Step into the shoes of the Demon Slayers once again in Demon Slayer – The Hinokami Chronicles 2. Take control of different characters and dive straight into the action across the Entertainment District, Swordsmith Village, and Hashira Training Arcs. Fight against a friend with a roster that contains some of the most powerful characters. Train your fighting skills and unleash powerful combos that leave your enemies reeling in pain.

Gameplay is intense and encourages you to draw on every mechanic to succeed. Playing through the story mode gives you an immersive experience that doesn’t skimp on the details. Despite having details on past story arcs, it’s hard to catch up if you aren’t familiar with the series. Story chapters are also short, leaving the other modes to pick up the slack. Veterans will enjoy the combat and character selection, but it’s not a good starting point for new fans.

Demon Slayer – The Hinokami Chronicles 2 follows the story of Tanjiro, Nezuko, Zenitsu, and Inosuke. Having fought a few powerful demons and seen the sacrifice of others, they embark on a new mission. One mission leads to an encounter with the Upper Rank demons, drastically changing the balance of the world. Bolstered by the results, the Demon Slayers Corps prepares for even fiercer conflict to come.

The events take place towards the second half of the story. It’s been a long time since I touched Demon Slayer since the series conclusion, but the game included lots of detail. Each story arc has enough time to remind you of the major events without skipping crucial details. What I enjoyed was the detail put into the story arcs. It’s easy to scrap speeches or characters from important scenes, but the game doesn’t do that.

This results in an immersive story mode that captures the feel of an anime show but lets you participate in the action. It helps that the boss fights aren’t as simple as button-mashing; you must watch your opponent’s moves and think about chaining combos. I underestimated the enemy several times, but I felt the pressure of the situation, that drive to win. That drew me into the story just like when I saw the manga or anime for the first time.

Gameplay takes place in a 3D fighting arena reflecting various settings from the series. There are no obstacles or destructible objects; just you and your enemy. You use various fighting techniques and chain them into combos to make your enemy helpless. Call in your support allies to help you out or even take your main fighter’s place to vary your strategy. Using boosts or additional techniques can turn the tide if an enemy is pressuring you.

The key to victory often involves chaining techniques and support moves together into long combinations. While regular attacks are effective, the game pressures you to utilise the full extent of a character’s arsenal. This means learning a move’s characteristics to use it to the fullest. Even if you have a favourite character and only want to use them, it helps to learn what other characters are capable of.

This was a learning process I wasn’t used to since many fighting games I’ve played often involved two combatants fighting each other. Using a support character to extend my combo chain or switch in for an injured fighter was fun to work with. It took some time to adapt, but soon I was switching in fighters and boosting my combos after a few hours. It drives the point that Demon Slayers work together, and you’re stronger as a team than alone.

This also adds more variety to combat instead of just blasting energy at each other. Rather than coming up with the flashiest moves, you are thinking about finding openings to exploit. Is your character capable of slipping through the enemy’s attacks, or is it better to hang back? There’s more strategy involved, and I enjoyed the quick thinking. It’s a refreshing change from button-mashing to win and forces you to take fights seriously.

If you want to challenge yourself, you can play special training modes with specific objectives you must achieve in a fight. After completing a path node, you can choose the next training node you want to pursue. It’s a great way to challenge yourself and check if you truly understand how the game works. There’s no shame in reading in-game tutorials or move lists; I did it often to understand how characters work.

Like all games based on a manga or anime series, Demon Slayer – The Hinokami Chronicles 2 only appeals to players who are also fans. Despite having some story moments from the past, the story throws you into the series’s second half. There’s almost no material to help you catch up or help you gain familiarity with the characters. Unless you played the first game or are an avid fan, there’s not much on offer here.

Story mode chapters are also short, focusing on the scenes and combat before moving on. You can easily finish the story content in a few hours, before the only things left to do are fighting against the AI or other players. There are practice modes, but they feel repetitive after a while, forcing you to seek new challenges. If you aren’t a fan of fighting games and are willing to play against other players, the excitement quickly wears off.

I also found learning to utilise the battle system took more time than usual. There are different moves you can take advantage of, and it’s a lot to remember. Without intense practice, I found myself resorting to anything I could remember or trying to test moves in the middle of battle. The result was lots of unnecessary pain and failure because there was too much to digest. You need dedicated practice to avoid losing more than usual because your full arsenal is important.

Demon Slayer – The Hinokami Chronicles 2 does a great job at immersing you in the world and giving you intense combat. Fighting is more tactical and not something you can brute-force, adding a strategic layer to make battles exciting. There isn’t much that draws you in if you aren’t already a fan, but it’s still a competent fighting game. If you want something that blends your love of the series with good fighting mechanics, this is the game for you.