Operation Backlog Completion 2026

Celebrating All Things Spooky: Corpse Party

 Celebrating All Things Spooky, Reviews, Video games  4 Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Oct 272021
 

I’ve long intended to get into the Corpse Party series, but I was never quite sure where to start due to the number of different versions of the original game.

But this year, I finally got my answer with the release of a new Corpse Party remake. Since it’s pretty much a definitive version as near as I can tell, I picked up a Switch copy and finally played.

It begins with a group of students performing a charm intended to make sure they’re friends forever… but something goes terribly wrong, and they suddenly find themselves in another school, where a tragedy occurred many years earlier and vengeful ghosts stalk the halls.

They’re separated from one another, because the school exists on many different planes of existence. This means that while they’re all in the same location, they aren’t in exactly the same time or place. Corpse Party makes use of this in some interesting ways as you switch between groups of characters.

Although it might resemble an RPG visually in some ways, Corpse Party is essentially an adventure game. Much of your time will be spent figuring out how to get from one place to another, finding keys, etc.

And occasionally, being chased by ghosts and avoiding other dire situations that lead to the game’s numerous bad endings.

It’s fun, if a bit too reliant on checking and re-checking areas to see if something has changed when you have no specific indication that you should return.

It is split into chapters, with each chapter having its own save menu (which confused me a bit at first, especially since the “resume” option only loads temporary saves). Each chapter has its own set of possible endings, a true ending that unlocks the next chapter and several bad endings. Numerous “extra” chapters can be unlocked as well.

The story is dark and disturbing. It doesn’t shy away from gruesome details at all, whether it’s in the main story or in the history that led to this situation.

Now, while I often criticize games that immediately introduce you to a large cast of characters, I didn’t have a problem with that here. Although you meet many characters right away, its chapter-based structure gives you time to get to know them in smaller groups.

I do wish it had a way to skip read text, though, for the times when you get a bad ending and then need to go through a lot of dialogue before you catch up (although the option to make a temporary save helps). On the other hand, the collectible name tags you find are saved even if you get a bad ending, which is very convenient. It’s certainly a story-driven game, and the plot and characters are well worth sticking around for.

Corpse Party is a wonderfully creepy ghost story, and I’m happy this remake gave me the push to finally check this series out. I still have some extra chapters to finish up, but then I look forward to moving on to the sequels in the future!

Celebrating All Things Spooky: Dracula: Origin

 Celebrating All Things Spooky, Reviews, Video games  3 Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Oct 202021
 

There was a time when I picked up a bunch of adventure games, one of which was Dracula: Origin.

Dracula: Origin is a point-and-click adventure game that puts the player in the shoes of Professor Van Helsing, on the trail of Dracula after an ominous letter warns that the vampire is coming for Mina Harker.

Despite what you might expect, it’s not even close to being an adaptation of the novel, though. In fact, partway through it introduces elements from H.P. Lovecraft, although as much as that made me smile, the story would have been fine without it.

The voice acting… isn’t great, but I got unintended joy out of serious, professional Van Helsing routinely crying, “Open!” upon unlocking a door or letting out a dismayed and confused “Closed…?” when he couldn’t.

The gameplay is fairly straightforward. You can click a spot to move Van Helsing there, or click on an item to pick up or a spot in the environment to interact with. Once you have an item in your inventory, you can make it your active item to use it in an interaction. There’s also a key that highlights everything that can be interacted with, always helpful.

Some of the item-based puzzles have questionable logic, and I admit I solved some of them by trying random items together until something combined (and one I had to look up entirely.)

Click for Dracula: Origin puzzle spoilers
You need uncontaminated water that “has never touched the ground.” I boiled water to purify it, but that wasn’t good enough. The solution?

Use the knife on the necklace to get a diamond.
Use the diamond on the mirror shard to get a rectangular mirror.
Use the mirror on the boiling water to get condensation.
Use the mirror on the flask to get a flask of condensation.

There are a handful of other puzzles as well, which can get pretty tricky.

Overall, Dracula: Origin was enjoyable enough. Nothing that really stood out, but entertaining enough if you enjoy classic point-and-click adventure games and are looking for a vampire story.

Celebrating All Things Spooky: The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark

 Celebrating All Things Spooky, Reviews, Video games  3 Responses »  Tagged with: , ,
Oct 182021
 

A years ago, we discussed The Darkside Detective, a humorous point-and-click adventure game about a detective who investigates supernatural incidents.

I enjoyed it enough that when the developers began a Kickstarter campaign for a sequel, The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark, I backed it and got a Switch copy. (It’s available on all major platforms.)

The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark begins with Detective McQueen searching for his partner Dooley, who has gone missing, and once again features six lighthearted supernatural investigations.

Oddly enough, I found the first case to be more frustrating than the rest of the game, with puzzle solutions that felt illogical and sections that seemed to be unnecessarily drawn out. This might be because the first case has you visiting several different locations and traveling between them, while the others are more contained.

Anyway, most of the game was quite entertaining, and while I’m not sure it’s as funny as the original, it still had a lot of funny lines.

Bizarre situations, a bit of fourth-wall-breaking, and in general the cast of characters being a group of weirdos is where most of the humor comes from. While the cases have an occasional serious moment or two, this is a game that focuses much more on its humor than on its plot.

And of course, it’s perfect for the Halloween season, with ghosts, vampires, and other supernatural entities at the heart of every case.

Six cases are available now, but three free bonus cases are on the way. I’ll be sure to return to The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark when that time comes.

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