Corpse Party: Blood Drive

 PlayStation Vita
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 80 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 56 out of 80
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 80
  3. Negative: 9 out of 80
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. SwitSwat
    Oct 22, 2015
    10
    It took over a year to finally have it localized in The States. But... it's finally here. First of all, let me point out that the chibi character design doesn't make the game any less creepier and scary. There are still plenty of scares to be had here. The awesome plot, voice acting, and unsettling atmosphere are all present here and I think it is a well-executed finale to the main CorpseIt took over a year to finally have it localized in The States. But... it's finally here. First of all, let me point out that the chibi character design doesn't make the game any less creepier and scary. There are still plenty of scares to be had here. The awesome plot, voice acting, and unsettling atmosphere are all present here and I think it is a well-executed finale to the main Corpse Party Trilogy. And not to spoil anything... but the ending is really bittersweet. But, I guess you can't expect a completely happy ending from a CP game. 10/10… Expand
  2. bloodless08
    Oct 27, 2015
    7
    I have played Corpse Party on the PSP. I have played Corpse Party: Book of Shadows. I loved both iterations of the game and was genuinely creeped out throughout the experience. Blood Drive is the conclusion of this trilogy, finally delivered into our hands, and while it is supposed to wrap up the story, I personally feel I would've been better off being done with the series after the firstI have played Corpse Party on the PSP. I have played Corpse Party: Book of Shadows. I loved both iterations of the game and was genuinely creeped out throughout the experience. Blood Drive is the conclusion of this trilogy, finally delivered into our hands, and while it is supposed to wrap up the story, I personally feel I would've been better off being done with the series after the first game.
    I loved the lore and background the game finally gives you in Blood Drive, and it was nice to see how the series would conclude after the ending to BoS. But the game itself, the added plot, and the 3D characters never managed to really pull me in. I feel like I played it more out of obligation to the series than I did for the enjoyment.
    All-in-all, it was an enjoyable experience, but it wasn't scary, and the new characters and additions to the plot just simply felt a bit forced. I'm glad I played it, but I'm probably going to trade in my collector's edition once I platinum the game.    … Expand
  3. XodusPaladin
    Nov 6, 2015
    5
    So this is my first time actually taking the time to review the game instead of lurking around for reviews, and sadly, my first reviewed game will not get a seal of approval from me. First of all, I'll go ahead and get this out of the way, Corpse Part: Blood Drive is my first game in the series, so I have no bias towards the series none-whatsoever. The plot of the game is pretty deep,So this is my first time actually taking the time to review the game instead of lurking around for reviews, and sadly, my first reviewed game will not get a seal of approval from me. First of all, I'll go ahead and get this out of the way, Corpse Part: Blood Drive is my first game in the series, so I have no bias towards the series none-whatsoever. The plot of the game is pretty deep, and even though I was new with the series I was able to follow it pretty well. The game also provides an encyclopedia of sorts to let you keep up with important people and events, so I felt I understood what happened in the past games and what was going on now. Story, from what part I read of it, was actually quite entertaining and for a game like this, that is important. I wouldn't say it scary per say, but it is disturbing in a psychological sort of way. Anyone a fan of psychological thrillers and survivor horror games in general will find the "story" part of the game appealing. That being said, this is also a game, and the "game-play" is the area I will focus on.

    "There really isn't much to the game-play. You run around searching for clues and items in the game while avoiding the random ghost, demon, monster, etc. that will chase you from time to time, trying to find a hiding spot long enough to avoid the chase...that's pretty much the game. STILL that's not my issue with the game either. I'm used to playing games like this or similar like this, so I knew what I was getting when I purchased it.

    The issue I had with the game was the control. The control of the game was embarrassing awful! So much in fact, it ruined my whole experience of the game and caused me to actually write my first negative review on Metacritic. There was a certain part in chapter 4 [spoiler] where you had to get out of the pool that was especially frustrating because you have to avoid debris and such. Even when I was completely away from the debris it would be an invisible wall preventing me from maneuvering before I would get caught by the tentacles monster. [END SPOILER].

    Its also frustrating when you die because there's no skip button so you can go directly back to the action, no, you have to read the whole dialogues exchanges, pauses, and expressions all over again all while dealing with a ridiculous load time that doesn't really make sense for a game that is mostly text!

    As a "game," I can't in good conscience recommend this to anyone but fans (or fanatics) of the game, and only if you really care about closure. The story seems to be pretty good, but you will have to resort to playing a very, and I mean VERY poorly design game mechanics to get through it. Maybe if this was an older gen game, I would cut it some slack, but this is on the Playstation Vita. Xseed Games could have done A LOT better than this as they had done more difficult games in the past on handhelds.

    Bottom line: Good story, bad control, ugly game-play mechanics.    … Expand
  4. Zykiel
    Jan 16, 2016
    0
    Corpse Party: Blood Drive has nothing to offer.
    This game has absolutely no redeeming qualities. It is a complete stain of the Corpse Party franchise. The characters shown no growth from the first game and no development through the story. The horror for which CPBD wishes to display is utterly ineffective, with nothing but gore and shoddily written dialogue. The gameplay is unremarkable    Corpse Party: Blood Drive has nothing to offer.
    This game has absolutely no redeeming qualities. It is a complete stain of the Corpse Party franchise. The characters shown no growth from the first game and no development through the story. The horror for which CPBD wishes to display is utterly ineffective, with nothing but gore and shoddily written dialogue. The gameplay is unremarkable and unintuitive with it being worse from the original. The plot is contrived and seems to have no great impact or interaction with the characters.
    All in all not worth your time to even look at.    … Expand
  5. TheQuietGamer
    Jul 22, 2020
    7
    Combines visual novel style storytelling with the moment-to-moment action of survival-horror to deliver a fascinating and twisted narrative. Despite not having played the previous titles (this is the third chapter in one of those rare horror game series that tells one continuous story), I had no trouble following anything that was going on and I had only done a modicum of research beforeCombines visual novel style storytelling with the moment-to-moment action of survival-horror to deliver a fascinating and twisted narrative. Despite not having played the previous titles (this is the third chapter in one of those rare horror game series that tells one continuous story), I had no trouble following anything that was going on and I had only done a modicum of research before hand. The plot does get a bit convoluted and occasionally gets distracted with anime fan service tropes, but I remained engaged throughout thanks to the strong character work and gruesome outcomes. I wasn't as enthralled with the actual gameplay however. Too often it falls prey to some of the genres oldest and most irritating pitfalls.

    Expect a lot of aimless wandering without so much as a map system to help you get your bearings. It is not uncommon to find yourself unaware of where you're supposed go next, which wouldn't be so much of a problem if getting lost and stumbling into the wrong rooms didn't attract the attention of lingering spirits. The biggest threats to your health aren't the scattered booby traps or broken floorboards, but rather the restless ghosts that are absolutely relentless in their pursuit of you. The only ways of escaping a phantom once they have you in their sights are to get far enough ahead of them and hide in a cabinet without being seen, or by dispelling them with a talisman should you happen to have one in your inventory. Both methods being easier said than done due to the limited amount of stamina you have while running and the fact that getting off track to actually find one of these talismans is likely going to be what causes the specters to spawn in the first place.

    With save points being spaced so far apart from each other death can be a huge setback. Not so much because it forces you to replay lengthy sections of the game upon your untimely demise (although that is a factor), but more so due to the fact that it can cause you have to sit through large portions of dialog multiple times in a row because of how the story is told. You can speed up text by holding the right trigger, but the animations must still play out at their usual pace so cutscenes often take a while to get past even when rushing. There are also some other, more minor flaws such as loading screens when entering and exiting the pause menu.

    All of this makes Blood Drive a frustrating chore to play at times without a guide, especially if you want to hunt down every collectible and ending. It's worth it for the plot though. Particularly if you've been following the series up to this point. It's a strange and very brutal tale that I had a hard time putting down once I got sucked in. It's chibi graphics prevent it from being scary in the traditional sense, but the way it uses language ensures that it's quite disturbing nonetheless. Making it an interesting option for your PS Vita provided you don't mind reading.    … Expand
  6. luffyy
    May 12, 2016
    5
    I'm a CP fan, freaking love the original one, thanks to its disturbing creepy story, art and texts. When CP:BD announced, I was really glad the game came back to the original gameplay style, after the disappointed CP:BOS. As a result, it didn't look good.

    BD updates to 3D graphic model, characters now as chibi style, and they now can show the emotions and reactions, comparing to the old    I'm a CP fan, freaking love the original one, thanks to its disturbing creepy story, art and texts. When CP:BD announced, I was really glad the game came back to the original gameplay style, after the disappointed CP:BOS. As a result, it didn't look good.

    BD updates to 3D graphic model, characters now as chibi style, and they now can show the emotions and reactions, comparing to the old 8-bit pixel from original. I love it, despite they making the game less scary sometimes.

    The story is the best part in this game, with excellent storytelling through creepy writing, disturbing arts and atmosphere, gorily deaths, multiple endings and various surprisingly plot twist. Voice actings are also extremely awesome, perfectly expressing the characters.

    But now here comes the negatives.

    While most of characters, especially Ayumi, are developed very good and solid, one disappointment in BD is that [spoiler] there were less deaths than other games. Even though those deaths are heartbreaking and supporting the theme (not as heartbreaking as Seiko or Ms.Yui from the original CP), I didn't have enough understanding to really care for them.[END SPOILER]

    The story is excellent, but it's not solid at some point, since containing so many events that were forced and makes no sense. For example, [spoiler] to rescue students trapped inside HH, Ms.Kuon, caring teacher, decided to have her company made a spiritual stone and to travel with 2 other students of hers, who had limited knowledge about this field. And those two, experiencing HH before, after preparing a huge backpack, ended up having nothing inside inventory during gameplay (not even bandage) [END SPOILER].

    The gameplay is having many problems. BD adds more features this time. Flashlight, having limited battery, is the good one, showing the way and lighting up traps to avoid. Running away from ghost with limited stamina is also good, but hiding in closet seldom works. The ghost chased me and knew exactly where I hid, even if I already in the closet while it still upstairs. One: it directly headed to me and dragged me out of the closet. Two: it stood right in front of the closet and never left. The ghost stuck while chasing? Go to the next room and, surprisingly, it can chase me again!

    The length of each chapter is not even, since some of the chapters are so short while others are long. And the same happened with EX Chapters, which are totally visual novel.

    I missed the haunting suicide notes yet really interesting and possessing spirits from the first CP. However in BD, I was only being jump scared by accidentally stepping on traps and ghosts suddenly appeared. They were not bad, but it soon became repetitive.

    Collecting name tag is even more boring, since they being all in the same uniform in every school. Some characters are interesting like the couple Azusa & Ran. I hope I could play as new people from other schools and learned about them, like Kizami or Tohko, in one of the EX chapters, which they never had one.

    Finally, 2 biggest issues are long loading screen and unstable framerate, significantly ruining the experience. You have to see the loading screen a lot. Open the door, loading. Open the inventory, loading. Interact with puzzles, loading. Trigger an event, loading. The same with framerate. Turn on the light, framerate drops. Step on the trap, framerate drops. Being hit by a ghost, framerate drops.

    I had so much hope for this game. Following the first two games, I recommend you to play this game if you are a fan of CP series.    … Expand
  7. kuehnau
    Jan 26, 2017
    6
    I got into Corpse Party a few years ago and bought the PSP games. I enjoyed the first one, but didn't enjoy the second one at all, due to it's focused gameplay being a visual novel.

    When I saw the new Corpse Party: Blood Drive would be making it's way on to the Playstation Vita, I looked online to see how the game was supposed to play. It looked like that the game was a departure from    I got into Corpse Party a few years ago and bought the PSP games. I enjoyed the first one, but didn't enjoy the second one at all, due to it's focused gameplay being a visual novel.

    When I saw the new Corpse Party: Blood Drive would be making it's way on to the Playstation Vita, I looked online to see how the game was supposed to play. It looked like that the game was a departure from the visual novel genre and went back to it's RPG/Adventure roots.

    How wrong I was.

    I am a horror fan, raised in the 80s some of the classics. What first attracted me to Corpse Party was not just it's creepy atmosphere and story, but it's often gory and gruesome visuals. This is one of the biggest things Blood Drive fails at. Sure there are spooky skeletons and ghosts, there's some spatters of blood here and there, but it's biggest draw and appeal, the graphic kill screens are no where to be seen. Instead, the screen often fades to black and then a text box describes how you died - TALK ABOUT LAME.

    The game gets a graphical overhall with 3D graphics and to be fair, they are perfectly appealing. Meanwhile the visual story elements are still wonderfully drawn. Unfortunately, it appears once again that the visual novel element takes center stage of Blood Drive. Be prepared to slog through nonstop dialog for the first few chapters.

    The game mechanics are pretty much the same, there are traps hidden within the game that you need to avoid or disable, such as razor trip wires. It's nothing enitrely unqiue, but added with battery management for your flash light, it's not terrible. The issue is, the game really is just another "hide and seek" simulator. You need to trigger special events to progress the plot and then once and awhile, a ghost will chase you. It's nothing too intense or hard.

    The voice acting is decent, but there's no option for for English (that I can see anyways).

    The story was already kind of weird and hard to follow to begin with, but now they had a ton of other muck to the story, messing it up even more. Secret societies, magic and curses are just a few of the themes you'll encounter in the game.

    At the end of the day, Corpse Party: Blood Drive is better than Book of Shadows, but not by much. It's a shame, because from the get go it never really felt as though the Corpse Party franchise was ever really given the attention or respect it deserved. It's really nothing more than weeb trash.    … Expand
  8. Michaelsnake
    Oct 5, 2016
    9
    This game is simply a visual novel horror game. I personally loved the horror theme to it, but it is unlike most other horror games. this is specifically a "visual novel" horror. That means the fear and scare come from the words and text, not the gameplay itself (even though there are a few moments), and there is an even larger emphasis on the story. It is true the characters are chibi inThis game is simply a visual novel horror game. I personally loved the horror theme to it, but it is unlike most other horror games. this is specifically a "visual novel" horror. That means the fear and scare come from the words and text, not the gameplay itself (even though there are a few moments), and there is an even larger emphasis on the story. It is true the characters are chibi in 3D, but that doesn't faze me, because I'm into the game for the story and the outlandish amount of gore.… Expand
  9. DanHazy
    Apr 2, 2016
    6
    Concept: Explore a haunted school while avoiding traps and ghost.

    Music: Music ranges from rock to upbeat nonchalant tunes. The opening song is one of the best I've heard in video games. It starts with a somewhat spooky acoustic guitar riff and then kicks in high gear with distorted guitar and vocals. Graphics: The graphics are chibistyle meaning that everyone has a bobblehead doll    Concept: Explore a haunted school while avoiding traps and ghost.

    Music: Music ranges from rock to upbeat nonchalant tunes. The opening song is one of the best I've heard in video games. It starts with a somewhat spooky acoustic guitar riff and then kicks in high gear with distorted guitar and vocals.

    Graphics: The graphics are chibistyle meaning that everyone has a bobblehead doll look. The character art is high quality though as in the previous  Corpse Party titles.

    Story: The overall story was good but the ending was rather short.The ending was about ten minutes of dialogue.

    Voice acting: This game was voice acted continuously and with high quality voice acting. It is of course all japanese with no option for an english dub.

    Gameplay time: My gameplay time was about fifteen to twenty hours. Not bad considering the price of the game at this time. There was some endgame content but very little.

    In depth review

    The Corpse Party games started with a game that was made from RPG Maker that had graphics comparable to a gameboy advance game. These games have since evolved to a chibistyle look which might make some gamers wonder if the Corpse Party series has lost their dark and graphic feel. Be rest assured, they have not. There is plenty of people having their heads eaten and being sliced in half to satisfy anyone.

    The gameplay in this game consist of exploring with a flashlight while dodging floortraps and ghost. In order to advance the plot, we simply walk through a hallway or into a room to initiate a cutscene and that's the basic gist of the gameplay. There are newly added gameplay elements that weren't present in past Corpse Party titles including; a flashlight the protagonist can use to spot and avoid traps, the ability to hide from ghost by hiding inside a cabinet, and a run feature accompanied by a stamina bar. One might think these newly added gameplay elements would enhance the Corpse Party experience but sadly, that is not the case.

    Blood Drive had the worst gameplay of any other Corpse Party game. The floortraps litter the floor and become a nuisance more than anything else. The ability to hide from ghost doesn't do much as you will most likely encounter the same ghost again before long, and the run feature isn't very helpful as the stamina bar runs out far too quickly, at which point you have to let it recharge for quiet some time.

    Specifically, there ar two gameplay sequences that will determine if you are a true fan of the Corpse Party story. The first is a gameplay sequence where you are required to explore a large area in search of keys or boards to unblock paths so you can advance the plot. This sounds simple enough except the fact that you will constantly be chased by a ghost or maybe even two or three at the time. These ghost are just as fast as the protagonist and when they get close enough, they attack you. The rooms you will have to walk into usually have a ghost residing in them, which will begin chasing you when you enter. This makes exploration next to impossible in this particular chapter but only during this chapter.

    The second gameplay sequence that is overly difficult is one with swinging gulliteins.The player is required to dodge these of course but the precise timing required is ridiculous. I personally died and restarted this part about fifteen times. I eventually  got the timing down to a science enabling me to progress.

    That brings up the problem of the loading times. The player can expect about a fifteen second loading delay whenever they die and reload their save file. Also, bringing up the item menu has it's unusually long loading time as does walking into rooms. All of these annoyances combine to make the gameplay a mess that will make many grimace as they wade through it.

    Closing comments: I would recommend this game to he diehard Corpse Party fan as it concludes the story from the previous two games, but not without some discussion of the horrible gameplay. Also worth mentioning is that this game comes with an artbook and two cd's that include all the music from all the Corpse Party games.

    That wraps this review up, hope it helps.    … Expand
  10. KingOfRock
    Sep 19, 2016
    6
    I have mixed feelings about this game. While I do like the story, I do see gaping problems with the translation. Sometimes the excessive cuss words just come off as hokey and it kind of detracts from the story. I'm not a prude, of course. That's not where I'm coming from.

    What I'm saying is that when the characters do cuss it feels so unnatural and comes off more like a kid trying to    I have mixed feelings about this game. While I do like the story, I do see gaping problems with the translation. Sometimes the excessive cuss words just come off as hokey and it kind of detracts from the story. I'm not a prude, of course. That's not where I'm coming from.

    What I'm saying is that when the characters do cuss it feels so unnatural and comes off more like a kid trying to look all tough and grown by using words they don't understand. My problem isn't with the use of the words, but rather the way in which they were written in. And that's only one problem I have with the translation, but it's one of the worst because it makes it come off as so cheesy when it doesn't have to. The translation feels like it's more direct as opposed to trying to capture the meaning of the Japanese translation.

    I also have a problem with the loading screens as well. I can understand them to some degree, but this isn't the deepest or most graphically intense game, so I don't get the excessive load screens. You open the menu, only to wait for a loading screen. You go to open your inventory, there's another load screen. You apply your bandages to your character, or whatever, then exit the inventory, another loading screen. Then, you go to back out of the menu and you get another loading screen. Why? I've seen PS One RPG's with faster loading screens that you see less often.

    I do have some positive things to say, though. Overall I liked the atmosphere, and I thought the controls were really smooth. The cutesy graphics really contrasted with the dark, ominous story about death and the supernatural, but I liked that. And, despite the poor translation, I really liked the general theme of the story. I thought those were really good elements to the game.

    I would say this game is above average, but it could turn some players off. I like it, but it's not my favorite game in the series. I wouldn't really say I love it. Like I said earlier, the slow and excessive loading screens and the dialogue that doesn't flow as well as it should keeps the game from being better than it could be.    … Expand
  11. NoahDoesSpore
    Jun 21, 2016
    10
    As a huge fan of the Corpse Party Series, I have to give Blood Drive a 10/10. The story was beautiful, sad, hopeful, and there are just so many emotions in the story. The plot is also solid, and is very well explained. It has some very tense, spooky, scary, and suspenseful moments, and as a horror fanatic, I love this. Also, an an otaku (big anime fan) I love this anime style game, it hasAs a huge fan of the Corpse Party Series, I have to give Blood Drive a 10/10. The story was beautiful, sad, hopeful, and there are just so many emotions in the story. The plot is also solid, and is very well explained. It has some very tense, spooky, scary, and suspenseful moments, and as a horror fanatic, I love this. Also, an an otaku (big anime fan) I love this anime style game, it has really pretty artwork, and has a perfect anime style to it. I made an account just to write this review, and praise the game. My only complaint is the loading screens, but that is to be expected. I love this game, and I would and am recommending this to many of my friends.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

38
#38 Best PS Vita Game of 2015
7
#7 Most Discussed PS Vita Game of 2015
8
#8 Most Shared PS Vita Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
60

Mixed or average reviews - based on 19 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 19
  3. Negative: 5 out of 19
  1. GameSpew
    Apr 9, 2016
    80
    A clear love letter to J-Horror games of decades past, incorporating common horror tropes while also presenting its own fresh ideas.
    Read full review
  2. GameCritics
    Mar 16, 2016
    40
    Corpse Party: Blood Drive has very little going for it. The amusing contrast of seeing cutesy anime kids in a horror story can't sustain such a jumbled plot, muddy visual design, and irritating construction. It may be worth investigating as a cultural curiosity, but otherwise this is a party to avoid.
    Read full review
  3. Gaming Age
    Jan 15, 2016
    67
    Newcomers will find it baffling, but for anyone who wants closure on the kids of Heavenly Host, you may just find that here.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »