Corpse Party is a unique game, to say the least, and while it may not be for everyone, it is a game that will reward those who give it a chance. The main appeal of Corpse Party is its gripping story. It wants to take you on a journey and it’s one certainly worth going on – if you can get past a few hiccups and don’t mind the subject matter.
I should start by saying that one of the reasons I wanted to tackle this review is that I had never played any of the Corpse Party games. Most of our staff had already played one or more of the games, and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I love a good story and there’s plenty of that to be found here. Now, I don’t want to spoil anything because the story is the game’s main draw; there isn’t a lot of traditional gameplay here. Corpse Party plays out like a visual novel in a 16-Bit RPG, but without any enemy battles. Don’t let that keep you from playing it though, as navigating through this world is as fun as it is unsettling.
Corpse Party starts off with a group of friends in a school. They are all saying goodbye to a friend who is moving away, and they decide to engage in a dark ritual that will more or less keep them together always. It’s after this that a catastrophic event happens. There’s an earthquake. Everything becomes … different. It’s not until a little bit later that you learn you’ve been transported … somewhere else. It isn’t one hundred percent clear at first, but that’s the cornerstone to this game — figuring out where you are, escaping, and being a part of the chaos as it all unfolds. Don’t let the graphics fool you though; this game’s atmosphere is superb and it will transport you to this dimension too, if you let it.
It primarily plays like an older adventure game with a top-down view. You are mostly going to be navigating around the school while you interact with different objects and characters as you explore to progress the story. I personally had to use a guide here and there because I have a tendency to overlook things in these types of games. It wasn’t too frustrating but it did break the immersion. There were times when I was a bit frustrated in discovering what the solutions were because sometimes they really weren’t anything that I would have thought of at all. Other than this though, I enjoyed most of my time with the game. It does a wonderful job of building a convincing world and surrounding you with it.
The first thing that struck me was the music. I actually turned it down sometimes because of how eerie it sometimes felt. It puts you on edge and transports you into the struggle of the characters – and that’s just the music. There are more modern games that have the advantage of “better” graphics that don’t get atmosphere this good. The atmosphere here is just so well built; the graphics don’t need to be modernized for you to be convinced that you’re in this world. The music and sound effects will throw you right into the story. I would recommend this to anyone who likes story as much as, or more than, gameplay- just so long as mature content isn’t a deal breaker.
Corpse Party does feature some suggestive content and features a lot of violent and gore-based deaths. These may not be graphically detailed but, due to the nature of the presentation, it can still be very unsettling. I personally do not like sexual content in any way, but luckily it isn’t as frequent in later releases or in the community itself. If that, the violence, or both will bother you, then you will definitely want to steer clear of Corpse Party as they (particularly the gore and violent themes) are repeated throughout the game.
There’s a lot of enjoyment to Corpse Party, though. There’s a great story and it’s all presented very well too. I encountered some frustrations here and there when I would get lost or not know what to do next, but this was not always the game’s fault. About half the time it was just me not knowing what to do and the solution I’d find in a guide would make perfect sense.
Corpse Party is a great price and well worth investing time into, so long as you don’t mind the horror genre or mature content. If you aren’t as into story-heavy games, then I would at least consider picking it up during a Steam sale because there’s a lot of content here and an unforgettable journey.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Corpse Party is 35% off during the 2016 summer Steam sale.)