World End Syndrome

 Switch
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 30 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 30
  3. Negative: 3 out of 30

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  1. d4rknezz
    Oct 28, 2019
    0
    There are games that allows you to replay part of the game, or the full game for a new game + experience with new endings or whatnot. Its kind of optional. if you love the game, go for the complete ending.

    This game took it to the extreme. They package it as new game +, or something, but really, to actually play this game properly, you have to play this game 5 times. There are love    There are games that allows you to replay part of the game, or the full game for a new game + experience with new endings or whatnot. Its kind of optional. if you love the game, go for the complete ending.

    This game took it to the extreme. They package it as new game +, or something, but really, to actually play this game properly, you have to play this game 5 times.
    There are love interest - these aren't optional. There is no best girl. No, they are part of the story that you have to replay 5 times to get the true ending.

    Well how about the story? Well, there isn't one, at least not until the 4th play through. The other 3 you are basically just having a slice of life thing. NO story. No bad guy, no good guy, nothing.
    Then suddenly the story is revealed on the 5th play through. Just like that.

    There are a couple likeable character, and more than a few very annoying character that you just wish to smack upside down. The other characters in the game seems to agree.

    Now is the game at least enjoyable? Well, The game consist of you exploring 7 locations in a city, at different times of day (3 different times). Depending on the time of day and the location, you get a different cutscene. or not. And you do this for 30 days to end the game. Then you redo this, 5 more times.
    Are there any quest? yes. There are very few quests. You can do them in the first run.
    What other variation is there to the game? NONE. You press A button a million times to go next...next...next...next...

    Graphic : Gorgeous.

    I have never hated a game more for making me read through it. And it wasn't worth it. It was so upsetting, i made an account on metacritic for my first review ever of this game.    … Expand
  2. Tortor
    Jun 13, 2023
    4
    I am so confused what people see in this. Ive played a lot of visual novels and this has won last place for me and is one of the worst experiences Ive ever had.

    It was low-stakes, shallow characters that just are so difficult to enjoy, terrible pacing issues of several hours going by of just not a lot happening, plagued with poor/cheap writing tricks that are either very predictable or    I am so confused what people see in this. Ive played a lot of visual novels and this has won last place for me and is one of the worst experiences Ive ever had.

    It was low-stakes, shallow characters that just are so difficult to enjoy, terrible pacing issues of several hours going by of just not a lot happening, plagued with poor/cheap writing tricks that are either very predictable or come out of nowhere that all emotions toward it just didn't have a build up to care about.

    This dragged in a way I've never seen a visual novel do before. It just is fascinating that no one thought to the self before releasing this that 'hey maybe we should cut out these several 3-4 hour long gaps of meaningless fluff because no reasonable person would enjoy that'.

    Some of the characters were alright albeit maybe a bit cliche and tropey but the vast majority of the cast just felt very underdeveloped.

    The traveling around concept was sorta neat. That was new for me and I really liked the trying to figure out where to go, too bad if you stumble on a place where nothing is going on you waste your time though which happens often. This structure unfortunately though leads to a big issue of trying to replay it. I just got frustrated with how much time I felt I was wasting on nonsense by trying to move around this structure that is cool at first but then quickly becomes an annoyance.

    The plot was just hard to care about, sometimes too vague and situations with the characters were not interesting enough for me. Reveals were also not really well written and would come off as cheesy too which just added to this mess. The MC you play as has a pre-built backstory too that just was hard to relate to, it felt like it came and went on a whim so often that id sometimes forget these details about the MC until it pops up again and it made it feel so disjointed.

    Overall, terrible game. One of the worst in my experiences. Art style is nice, menus are cool, I liked the traversal at first until I didn't but the main point of visual novels is plot/characters that this just didn't land for me.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

96
#96 Best Switch Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 10 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10
  1. Cubed3
    Feb 11, 2021
    80
    There is almost nothing to dislike about World End Syndrome. It looks and plays beautifully with a variety of shocking plot twists added among some well-known anime tropes which are comforting to read in a visual novel whose plot is definitely not cute and fluffy. It doesn't matter that, like all visual novels, scenes are reused over and over. The plot is so engaging that the repetitive nature isn't an issue, nor is having to load an earlier save when a wrong choice is made and the main character is brutally murdered. For those more easily scared it is advisable not to play this game in the dark, as ordinary night noise morphs into a death seeking being whose badness is not as clear cut as it seems. To get one hundred percent completion, several playthroughs will be necessary, yet each character is likeable enough that replaying it isn't a chore, not when more truths will be revealed by doing so.
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  2. FNintendo
    Feb 4, 2020
    80
    Thanks to a mystery-laden plot that drip-feeds the main elements to the player on a pace that's just enough to keep the senses sharp, World End Syndrome's high quality writing and beautiful visual environment only help making this a recommended experience to everyone who likes a good mystery.
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  3. Nintenderos
    Jul 8, 2019
    80
    WorldEnd Syndrome is a gift from Arc System Works for all fans of horror visual novels. With great illustrations, a deep story with multiple options, lots of collectibles and despite taking some risky decisions in terms of gameplay, we can say that it is one of the best titles of the genre available on Nintendo Switch.
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