Разработчик: EXPERIENCE
Описание
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...
Key Features
• Search and Survive! - To avoid an almost certain gruesome death at the “hands” of angry spirits, you’ll need to search your surroundings for clues to increase your odds of survival.
• Ghost Busting - Sometimes the sword is more powerful than the pen. And when words fail it’s time to stand your ground. Remember the price of not holding your own is an untimely death.
• Riddle Me This - It’s not enough to defeat the spirit that cursed you, you need to do it in the right way. If you don’t you might survive, but end up wishing you hadn’t. Be sure to parse all the clues and information you discover correctly to make your life continue to be worth living.
Поддерживаемые языки: english, japanese
Системные требования
Windows
- OS *: Windows 10/8.1/7
- Processor: Core i3-2100 3.10 GHz
- Memory: 2 GB RAM
- Graphics: Intel HD Graphics Family (HD 4000)
- DirectX: Version 10
- Storage: 6 GB available space
- Sound Card: Realtek High Definition Audio
- OS *: Windows 10/8.1/7 64bit
- Processor: Core i5-2400 3.10 GHz
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: GeForce GTX 260
- DirectX: Version 10
- Storage: 8 GB available space
- Sound Card: Realtek High Definition Audio
Отзывы пользователей
Very good game, although a little unforgiving in the scenario choices.
There's no option to speed up the default text speed, and the text speed is painfully slow. If you're a fast reader, you'll get fustrated after about five minutes, like I did. For a visual novel, where the majority of the 'gameplay' revolves around reading, this is a massive oversight, and I don't think it's excusable. I've read free VNs made by teenagers with a budget of $0 which had more robust controls than this (thank you Ren'py). Also, the game doesn't even let you save at all until about 15-30 mins in (depending on your reading speed), which is another bafflingly bad decision.
The art and music is very nice, and the premise seems interesting, but the controls of this VN are so bad it feels like it's actively trying to dissuade you from reading it.
⠀
Still the best of the franchise
BUY ON SALE IF YOU CAN I want to give this a neutral option but it was a fun enough game and I can still replay to get the good ending if I feel up to it.
TLDR: I really enjoyed the first couple chapters of the game. I liked that there is a mystery to be solved, but the ending felt like it was dragging on and I had issues with a bit of the game play mechanics. Also as a woman I hate when stories put women in sexual fetish poses while they are dying when it is supposed to be scary while the men never have the same happen to them (and it would be weird either way in my opinion but this shows how ridiculous and out of place they are)
PROS: Art (except whoever approved certain pictures), sound, characters were likeable although discarded rather quickly, backgrounds for each ghost and their designs were unique and everything the character investigates in relation connect back to the main story. Game had a good amount of playtime and there is two endings that can be found as well as the DLC included when you buy the steam version. I would give this game a 6/10 because it didn't wow me but it started off really promising.
CONS: There are certain moments where you have to answer from 3 multiple choices and survive by choosing the right answer but the problem was that the answer was either shown to you directly before plain as day or not shown at all and seemed like a guessing game. A lot I got from luck or logic rather than them having anything to do with the clues we found. You also can find many items that do nothing to what you need to do and I can only assume they want to throw you off but it again gets a little confusing. After chapter 3 it gets repetitive and not as fun or interesting as the first half. Ending sure it made sense, but also not the easiest explanation and I did not even get the good ending because I messed up on the very first ghost which meant even though I played another 20 hours it meant nothing as it would automatically become the normal ending. Maybe I will replay to get good ending as I do want to play the DLC that only unlocks after the good ending, but that means a lot of slow moments to backtrack through and even with the skip and speed buttons the live or die games are just as slow as ever. I would recommend this game for $20 maybe $25 but the price it has now is a little crazy considering finishing the game felt a little like a chore after such a good buildup to fall back down.
Rant about rape and assault in this game if you want to read: As I mentioned earlier, in almost every chapter of the game there is an unneeded artwork of a woman or women in degrading positions while they are either dying or straight up already a corpse. I would get it if this game was advertised as that but it is not. These images appear out of nowhere, and one of them includes an underage girl with her clothes ripped off while the man also getting killed is FULLY CLOTHED RIGHT NEXT TO HER. Seriously threw me out of the game when they happened because I am no longer scared it was uncomfortable and disappointing. And how can you then have a story line where a ghost's background is that she went through an intense rape/assault that made her suicidal but not understand how these images are not okay for a game like this? Will only be buying the second game if the reviews do not say anything about this happening in that one also.
This game a very good horror game mixed with adventure and visual novel elements. Experience really outdid themselves by making a niche audience out of this game in this era where games like this rarely be mixed bag. I know because I'm one of them. So few Japanese horror games produces a game of this quality with interesting premise that uses a large amount of adult casts with younger characters, with most of them are compelling enough for me to enjoy this game and the usage of some RPG elements in 'fighting' ghosts.
One thing to note is that the player will control an adult character which you, yourself can name after. The casts was diverse enough that you will meet an energetic high schooler, a grounded news reporter, a sarcastic yet well-meaning ex-detective, an eccentric homeless man, and many more. The game will introduce you to the characters within each gameplay sections as 'chapters' and it is dynamic enough as each character will always complement each other respective to the chapters they associated with. They felt real enough, at least for me. While playing, you will notice some characters will have an effect towards the gameplay as certain items wouldn't be accessible otherwise without them and if you are aiming for a 'good ending' make sure to read every hints and notes so you will know which character to bring to progress the story. This gameplay choice for me will never be a boredom as you will brainstorm from the clues given on how to choose a meaningful partner to progress the story as the game would not tell you it directly.
So here's the gameplay and the horror aspect of the game. In short it was A M A Z I N G. Although it was a horror game with visual novel elements, very few catches me off-guard with it. For this game it does and it did it wonderfully well by incorporating an adventure aspect to it. The game focuses the horror aspects on the environment, sound designs and art style so expect something similar to 'atmospheric horror' game. You as the main character will be given choices to choose which partner to bring along with for investigations and in some moments you can switch out for different partners for gameplay purposes (especially for a newcomer you need to do this else some chapters won't proceed). Be sure to analyze each character profiles and what items they bring because this will affect the gameplay decisions in the story. For horror parts, Experience manages to create horror vibe by making you explore the areas they give you. The sound design choices are impeccable as it is frightening sometimes, the gloomy and surreal environment made with art style choice adds vibe to the spookiness and of course the designs of the ghosts or 'spirits' that you investigate.
As you explore each chapters, if you search certain areas properly, the game will give out several talismans to increase your 'Soul Power'. This Soul Power is important to increase your default Soul Power which is 1000 that helps you making Live or Die decisions as you Soul Power diminishes as the longer you are making the decisions in the story. So make it count if you are a scaredy-cat or if you are not, find for it either way for survival of course. Next, you need to find several items relevant to the spirits for each chapters as it can help you complete it. The game wouldn't allow you to face off against the spirits if you haven't collect enough key items yet so rest assured, take your time and read all the clues given in the item descriptions then figure out how to fight a spirit. Oh, don't forget to bring the right partner for it too, it GREATLY helps out alot.
Another aspect I commend Experience is the chosen art style and the choices of music. The art style fits the surrealistic and atmospheric nature of the game by depicting adult characters in a working society and mixed with by giving you some of the usual colorful and youthful anime characters. It was never a dull interacting with the characters as you can easily recognize the them separately due to the distinct choice of art. But the funny thing is although this game marketed itself as a 'Horror' game, you will be surprised by some fanservicey moments throughout the gameplay. I understand the developer choices for this as for this type of game during the early launches will be hard to attract new fans due to how niche and new it was at the time so it is acceptable. After all, I knew this game because fans spread it! Also, do not be concerned as the fanservice will be few and far between. So few that it will not hinder you horror experience AT ALL as most of the gameplay is quite spooky itself!
The music is great and not bad purely because this is an atmospheric horror game so it is understandable. It fits the game honestly as it does invoked the horror feeling players get enough for them to immerse themselves in. However, contrary for the normal usual visual novel elements, the voice acting unfortunately suffers a bit in this department. Maybe because Experience does not have enough budget or they are scared if they overspend for a new niche game that does not sell a lot... But somehow due to the game popularity the DLC came with a proper voice acting! Not much but it is still an improvement so bear with it and expect some at the very end of the game.
A bad thing to note is the translation issues but it is minor. I don't know if its due to budgeting issues or localisation issues, you will notice some grammatical errors and inconsistent pronouns for the character interaction. For example, if you bring either a male or female partners the game will use neutral gendered pronouns 'They/Them' for both genders. It is sometimes a bit confusing since the game heavily relies on series of dialogues but it is a small nitpick for me as it is not jarring enough for me to retract from the game. Nevertheless, I found the game quite enjoyable. Another is how I wish the player are given the option to go straight to the game menu during dialogues to exit or save at a certain time point but this is also a minor pet peeve of mine.
Overall, this is a great horror game. I play this game because I played another horror spin-off to this game, Spirit Hunter: NG before this. Spirit Hunter: NG is also a great game so checked that out as it contain a standalone story separate from Death Mark. Its due to that game I became interested in the Spirit Hunter series and by large Experience games too. (like Undernauts or Stranger of the Sword City for example)
This game is also complete with an additional DLC so you don't have to buy a separate content which is good. It also has a great story, strong casts, interesting gameplay designs and appealing art styles and music choices. If you are a fan of Horror Adventure games with visual novel elements mixed with a little of RPG aspect then you are in for a treat! Or, if you are mainly a horror fan do play this game as it is horrifying enough for me to play through!
Good story and atmospheric, but some of the puzzles have very bad translation like in Hanayome chapter the "green" option doesn't make any sense after it translates to English. Same for Kannon Soldier Chapter. None of the options actually fit the actual Japanese solution.
Terrible translations in some part.
Still a decent game.
Excellent game
This ended up getting really long, so here's a TL;DR:
Pros:
- REALLY awesome story and art, great soundtrack, was fully engaged almost start to finish
- Great foreshadowing and twists
- Unique gameplay that sets it apart from other visual novels
- Great cast of unique and memorable characters
Cons:
- A lot of really common triggers and hard lines even for horror fans, including a LOT of body horror, bugs n shit, sexual abuse, and animal death. Not a game for everyone
- Really weirdly sexual art at weird places, which clashes with the otherwise pretty well-done themes of sexual abuse
- Runs like hot trash on steam deck, the green checkmark is lying to you
Now for my full review:
Before I say anything about the game itself, I have to say, if you're playing on steam deck: THAT GREEN CHECKMARK IS AN ABSOLUTE LIE. While the default controls work and the game looks good, it runs like absolute GARBAGE.
On it's base settings, it crashes roughly every fifteen to twenty minutes, which is insane. I'm lucky there's a fast-forward for the dialogue, because you can't save during actual dialogue, and as a mostly visual novel-style game, there are often sections that last WELL over 15 minutes. In these default settings, I was barely able to get into the game because just when I started, it would crash, and then i'd have to speed through a load of stuff to get back to where I was. There's a kind-of workaround if you install a very specific version of Proton Experimental (8.3, specifically 8.3. older AND newer versions didn't work for me), but you have to manually install that AND I still had crashes, they were just actually spaced out enough to actually let me enjoy the game, and gave me a good chance to save. The compatibility indicator should be yellow, because it was INFURIATING. It also often started to have visual, audio, and even gameplay glitches as it approached crash time--character portraits not appearing when they spoke, audio cues not playing. Once I even got fully stuck because the flashlight that acts as your cursor during exploration parts wouldn't trigger.
Basically, it's playable on steam deck, but it sure shouldn't be verified.
Now, with all that out of the way...
I still give this game a positive rating, because i did absolutely LOVE it, and if you, like me, love good horror and have a very high tolerance for it, I would love to say play it. I'll admit I balked a little when I saw the price tag, especially considering this is a visual novel, but I got it on sale and after playing it, I can confidently say it's not actually a ridiculous price. The art is gorgeous, the story is amazing, and overall I had a great time (Steam Deck performance issues not withstanding).
That said, I also can't blindly recommend this game to everyone I come across either, because the amount of common triggers in it is...excessive, honestly.
MINOR SPOILERS and TRIGGER WARNINGS ahead:
If you don't like body horror, this is NOT the game for you, because it has several different flavors: basic gore and mutilation, plants growing out of bodies, insects overtaking bodies (major trypophobia warning), medical experimentation, animal fusion...there are other common triggers as well, including HEAVY themes of sexual abuse, animal torture and death, and spiders.
Also, the one and only reason this game isn't one of my all time favorite horror games is because, to be frank, there's a very uncomfortable amount of sexualization of woman's abuse and trauma. Both men and women are victims to this game's monsters, but when the splash art focuses on a corpse or struggling victim that's female, the poses they're drawn in are weirdly sexual and provocative. It reads as especially tone-deaf after chapter 3, where a woman's sexual abuse and the voyeurism of her attackers are the main focus of the story segment. I've learned to deal with the fact that sometimes the horror genre is weird about women. But after Ch3, I was just bewildered. How can a game so decently cover the way women's abuse often doesn't end with the physical act, depict the events that happened as horrific, and then have splash art of a woman with her ass pointed at the camera with a thorn vine arranged between her cheeks and gooch like a thong? The level of dissonance is so insane it makes me wonder if the artists/art director even read the game's script, and overall ended up knocking the game down from where it was kind of super glowing before then.
Still though, all in all, I really REALLY loved Spirit Hunter: Death Mark. The incredible art and story kept me hooked for the entire time I played it, the twists were great, and the gameplay was unique and engaging. The characters all felt like real people, and what you learned about them felt realistic to the amount of time you spent with them and their role in the story. I'll definitely be playing the second one as well.
Дополнительная информация
| Разработчик | EXPERIENCE |
| Платформы | Windows |
| Ограничение возраста | Нет |
| Дата релиза | 16.01.2025 |
| Отзывы пользователей | 85% положительных (155) |