Demon Slayer: The Hinokami Chronicles 2 Review

As a newer Demon Slayer fan, it’s been fulfilling watching the series over the last year and seeing what components have caused it to become what I would consider a defining anime of the 2020s. The story’s premise captivated me immediately thanks to the accompaniment of the most endearing cast of characters. But just how well does Demon Slayer: The Hinokami Chronicles 2 translate its riveting story arcs into the videogame medium? 

Demon Slayer: The Hinokami Chronicles 2 features two main modes: Story Mode and VS Mode, with the Story mode focusing on events from the anime, specifically the Entertainment District Arc, Swordsmith Village Arc, and Hashira Training Arc. Each Arc takes place over multiple chapters and allows players to step into the shoes of Tanjiro Kamado and his friends as they overcome the most challenging hurdles.

While a lot of the Story Mode covers the events of the anime, including almost shot-for-shot scenes and dialogue, there is a decent amount of side content in the explorable areas in between to distance the experience from feeling like you’re “re-watching” the story. These explorable areas are lukewarm in enjoyment, feeling quite linear and unfulfilling due to how little you can interact with the environment. There are a few standouts in these areas, though, including Memory Fragments. These allow you to watch clips from the anime, relative to your progress in Story Mode. There are some decent mini-games to digest as well.

The crème de la crème of Demon Slayer: The Hinokami Chronicles 2 are the battles. If you’ve played the first game, it’s largely similar to how the battles were presented in that game. Each character has movesets that are controlled using combos, as well as an Ultimate Art ability. Additionally, partner characters are able to use support skills in battle, which can extend combos and buy you some time to reposition to secure the win. When certain characters are partnered, they may unlock a Dual Ultimate, which involves both characters dealing massive damage to their opponent. You can find or purchase Gear throughout the story and equip it to give you different status effects like boosted attack or nullify negative effects like poison, and even auto-healing. These battles can often feel quite cinematic, especially towards the end of them.

There are a plethora of unlockables, all of which can be earned through both main modes. The more you use a character, the more your mastery with them increases, granting special rewards like cosmetics and profile photos for your Slayer ID (online profile card). The game really forces you to work your way around the character roster and gives you a reason to try the 40+ characters out, something I admire greatly. Kimetsu Points can be used to purchase additional outfits, Ultimate Arts, music tracks, and Slayer ID customisation. Completionists will have their work cut out for them, but that’s not an awful problem to have.

It is so easy for videogames based on anime to get lost in translation when it comes to transforming that iconic art style and animation to a 3D fighter, but Demon Slayer: The Hinokami Chronicles 2 effortlessly creates a visual fidelity that still feels authentically Demon Slayer. Scenes from the anime are retold in beautifully rendered environments with high-quality character models, showcasing both the light-hearted expressions and the focused and emotional expressions the Demon Slayer cast are known for.

I had a pleasant time with Demon Slayer: The Hinokami Chronicles 2, and while I would have liked a tad more deviation from the source material and more compelling side content, this is an easy recommendation to fans of the series or anime in general.