Operation Backlog Completion 2026

How Did I Miss News of a Death Mark Reboot?

 Video games  2 Responses »  Tagged with: , , ,
Jun 222026
 

That’s it, that’s the big question. Death Mark got a reboot announced, and I somehow remained oblivious to it for over a year.

I absolutely loved Death Mark, the ghost-hunting adventure game that kicked off the Spirit Hunter series.

Two years after beating it, I played and reviewed the second game in the series, NG, and two years after that, I played and reviewed the third game, Death Mark II (one of my favorites for confusing names).

The other day I happened to look it up after someone asked about games with creepy doll characters, and what did I see but news about a Death Mark reboot from last year.

It seems that in May 2025, a reboot of the first game was announced in a live stream. A few months later, in August, the developers ran a successful crowdfunding campaign via Campfire. I’m not sure how I missed both of these events, but the news completely passed me by.

Now, I have mixed feelings about a Death Mark reboot. On one hand, it’s exciting that they’re still working on the series, even if it’s not an all-new game, and I’d like to see what a revamped Death Mark will be like. On the other hand, the first game is by far my favorite of the three, with each sequel toning down the scares even more, so I’m afraid a reboot might be more in line with those and lose some of what made the original so great.

But I’ll still probably play it if it comes out here, so we’ll see.

What are your thoughts on Death Mark getting a reboot?

New Death Mark DLC is Available Now for the Switch

 Video games  2 Responses »  Tagged with: , , ,
Apr 112025
 

There’s new DLC available for Spirit Hunter: Death Mark!

And no, I didn’t forget the number. This isn’t DLC for last year’s Death Mark II, but for the original Death Mark that we discussed back in 2020.

Death Mark first came out in 2017, but it got a new DLC episode in Japan last summer exclusively for the Switch version. No one was sure if it would get translated or not, but now it’s finally available.

According to the announcement from Aksys, Death Mark Chapter 7: Kaerazu’s Amusement Park follows Moe Watanabe when she finds that Yashiki and Mashita have gone missing and starts a new investigation.

It costs $9.99 and can be accessed from the title screen.

Now, this puts me in a bit of an odd situation. Of course I want to play the new Death Mark DLC… but even though I played NG and Death Mark II on the Switch, I played the PC version of the original Death Mark. Do I wait in the hopes that the DLC comes to PC, even though there’s been no sign of it yet? Or do I pick up a Switch copy of Death Mark for the DLC? I enjoyed Death Mark enough that I wouldn’t mind having a physical copy, and being able to play it from the title menu means I’d be all set from the start.

Either way, it looks like I’ll need to wait a bit before playing the new Death Mark DLC. Are you planning to pick it up?

Celebrating All Things Spooky: Death Mark

 Celebrating All Things Spooky, Reviews, Video games  4 Responses »  Tagged with: , , ,
Oct 312020
 

Happy Halloween!

It’s time for a special Halloween Celebrating All Things Spooky review with a look at Spirit Hunter: Death Mark.

(That link goes to the Switch version, but it’s also available for PC, PS4, and Vita.)

Death Mark puts you in the shoes of a man with amnesia who has a strange mark on his arm… a mark that he learns heralds the bearer’s upcoming death due to being cursed by a spirit. He soon joins forces with other Mark Bearers to track down and defeat the spirits that cursed them.

It is a combination of a visual novel and an adventure game, and in some way it reminds me of Ace Attorney – if Ace Attorney had battles against deadly spirits instead of trials.

In each chapter, you investigate a haunted location with a partner. You usually get to choose your partner from 2 or 3 characters, and different characters have different skills or knowledge that can come in handy. You search locations for clues and items that can help you proceed.

Occasionally you’re placed in a deadly situation where you need to use the knowledge you’ve obtained to choose the correct answers and survive.

Then there are the battles against the spirits, in which you and your partner must use items on each turn. Once again, you’ll need to have paid attention to the clues along the way to know which items to use to survive (and which to use for the best outcome, which involves putting the spirit to rest instead of destroying it).

The story is pretty interesting, and each chapter has its own dark story as you learn about the spirit. Aside from those narrative horror aspects, Death Mark also does a great job with little unsettling touches as you explore, such as having a ghost visible while you pan your flashlight over a certain area yet disappear when you look again.

Navigating between areas was a little odd at times, but overall I found Spirit Hunter: Death Mark to be an enjoyable game and a great way to end this year’s spooky season. So if you enjoy this sort of game, be sure to check out Death Mark!

(I’m not entirely done with spooky games yet for the year, though, because I have Bloodborne in progress.)

I’ll be looking forward to playing the second game in the series at some point as well. That’s it for Celebrating All Things Spooky 2020! You have the rest of today to leave comments for the contest and get my horror novellas on sale, and stay tuned for the upcoming announcement of the contest winners.

Happy Halloween!