Demon Slayer-Kimetsu no Yaiba-The Hinokami Chronicles 2 – Game Review

The Hinokami Chronicles 2 – After a series of successes with brands such as Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot nice JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaventhe name CyberConnect2 has become a guarantee for anime adaptations into cinematic fighting games, allowing players to not only control their favorite characters, but also “relive” the most memorable scenes on screen.

By 2021, CyberConnect2 continues to affirm its position when bringing Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba aka Demon Slayer Swordan explosive new pop culture phenomenon, hits consoles with the title The Hinokami ChronicleS. The game quickly made its mark thanks to graphics that closely followed the original, “absolute cinematic” material, and smooth hack-and-slash mechanics, thereby achieving significant commercial success with more than 3 million copies sold globally (as of February 2024), and was even nominated in the “Best Fighting Game” category at The Game Awards 2021.

So will this part surpass its previous shadow, leaving an even deeper mark in the hearts of players? How will CyberConnect2 continue to flourish with the adventures of Tanjiro and friends?

Let’s find out with Vietgame.asia through the following article.

YOU WILL LIKE

Flashy and fiery!

Continuing the essence from the previous part, the battle system of Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles 2 is still the focal point of the experience, and the game company continues to hone it to be both easy to grasp for newcomers and have enough tactical depth for those who like to “dig deep” into combos, cadence and choreograph eye-catching moments like a choreographed match on film.

At its core, the game still retains the familiar “2 vs 2” team fighting mechanism, allowing players to flexibly switch between two Demon Slayer characters using the same health bar or launch support skills with just one button. Meanwhile, the Demon side, in addition to the two brothers Daki – Gyutaro or Susamaru/Yahaba, will fight alone but possess overwhelming strength and the ability to self-heal, making each confrontation between the two sides dramatic and clearly different in approach.

Unlike other “hardcore” fighting titles such as Street Fighter nice Guilty Gearwhich requires good memory and skillful reflexes to execute long combos, Hinokami Chronicles 2 streamlining the attack mechanism down to just three main buttons: normal attack, skills and finish (Ultimate). When coordinated, they create chains of attacks that are both beautiful and smooth, with a combo progress bar displayed to signal when the chain will end before the opponent can recover.

With just two to three buttons, the writer was able to control Zenitsu to rush forward to release the First Form: Pich Lich Nhat Thiem., Throwing the opponent into the air and then slashing rapidly before jumping to finish with Thunderclap, the opponent is constantly kept suspended, “eating” each slash without being able to resist, giving the feeling of mastering the pace of the match which must be said to be extremely “good”!

In another match, when it seemed like he was about to lose to the computer opponent, the writer was able to catch the right “loophole” for the two Great Pillars Giyu and Shinobu to perform the finishing blow in combination with Team Ultimate: Water Breath mixed with Insect Breath, the sword dance interwoven into a performance that was both soft and full of murderous intent, enough to turn the tide in an instant.

And thanks to the fine-tuned machine AI, the experience becomes more balanced. At Normal level and below, the game is suitable for people who just want to follow the plot in Story Mode, while the most difficult level “Very Hard”, requires precision in “timing” rhythm and a smooth combination with defensive techniques such as counterattack (Parry) or dodging (Dodge), vital factors in intense duels.

The Heavy Attack mechanism has also been refreshed: the character will brace and rush straight at the opponent like a distance approach, consuming part of the skill bar and no longer being immune to being broken like in the previous part, forcing the player to calculate more carefully.

But the newest point in this section is the Gear’s internal equipment capabilities: from helping to self-heal when encountering critical damage, reducing skill consumption to increasing the power of each attack, making combat a bit more role-playing (RPG), but you can still turn it off if you want to keep the original experience.

In addition, the number of characters in part two also increased significantly, up to more than 40, and will certainly increase further with DLC. Infinite City and possibly the final chapter against Muzan, which will be released in the future

Most characters can also choose many variations or finishing techniques (Ultimate Art) from Tanjiro Water Breath or switching to Sun Breath, to Ha Tru Muichirou showing off the Sixth Form: Moon Ha Tieu or Seventh Form: Moon Lung.

Continuing the essence from the previous part, the battle system of Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles 2 remains the focal point of the experience

---

A satisfying single-player experience

Unlike the first part, Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles 2 A fiery opening with an unequal death battle between Tanjiro and Upper Huyen Luc Daki. Fire God Vu Khuc’s fiery slashes tore through the tightly wound Blood Demon Magic silk, as if wanting to swallow the unsteady tiled roof of the Engineering Town.

From that fiery “introduction”, the game takes you on a journey to fully recreate the three main stories: “Technology Town”, “Blacksmith Village” and “Great Training Headquarters” in Story Mode – now smoother thanks to the semi-upgraded map exploration part with additional buttons…run fast, a small but “worth it” improvement, eliminating the feeling of sluggishness every time you move in the previous part.

On the way to explore this semi-open map, players will still hunt for small treasures hidden in every corner and collect Kimetsu Point coins to “unlock” emotional memories, or buy favorite costumes and characters (before having to play through Story Mode).

The cutscenes integrated with the main battles are choreographed seamlessly and meticulously, as if watching an anime movie from a 3D perspective. The familiar voice cast and powerful character expressions make every climactic moment come alive.

From the moment Mitsuri’s Charm Pillar danced to behead Hantengu’s dragon head, to the choking silence when Gyutaro remembered Daki’s childhood, or Tanjiro’s lullaby to soothe the demonic force invading Nezuko. Everything is integrated just enough, not too lengthy to interrupt the game’s action but still deep enough to move new players who are coming to Demon Slayer for the first time.

But the brightest point of Story Mode is still the boss battles that are cared for in every frame and camera angle. Every expression, dialogue and sound blend together to create the feeling of living in a top anime episode.

Specifically, after the end of each decisive battle, players will be challenged with a series of QTE (Quick Time Event) buttons. If done correctly, you will enjoy eye-catching, majestic and flashy special effects scenes, perfectly recreating the filmmaking style that made ufotable famous.

In addition to “Story Mode” or playing Online, players can also try and “plow” for more items and passives with other single-player modes such as “Vs Mode” or “The Path of a Demon Slayer”, both practicing skills and reviewing memorable moments from the first episodes to the present.

The brightest point of Story Mode is still the boss battles that are cared for in every frame and camera angle

The most interesting part is the training part with Dai Tru “Hashira Training”, a unique new mode with roguelike style, where you have to lead your team through opponents located in each branching box like on a chess board, accompanied by special fighting conditions (Conditions) such as having to defeat the opponent with more than 80% health left, having to finish with an Ultimate Art move, weighing two health resources and energy bars and finally putting all your strength to defeat Dai Tru.

YOU WILL HATE

Not enough depth, too much regret

Despite fully recreating legendary battles, Story Mode’s Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles 2 still makes it difficult for fans to avoid feeling… disappointed.

The map of iconic areas such as Engineering Town or Blacksmith Village is meticulously recreated down to every tile roof and lantern, but that world is like a gorgeous “stage” just to lead you from one battle to another. The NPCs are lifeless, lack depth, and do not provide memorable interactive moments or engaging “fan service” missions that any fan will enjoy. Demon Slayer Everyone is longing and waiting.

The side quests are mostly monotonous like the original, just walking from point A to point B, activating the “osmotic sense” to look inside the NPC’s mind or finding some lost items somewhere, then returning to answer a few empty, “meaningless” lines.

There are no surprises or creative little stories to bring a new experience to fans of the movie.

It’s worth mentioning that the collection and unlocking system is still disappointingly poor! Kimetsu Points accumulated after many hours of playing can only be exchanged for… avatars, voiceovers and online profile embellishments mainly.

The character costumes do not have any special variations. Besides the school uniforms (Academy), the Pillars only have the option of… turning on/off the Haori jacket. There isn’t a single interesting outfit that makes players feel the reward is worthy. In fact, a gacha game on the phone with the same theme is even more diligent in “indulging” fans, Zenitsu even wears a cool cyberpunk-style “outfit”.

It’s worth mentioning that the collection and unlocking system is still disappointingly poor

---

Untapped potential!

It’s understandable why CyberConnect2 chose to release it The Hinokami Chronicles 2 on the day the episode “Infinite City” was released in theaters worldwide, a clever move that both stimulated demand and “awakened” the anxious fan community. But in return, players still haven’t been able to get their hands on the most powerful characters and top battles of the original: from the breathtaking confrontation with Thuong Huyen Nhat Kokushibou “weighing” all three Great Pillars along with Genya, the death battle with Thuong Huyen Nhi Douma, or even the “final boss” Muzan is completely absent, it’s hard to understand!

For those who are familiar with the way CyberConnect2 divides content according to anime progress, this is not a new thing, but the feeling of disappointment is still inevitable, especially when considering the price of the game at the time of launch, which was not cheap.

It’s like ordering a “delicious feast”, but the chef will only serve the best dish… at the next meal, and of course, you will have to spend more money to… buy DLC for the full flavor.

The graphics aspect also doesn’t leave much of an impression, the game “plays like crazy” with the Unreal Engine 4 engine from the previous part, the performance until the second part is still not completely optimized. The segments moving freely on the map or when the character launches moves with fiery, flashy effects can cause the frame to drop significantly, even on the PS5 Pro that the writer experienced, it is difficult to accept when this is a game designed only for the generation… PS4.

It’s like ordering a “delicious feast”, but the chef promises to serve the best dish… at the next meal, and of course, you will have to spend more money to… buy DLC for the full flavor.