Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II is the third part of the famous Japanese horror series Spirit Hunter. The game was released in the domestic market in December 2022 and continued to enter the world gaming industry on February 15. Immediately, Death Mark II became a notable name with many positive reviews from gamers and experts.
Plot
Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II brings players back to Tokyo’s familiar H city four months after Kazuo Yashiki and his death-marked allies fought together against the curse. This time, the story takes place at the prestigious Konoehara academy, where horrifying rumors about a spiritual entity called The Departed are spreading. The Departed leaves notices around the school, warning the unlucky students of their deadly future, that they are being targeted by a malevolent spirit. I thought it was just a silly joke by some mischievous students, but no, somehow, everyone who was pointed out by name would mysteriously disappear the next day.
Yashiki, who has the ability to contact spiritual entities, is invited by Konoehara’s newly appointed principal, Seizou Konoe, to investigate this case. He and some of his students and allies embark on a journey to discover the mystery called The Departed.
Like the previous two games, the plot of Death Mark II is divided into chapters, each chapter is the story of a new spirit inspired by famous Japanese urban legends such as “the ghost of the latrine”. ” Hanako, the slit-mouthed ghost, the spirit of Kokkuri-san,… In addition to folk spiritual elements, hot topics of modern society such as depression, suicide, school violence, relationships The relationship between adults and minors,… is also very cleverly integrated into the stories in the game. Although it is not possible to go into detail about each chapter within the scope of this article, it can be said that Death Mark II did a very good job in creating a spooky yet humane atmosphere, making players unable to help but think. ponder the fate of the characters and the realities of life.
Gameplay
Instead of the familiar point-and-click mechanism, Death Mark II applies a side-scrolling style, quite similar to the title. horror game Taiwan’s famous name is Detention. Side-scrolling makes movement smoother and more flexible, especially when you need to move between classrooms, new and old buildings, and other off-campus locations. However, this mechanism somewhat reduces the experience of surprise and tension – something that is still expected in horror games. If the first-person perspective of Spirit Hunter: Death Mark makes you only stare forward, constantly wondering what is behind you and waiting for the ultimate horror to happen, then in Death Mark II, you Know clearly when your character is safe. Obviously, the feeling of heart-stopping surprise is something Death Mark II cannot build perfectly. The developers must have invested a lot of effort to implement this side-scrolling mechanism, but it seems that the change between first-person and third-person perspectives has limited the horror experience in Death Mark II. Which compares to its predecessor.
Death Mark II skillfully combines investigation and puzzle solving, however the difficulty in the game has been greatly reduced. Spirit Hunter: Death Mark is famous as one of the most difficult horror games, requiring players to go to every corner and collect information to be able to accurately answer the soul’s questions. Any overlooked detail can lead to failure and the inability to continue the story. However, in Death Mark II, the spirits seem more “tolerant” when given much simpler puzzles.
The goal of Death Mark II is to defeat angry spirits by placating their hatred. In each game, we need to make the right choices to avoid the health bar being depleted because if it drops to 0, the game will end. However, to avoid the stressful feeling of watching the health bar gradually decrease, Death Mark II gives players a chance to try again right before dying. In addition, because the game difficulty has been greatly reduced, you only need to pay attention to reading notes and listening to important hints to pass the level.
That doesn’t mean Death Mark II is simple to the point of being boring. Note that each decision not only requires the right choice but also requires implementation by the right person, sometimes it is Kazuo Yashiki, sometimes it is a teammate, and sometimes it requires the cooperation of both. “Happy ending” is only achieved when the player finds a way to “completely save” the resentful souls. On the contrary, The Departed will make you lose close allies, many of whom are comrades who have stood side by side with Yashiki since part one. Therefore, players still need to consider and be very careful not to face this cruel scenario. In general, Death Mark II has done a great job in simplifying the experience, limiting the feeling of stress and inhibition when playing the game but still no less attractive.
Graphics & Sound
The Spirit Hunter series is highly appreciated for its graphics and Death Mark II is no exception. The characters are designed in detail and rich in emotions, the horror scenes with hideous faces full of eyes, maggots crawling through the skin, twisted and deformed bodies,… successfully make the players’ chests flutter. little blood.
In terms of sound, Death Mark II does not voice the characters, only a few sentences are occasionally spoken in Japanese. Perhaps many people will expect voice acting in a neat game like Death Mark II, but this small drawback has been compensated for by the collection of background music and excellent sound effects. Silent Hill is a perfect example of using simple sounds from interactions with the surrounding environment to create an immersive and haunting experience. Death Mark II inherited this from its predecessor and probably has one of the scariest sound systems among recent horror games.
Overall, Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II is an attractive horror game, especially for fans of Japanese urban legends. The game gives players a unique audio-visual experience with excellent graphics and sound. Although some changes in this sequel may slightly affect the gameplay, the character building and engaging storytelling are unquestionable highlights. Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II is out now for PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch and PC.
