Death end re;Quest: Code Z

[後半に日本語レビューあり] [h1] A cute rescue tale that suddenly turns into a merciless Death End loop [/h1] It looks cute, but the inside is a merciless loop-based roguelike RPG. You dive into procedurally generated dungeons, and in a turn-based system where one action makes both allies and enemies move, you tighten positioning and resource management. Floor traps include not only damage but also sanity loss, status ailments, warps, and even reinforcements, and if you let your guard down you can die in an instant. This "unfairness" is the tension, and at the same time it is this game's quirk. Beating the huge boss waiting at the deepest point is not the end. After defeating the boss and rescuing the captive heroine, you only return by escorting her as she follows you as an NPC to the extraction point. During escort, her movement slows down, routes collapse, and the unexpected happens easily, and failures here directly lead to a "Death End." Moreover, the strong enemy Glitch Girls can be even more dangerous than bosses, and sometimes take seemingly unfair actions such as destroying the exit itself and cutting off your retreat. There is a gap where a cute rescue story suddenly flips into despa…

This is the 28th IF game I've played, and this might be the worst game they have put out. Both the gameplay and story independently suck: 1. Gameplay - At first, the simultaneous turn-based system functions just fine, because it's so simple that there's not much to mess up. As long as it keeps humming along and doesn't overstay its welcome, then it's functional, albeit kind of boring/one-note. Then we get to the problem: the main collectable in the game (and how you progress the skill tree) is bad endings, which are all acquired by dying. "Death ends". This starts off tedious enough when you have to die to each enemy 3 times, but it gets to a whole new level when dungeons get to 20, 30, or even 40 floors. Why? Because you separately have to die to the boss, let your escort die after the boss, AND die at the same time as your escort after the boss. And each of them require you to redo the entire randomized dungeon AGAIN FROM THE START. 3 TIMES. You might argue "Oh but you don't HAVE to get those death ends!" This is supposed to be the primary character progression system, where you'll find most of the CG's, and THE NAME OF THE GAME IS "DEATH END". If I don't try to find…

Don’t make my mistake - don’t get this piece if you want a okay JRPG (like others in Galapagos series) with gore scenes. Because in thuth it’s a super boring and super tedious visual novel.

Death end re;Quest: Code Z marks a significant evolution for the franchise by taking its signature blend of horror, mystery, and science fiction and combining it with an entirely different gameplay philosophy. Developed by Idea Factory and Compile Heart and published by Idea Factory International, Inc., the game departs from the traditional turn-based role-playing mechanics of its predecessors in favor of a roguelike dungeon-crawling experience. While this shift may surprise longtime fans, it allows the series to explore its dark universe from a fresh perspective without abandoning the unsettling atmosphere and narrative complexity that have defined it since the beginning. The story centers on Sayaka Hiwatari, who awakens in the mysterious Strain Area, a parallel dimension brought into existence by the AI known as Iris. As Sayaka searches for answers, she encounters familiar faces whose roles and motivations differ from previous entries, creating an intriguing sense of uncertainty throughout the adventure. The alternate-world setting enables the narrative to reshape established relationships while introducing new mysteries that gradually unfold with each expedition. Psychological …

Let's start saying this is not a fully negative review. But my god those achievements are making me go crazy. The story in this game is an amazing improvement over the second game, while literally continuing the story of the 1st game (while incorporating the characters from the second in a way that makes sense). I really ended invested in the story and the characters, and Sayaka is an interesting character to follow as the god of death. That said, the ending is a cliffhanger for the next game, so a bit salty about that as well. Gameplay is not too bad for a while, except for a couple of aspects that makes this game a massive slog. It's a 3rd person randomized dungeon crawler in which you have to either beat the boss and/or rescue people and help them exit the dungeon. The gameplay itself is not bad for a while, even if it's a bit unbalanced, and some ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ things here and there (mostly Sanity, Traps and a couple of Glitch Girls). But the crawling is SLOW as ♥♥♥♥... and there are 2 things that don't help with the slowlyness. The loading screen when moving floors (could do without this 10 sec screen when moving between 100 floors, really), and the floor designs... which again…

1. go to dungeon > death > become stronger 2. go to dungeon again > another death > become stronger