I need to stop going to every party I'm invited to, the only drink they have here is strawberry punch and it tastes weird.
Warning: This review includes images with blood and gore of 2D characters. If you're squeamish, I recommend continuing with caution.
"Corpse Party," the most family-friendly title a game could have. "Corpse Party" started on PC-98 computers in 1996 in Japan. It was later rebooted in 2008 for PC, titled "Corpse Party: Blood Covered."
In 2010, the PlayStation Portable (PSP) version released, and outside of Japan in 2011, titled "Corpse Party Blood Covered: ...Repeated Fear," which redid the visuals, included many new EX Chapters, a new voice cast, and more. This version was also ported to the IOS.
Although because the 2008 version never released outside of Japan until 2016 on Steam, I imagine the sub-sub-title confused some people.
In 2015, the 3DS version released, adding a few more changes like new EX Chapters, a new Wrong Ending, and more. This is the version I played, although I watched a walkthrough of the PSP version in 2012 from the now infamous Cryoatic first.
Now we're here, with the 2021 remaster, released on all modern consoles. This will be a non-spoiler review of both the game and this version from my experience with the 3DS version.
First Ten to Fifth-teen Minutes of a Horror Game
One night a group of nine friends are hanging out before one of them moves away. One of them suggests everyone does a charm that'll ensure they'll be friends forever, which everyone is down with.
Unfortunately, soon they end up separated in the demolished Heavenly Host Elementary School filled with corpses, ghosts with the intent to harm, no edible food or water, and no escape.
It's up to these nine to explore the school in hopes they can overcome the situation to survive when the odds seem near impossible to beat. At least, that's the coolest way I can put it.
Right from the get-go, the hook is remarkably effective. The mystery is instantly intriguing since there's so little you know. The world-building is also well-executed with corpses and notes left behind by victims. Collecting Name Tags also lets you know how the person the Name Tag belongs to died, which enhances the horror of the situation further.
It's immersive and engaging. The game has a fantastic sense of suspense that'll keep you coming back to see what'll happen next.
What the 2021 Version Adds
I'll be going over the changes from the 3DS version to the 2021 version. If you're coming from the original PC version, you can find the general changes here.
The visuals are all upscaled, meaning higher quality portraits, cinematic graphics (CGs), and sprites. The new UI also gives more quality-of-life changes such as new text box colouring and showing inventory items on screen.
[Credit for fourth picture: ignas]
It's not only satisfying to see the amazing visuals upscaled, but the UI is far more convenient now too. It makes puzzle solving and health management far easier to keep track of. The upscaled visuals also made me see the expressions on the sprites clearer, which add a lot to some scenes.
The new UI also makes for nicer visuals in lists such as the Wrong End lists and Name Tag lists, and for when you pick up a Name Tag.
Audio-wise, the game sounds fantastic as always. Songs like the Chapter 3 Ending theme and Nightmare of the School Years include their full versions, which were cut short in the 3DS version. Which might be minor, but these are my two favourite songs in the soundtrack.
However, I did notice the last area's music was changed to a shortened version of the PC's OST for the area. I find it catchy but lacking.
The music overall is the right mix between creepy, tone setting, and MAXIMUM FUNK! The soundtrack is fantastic with no single track being even mildly disappointing.
The exclusive content from the 3DS port is also fully voice-acted instead of there being no new voicework... Mostly... Some characters are still missing their voices so there are still awkward silences, but the voices that are here help add the impact the next content were lacking originally.
In general, it's also great to hear the voice actors reprise their roles again.
Of course, there are the two exclusive EX chapters that are well-executed. Surprisingly, EX Chapter 16, which features the new characters, is playable from the beginning.
EX Chapters are normally unlocked by completing a chapter or EX chapter or getting a specific Wrong End. The new characters are enjoyable and I found myself liking them. It's hard to go into specifics without spoiling though.
There are also the new visual filters to spice up the visuals. However, I never used them since I like the visuals the way they are. I don't mind their inclusion though, it's neat to have.
The opening video plays if you wait around the title screen for a bit. I thought it was weird at first, but I think it'll also save content creators that play the game from demonetization since the opening song always gets copyright claimed on YouTube.
Finally, one timed obstacle that gives a wrong ending in Chapter Five has a spike of difficulty from one minute to 13 seconds. My only reaction is: WHAT?! THAT'S SO UNFAIR! Which is a fair reaction to have in my opinion.
All the additions and changes make for an overall smoother experience that makes an already enjoyable time more enjoyable. The only shortcomings are the lack of an auto feature, dialogue must always be manually continued; the galleries are a mess, and the inability to check the backlog during dialogue in case you accidently skip some dialogue.
Horror Elements
"Corpse Party" is best described as a RPGmaker game without the RPG... Which sounds confusing but is normal for RPGmaker horror games.
"Corpse Party" is about exploring Heavenly Host and solving puzzles to progress the story. In some cases, the player will be chased by a pursuer(s) that do worse than reach you about your car's extended warranty.
No joke, this kid buries his victims alive, which could include you if you're caught. The gameplay is honestly the weakest aspect, as the focus is more on the story and horror. I still believe the gameplay is good, but it's nothing special.
However, the horror pushes the player to perform well because the Wrong Ends that await the characters are gruesome and horrifying.
Also, if a character dies, they feel pain they felt while being killed or when they were killed for the rest of eternity. That's scary and there's no painless way to die, not in Heavenly Host.
Keep in mind, high school students aren't taught how to deal with haunted elementary schools. As a result, most threats or poor decisions can instantly kill characters.
The health bar is more of a suggestion then anything since only there are very few cases where something isn't instant death. It can keep the player on edge since a simple mistake can mean death... However, it also leads to a few unfair Wrong Ends.
The horror in "Corpse Party" is a disturbing combination of dark concepts, gruesome CGs, sound effects that depict the horror, and descriptions that are far too good at getting your visual picturing going. Honestly, that's why I love the horror so much, it's not just a bunch of jump scares, it's horror that the game makes you feel like you're truly seeing it.
If you come to care about the characters, these Wrong Ends end up being worse... In an effective way. These characters are so loveable that it's hard to not care about them. They even manage to sneak in some comedy, mostly from Seiko Shinohara, who uses modern slang (at least back in 2008), naturally!
Although, some characters aren't good. Mayu Suzumoto, despite being the student who was moving away in the first place, has little time to shine. There's also Satoshi Mochida, who I like, but I can't deny he makes tofu look not bland. Wait, why is that bolded red?!
One thing every character nail is how convincing they are, due to their voice actors. The voice actors nail these characters and perfectly capture when something brutal is happening to them.
However, "Corpse Party" can be cheap and that's when the horror fails. This is mainly in Chapter five when the game uses annoying trial & error, making it easy to get trapped in a Wrong End. Even doing one innocent-seeming thing can screw everything up. I highly recommend using a walkthrough for Chapter five if you get stuck.
Outside of Chapter five, the game doesn't have great direction, so it's easy to wander around aimlessly and get lost on what to do. I swear in Chapter 4, the puzzle directions are inaccurate.
There are also the times a character's panties are visible during a scary scene when it should be shadowed.
Ah yes, the most terrifying thing of them all... Women's underwear? Unfortunately, even characters that are under the age of 13 aren't safe from this. I obviously can't show them, but it's disgusting the game even does that. Like... Wwwwhhhhhyyyyy? What's the point?!
As much as I love this series and game, I can't defend that. I'll go as far as to say I don't blame anyone that ends up being turned off from playing "Corpse Party" because of it. I get its fictional characters, but it still isn't okay.
Overall (S)
I made it no secret I love this game and this series in my personal essay about the 2021 version before it released, so for anyone who read that, this score shouldn't be surprising.
Despite a few critical flaws, I still love so much about this game. The characters, the story, the mystery, the visuals, the CGs, the art, the voice-acting, sound effects, the music, and the gameplay is neat.
The 2021 remaster of "Corpse Party" is easily the definitive version. It runs well, it improves and upgrades many elements like the visuals, and has the most content out of any version of "Corpse Party: Blood Covered."
I will do a spoiler review this November, but it will take a while.
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