Death end re;Quest Reviews
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 spins an interesting tale, but unfortunately is tripped up by its own tedious gameplay mechanics.
On one hand, the game’s narrative and characters are engaging enough. On the other, the actual RPG elements are hindered by a battle system that, while having some neat ideas, doesn’t really come together.
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.
It’s a bit rough around the edges, especially on the Switch. But Death end re;Quest is easily one of the most creative games in Idea Factory’s stable, and if you missed it before there’s plenty of value in checking it out now.
Death end re; Quest is a game that reinvents its genre with metalanguage and the mix between different types of games. Without any serious performance problem, it has an immersive and immersive history, being a good option for those who want to escape the traditionalism of RPGs or even for those who like technology in general.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
I know that I said it at the beginning of the review, but I’ll say it again: 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.
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.
By bringing Death end re;Quest to the Nintendo Switch with all DLC included I’m pretty sure this is the ultimate package. The game, in my opinion, is foremost a Visual Novel with an intriguing storyline and many hours of gameplay. Be prepared for lots of reading and some interesting ideas when it comes to battle but also, you’ll have to stomach the violence. To me, that’s where the game failed. Yes, good stories come with horrible plots and they can still engage. But I don’t want to be witness to blood spattering, crunching bones and prolonged suffering. Though the story kept me hooked, I can’t overlook that.
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
So overall, mashing up the likes of .Hack or Sword Art Online's being trapped in a digital world, MeiQ's character design and finally a penchant for the macabre, and you have one of the better titles this partnership have ever put out which in the past couple years is a fair amount of praise. Whether fans of RPGs or JRPGs, Death End re;Quest is worth grabbing either on the PC or on the PS4 where it was already available.
Although the enjoyable RPG mechanics can be a bit tiresome eventually and the balance between the RPG and visual novel side can feel off Death end re;Quest’s brilliantly written storyline will keep players hooked.
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.
Death end re;Quest was a good JRPG. It’s strongest points are the story, the switching between worlds and the features of the battle system. It’s certainly not perfect though. Sometimes the wandering around dungeons went on too long without encountering anything and there are certain features which the game could explain better. It innovated in many ways while relying on tropes in others. Still, I enjoyed my time playing through the game and couldn’t put it down at times. It's one of the better Idea Factory JRPGs.
Death end re;Quest is not a terrible game, but it certainly doesn't do much to stand out from a crowded and trope friendly glut of JRPG titles. The battle mode plays like a game of pool and has a lot of interesting features, but the writing is tired, the characters are overly sexualized and mentally deficient as always, and the game is set in a bland world with little detail or points of interest. Death end re;Quest is another game for fans of long dialogues leading nowhere.
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
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.
Compile Heart has produced something that's more than a boob-based JRPG, with a very compelling story and a lot of interesting ideas.
While it’s daring, it’s fun, and ultimately the darkest entry within the Compile Heart library, I often felt my experience marred by the need to endlessly retrace my steps while wondering around maze-like dungeons for hours on end. However, it will take quite a bit of patience to get where the game itself really stands out as one of their strongest.