Death Come True

At first promising, but then quite weak and short story with barely any branches for alternative storylines. It's mainly a very linear bad or good choice until the end, then you have to go through the whole game again to see the "bad endings" which you missed. A bit sad when you know that Kodaka had made way better stories / games (e.g. Danganronpa). Hope he / they will try again though, as the production quality is otherwise really good! Also it's a bit buggy as the game sometimes freezes when you fastforward the video sequences (e.g. on replay) or even while doing nothing. Subtitles are also often very bad / wrong / faulty e.g. in German. Best is definitely Jiro Sato, which sadly has only a very small supporting role but luckily with more separate videos as bonus content.

Is this a game Or is this a movie Sure as hell it's campy

It's a novel, small-scope project for Kodaka, and it didn't waste too much of my time so I can't really get mad at it. But the story here is uncharacteristically predictable and tepid for his work. And with little gameplay (since this is an FMV), there's unfortunately not much else to latch onto for me. I'll probably forget about it within the week.

Extremely short, under 2 hours. The twist is very quickly told and then there is nothing under the surface. If you have played other Kazutaka Kodaka games before, it is essentially the same type of twists, but less well done. The production value of the FMVs is incredibly poor with the bare minimum workable cinematography in mind. The acting is good, but it is really a lot of talent trying to make do with what they have. Reading up a summary of the plot is unfortunately the same as experiencing it, there is unfortunately nothing worthwhile there. And pass the story, there is no substance to hold on to. There is virtually no choice, which may sound like a redundant saying in choice-driven narrative games, but no this time there are truly no choice: when you make them, the game will keep telling you to do the "right" one instead of choices flavoring the narrative. You *truly* cannot pick choices despite the game implying you can.

As a disclaimer, I eat thriller games/mystery games like this for breakfast. No joke, I've probably played 10+ of them. And, I usually [i]do not[/i] recommend games that are both pricey and short, but I'm making an exception for this one. I think it has a few things going for it that will probably make it worthwhile. First, Death Comes True is a fantastic option for an at-home date (or friendly get together). Make some popcorn, gather everyone around the TV, and have a fun experience that concludes itself within one sitting. Next, this game has some really good pacing. It takes a good bit of planning and some cleverness to reduce potential slowdowns, repetitions, etc with a story premise like this one. Finally, I think it's enjoyable both for people who are new to the genre AND for people who are already familiar with a lot of the tropes. Now to be blunt, I wouldn't call it genre-definingly great. BUT, the game is good at introducing plot points in a way that won't confuse newcomers. At the same time, it does not dramatically drag out the reveals of how the story premise works... which means it's still engaging for the already-initiated. The game respects its audience by keepin…

If you're thinking of getting this because of Kodaka's writing, you should know that this is probably a script he threw together in a few afternoons. It's nowhere near as impactful, complicated or quirky as Danganronpa, Rain Code, Hundred Line or any other hard-hitters he's written. Still, Death Come True is a pretty clever and entertaining 2 hour experience. It's a well-produced interactive movie with likeable enough characters and tight story that comes together well in the end. The visuals and special effects look slick and the acting is solid. I'm not completely sure if Kodaka directed the filmed sequences, but if he did, he did a surprisingly good job. I'd watch another live action movie or play a movie-ish game if he decided to make it. The full price is pretty low but since it's only 2-ish hours of "gameplay", you'll probably want to get this on sale. Also, be sure to check out all the extras because there's some really funny stuff hidden there.