#Shinigami: Shibito Magire

[freckled-lili]

Eavesdrop correctly or die. Die from social awkwardness.

ManlyBadassHero, Death Mark II Let's Play.

[bloodstainedmuzzle]

Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II (2022) Experience Inc.

[satoshi-mochida]

Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II delayed to late February 2024 in the west; PS4 version dropped for PS5 version

Gematsu Source

Aksys Games has delayed the western release of Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II from its previously planned 2023 release window to late February 2024, as well as announced that the PlayStation 4 version has been dropped in favor of a PlayStation 5 version. It will now be available for PlayStation 5, Switch, and PC via Steam when it launches in the west.

Users who purchase Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II through the Aksys Games Online Store will receive an exclusive original soundtrack CD consisting of 14 tracks. Users who previously pre-ordered the PlayStation 4 version will receive an email asking if they want to change their pre-order to the PlayStation 5 or Switch version.

Here is a brief overview of the game, via Aksys Games:

The next installment in the Spirit Hunter series—Death Mark II will keep you wondering… The long-awaited sequel to 2018’s award-winning horror visual novel is coming to Western audiences next year! In Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II, Kazuo Yashiki is back in H City to investigate supernatural occurrences at Konoehara Academy. As in previous games in the series, the developers have drawn on Japanese myths and folklore to create an immersive and nuanced tale of terror. Some old faces return to aid Yashiki in his quest, and a 2D side-scrolling mode offers a new way to explore locations. Be ready, for when a spirit does attack, crucial mistakes mean certain death. Solve the mysterious deaths with help from many of the original characters from the first game—Spirit Hunter: Death Mark.

Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II first launched for PlayStation 4 and Switch on December 1, 2022 in Japan.

View a set of screenshots and the official box art at the gallery.

[elmundotech]

Lista de venta de juegos en Japón: Semana del 28 de noviembre al 4 de diciembre de 2022

Lista de #ventadejuegosenJapón: Semana del 28 de noviembre al 4 de diciembre de 2022 - #videojuegos #elmundotech

Mientras que Pokémon Escarlata y Púrpura continúan dominando la lista de venta de juegos en Japón durante la semana del 28 de noviembre al 4 de diciembre de 2022, se lanzaron seis juegos nuevos, entre ellos un nuevo juego de Mario. Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope hizo su debut en tercer lugar detrás de Pokémon Scarlet & Violet y Splatoon 3, con 17,647 copias vendidas. En séptimo lugar está…

[kasmis]

Shinigami / Death Mark II Follow-Up

Hiii.. again LOL. Back in December I posted my initial thoughts on Shinigami / Shibito Magire / Death Mark II. I’ve since replayed it and I’ve had some time to think more about my experience with the game and the themes and elements within it. I wanted to include some additional thoughts and update some of my opinions, and while I still agree with most of what I wrote in my first post, there are a few things I want to talk about that I avoided discussing initially / didn’t fully know how to verbalize. Since I talk about more specifics, please be careful if you’re trying to avoid any spoilers.

I guess I’d like to preface this by saying I still enjoyed the game and my positive opinions on it still stand true. I don’t really want anyone to go into the game expecting to feel a certain way about it (positive or negative), but I just want to reiterate that I don’t think it’s a bad game.

But, I think my initial excitement for the game made me more forgiving in general when I made my first write-up. I still agree with what I said about Death Mark and Shinigami feeling like totally different games, but I think because of that, it’s not fair to use what DM got right (and wrong) in order to give Shinigami bonus points. And if I’m going to judge it as a game standing on its own, I’d honestly say it wasn’t the best LOL.

I guess to start; I still think that the mystery premise Shinigami introduces is really interesting. I really liked that we knew of Shibito from the very beginning and slowly uncovered more about her, compared to Death Mark where the true villain wasn’t revealed until the very end. But I think Shibito’s identity becomes so obvious so quickly, it gets a little frustrating having to play the game as if you haven’t already figured it out. There were times when I just wanted to shake Yashiki because he was walking into a bad situation, both because it was obviously a set-up, but also, honestly, just because it was a fucking stupid thing to in general!

On that note, speaking of Yashiki... I tried to downplay it a bit in my first review, because I felt a little bad saying this as someone who’s just a fan, but I really think some of his characterization in this game is just not good. Again, he’s not the same person he was in Death Mark, and I anticipated that there would be a change in his personality / general demeanor. It was one of the things I was looking forward to. But some of the things he says and does in Shinigami just feel so completely... off. Like... I don’t want to get into too many specifics, mostly because it’ll make this even longer and might make me kind of mad, but from time to time it felt like he was just a completely different character.

I still like Yashiki in this game for the most part, because I still like Yashiki. But I feel like so much of his character was, for lack of a better word, scrapped for the purpose of male-player enjoyment. Like I said before, I still think some of his newer characterization works, but I think it’s become more obvious to me that these changes probably weren’t done for Yashiki's benefit / development, but rather just so Experience (the company that makes the Spirit Hunter games) had an excuse to add certain wish-fulfilment elements to the story. And I think that’s the most disappointing part of all, for me.

(Please skip this next paragraph if you don’t want outright spoilers) I also decided I like Michiho and Douryou more than I did initially. But I really, really dislike the way they were set up to interact with Yashiki. To be honest, I was kind of excited when I realized they were the main antagonists because, and maybe I was expecting too much, I thought it would be an interesting way to at least explain why they received so many gross fanservice CGs. I think it’s insanely sinister to realize the uncomfortable, fanservice-y situations they get put into are actually their own doing, and even more so when you realize it was all done deliberately to entice Yashiki. That Yashiki, and you the player, are being manipulated into leering at these girls, and it’s something that should make you sick. It would have made it more interesting to me if this was acknowledged, at least. But I realized I don’t think Experience intended that at all. I think this lack of self-awareness about sexualizing their characters, to the point where they set up an almost perfect meta-commentary about it and then did nothing with it, is so insanely frustrating. I think this is best seen with the True End; a happy end route that basically involves a reset button, where Yashiki gets to enjoy the company of two high school girls who have a crush on him, doesn’t really make sense. Yashiki deserves to be happy, but honestly, I find it hard to believe the Yashiki we knew in DM would genuinely enjoy what happens in this ending. It’s not satisfying, and it does nothing for the narrative overall.

Regarding the endings in general... in Death Mark, the tension that builds over the course of the game culminates with the reveal of Mary’s true nature and Yashiki’s true identity. For me, both the Normal and Good Ends in DM were extremely cathartic. They tie up the loose ends nicely and they set up an interesting future for the world (whether it’s one with or without Yashiki in it). In Shinigami, I felt the Good Ending came close to replicating this feeling, but it wasn’t nearly as cathartic. To be frank, it felt like the events in Shinigami, in this specific chapter of Yashiki’s life, weren’t really that meaningful overall. And in a game that’s supposed to be setting up how he transitions into a “spirit specialist,” I see that as a major failure on the game’s part.

Also, I was disappointed that Shinigami didn’t do much to expand on the world building introduced in Death Mark and NG. It felt like NG dumped insane amounts of lore throughout the game, but none of it was ever really expanded on. Conversely, it felt like Shinigami added nothing to the existing lore; no new ideas were really introduced, and no older concepts were elaborated on (like I mentioned with the Hyakki Yagyo in my first write-up, for example). Another example would be the dolls; while we get a new doll character, we never really learn more about dolls as a concept. Additionally, while the doll’s role in the game is markedly different from what we’ve seen in DM and NG, nothing new is really done with her. When new things did happen, such as some characters getting possessed, there is no further explanation besides “it just happened.” Again, it feels like everything that happens in Shinigami is mostly pointless in regards to building up the Spirit Hunter universe as a whole.

Finally, to bring up the Suspensive Act system again; it really feels unpolished and impractical as a mechanic. I think it's an interesting idea, and I like that it adds some flavor to the world with the pass and fail messages, but after the second chapter it feels a little pointless. I wish they’d spent more time refining it, since it feels like it doesn’t really fit in this game.

I’m glad that we got more Mashita content, and I’m glad that we got some interesting stories about individual spirits. But if I’m being completely honest, I don’t really know if this game was necessary. I don’t think it did much to add to the world of the Spirit Hunter series, I don’t think it did much to develop Yashiki in meaningful ways, and I don’t think it did anything new and innovative within the genre of horror itself. And I think Experience did the series and Yashiki a disservice by fully playing into the uncomfortable tropes that go along with having an adult protagonist in a school setting.

Anyway, I feel like this addendum is very critical, but I think it’d be disingenuous not to talk about the problems I have with this game. And I’m sorry that I wasn’t this tough in my initial write up, because I really did want to love Shinigami. I still liked the game overall and I encourage people to play it when it gets released in English. And as always, I’m happy to expand on any of my thoughts or opinions. Thank you again for reading!!

[gefdreamsofthesea]

HELL YES!

[gamingpark]

Overrogue, Gloom and Doom, HunterX, The Evil One e Shinigami: Shibito Magire concretizzano i loro estratti su Nintendo Switch

Overrogue, Gloom and Doom, HunterX, The Evil One e Shinigami: Shibito Magire concretizzano i loro estratti su Nintendo Switch

Ancora una volta la lista delle prossime uscite di Nintendo Switch è stata recentemente aggiornata con nuovi giochi in arrivo sulla console. Ecco alcuni di quelli che sono stati confermati oggi. Come in passato, negli elenchi qui sotto potete dare un’occhiata ai giochi insieme alla loro data di uscita, al prezzo e ai dettagli: Overrogue – 7 luglio Nel mondo sotterraneo, dimora di creature di…

[electronicgirl25]

Am I the only one who sees some potential for a cool ship between Ai and Shou? 

[recentanimenews]

Developer Experience Teases New Titles in 15th Anniversary Trailer

  Developer Experience has been touting its dungeon-crawling expertise since it was first established on April 1, 2007. Instead of looking back wistfully at all the games released since then—from Generation Xth: Code Hazard to Demon Gaze, Stranger of Sword City and beyond—Experience opted to look ahead to some upcoming titles in its 15th anniversary trailer. 

  Among the upcoming games are Undernauts: Labyrinth of Yomi Experience Selection, coming to PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch on April 28; Shinigami: Shibito Magire, coming to PS4 and Switch on September 15; and an unannounced dungeon-crawler featuring cute girls and monsters that's due out sometime in 2023.

  There's also a 15th anniversary title that promises to take on a new genre and take players on a new adventure, but we'll have to wait until next year to hear more about that one. 

    Via Gematsu

    -------

Joseph Luster is the Games and Web editor at Otaku USA Magazine. You can read his comics at subhumanzoids. Follow him on Twitter @Moldilox.

By: Joseph Luster

[freckled-lili]

You survived ... social decorum.

ManlyBadassHero, Death Mark II Let's Play

[satoshi-mochida]

During the All Aksys Fall 2022 live broadcast, the publisher announced that Death Mark II will be launching for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PC in Fall 2023.

Death Mark tells the story of a curse that appears on human skin which signifies that you will die. The game follows a group of people who investigate their own curses with the aim to fight against the spirits who gave them to them. The game features many moments of gore and horror as players must search through dungeon-like environments in the first person and solve puzzles to get through to the next areas.

Check out the announcement trailer from July 2022.

[satoshi-mochida]

Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II overview trailer.

[satoshi-mochida]

Experience has delayed Shinigami: Shibito Magire, the third entry in the Spirit Hunter horror adventure game series, from its previously announced September 15 release date in Japan to December 1.

Additionally, Experience will hold a hands-on event in Osaka for Campfire backers on August 13 and 14 from 11:00 to 17:00 JST, and on August 20 and 21 from 11:00 to 17:00 JST.

Finally, here is a look at a new poster that will be on display at Japanese retailers:

[satoshi-mochida]

Some games I hope get a localization announcement in 2022

Labyrinth of Galleria

Ciel nosurge DX/Ar nosurge DX

Chaos;Head Noah & Chaos;Child Double Pack

Shikabanegurai no Boukenmeshi

Megaton Musashi

Gensou Shoujo Wars

Tsukihime: A Piece of Blue Glass Moon

Fate/Extra Record

Live a Live(still hoping for that trademark to be for this game getting a rerelease)

Asatsugutori

Shinigami: Shibito Magire

Kochira, Haha Naru Hoshi Yori

Metal Max: Wild West

Metal Saga: Hangyaku no Rouka

Tantei Bokumetsu

SINce Memories: Off the Starry Sky

Kanda Alice mo Suiri Suru

Shin Hayarigami 3

Shuuen no Virche -ErroR: salvation-

Gloria Union: Twin Fates in Blue Ocean FHD Edition

Jack Jeanne

Buddy Mission: BOND

Magatsu Barai

Star Melody: Yumemi Dreamer

Archetype Arcadia

AIR for Switch

Amnesia World for Nintendo Switch

Knights in the Nightmare Remaster

The PS4/Switch version of Witch on the Holy Night

Yomawari 3(pretty sure we’ll get this one)

Some more from last year I forgot to put on here at first:

Medabots Classics Plus

Yoru Tomosu

Memories Off Historia Vol. 1 and Memories Off Historia Vol. 2

Death Match Love Comedy!

Yokai Watch 4/4++

[satoshi-mochida]

Shinigami: Shibito Magire teaser trailer.