Death end re;Quest

 Switch
Metascore
73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
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  1. Cubed3
    Jul 14, 2022
    90
    Death end re;Quest is making its mark on Nintendo Switch with a fine balance of cute anime style graphics to temper the exceedingly malevolent and gruesome violence that truly is necessary for the plot. By the time the end game approaches a melancholic air descends because time is almost up for the beloved Shina and her sweet smile. Replayability is a must for completionists who want to encounter every clue in the game, and also for those who love the very screwed up universe in World Odyssey. Apart from occasional confusion on story progression, there are minimal negative aspects, with difficulty levels making lesser skilled players able to enjoy the intricately layered plot and higher skilled players able to sink their teeth into the complex battle mechanics.
  2. Digitally Downloaded
    Apr 28, 2021
    90
    The point here is that Death End re;Quest is an excellent game, with a narrative with a depth that might surprise some players who go in assuming that fan service is the limit of it. And, sure, the Switch port is not the perfect version of the game and struggles to run smoothly at times, but that doesn't stop it from being highly playable, and for Idea Factory, putting this on a handheld platform is a worthwhile endeavour.
  3. Hey Poor Player
    May 9, 2021
    80
    Death end re;Quest is one of the best games that Compile Heart has ever made. While it may not manage to avoid all of the tropes that you’d expect to see from a CH game, it’s obvious that a lot of effort has been put into this game, and it absolutely shows. It’s a weird combination of sci-fi, horror, comedy, visual novel, and JRPG elements that were all put together in just the right way to allow them to work together in a near-perfect way. Whether you’re a Compile Heart fan who initially passed this game by, a pre-existing DerQ fan, or just someone with even a mild interest in this game, I’d say to just go ahead and pick up Death end re;Quest for Switch. It’s relatively cheap, and a lot of fun and the smorgasbord of DLC that comes with this version doesn’t hurt anything, either.
  5. 4P.de
    May 31, 2021
    74
    Interesting mix of virtual online rpg and occult visual novel with some technical issues on Switch.
  6. RPG Fan
    Jun 24, 2021
    68
    Though Death end’s engaging narrative pushes me to reconsider my skepticism of games whose titles include semicolons, this Switch port’s monotonous combat system, cookie-cutter progression mechanics, and serious technical failings keep me from dumping this aversion altogether. For fans of top-notch visual novels willing to tuck in for the hours of tedium much the rest of the game amounts to, I can wholeheartedly recommend Death end re;Quest — just not on Switch. To all others: steer clear of this one or, if you can’t resist experiencing this odd series for yourself, nab this on PS4 or PC and dodge this technical travesty.
  7. RPGamer
    Jun 28, 2021
    60
    Death end re;Quest is one of those games wherein I wavered as I played through it. The story was engaging overall despite my issues with the game’s use of violence for shock value, the unnecessary fanservice, and a combat system that made parts of the game a chore to play. The Switch port is also probably not the ideal way to play the game due to the poor optimization though it is serviceable if players can’t access it on either the PS4 or PC. Despite the issues, I would have a hard time denying that I was compelled by the experience more often than not. If asked whether I like the game or not, my answer is yes…but not without some serious caveats.
  8. The Mako Reactor
    Apr 26, 2021
    50
    While Death end re;Quest itself is worth experiencing and the visual novel segments feel great on Nintendo Switch, the conversion leaves a lot to be desired with its visual and performance downgrades and is only really worth it if you have no other platform to play one of Compile Heart's most interesting games on.

User Reviews

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User Score
6.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 5 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 5
  3. Negative: 1 out of 5
  1. Sunshadow87
    Sep 18, 2022
    4
    Gran parte de lo malo es culpa mía por haber comprado un juego de "Compile hearts" sin darme cuenta, pero si lo comparo con Mary Skelter queGran parte de lo malo es culpa mía por haber comprado un juego de "Compile hearts" sin darme cuenta, pero si lo comparo con Mary Skelter que le da mil vueltas...

    Death end re: quest tiene dos partes muy diferenciadas: la parte RPG de combate y exploración, y la parte VN dónde transcurre la historia.

    La parte VN, aunque básica, cumple su función. La historia es suficientemente interesante como para seguir jugando, y es la parte que me mantuvo hasta acabarlo.

    De la parte RPG no puedo decir lo mismo... la exploración es muy deficiente, en parte por el apartado gráfico y artistico. El combate es personalmente la peor parte con diferencia. En él existen buenas ideas: un sistema de combate dentro de una arena donde el posicionamiento de los enemigos y aliados importa... pero se hace extremadamente repetitivo y en cierta parte desaprovechado (¿de que sirve mandar al enemigo al otro extremo si en su turno tiene igualmente tiempo de sobra para acercarte a ti y meterte una toña?), resumiéndose al final en repetir ataques una y otra vez para acabar rápido, o perder en tiempo en batallas que se alargan más de lo deseado. Existen muchas costuras del combate que jamas llegue a entender (el tema de algunos enemigos que hacen counters a ciertos tipos de ataques, las debilidades de los enemigos, que no se corresponden con las descripciones de las habilidades y sus tipos, si no que parecen ser aleatorias...). Todo ello me llevo a poner el juego en fácil después del segundo boss, no porque tuviera problemas en los combates, si no para acabarlos antes ya que me estaban aburriendo soberanamente, pasando a esquivar todos los enemigos que pudiera de ese punto en adelante.

    Y ya por último, el problema de "compile hearts"... esta compañía se caracteriza por llenar sus juegos de adolescentes y preadolescentes sexualizadas que acaban en situaciones sin apenas ropa. Si esto no es un constante, puedo pasarlo fácilmente por alto, pero en este juego esto no es así por dos motivos: el diseño de la protagonista a la que vas a estar viendo las bragas el 100% del tiempo a no ser que pongas la cámara casi en vertical, y, mucho más importante, los gemidos que emite cada 5s cuando estas explorando el escenario... ¿en serio era eso necesario? Existen dos opciones de sonido de voces: silenciar todas las voces o silenciar al protagonista, pero la única opción que elimina el problema de los gemidos es silenciar todas las voces, así que al final me decante por esa opción, perdiéndome todas las líneas de doblaje de los diálogos ya que eso era mejor opción que escuchar gemidos cada 5 s en secciones de 10 min de exploración... Podría haber activado y desactivado constantemente las voces, y al principio lo hice, pero estar haciendo esto continuamente era en última instancia un coñazo, así que opte por dejarlas silenciadas.    … Full Review »
  2. AB1
    Jul 20, 2021
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view. Review of Death End Re;quest Switch:
    Gameplay:
    Battle: 9/10
    The way battles were handled in Death End Re;Quest was unique, the idea of hitting enemies around an arena and positioning yourself to make the most of your moves keeps battles interesting and stops it from being repetitive. The ability to change the game's genre mid fight was an amazing addition, even though I ended up using the puzzle genre most of the time. The Glitch mode is an amazing idea, but is quite insignificant, and a tad overpowered.
    Overworld: 5/10
    The overworld is bland, most of the time you're looking for key items to open doors, this is most prominent is the Area; Rizaria Forest, where the game has you looking for key items to continue, the overworld icons for key items are a colour that is hard to make out, it would be better if it was outlined.
    VN Portion: 7/10
    The VN portion of the game was well done, some parts were bland, but it was a VN, what can you do. Having the skip button as L made it so I would repeatedly skip dialogue on accident. It was quite annoying.
    UI: 8/10
    The Ui was neat, the only gripe I have with it is the button for the map, being the + button, In my own opinion, the buttons for the map and menu should of been switched.

    Overall: 7/10

    Story: 7/10
    It felt like I was reading a crappy light novel, it wasn't bad, it just felt like there was suspense for the sake of suspense, the whole death game idea was a complete turn off for me. Other than that the characters were enjoyable to read, their character interactions never failed to keep a smile on my face, even if most of it was one liners, and repeated inside jokes. Mizunashi was a great main protagonist, unlike your usual self inserts of modern day japanese storytelling, Mizunashi had a distinct personality and a fun one at that. Shina was otherwise, she seemed like she was too goody 2 shoes, considering her situation. the Mystery aspect always keeps you on the edge of your seat, although you already know Aggle is behind it by around chapter 4.
    Visuals: 6/10
    What. The. **** Happened? The overworld looks worse than a DS game is some areas, it's revolting. Atleast the character art is good, though the posing looks unnatural. Bgs are good, when they're not screenshots.
    Music: 8/10
    The music was great, the battle theme is memorable, and each overworld piece I can tell which area's they're from. Although Sanatheus Temple uses the lick too much. The opening, Caligula Syndrome, is well made and a bop to listen to.
    All in All: 7/10
    DER;Q is a great example of what to do and what you shouldn't when making an RPG. finding a way to make battles not repetitive so it doesn't make me not want to grind is a great thing, but presentation and story leave much to be desired. I hope DER;Q 2 is better.    … Full Review »
  3. jcboyer515
    Jul 6, 2021
    7
    Still a great game. Was a bit disappointed with the graphical downgrade from an already not too terribly demanding game. The 3D models areStill a great game. Was a bit disappointed with the graphical downgrade from an already not too terribly demanding game. The 3D models are quite blurry & jagged most of the time, which looks out of place compared to the sprites & environments that seem to have not struggled with its port transition. Oddly enough, there's two included options not present in the Playstation version where in the settings menu you can toggle the glare effects or whether or not shadows render, but unfortunately I can see little to no difference in graphical fidelity when they're disabled. Switch copy came with all dlc which was a nice gesture I suppose. Even with 720p being the max output (I think), there's frequent frame drops & even occasional screen tearing. So far all these performance issues are present in handheld & tv mode alike. I picked up this version to support the devs, but I'm already regretting it slightly since I paid more than double for this version. I'm either hoping that there will be future updates to improve these visuals or at least if Death end re;Quest 2 gets ported as well that a little more care will go into it. If you have the option, definitely buy this game on PS4 or PC.… Full Review »
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