Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers – Intruder

Did You Know?

• The game is set half a year after the events of Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers New Game Plus route.
• It was followed by another mobile Soul Hackers role-playing game by Bbmf, Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers – New Generation, on August 13, 2008.
• The hacker group the Spookies and the demon Nemissa reunite in the deserted Amami City to learn the identity of someone hiding there.

Gameplay

Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers – Intruder is a strategy role-playing game where the player commands digital demons. The game is divided into chapters, each containing adventure parts and battle parts. In adventure parts, the player progresses the story and interacts with characters, making decisions that affect plot progression. Battle parts involve turn-based combat on a tile-based arena, where the player and computer-controlled opponent take turns moving demon units. Each battle has a set victory condition; the battle is lost if all friendly units are defeated. Moving a demon unit consumes electric power points, which are replenished in limited amounts each turn, requiring careful planning. When a demon unit is adjacent to an enemy, it can attack using magical or physical attacks chosen randomly via a roulette wheel. Attack power increases based on the number of tiles captured by the demon's party, achieved by stepping onto new tiles and painting them in the party's color. Captured tiles can only be retaken by defeating the controlling demon. Arenas contain recovery tiles, the only way to replenish health, making them strategically important. The player builds a larger party of demons throughout the game and can fuse multiple demons into stronger ones at Hotel Goumaden with Victor. Each demon has a capacity level, and battles have an upper limit on total capacity of demons brought in.

Reception

Soul Hackers: Intruder was well received by critics. Famitsu and other reviewers appreciated the shift from regular role-playing to strategy role-playing, finding it fresh for players familiar with the original Soul Hackers. The gameplay was commended for its depth, matching that of the original game, and Dengeki Online recommended it to Devil Summoner series fans. The roulette wheel function was praised for adding tension to battles. NLab appreciated the story's handling of the character Nemissa, providing context for her reappearance and appearance, contrasting with her contextless inclusion in Soul Hackers 2. Famitsu liked the setting and the opportunity to return to it.