Death end re;Quest (Switch) review

An abundant mix of mystery, horror, and an adorable cute cast, Death end re;Quest arrives on Switch with a proficient port with few sacrifices.

There’s a multitude of games built around the hypothetical. Each offers a succinct, moderately thoughtful response to imagined scenarios like apocalyptic situations, or geopolitical predicaments. But Toshima-based Compile Heart habitually digs deeper. From Hyperdimension Neptunia’s allegory of anthropomorphic game consoles, Omega Quintet’s idols protecting humankind’s hopefulness, and even Dark Rose Valkyrie’s rumination on treachery amidst an escalating epidemic, the developer’s plotlines are consistently cerebral.

With the Switch port of Death end re;Quest (released for the PlayStation 4 lin 2019), Compile Heart is substantiates their approach. Other mediums have attempted to explore the intersection between virtual and real-worlds, resulting in efforts such as Tron, Summer Wars, Sword Art Online, and the .hack series. But few efforts are as fantastically philosophical or as psychologically effective as Death end.

Ghost in the Machine

The game’s premise it rooted in a massively multiplayer virtual reality title known as World’s Odyssey. Early in the game’s development, progress comes to an abrupt halt when the director, Shina Ninomiya mysteriously vanishes. A year after the disappearance, programmer Arata Mizunashi discovers that the game’s servers are inexplicably live, and that a character named Shina seems trapped in the perpetually glitching virtual world. Things get even weirder when items linked to real-world disappearances begin appearing in World’s Odyssey. And when Arata experiences a number of unsettling experiences in real life, signs point to a large-scale conspiracy.

Death end re;Quest’s early hours are marked by Shina apparently stricken by amnesia, which just might be one of the stalest JRPG tropes around. Yet here, the representation of the condition feels fresh. Players are dropped into the narrative in medias res, where NPCs seem to speak and behave strangely. Eventually, you’ll become more comfortable and familiar with the setting, but re;Quest’s prologue does a great job at conveying a sense of disorientation and bewilderment.

The End is Always Near

Death end frequently aims to create an unsettling atmosphere, habitually reminding players our existence can be extinguished at any moment. Beyond perishing in battle, the game sporadically prompts players to make key decisions, with few clues about the consequence of each response. Offer an unfortunate answer and you’ll instantly die, with your demise often accompanied by imagery that hints at the gruesome. Given the involvement of Corpse Party writer Makoto Kedôin, it’s not surprisingly to discover that Death end opts not to render the viscera in graphical detail. Instead, the title prefers to describe things in lurid detail accompanied by unnerving sound effects, letting imaginations render the grisly details. Sure, there’s splatters of blood, but you won’t have to sift through entrails.

One of the repercussions of this approach, is that you’ll learn to save anywhere. Conversations can become protracted, with visual novel-style sequences encumbered with exposition. But unlike most of its peers, Death end allows you to record your progress in the middle of conversations. However, in dungeons, the rules change and save crystals are scattered infrequently. But death is just as pervasivein these dangerous spaces, and after losing a half-hour or more of your time, you’ll become subservient to the game’s whims. Given some of the themes buried into the game’s plotline, it’s unlikely this decision was accidental.

A Game of Two Styles

Play is split into two parts. Some of the time you’ll be directing Shina, exploring dungeons, solving the occasionally crafty puzzle, and fighting monsters. If you’re played the Neptunia games, you’ll undoubtedly perceive mechanical similarity, although Death end’s tone, topics, and combat nuances are distinctive. Arata’s segments are more like the type of exposition you’d find in an interactive visual novel. When taking control of the programmer, you’ll visit different locations and interact with people to gain new insight, effectively offering an investigative vibe. While you might think the two styles are discordant, Death end re;Quest is consistently trying to blur the distinction between the visual and real-world, making the two components fit together quite organically.

Often Arata’s hacking abilities comes into play, changing Shina’s approach as nods to the shooter, puzzle, or fighting genres emerge from the game. The only sticking point stems from Shima’s objective of getting the best ending from World’s Odyssey. While it endows Death end re;Quest with a tangible direction, the game within a game exhibits little of the open world quality shown by actual MMORPGs. Sure, it’s a minor detail, but I would have appreciated if the title truly emulated the autonomy of the genre. As it stands, there were occasional frustrations instigated by Death end’s linear approach, typically revolving around how to advance in a dungeon.

A Clever Combat System

Combat can often make or break a role-playing game. Pleasingly, re;Quest has one of the best battle systems around. The game’s turn-based system is built upon Neptunia’s already strong foundations, as you freely move characters in circular arenas that depict movement ranges. Here, you’ll execute variations of melee, ranged, and magical attacks. Typically, you’ll want to position yourself so that the last strike to push foes into the outer walls, other enemies, or allies for incidental damage. Sure, it feels a bit like shuffleboard, but the concept really ensures each encounter is enjoyable.

Deviation is engrained in the field bugs scattered around the battlefield. Push adversaries into these and they endure additional damage, which is often crucial given the formidability of foes. Step on the bugs and you’ll become corrupted, which if unchecked, can leave your enfeebled. But reach a specific threshold of corruption and you’ll enter glitch mode. You’ll lose most of your clothing but become massively powered-up, adding a stimulating risk reward to the proceeding.

Yes, There’s Some Fan-Service

Naturally, some will be delighted by seeing character models heave their attire. Obviously, Compile Heart is reiterating a point that a lack of modesty brings about great strength. But unlike the death scenes, they don’t do anything with the notion narratively, so it comes across feeling like very literal and obligatory fan-service. Make no mistake, I liked seeing it, but I also wish the writing team would have built more lore to explain the nipple and crotch coverings. That would have been truly sexy.

As much as a fervent fan-base would love to see an endless succession of Neptunia sequels and spin-offs, it’s refreshing to see Compile Heart challenge themselves with new ideas. With Death end re;Quest, there’s fleeting moments of familiarity. But more importantly, there’s a game willing to explore darker, more complicated subjects. Despite a few small issues (and the need for completionists to play through multiple times), Death end is a rousing success, mostly because of its willingness to challenge the intellect and imaginations of its audience.

Re;Questing on Switch

Compile Heart’s Switch ports are often a Faustian deal, with players sacrificing visual trimmings for the possibility to play some sophisticated JRPGs on the go. Largely, Death end re;Quest’s port is proficient. When roaming the game’s maps, the framerate can dip below the thirty frame-per-second target. Largely, it’s only noticeable when spinning the game’s camera around and has no effect on the turn-based combat.

Whether you opt to play re;Quest in docked or portable mode, the Switch iteration preserves many of the attractive details, from the deliberate environmental glitching to the sway of character bust-ups during dialog sequences. Load times are consistently brief, with the sporadic 5-6 second pause when entering new areas. Unlike the PC port, the Switch version even bundles all of the previously released DLC. From additional weapons, alternative costumes, a new party member, as well as bonus dungeons.

Death end re;Quest was played on Switch with review code provided by the publisher.