Death end re;Quest Reviews
Compile Heart has produced something that's more than a boob-based JRPG, with a very compelling story and a lot of interesting ideas.
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.
Death end re;Quest is an interesting mix of Visual Novel, and JRPG which has a decent storyline, art design, and core gameplay mechanics, but despite the good core design, it gets repetitive, boring, and unchallenging after some time. If you can tolerate reading lots of dialogue and enjoy similar titles from Idea Factory, this game can be a good choice for you, but I cannot recommend it to general JRPG fans.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Anyhow, that's an aside. 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.
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.
Death End re;Quest combines a well-constructed JRPG with a visual novel that results in an experience of varying quality.
A game for anime JRPG lovers, Death End Re;Quest delivers a good story with plenty of choice and exploration, with a beautiful design backdrop. Providing a good rpg system with plenty of replayability and multiple endings, the game is good value for fans of the genre.
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.
Review in Italian | Read full review
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's End re;Quest has an interesting story to tell, but sometimes struggles with the ways it tries to tell it.
As far as new IP’s go, Idea Factory has provided a solid entry and deserve credit for trying something drastically different from their previous works.
Death end re;Quest tries to be more than the sum of its parts, yet fails to achieve it. The story could've been interesting with less mystery or at least thrilling if it had a large enough budget to give some of the dead ends/deaths animations/scenes. Sure, several people probably don't want to see a cut girl sliced in half or killed a number of ways but anything is better than just explaining how they die a multitude of times. Combine this with an extremely linear world and relatively bland combat and you have something that just doesn't stand out in any way.
Death end re;Quest's haunting atmosphere pairs up well with the dread-inducing story, making for a worthy experience.
The port performs well, and I'd wager for 90% of users the state of it will be enough. It's just disappointing that it launched in such a barebones state.
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.
Death end re;Quest doesn't always hit the nail on the head, but when it does, it's bang on.
The visual novel side of the game is definitely the strongest part, and it’s a shame that the RPG sections aren’t quite as engrossing.
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.
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 end Re;Quest is good mix beetween an original J-RPG and a visual novel, with two different heroes.
Review in French | Read full review