. During these sections the player can see the main objective in the (mini)map as well as scattered collectables. Unlike before
CyberConnect added a Sprint button which makes exploration much more fun. The player can jump ontop of buildings to further explore the area making most of the collectables reward the effort. Rainbow stones usually reward a story/collectable of certain character where as book elements are usually things the player will have memories of and
will unlock a character scene. For example, Zenitsu having flashbacks from seeing the tea cups used when trainning with Kanao. Long goes the long stretches where the player simply held forward. In some areas, the world has blue exclanation marks(!) that act as side quest. All of these, are usually interactions with NPCs or with items.
Completing them will unlock items in the archives. Once again, Cyberconnect enchanced these experiences by taking advantage of the heroes unique abilities. For example, as Tanjiro, you can smell the path to a certain item lost, or smell the aura of the NPC when searching for a Happy/Angry/Worried person. As Zenitsu, the player can use his
sensitive hearing to find where the thing you re looking for is comming for. As Inosuke, you break everything. A Minimap is positioned on the top right that shows everything available and can also be brought up as full screen.
The Boss encounters are by far one of the best parts of the game. These encounters are all unique with unique gimmicks. During these, the game uses the 3D arena format, however the damage dealt to the Boss is not the same as the ones found in the PVP. The bosses usually power up for an attack. Whilst charging a red AoE will flash indicating the area which the enemy will strike allowing you to dodge or
block. Some have unique gimmicks like Gyotaru releasing poison around the area or Hantengu having his split personalities assisting him. In most of these, the player will be given certain commands and objectives to counter. After the player delivers a certain ammount of hits the demons/slayer(Trainning Arc) eneter
berserk mode visually represented with a red aura. During that, hurting them will be hard and stunning them out of the question. Usually the player should avoid the hits by dodging or blocking. These hits deal more damage than the usual one. Last but not least, main plot encounters usually conclude with a cinematic takedown. Once the final hit is delivered, a cinematic will begin to play with quick time
events for the player to respond. Failing or clicking the button will not cancel the animation or deal damage to the player, everything will go as scripted with the only negative output being a bad rank at the end.
New to story is the Horde mode/Hack and slash moments. During the story certain heroes went againts multiple hordes of demons. Given how horde mode was implemented in Dragonball kakarot DLC and how well received it was, CyberConnect2 had to included them in Demon Slayer Hinokami Chronicles 2. During these sections the players control scheme is the excact same as any PVP/ PVE encounter however since the
player's combo hit multiple enemies at the same time their special bar is gainned much faster allowing the player to easily undergo the second awakenning. Usually in Horde mode, the players is proceeding through a map until they get locked in a place. There, alot of demons will appear, a number with a bar will be depicted in the top right indicating the ammount needed to be slayed before the blocked path is unlocked #
allowing the player to proceed to the next area.
Another new Story addition which can also be used in a normal PVP is the Gears. These Crests act as a passive abilities which trigger automatically during battles. For example theres a a Gear that allows the player to be resistend to poison, which can help againts Gyutaro. Other less specific Gears exists that can boost the players damage, defense, skill gauge recovery and others. Some re triggered by simply losing life,
such as recover HP when life drops below 80%. the player can equip up to three gears at a time, however, some gears are better than others and thus their cost takes multiple spaces, either two or in extreme cases all 3. The player can create up to three presets but only one will be active at a time. These Gears can also be used online but by default the game will search games without using them and similarly competitive does not
allow you to use them. Gears are obtained through story mode, by exploring in story or by purchasing them from the store.
Basic Battle:
The first thing that everyone will noticed by one quick look is that theres a total of 46 characters on release. The roaster will be increased with incomming DLC characters most likely from the movie Infinity Castle Part 1. Aside from the additional characters, more maps were added since more of the story was covered incomparisson to the first game. Characters that were included in the first game are brought back here despite
not bein covered in this games story such as the flame hashira Rengoku, Upper rank 3 Akaza, Lower rank 5 Rui and others. All of the returning heroes received balance changes and some of them also received an additional ultimate which can be selected during the character selection screen. Some of the heroes can go solo againts opponents and on the other hand, some demons who used to be solo can now be partnered with another demon(Gyotaru & Daki).
The general battle gameplay the mechanicks are easy to pick up but have a decent depth that allows for a more competitive gameplay. The formula in these are 2 vs 2, 1 vs 2, 2 vs 1 or 1 vs 1. The idea is, if a player chooses to play as a human/Demon Slayer character(the exception being ealry Nezuko) then the player must choose a supporting character, however if they choose a demon then they can only play as
that one character. Solo characters are depicted with a human logo next ti their portrait. This is because in the series, Muzan never allowed his Demons to work in pairs, in fear that if his demons ever developed teamwork, they might try to work againts him. However, playing as one or two characters doesnt make much of a difference, as the same mechanicks exists. For example, the Health bar shared for both heroes. When under attacked, the player
can call for an assist which will bring the ally in the field to grap and push away your character. During Neutral or during on of your combos, the assist button will call the ally to either begin the combo, start the pressure or even expand the combo. Holding down the assist button will change between the heroes. A yellow bar next to the heroes profiles indicate the availability of the assist. When used it starts to recharge. Demons on the other
hand, dont have allies and thus a solution was made to keep them balanced. When comboed, the same assist/escape from harm mechanism exists with the demons themselves leaping away and ally assist are replaced with extra special attacks.
When entering the battle field, the player can execute light combo attacks by mashing the attack button. Different combos can occured by mashing the attach combo and a direction. Holdind down the attack button and a direction can deal a heavy strike. This strike usually charges and grants small shields allowing you to tank some hits before delivering your blow. Ofcourse, a special attack will knock you out of your stance.
Special attacks can happen by using a different button. Each character except demons have three special attacks. These are triggered with the the button it self, the button and a direction or a combination of two. Below The heroes HP bar, theres a blue bar which indicates the energy to unleash specials. The bar fills slowly on its own, by using combos, being hit or leaving your character alone to start inhaling. A jump
button exist that allows the player to attack from above, or expand their combo into an aerial compact. The dash button can be used to dodge any incomming attack or when held down, the player will rush towards the opponent. When perfect timed, the dash block can be used to cancel your own combo in order to expand the combo further. A small circle will appear next to the characters comboing, indicating how long the combo can expand.
Defense wise the player can hold down the block button. A visual indications shows how many blows the character can block before being stunned. When guarding a blue shield appears that turns red with each blocked hit. When turned red it can break causing the stunt. The block button with a direction can parry the upcomming blows allowing the player to punish the other.
Additionally the block button and the two offensive buttons can allow the player to use the special or perform a grap. The assist heroes can also be used in battle. In neutral or during your combo, you can call the 2nd character to either expand or begin the combo. Holding down the button in neutral will swap the characters and new to HC2 is holding it down during an
attack will not only swap the heroes but also expand the combo. When under attacked, the player can call in the assist to come and push the player out of harms way.
Another thing to keep in mind, is the surge bar that fills in during battle. It fills by using combos, blocks and over time. The surge bar can be filled up to two times(2 stacks) however the player can use them at any time. The most common usage is that of performing the ultimate. The ultimate attack is a cinematic move that deals a great ammount of damage. It can be used in neutral or even within a combo. Be aware that
some ultimates are chasing the opponent whilst others simmply strike infront of them. New to Hinokami Chronicles 2 is the Dual Ultimate. Some heroes when grouped together can perform an attack where they join forces. Usually the dual ultimate is much stronger, however, it consumes two surge bars instead of one. When selecting a hero from the character roaster, a chain symbol will appear on some's portrait indicating that
these characters can be partnered up.
The other usage of the bar is to boost the characters strength and abilities. When boosted the characters runs faster, deals more damage and attack even faster. Its visually indicated with the characters being surrounded within an aura. Each strike of a normal combo also creates an aura of the characters breathing style. Eg Rengoku/Tanjiro have flames comming out of their swords where as Urokodaki, Giyu, Tanjiro(early), Sabito etc have water.
If the player has 2 bars, he can boost and enter surge mode. Entering surge mode, triggers a cinematic where the heroes usually actiivate their breaths and suround their blade with their breathing style as well as their surrounding area. For example, Rengoku will glow orange from boost and his blade with be surrounded by flame, where as Muichiro will cause Mist to appear around the area covering Muichiro. Each strike is also escorted with stunning
visuals and boost every single element even beyond that of a single boost. Here is where Demons also differ as they do not have a breathing style. Boost is the same however surge acts differently. Instead of having breathing
styles infused with their attacks they simply regenerate lost life over time.
Battles usually last 3 rounds. Winning two games in a row, doesnt matter as a third game can still occur if both players decide to do so. The boost bar and its counts continues into the next battle so feel free to keep them if not necessary. For example, if you have an ult, dont spend it because the enemy will die either way and instead keep it in order to use it next round.
As i mentioned earlier in this review, this game perfected everything from the first game. Story wise, they made the free roamming sections fun an worth exploring. Simple stuff like a sprint button and a jump button made these sections fun to manuver and worth spending time in order to explore and get all of the collectables. The heroes unique abilities although mostly used in side quests were great editions and way better than the simple fetch quests of the first one. Horde mode was once again a nice edition that not only offered "fresh mechanics" it also gives you the feelings of being badass. The unique boss battles make their comeback and once again offer a nice variety of attacks to dodge unique to those demons. These boss fights cannot be recreated outside of story mode. Furthermore, the PVP which if being honest is the reason many will continue to play is the fact that all mechanics have been improved and enchanced. From new ultimates, to combo mechanics with the heroes, to having the assist options further impove everything seems to gone a step further to the right. The expanded 46 roaster offer alot of variaty whose quality is also top notch.
Demon slayer the Hinokami Chronicles 2 seems to also improved the Solo content but not by much. First of all, the most grindy one is collecting all of the collectibles. In story mode the player can collect three types of collectables that cant be found elsewhere. These are the Side Quests given by NPCs, the Hinokami Records that are indicated as books in the minimap and finally the Memory Fragments which are depicted as rainbow gems. Aside from these, the player will have to collect other stuff like all the Gears, Music Tracks, Quotes, Stamps, profile photos, decorations and frames. These ones can be obtain from the store or re rewarded by playing the game. The player can also replay the minigames found in story mode. Additionally, the player can do Paths of trainning. Here the player can choose a Hashira to undergo trainning with and then they re placed ona board with the selected Hashira waiting at the end. Each path has encounters with objectives such as clear with more than 80% HP wich reward passive gears active throughout the run. Some paths lead to collectables and eventually a hashira encounter will occur. The bread and butter of the game exists in the Online and Offline multiplayer. the player can go againts friends and strangers competitively or simply for fun/ trainning. Arcade(P1vs CPU) theres a Survival mode in which the player go againts enemies none stop slightly healling after each encounter.
One thing that is true is that this game is gorgeous to look at. CyberConnect2 is famous for delivering amazing quality cutscenes and they did this game justice. Its even more good looking than the first one. In fact people like to compare it to the actual animated series, thats how good looking it is. As mentioned, Ufotable did work closely with Cc2 providing them with advices, key arts and others.
Throughout the story theres plenty of details in the presentation of the characters and the locations. I ll quickly mention that the Memory Fragments took screenshots from the series and used them to give a brief context to the players. During boss battles, the unique demons mechanics are easily visible and cleverly design the abilities of the enemy.
In normal battles online the game once again its stunning with beutiful effects during each combo. The awakening of each hero activates the heroes beathing which will surround the blade with effects making each hit look far more impressive and impactfull worthy of
each damage boost. The Ultimates are fantastic, with unique camera angles, alot of actions and amazing effects. However, these looks despite looking fantastic, can sometimes hide the action or the parry window. Since the camera of the game is usually placed behind the character, any massive attack effect(Like Rengokus/Tangiro's Tengen.. Δ attack) creates an
effect that people can side step or counter, however the action would be hidden from you leaving you open for an attack.
On the sound department the game doesnt dissapoint and sticks to the roots of Demon Slayer. Some Osts are straight out of the series whilst others are completely unique. Theres plenty of songs to unlock in the Archives and enjoy. Every originl voice Actor returns to reprise their roles for both the Japanese Audio and ofcourse the Dub. I played the game in English this time around and honeslty if you were to tell me that
the voice recordings were taken straight from the anime i would believe you, as i recently rewatched the entire series from start to finish in dub. The actors seemed to have done a good job. Last but not least the sound effects from the blades and attacks are satisfying to hear as landing
the normal combo and then fusing a special make those sounds that you feel the impact.
In conclusion, Demon Slayer The Hinokami Chronicles 2 is the vast improvement of the first game. It allows the player to experience the main story of the series from the beginning of the Entertainment District all the way to the Hashira Trainning arc. However the narrative is given more through an Abridged Version that can be completed within 8 hours which is very commentable. There are Memory Fragments that can fill in the blanks left from the story Mode. The cutscenes of the game are full of energy and detail on the characters expressions and models. Gameplay wise, the game is simple to follow and for everyone to pick up and play with some mechanics allowing it to be more competitive. Additions to story were added that made the game much more fun. Visually the game is stunnng as special effects and unique camera angles that will make the game stand the test of time. Audio wise, the original cast return and make an excellent job. Different songs were also made that do the series justice. The game has an amazing character roaster size with many of the existing ones receiving balannce changes and new ultimate attacks whose animation is top notch. Additionally, the game was made mostly for online but offline also received decent new modes. Upon completing the game, the player can only play againts the bots in versus mode and in Trainning where all the missions. Theres alot of collectibales(not the ones in story mode) which are alot and makes collecting them a hussle to grind. Practice mode is also lacking on content which cannot benefit the player on trying to master actions similar to other fighting games. Overall, Demon slayer Hinokami Chronicles 2 is an overall improvement in every department(Story, Gameplay, Single player experience, Audio, Visuals etc). It feels like a complete package and theres even more goodness comming in the form of the infinity Castle DLC. As of now we do not know if its gonna be packed with story or simply heroes.
This is a video of me reviewing the game