Aksys Games
I ’ve always been enamored with Japanese horror .
Its psychological focus frightens me more than westerly interpretation of revulsion , which tend to focalise more on wildness and animalism revulsion . While games likeSilent Hill 2andResident malefic 4emphasize action gameplay , visual novelsare also a smashing way to deliver scary revulsion stories . It ’s akin to reading a scary book .
Aksys Games
The genre originate in Japan and has Brobdingnagian popularity . ocular novels bear similarities to manga , which also has its roots in the state , so it ’s no surprise that video game developers have used visual novels as another culture medium for its unique brand of horror .
However , reading lot and plenty of textbook can turn away participant . But one plot this year , Spirit Hunter : Death Mark II , avoids these visual refreshing pitfall by the developers scatter in some promiscuous classic RPG elements . It ’s a report worth receive if you ’re looking for a brisk adventure to come together out October on Halloween .
Spooky school
Schools are a staple setting in Japanese horror stories , andDeath Mark II ’s tec agonist Kazuo Yashiki is hire as a instructor to inquire why educatee have gone missing and track down any extrasensory abnormalities . finally , Kazuo learns about a unusual puppet called The Departed , who seems to be responsible for these disappearances . In an effort to find out its identity , Kazuo has to learn more about the school day ’s dark past .
What get the Spirit Hunter series such a great experience is that it does n’t outstay its welcome . Like its predecessor , Spirit Hunter : Death MarkandSpirit Hunter NG , Death Mark IIclocks in at about 15 hours across seven chapter . It ’s a well - paced story replete with muckle of plot twists that ’ll keep you going even if you ’re scared to death .
Death Mark IIis also enhanced by its fantastic graphics direction . While the 2D character portraits are static stills , much of the esthetic crusade went into describe its gruesome death scenes . Throughout the floor , Kazuo will unfortunately not be able to prevent everyone from die . Whether it ’s a myriad of pair of scissors start out of a dupe ’s cutis or weewee hosepipe bulging out from eye sockets , the biz will show a beautifully disgusting portrait of the dupe ’s cause of death .
The wayDeath Mark IIhandles torso horror is impressive , as it take with much less blood than you ’d expect from a horror game . The artistic nature of these death scene actually had me star at the victims instead of looking away . I could n’t avail but admire the point that went into them . It even got to the point where I did n’t rebound at check a character ’s severed header !
However , one critique I have is that there is a lack of voiced dialogue throughout most of the secret plan . While I understand that developer Experience is a smaller company than most , a voice track could ’ve immensely helped with immersion . When the characters meet a dead physical structure , they sometimes scream or recoil in horror . The issue is that none of that is voiced , so I have to imagine the screaming in my head instead of actually hearing it . It ’s a shame , as even isolated screams could ’ve add up more latent hostility to the atmosphere .
Gamifying the experience
Experience ’s portfolio consists of first - soul dungeon fishworm such as Demon Gaze , New Tokyo Legacy , and Stranger of Sword City that are interchangeable to old - school Wizardry games . Even though Spirit Hunter is a slight departure from Experience ’s common repertory , the developer included some weak RPG and element so that the series would n’t be a strictly text - base visual novel .
For starters , Kazuo can run around the school day in a 2D side - scrolling manner to search the dissimilar rooms and bump various items to help him . These can be thing like shovels and pens that he can use for later encounter against hostile heart . At certain points , he ’ll go up against these spirits in a sorting of conflict like an RPG called Suspense Acts .
For example , Kazuo can throw a uniform he chance in the storehouse room at the spirit , hindering its aggression toward him . Then , he can produce a beguilement by poking a broken swob at its face before conciliate it by singing a Song dynasty . While this might all vocalize convoluted , the right action at law to take can be infer by the lore you pick up from pick up unlike items and the conversations you have with fibre around the school . It ’s important to give attention to what the spirits were like in their retiring biography and expend that to inform your own pick during encounters against them .
There ’s another layer of gameplay where Kazuo can find small souls in the manakin of case-by-case tooth that he can sell in for buffs , which include things like diminish the amount of emotional state equipment casualty he takes from enemies , as well as reducing the amount of spirit vigor required to perform certain action in battle . This incentivizes players to meticulously explore the school day and analyse every street corner , and repay them for doing so . It ’s these small details that make Spirit Hunter resist out from other visual novel .
The Spirit Hunter games are fantastical ingress points for those who want to dip their toes into Japanese revulsion visual novel . gratefully , Spirit Hunter : Death Mark IIhas a self - carry story and does n’t require you to play the previous entry to sympathize what ’s go on . The RPG factor also allow for a small preference of Experience ’s other games that have heavier emphasis on that . PlayingSpirit Hunter : Death Mark IIis a great room to start Halloween and terminate this October by becoming a ocular novel lover .
