Developer: 5pb, Team GrisGris

Publisher: XSEED

Release Date: October 29

Platform(s): PC

A few years ago, the original version of Corpse Party was released in the west. It is a really fun horror adventure game that released on the PC-98. Now, Corpse Party Book of Shadows is a retelling and at the same time a sequel to Corpse Party: Blood Covered which in itself is a remake of the original PC-98 game.

That said, if possible, it would be best to play the remake instead of the original in order to play this game. Sure you can get by with some knowledge considering a good portion of the game is the same. However, to make the most of everything, Blood Covered is definitely preferred.

The narrative in Book of Shadows, is not just a sequel, but a direct sequel to Blood Covered. In the final bad end of Blood Covered, Satoshi is the only one who remembers the series of horrifying events while everyone else thinks it was just a weird dream. The day continues on only for Satoshi to notice that he was living the same day they all were teleported to Heavenly Host. As you can imagine, it ultimately ends with the cast teleported to Heavenly Host once more but now with Satoshi thinking of a way to save his friends this time.

Sadly, we quickly learn saving them is not an option and saving them now will only make their death much more gruesome later. With an example being one of the characters that used to hang around got caught slipping. All of these new instances are just as horrifying if not more horrifying when compared to the previous entry. These new experiences also give new context and add story elements to what happened in Heavenly Host as well.

Did you know that this entry is a major shift in terms of gameplay? Beforehand, you could explore the school as much as the game would allow. That’s still the case here. However, the game has gone from an adventure game, where the game was shown from a top-down perspective, to a point and click adventure game with cutscenes playing out as if it were a visual novel. This works because it’s still just as scary to other entries. Thanks to the game’s artwork, and overall sound design which are absolutely fantastic.

Now, I did just say you can explore the school as much as you want. That’s true and untrue at the same time. As you continue to explore the school, and its objects, the darkness will slowly start to consume you which will lead to a game over. In typical Corpse Party fashion, there are quite a few ways to get a game over so think logically in your actions.

The PC port of this title is for the most part pretty good. The game was able to run at 1080p 144fps and 4k 60fps on my respective monitors and my goodness the game looks gorgeous now. The fact that the game’s original audio was able to be used to makes this the definitive version of the game bar none.

The PC version does not come without faults from what I’ve experienced. These issues can easily be patched but they should be noted for launch players. For one, when trying to play the game using the full screen function, the game refused to work properly. By that I mean, it was mixing up my displays. When I was trying to do 4k, the game would not display at all. However, it would still run. Problem was, it would be running on the 1080p monitor. Same goes the other way around but that wasn’t as big of an issue.

Another issue I had with the game was testing out the controller. The game detected it just fine. However, the game would bug out on menus with me thinking there was a problem with my PS4 analog when in-fact there wasn’t. For the time being, using a controller is just absolutely out of the question. Granted, if this is only with the PS4 controller I wouldn’t be able to confirm since it’s the only console controller I have.

If you take away those few issues, the game is fantastic through and through. It is honestly my favorite Corpse Party entry in the franchise and just as easily my favorite in the horror genre as a whole.