The spooky visual novel you need for Halloween.
What They Say:
You have been Marked…
A strange rumor is spreading through the shadows of Tokyo’s H City: a mysterious disfigurement, like a grotesque birthmark, has been appearing on the bodies of certain individuals. Anyone who receives the Mark will rapidly die of unknown, horrifying causes.
Deprived of your memories, you arrive at a mansion rumored to protect the bearers of the Mark. As the doors swing open, the countdown to death has already begun…
The Review:
If you’re looking for your spooky Halloween video game fix, Death Mark is without a doubt the game for you. Since the end of series like Danganronpa and Zero Escape, there haven’t been many visual novels that are mysterious and mature to fill the gap. Looking ahead to the future, it doesn’t seem like there are too many on the horizon either.
Thankfully, Death Mark fills the gap perfectly. It’s certainly no Zero Escape clone, though, as it takes the horror and gore to 10 slashes out of 10. The story is simple but compelling: you play as a man who has just found himself in front of a creepy mansion with a bizarre mark and no memories intact. Said mark will kill the bearer in just a few days.
The story plays out over several chapters as you investigate the mystery behind various spirits in the world to defeat them and hopefully free yourself of this curse. Alongside you, you have typically a few partners who also bear the mark. The gameplay is pretty simple and formulaic each chapter.
You select one person to go with you to various locations and investigate a la Ace Attorney. Each location you visit in the chapters is terrifying enough on its own from the cliche abandoned elementary school to the suicide forest. Even when I knew I was “safe”, these locales never failed to keep me on edge.
This is in large part due to the gorgeous art that Experience has come with. Whether it’s the environments, color schemes, or the characters themselves, the art and animations are second to none. There is a sinister, unsettling beauty to everything that never got old or looked repetitive.
As I mentioned, you investigate each location for clues about the spirit in each chapter in order to find what it is that’s keeping them in this world. There are minor puzzles that must be solved like using an empty jar to fill with honey to attract bees and so on. Each chapter culminates in a very odd turn-based style battle with a boss. In between, you’ll have to make many choices, most of which will result in a brief game over. However, the game never felt too hard to complete but it is worth noting that there are two endings.
Achieving the “good” ending is perhaps my biggest gripe with the game. In order to get this best ending, you must complete certain objectives in a specific way. The problem is, as time goes on, Death Mark doesn’t really hint at how to go about doing so. I actually had to resort to a guide for the Japanese version in order to get the best ending.
That’s a minor gripe, though, as the rest of the game is just so good. The story, though somewhat predictable, never felt cheap in its scares and twists. It only took a couple of nights to complete (including the extra chapter) but I would lie in bed thinking about the game each night.
Death Mark is a mature, sometimes emotional story that isn’t necessarily seen in the odd trailers. By the end of the game, I had come to care about several of the key characters. However, if there is one thing that Experience can improve on in the sequel, it is giving the player more time with each person.
While there are a couple of characters that you get a lot more time with (for reasons I won’t spoil), the majority of the mark bearers feel vastly underused, especially if you don’t happen to partner up with them. The pacing of Death Mark is strangely too good, which is a shame because I wouldn’t have minded more filler moments that gave time with the awesome and unique cast.
For those of you reading this who might like visual novels but not horror, I should note that I’m not a horror fan myself. Though there are one or two moments that I really had to focus on the text only and not the art, it was a lot tamer than I expected. There are some really gruesome moments but never too often or too many that a non-horror fan couldn’t enjoy them.
In Summary:
Death Mark is a unique horror experience that appeals to both the visual novel and horror fans out there. Horror fans will find a gorgeous but sinister game filled with terrifying moments and spirits, meanwhile, visual novel fans will find a meaningful story with a unique (but sometimes underused) cast of characters. In a time where mature visual novels like this one seem all but obsolete, Death Mark gives me strong hope for what developer Experience has in store next.
Grade: B+
Released By: Aksys Games
Developer: Experience
MSRP: $59.99
Release Date: October 31st, 2018
Platform: Nintendo Switch (reviewed), PS4, Vita
This review was done with a review copy provided by the publisher. We are grateful for their continued support.
