Demons Beware… The Slayer Corps Is Back!

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles 2 is an action fighting game by developer CyberConnect2 and published by Sega. Based on the popular anime series, Demon Slayer 2 picks up immediately after the end of the first game and finds you taking control of Tanjiro primarily, a young member of the Demon Slayer corps.

The story takes place over three arcs, the Entertainment District Arc, the Swordsmith Village Arc, and the Hashira Training Arc. Each arc has a small area to explore and a few sub-quests, as well as many collectibles and kimetsu points, the games currency. Most of the collectibles you find can be used to change your slayer ID or unlock characters alternate versions. Using kimetsu points you can buy new frames, profile pictures, stickers and more. Your slayer ID has no affect on the story, it is purely for other players to see in the VS mode as it will be exchanged with your opponent after your battles. The one type of collectible that will affect your fighting ability in the story mode is gear, you can find and buy all kinds of items to increase your defence or attack power when triggered or recover HP when near death once per battle and so on. You can equip 3 gear pieces per level.

 

The first arc has you fighting alongside your two friends Zenitsu and Inosuke, and you even get to fight as the Hashira, Master Uzui in one of the longest and sometimes frustrating battles of the game. Demons have a class system to show how powerful they are, split between lower rank and upper rank with the demons of each rank being further classified from 1 to 6, with 1 being the strongest and 6 being the weakest. Upper rank demons are trouble for anyone but a Hashira, the demon slayer corps strongest fighters, and your first real battle is against two upper 6 demons. 

In the later arcs you will fight stronger demons, but they didn’t feel as difficult as this first battle, even in the one battle where you fight 3 demons at once. Perhaps that is because the other characters you get to fight as are all Hashira? But probably because I became used to their tactics. Battles often feel like mostly chasing the demon around the field and trying to avoid being air juggled by their attacks, they will dodge swiftly when you get close to them and then throw everything but the kitchen sink at you. They all follow a similar pattern though so if you choose your moments to attack, you can get through most battles without dying once.

If you do die, you have a choice to either restart the battle or you can just continue. If you choose to continue though your mission rank and rewards will suffer. Completing the mini games you find throughout the story will also add to your rank, these consist of pushing the correct buttons in sequence, for example the first one you get to do is as Zunitsu while he poses as a young woman in order to lure out a demon. He plays an instrument and a guitar hero style mini game begins. 

Throughout the story you will get the chance to fight as many different characters, and they will become available to use in the VS mode alongside the demons you defeat. The VS mode boasts more than 40 characters to play as, compared to the originals 18. 

As well as fighting other players in VS, there is a training mode you can use to hone your skills. The game adequately shows you how to fight when you begin, so the training mode isn’t a necessity, but it is useful. In most battles you have a partner that you can bring in for a limited time, either to attack your enemy or support you. I kept forgetting about this until I tried the training mode. The controls are simple to learn with heavy attacks changing depending on whether you are moving or still, and light attack being a single button. You can block attacks, but the demons will eventually break your guard with sustained or particularly powerful attacks. Dodging is your best friend here, but it takes a little getting used to as you do not move far and demons can have some wide reaching attacks.

An Xbox Series X review code for Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: The Hinokami Chronicles 2 was provided by Sega