Death end re;Quest

It’s a pity that there will be some (or many) who will inevitably dismiss Death’s End re;Quest as an anime fan service game, because it has a smart core under those trappings. As a blend of visual novel and JRPG, and as a blend of science fiction and conspiracy thriller that has a good, sharp bite to it, I would have to say this is the most inherently interesting game that Compile Heart has created to date.

Death end re:Quest is not for everyone. Many people will be made uncomfortable by its moe aesthetic. However, if you have similar experience with games such as Danganronpa, Doki Doki Literature Club, or anime such as Magical Girl Site, Made in Abyss, or No Game No Life, then you will not only be able to tolerate Death end re;Quests aesthetic, you might even enjoy it, and that leaves you free to experience the incredibly ambitious and innovative game underneath.

It may be a niche JRPG but Death end re;Quest is impressively innovative in both its storytelling and battle system. If you're even mildly curious about this kind of game, I highly recommend giving it a try.

Death end re;Quest comes with great storytelling, a nice cast of characters and a renewed combat system, which makes it a great JRPG choice for those who are familiar with the works of Compile Heart.

Death end re;Quest's haunting atmosphere pairs up well with the dread-inducing story, making for a worthy experience.

Death End re;Quest struggles to do anything to entice players from outside the JRPG space, but for fans of the genre, there’s plenty on offer here. The story is compelling, the characters are diverse, the combat is fantastic, and it is one of the freshest JRPGs I’ve played in years.

Quotation forthcoming.

Death End re;Quest is Idea Factory's and Compile Heart's best work to date, with believable characters, a fresh combat system and an interesting twist con virtual reality-themed topics.

The story is such a brilliant blend of science fiction and occult and, with the constant twists and turns, I didn’t want to put the controller down until I’d uncovered the truth behind everything.

Death end re;Quest offers an interesting story and characters that developers through its many chapters until the very end of it and keeping interest on both. Also its combat system with plenty of habilities and the Battle Jack makes it pretty addictive to keep fighting enemies to level up. The main flaw the game has resides on the dungeons which are boring and pretty repetitive.

Death end Re;Quest is good mix between an original J-RPG and a visual novel, with two different heroes.

While it is far from perfect, Death end re;Quest has some refreshingly honest qualities about itself. On a story level, it promises a twisted trip of mystery and conspiracy, and delivers on this and more in spades. The narrative is presented well in terms of both audio and visuals, with a high-quality localization to top it off. However, its gameplay stumbles with good ideas that weren’t given enough time and balance to gel into something special. It may even be a tad too lengthy, as quantity slightly edges out quality towards the very end. At times spooky, at times brutal or corny, on the whole this rabbit hole is one that casual and hardcore fans alike should feel comfortable diving into.

Death end re;Quest is half JRPG and half visual novel. The serious tone combined with the usual Compile Heart characters don't gel perfectly but the story is worth seeing through after a slow start and the combat has plenty of interesting ideas.

Death end re;Quest proves it can tell an engaging and darker story in an RPG/visual novel, even though it doesn't do too much to make it stand out above the rest.

Death’s End re;Quest has an interesting story to tell, but sometimes struggles with the ways it tries to tell it.

Death end re;Quest is far from perfect, with pacing and creative choices dragging things down. However, a simplistic, yet appealing combat and well-delivered character-based narrative make this a journey RPG fans can sink their teeth into. It may not be for everyone, but it has merit.

There are moments of tedium in Death End re;Quest, but there’s a compelling story and entertaining gameplay as well. This title doesn’t always shine, but there are flashes of brilliance when it does, in particularly adding a pinball-esque mechanic to battle. Imperfections aside, this is a worthwhile game to look into, especially for fans of other Compile Heart/Idea Factory games.

Compile Heart set out to prove they could do something different by making Death end re;Quest, and they absolutely succeeded. Unfortunately, the interesting ideas at the heart of the game are undone by the groan-inducing and lengthy dialogue that often tries too hard to be taken seriously. Edgy writing aside, Death end re;Quest has marvellous gameplay that kept me glued to my controller. It's a strong package for JRPG fans, but you might end up wanting to use that skip button during cutscenes.

With it's disquieting atmosphere and horror-fueled setting, Death end re;Quest is one of Compile Heart's most intriguing titles to date. However, much like other entries under the Galapagos RPG brand, it occasionally feels like the core gameplay plays second fiddle to everything else.

Unlike the Neptunia series, where the whole game has the luxury of playing with anime tropes and parodies, Death Re;Quest tries to rely on the merits of Idea Factory's own strength of mixing in Neptunia like gameplay and a more serious Visual Novel story, but sadly I think the game would have worked out much better as a standalone visual novel than a JRPG.

Death end re;Quest doesn’t always hit the nail on the head, but when it does, it’s bang on.

Death End Re;Quest demands more from players than most JRPGs do by requiring players to have both a strong stomach and a willingness to read a novel’s worth of dialogue. If they can take the violence and occasional tedium, however, they’ll be treated to a thrilling journey unraveling a fascinating conspiracy and meet some well-drawn characters along the way.

A game that, despite being sufficiently effective, could have balanced more carefully not only the length of the conversations between the characters, but also the difficulty level, clearly set down.

Fans of Compile Heart/Idea Factory will find a darker take on the old formula. Death end re;Quest has its best moments when it tells its gripping mystery story during the visual novel segments. The grim tone is undermined by anime tropes and fan service, though. Pacing problems and mediocre JRPG elements drag down the narrative, but at least the billiard-esque combat system is fun.

Death End re;Quest is the sort of thing that Hyperdimension Neptunia would have skewered mercilessly — and, for the most part, that skewering would have been deserved.

Those looking for a quality RPG are not going to be satisfied, as Death end re;Quest is something that is more geared towards visual novel enthusiasts that happens to effectively masquerade as an RPG from time to time.

For most of us though, the frustrating world traversal, disappointing combat flourishes and all-too-generic gameplay will make it hard to find a reason to stick with Death end; re Quest.