izigame.me

As a big and long-time fan of the Spirit Hunter series, I was really happy with this addition overall, but I do have some complaints.
I will now break down my thoughts into different categories in my review which will contain a lot of comparisons with the previous games in this series (Death Mark 1 and NG). And as this is my first-ever review I hope this is helpful to both old and new fans who are considering this game!
Gameplay
I personally really liked the VN, point-and-click format in the previous two games and was slightly skeptical about the addition of the side scroll element in this one at first as I thought it would lessen the sense of dread and immersion during investigations, but I ended up liking it. Although what I feared did occur, the overall atmosphere is still as tense as ever, and adding the side scroll makes the exploration feel much more fun.
They fixed up a lot of gameplay issues from the previous two games. From my memory, there were many times when I felt frustrated (especially with the decision-making logic) and found navigation difficult in the old games, but I didn’t feel any of that in this one! The exploration felt straightforward and clear, with a much more understandable logic in its choices.
As for the system of battling spirits, this new approach is a little strange. It is cool to add the RNG element, but also annoying at the same time because what do you mean that the MC who is a teacher has a low success rate of reading out a passage? On top of that, sometimes you could still fail certain actions when the success rate is very high. The fact that you can keep retrying before your health runs out also makes the encounters feel less challenging. This format is a little silly to me, and although I got used to it later in the game, I preferred the old system where if you pick something wrong, then it’s an instant Game Over.
Story
I think the story was good overall with how engaging it was the whole way. It is a little unfortunate how the twist wasn’t that surprising, but at least they kept me second-guessing the whole way.
As for the tales of the spirits, since the location is more strictly related to high school this time, I found some pretty cliche since this setting is overused. I understand it was a challenge to make them interesting, which they managed to do in most cases, but it didn’t quite hit for me. Although I still enjoyed them, I think that the spirits and their tales were more creative and memorable in the previous games (especially NG), so this was a slight letdown.
Characters
They were a huge improvement from Death Mark 1. I really loved the original cast in Death Mark 1 but will admit that they suffered from the lack of characterization due to how many characters there are and how they didn’t have much time to shine due to the story’s structure. Although minimal as it is not the focus of the game, the old crew had so much more characterization this time around through their little comments during exploration and interactions with one another, making them feel more alive despite still not having a lot of screen time.
As for the new characters, they were fun and quirky, but I honestly didn’t really care for them, which might be intentional for the player to focus more on the OG crew (and if that is so, it was successful). I wish we had a little more time with some of them, but considering how many characters there are, it is understandable that some, among the new characters, didn’t get as much spotlight as the others.
Art
As some may know, this game was crowdfunded and probably gave them way more budget to work with. The artwork in this series has always been one of its highlights, at least for an artist like me, and this game did not disappoint. I was really happy with the quality of the CGs and their consistency throughout the game, regardless of their significance level, which was most likely achieved by the extra budget they had this time around.
The death CGs you get when you fail to bring a spirit to complete salvation were great! Death Mark 1 did not have any, so it was cool to see these CGs of the original crew. Of course, they are also exceptionally well composed and rendered; however, conceptually speaking, they are a step down from the ones in NG in my opinion. Maybe it is due to this game’s spirits’ nature, but I wish the CGs were as gruesome and violent as NG’s.
As for the spirits designs, I preferred the ones in the previous games, but this could be due to my personal taste. In my opinion, I think this game’s direction went for more of a weird and bizarre vibe, whereas the previous games were more grotesque and disturbing. I was certainly more terrified of the previous spirits’ designs compared to the one in this game.
Sound/Voice Acting
Delicious. This series has always been really good with their sounds but I think this is another step up from the previous games and I am very impressed. Really kept up the suspense and tension all the way through each investigation. Again, bless the budget!!
This game does not have a lot of voice acting, most of it being grunts, pants, and short voiced lines here and there, but considering how there was close to no voice acting in previous games, I am happy with it.
Comments on partial nudity
Now this is something I never liked about this series. There are a number of CGs with partial nudity of underaged girls in suggestive poses. I was a little glad with NG where they reduced that from Death Mark 1, but Death Mark 2 seemed to go back to its roots. I think there are fewer in Death Mark 2 compared to 1, but I still can’t help but feel uncomfortable seeing them.
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TLDR; Despite all its faults, I would recommend it! A huge improvement from the previous titles (especially Death Mark 1) in many aspects, although there are certain things I still prefer in NG. The game is not as difficult or scary as the previous ones but I think it is still worth a shot. To a lot of people, I would say $50 is a bit much but as someone who appreciates the art in this game a lot along with the fact how this includes 2 DLCs (if I am not mistaken), I didn't mind.
For newcomers, I think it is ok to hop into Spirit Hunter with this game, although I would still recommend playing Death Mark 1 first since this game is a direct sequel to that.
7.5/10 as a game, 9/10 for my heart