Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles 2 Hands-On Preview (PS5) – When you think Japanese pop culture, anime certainly tops that list. This past weekend was AnimeJapan, an annual trade show that is the anime industry’s equivalent to E3. Dozens of anime-related companies, from publishers and studios to merchandisers, showed up with extravagant booths. Based on a manga by Koyoharu Gotouge, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is arguably one of the most popular anime in recent years. Naturally, it appeared at multiple booths.
Demon Slayer even had two of its own dedicated booths, one main booth and another with physical mini games. Why is there so much Demon Slayer hype? The franchise has a lot of big things coming in 2025. Headlining this year is the upcoming anticipated theatrical film, Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle. But there’s also a new video game, Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles 2, launching near the movie’s release.
This new game is a sequel to Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles, which launched back in 2021 and we gave a review of 8.5. It’ll be nearly four years since the first game when The Hinokami Chronicles 2 launches, so fans have been waiting for this long overdue follow-up. Given the anticipation, a substantial amount of the Demon Slayer booth at AnimeJapan 2025 was dedicated to the game, with multiple playable demo stations set up.
Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles 2 Hands-On Preview – More Fun, Exciting Anime Fights
Continuing Where The First Game Left Off
As someone who enjoyed the original game, I was looking forward to going hands-on with a demo of The Hinokami Chronicles 2. Like the first, the game allows you to relive events from the anime, with this entry picking up from where the first game finished. More specifically, the campaign will be covering the Entertainment District Arc, Swordsmith Village Arc, and Hashira Training Arc. However, the demo at AnimeJapan 2025 was of the game’s Versus Mode. This was likely to not only prevent possible story spoilers, but to give you a quick way to hop into the action, try different characters, and even play against someone you came with.
In the demo’s Versus Mode, each player chose two characters to make the battle a tag-team match – yet another great way to efficiently try using various characters. With the campaign set to cover more story, the game’s character roster has expanded to include new characters, such as Obanai Iguro, Sanemi Shinazugawa, and Gyomei Himejima.
A Fun Anime Brawler
Being perfectly honest, The Hinokami Chronicles 2 is not your complex esports-level fighting game. It’s not a fighter you’re meant to get super technical over and one that can get pretty button-mashy. And you know what, that’s completely fine! It’s the kind of simple, fun anime action game that feels like a delightful throwback. That is no surprise considering that returning for the development of this sequel is CyberConnect2, who have a storied history developing anime brawlers, including the Naruto Ultimate Ninja games.
The devs at CC2 haven’t lost that sense of pure anime fighting enjoyment here, with battles packed with the frenetic energy and flashiness particularly fitting for Demon Slayer. On that early morning, my inner child was the one standing at the demo station with a smile on his face as he got to feel like a powerful member of the Demon Slayer Corps.
An Art Style That Faithfully Recreates The Anime
CyberConnect2 also once again absolutely nail the visual style of the Demon Slayer anime in The Hinokami Chronicles 2. The cel-shaded graphics look like they were straight up ripped from the ufotable anime adaptation, featuring the signature thick linework and striking high-contrast colors. Characters’ special attacks are especially visually stunning, with elaborate animation sequences filled with powerful vigor and dynamic camera work. With all of it is running at a buttery 60 FPS, the action not only looks but feels smooth and responsive.
If you’re a big fan of Demon Slayer, enjoyed the first The Hinokami Chronicles game, or just enjoy awesome anime battles, it would be hard for you not to have a good time with Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles 2.
Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles 2 launches on August 5, 2025 in the west, just a few days after the August 1 launch in Japan, for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC.
The post Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles 2 AnimeJapan 2025 Hands-On Preview (PS5) – More Fun, Exciting Anime Fights appeared first on PlayStation Universe.
