Death end re;Quest Code Z
Developer: Compile Heart
Publisher: Idea Factory International
Platforms: PlayStation 5 (Reviewed), PlayStation 4, PC
Release Date: Available Now (PS5, PS4) TBA (PC)
Price: $49.99 USD – Available Here
Overview
When it comes to Compile Heart, you never quite know what to expect from the developer. Their titles have run the gambit from being difficult strategy RPGs to lighter more simplistic entries that revel in their odd designs. This can include the way their writing is handled as well, ranging from breaking the fourth wall for comedy and making tons of referential jokes to trying to tell a straightforward and serious storyline, fans never quite know what to expect. This is what made the Death end re;Quest games such a shock to longtime fans when they arrived, as these even more niche RPGs seemed like the cute and fan-service filled offerings on the surface but hid a brutal layer beneath that facade. Now after two releases in the main series, the franchise returns with a spin-off in Death end re;Quest: Code Z, but is this another successful endeavor or a misstep into a deadly trap?
Story
Now before we begin, while many other games often make an effort to try and make themselves at least partially accessible to newcomers or even provide some type of glossary to fill in the blanks, Death end re;Quest: Code Z makes no such attempt. There eventually is a small bit of explanation as to how events are the way they are, but not only does this come late into the game, it also barely covers most of the events that happen prior. This means that not only is this entry not a good starting point in any way, it might not even be good for those who’ve forgotten elements of what happened during either previous games.
That being said, Death end re;Quest: Code Z is set within a mirrored world, one where Iris created after her mind was restored through the events of the past games, this means that, theoretically, Iris has crafted a world where not only can Ludens find happiness but they can even interact with humans to form friendships and even their counterparts without worry or other dangers. Players are immediately dropped into something going terribly wrong as this world meant for kindness has been twisted and not only Shina but even Mai find themselves being tortured by a twisted version of Arata and our new heroine, Sayaka is on death’s door. Only through diving back into her memories to find out how Sayaka and the world ended up this way will players find a way to find a way to potentially save everyone, or at least as many as they can as even a world meant for happiness can’t avoid death, especially when glitched girls mirroring allies with twisted abilities of their own appear.
If this sounds a bit complicated, that’s because it is. There’s very little explanation about what is happening or even how Sayaka ended up where she is initially, though it isn’t long before hints behind her true history start to drop. And alongside all this is the player, quite literally. Rather than simply breaking the fourth wall for humor’s sake, Sayaka and another highly specific Luden speak directly to the player holding the controller. When Sayaka is talking to the player, she is asking for help with situations, back-up and reassurances, or even guidance, while the other is meant to glorify the horrific deaths that can unfold should Sayaka or any of her allies fall in combat or to a trap, relishing with glee to the player how beautiful their deaths were.
That being said, for as confusing at times that Death end re;Quest: Code Z likes to make itself out to be, it is also rather enjoyable to see so many unique instances and interactions between characters that would outright be enemies in other games or have never interacted before now. Players will often find that, between story beats, they can visit various locations for “sub-events” and see humorous and cute interactions between Sayaka, whose confused but go-getting personality makes her quite endearing as a protagonist, and the rest of the characters even if she doesn’t quite get to interact with most in major depth. In fact, Sayaka finds herself primarily placed as a debugger at Shina’s gaming company where a majority of past characters also work while many other past Ludens appear as shopkeepers or, as mentioned earlier, gristly narrators.
Death end re;Quest: Code Z treads a fine balance between telling its ill-fated storyline and often stumbles along the way, being poorly paced with some of its major revelations, but as mentioned before, there is still plenty of good comedy bits mixed in with cute interactions and fan-service elements, though there are also just as many brutal death sequences as well should players fall victim to them, and considering the title actively encourages it, players likely know what they are in for once a brutal death description starts playing out, even to the lowliest of creatures, a boss monster, or even Sayaka herself.
Gameplay
Death end re;Quest: Code Z takes a significant departure away from the usual gameplay fans have come to expect from the franchise. Rather than having players venture out into dungeons with a party, they will instead find themselves being dropped into an overhead viewed roguelike dungeon-crawling game where only Sayaka is under their control. As mentioned before, when not in dungeons players can view little sub-events between story missions, visit the shop to spend Eli (money) to buy or sell items that can be brought into dungeons with Sayaka’s limited inventory space or even upgrade her weapons if players have acquired a “patch” or “memory” in their adventures. Unfortunately, that all there really is to the overworld sadly, making sure to catch any sub-events before they vanish away, going back to Shina’s room to store unneeded items, or simply visiting the train to revisit a previously cleared dungeon.
Anyways, Death end re;Quest: Code Z plays similar to a “mystery dungeon” type of roguelike, where any time Sayaka makes an action, be it moving, attacking, or using an item, the enemies will do the same. Sayaka can move in straight lines or diagonals and can even run but can leave herself wide open to attacks from enemies she encounters while running. Since everything moves at the same time Sayaka does, players can often strategize the best way to take down opponents, such as swinging at empty air to draw an enemy in to slay them, rather than moving forward and taking an unnecessary hit. While exploring Sayaka will find various items such as healing items, “sanity” patches, one-use attack spells, and various buffs and debuffs. Unfortunately since Sayaka’s inventory is initially quite limited, players will often find themselves dropping unneeded items.
One unique aspect of exploring a dungeon is Sayaka’s sanity meter. As Sayaka travels through a dungeon, her sanity level will slowly decrease with every movement or action taken and when it starts to drop below 50% the screen will start to suffer from visual glitches and effects, limiting the player’s view and if it hits zero Sayaka will start hurting herself, directly damaging her health in a crazed state. Players can use healing items as mentioned before such as “Ether Codes” to restore sanity but players also need to worry about falling into a hidden trap as some traps can drastically drain Sayaka’s sanity level, putting her into a near critical state almost immediately.
Obviously, all of this falls down to the RNG aspect of the dungeons and the roguelike gameplay. All dungeons players go to will have a randomized layout and even appearances from the extremely deadly Glitch Girls after a certain point in the story and players can even adjust just how punishing the roguelike aspect is. This ranges from an easier option that allows players to keep everything upon death, one where they lose all items and money on death, and even a difficulty where Sayaka’s level is reset even if she finishes a dungeon properly. Then again, dying is actually something of a reward in this game. Though considering how generic combat against normal enemies can be, players almost feel like they need to go out of their way to actually fail to some enemies.
Yes, unlike many roguelikes where players will want to go as far as possible before dying somehow to an unexpected force, Death end re;Quest: Code Z actually glorifies Sayaka’s failures. Finding new and unique ways to die to different enemy types, traps, or even Sayaka’s own loss of sanity will reward players with a skill point that can be applied to a rather pathetic skill tree that will make Sayaka stronger overall and more capable of surviving, though since some unique enemy deaths require falling to low-level mobs, this can be more challenging than it sounds unless players fall into an unlucky chain of events. One such instance in my case involved Sayaka encountering a glitch girl while delving into a dungeon, taking massive damage from her long range attacks and trying to flee, only to have a lowly bat drain my last bit of health away. Of course, this culminated in a humiliating and gory death description much to a certain Luden’s delight that relished in the unbecoming pose that Sayaka was left in in her death, but it rewarded a skill point nonetheless.
Ironically, this is the only real way to actually boost Sayaka’s stats for the most part beyond gaining levels and the rare weapon upgrade. Players will rarely come across items that can be used to improve their weapon’s stats, let alone find a new weapon since these are generally only rewarded via story progress. There is no armor to equip, no items to boost Sayaka’s strength other than incredibly short lived buff items in a dungeon, practically no customization at all. There is the option for Sayaka to temporarily transform into her more powerful Vanquish Form via a gauge that fills as players defeat enemies. In this form Sayaka is stronger and gains numerous buffs but her transformation time is limited so every movement and attack slowly brings her back to her base form.
From time to time players will find that they need to escort an ally outside of a dungeon’s lowest floor in order to rescue them. This can happen both in story dungeons and even optional ones and this means not only does the player have to manage Sayaka’s health, but their allies as well. Though since having an ally die also reveals a different “Death End” then sometimes this is for the best even if it is a gore-filled disaster. Allies will follow Sayaka obediently and players can evacuate either using return crystals scattered at various points in dungeons or return all the way to the start if they so wish, but the aforementioned Glitch Girls can often be found protecting escape routes, making them a dangerous foe to circumvent if they want to escape a dungeon alive with their ally in tow.
Audio & Visuals
Death end re;Quest: Code Z features all of the glorious looking character portraits and unique event CGs that players have come to expect from a Compile Heart game. The characters are wonderfully detailed and expressive in their bright and colorful forms and just as twisted as can be when something horrifying happens. Even the bloody and gory CGs that play out during particularly brutal story moments or death scenes are stylized with glitches and splashes of blood to hide some of the worst of the gore but leaving plenty of implications of what awful things happened to Sayaka or an ally. That being said, there are a few issues here. One, the death CGs are surprisingly re-used to the point of ad nauseum with numerous deaths described in different ways resulting in the same picture being used despite a certain Luden’s gleeful narration. Two, the enemy designs outside of bosses and the glitch girls are incredibly generic, and finally we have the overall dungeons themselves that, while a bit thematic depending on their setting, are quite bland in design and become incredibly boring very fast.
It is worth noting that the only voice work for Death end re;Quest: Code Z is the Japanese voice track which works well considering how brutal some scenes play out. Hearing Sayaka’s screams and death rattles are truly haunting, especially with a certain Luden taking glee in her aftermath most of the time. Other characters and returning ones have all reprised their original voice actors which is great for longtime fans of the series. The background music is fitting for the game and works well during exploration and it must be noted that the opening song for the game is quite the perfect fit.
Overall
Death end re;Quest: Code Z feels like the type of game that really should have been something special. It takes numerous characters from two entries and places them together in a unique way and even establishes Sayaka as an endearing protagonist players will want to root for, but it just doesn’t manage to deliver. Between ill-advised plot devices, lacking coherence, and untapped potential for unique interactions, the story falls short on what unique elements it might have had to offer. This doesn’t even touch upon the gameplay itself which is fairly bland with an over-reliance on death ends, which while gruesomely detailed and do reward players for finding new and unique ways to see Sayaka suffer, lack the impact that they once did in the mainline entries, leaving this spin-off one that only true die-hard fans will want to check out.
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