I’m not cleaning up after this party!
Spooktober is upon us, and it’s the perfect time to play some horror games. The latest contender to the mix is one that’s been around a while now, which I played to completion on the PSP a few years back.
However, the series debut port of this cult classic horror game on the 3DS proves to be a solid effort.
Hang on tight, you’re going for a ride!
MSRP: $29.99(Digital), $49.99(Physical special edition).
Platforms: 3DS
Voice Acting: JPN only
Played: 6~ Hours
Corpse Party tells the story of a group of students and their teacher being trapped in another dimension, where the vengeful ghosts of those who died there roam ceaselessly, looking to share their suffering with new victims.
The tale is more akin to a tragedy, in that many characters are destined to die in horrific ways, and those that miraculous survive are left broken, wondering why they were allowed to live.
There are many disturbing elements – both physical and psychological – as those who are squeamish about gruesome scenes of death should think twice about picking this game up.
As for the gameplay, it resembles a 2D RPG game with sprites, where the player is tasked with exploring a nightmarish hellscape in the shape of a school and trying to figure a way out. The vast majority of the time spent playing Corpse Party is reading/listening to dialogue and exploring the school, making some choices here and there that can lead to a “Wrong End”. These instant game over states can arrive without warning, and can be triggered by something as simple as reading a note on the ground.
Even though I had completed the game before, I found myself constantly running into Wrong Ends, and having to reload my save time and time again. As this is not a particularly difficult game, it’s just comes down to figuring out what triggers the game over states, and sometimes that’s not very clear, which can lead to some frustration.
Given that there is so much dialogue in Corpse Party, it’s good that it’s mostly voice acted, which works well to add personality to each of the characters and sell some of the emotion during tense moments.
As for the changes to the 3DS port from the PSP version, the sprites were redrawn and look much cleaner without the ugly pixelated edges that plagued the original. There’s also new story content in extra chapters that fleshes out the motivation of some of the more minor characters that were never really given the spotlight before.
If I close my eyes, maybe they’ll go away! (They won’t though)
With significant improvements over the PSP version, the 3DS port of Corpse Party proves to be the definitive version to play, and for those in the mood for a horror game before Spooktober comes to an end, this nightmarish trip to Heavenly Host Elementary School just might be what you’re looking for.
Fun Tidbit – Don’t go into Corpse Party looking for jump scares as the brand of horror they subscribe to is the one that creeps under your skin slowly and disturbs you with some horrific scenarios.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
