CORPSE PARTY: BOOK OF SHADOWS (PSP)
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Publisher: XSeed Games.
Developer: 5pb; Team GrisGris. Released: January 2013 (Europe). Genre: Point 'n' Click. Posted 9th March 2013. By Tom Clare © 2013 |
Corpse Party became an instant cult success when, in 2011, game-starved PSP owners were unexpectedly gifted a revised version of the mid-nineties Japanese homebrew horror adventure. A potent mix of old-school visuals, memorable characters and a distinctly gruesome line in narration made it a sleeper hit, and it wasn’t long before a sequel was confirmed.
Fast-forward a year and a bit, and game-starved PSP owners were given a second dose in the form of Book of Shadows, which ditches the endearing though not entirely accommodating top-down perspective of the original in favour of a more appropriate first-person, point ‘n’ click viewpoint. Seemingly, a common-sense move from 5pb, as the original’s only real sticking points – crude visuals and a simplistic interface – are instantly remedied. Or so it appeared.
Corpse Party told a cracking yarn, and Book of Shadows makes a good start too. In an unusual move, the story follows on from an alternative ending acquired at the close of its predecessor’s story, whereby failure to attain full closure sees Satoshi, Naomi and co. being transported back to just prior to their performing of the fated ‘Sachiko Ever After’ ritual. Thus they are doomed to relive the horrors as a group of kids and their teacher are warped into the supernatural Heavenly Host Elementary school, scene of a gaggle of brutal murders decades earlier. Intriguingly, this time around, some of the characters start experiencing déjà vu; sensing what fate may have in store, and their struggles to change things.
Fast-forward a year and a bit, and game-starved PSP owners were given a second dose in the form of Book of Shadows, which ditches the endearing though not entirely accommodating top-down perspective of the original in favour of a more appropriate first-person, point ‘n’ click viewpoint. Seemingly, a common-sense move from 5pb, as the original’s only real sticking points – crude visuals and a simplistic interface – are instantly remedied. Or so it appeared.
Corpse Party told a cracking yarn, and Book of Shadows makes a good start too. In an unusual move, the story follows on from an alternative ending acquired at the close of its predecessor’s story, whereby failure to attain full closure sees Satoshi, Naomi and co. being transported back to just prior to their performing of the fated ‘Sachiko Ever After’ ritual. Thus they are doomed to relive the horrors as a group of kids and their teacher are warped into the supernatural Heavenly Host Elementary school, scene of a gaggle of brutal murders decades earlier. Intriguingly, this time around, some of the characters start experiencing déjà vu; sensing what fate may have in store, and their struggles to change things.
Roughly every third room looks like this
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Death happens a lot, but there's usually a good chunk of text first
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But, following a sterling opening chapter, this neat narrative curveball is abruptly cast aside in favour of a bunch of small vignettes that confusingly like to revisit environs with a constantly changing conveyor-belt of protagonists. It seems intent on giving voice to a raft of secondary and tertiary figures from the first game, without ever attempting to build a cohesive beginning, middle and end. It becomes increasingly clear that the game isn’t really a sequel, or even remake, just a more detailed (though significantly fragmented) retelling of part one. Either way, it’s extremely character-driven, and if you haven’t played the original, it’s quite likely the workings of Heavenly Host aren’t going to make a whole lot of sense.
The characters themselves remain one of the stronger facets, as though some of the dialogues seem protracted and at times superfluous, they do for the most part keep the player occupied. With a fine line in clinical, gory depictions, it’s little surprise that the game thrives around its darker personalities. A prime example is Morishige, a loner searching for his school friend Mayu. Affected more than most by the horrors, he’s afforded a lot more detail in Book of Shadows as his quietly disturbing mental descent culminates in his photographing of the dead, a process he comes to see as akin to erotic art. Morishige, much like the psychopathic Yuuya Kizami, comes to life after discovering a reality without rules, restraints, or moral consequences. As is often the case with bit-part players, each has a little to offer without really standing out, the one positive exception being that of the excellent Ms. Yui, the group’s teacher, whose chapter details her own perilous brush with vengeful spirits in her youth, in a lengthy but affecting segment.
Nevertheless, Book of Shadows makes for a very shallow, disappointing gameplay experience. It’s not so much that it does things badly; more that it doesn’t offer anything much at all. There are times when there is so little input required from the player, that you’ll wonder why they didn’t just make it into a proper manga or movie. You can play for an hour, and in that time, do nothing more than make a couple of either/or choices that branch a cut-scene. When you are afforded the luxury of examining the static hallways and classroom visages, results are unadventurous, and so simplistic they make 25 year-old eight-bit graphic adventures like Déjà Vu appear complex by comparison. Items never have to be selected from your inventory, you’ll automatically use them where appropriate and troublingly, there is only one puzzle in the entirety of the adventure.
The characters themselves remain one of the stronger facets, as though some of the dialogues seem protracted and at times superfluous, they do for the most part keep the player occupied. With a fine line in clinical, gory depictions, it’s little surprise that the game thrives around its darker personalities. A prime example is Morishige, a loner searching for his school friend Mayu. Affected more than most by the horrors, he’s afforded a lot more detail in Book of Shadows as his quietly disturbing mental descent culminates in his photographing of the dead, a process he comes to see as akin to erotic art. Morishige, much like the psychopathic Yuuya Kizami, comes to life after discovering a reality without rules, restraints, or moral consequences. As is often the case with bit-part players, each has a little to offer without really standing out, the one positive exception being that of the excellent Ms. Yui, the group’s teacher, whose chapter details her own perilous brush with vengeful spirits in her youth, in a lengthy but affecting segment.
Nevertheless, Book of Shadows makes for a very shallow, disappointing gameplay experience. It’s not so much that it does things badly; more that it doesn’t offer anything much at all. There are times when there is so little input required from the player, that you’ll wonder why they didn’t just make it into a proper manga or movie. You can play for an hour, and in that time, do nothing more than make a couple of either/or choices that branch a cut-scene. When you are afforded the luxury of examining the static hallways and classroom visages, results are unadventurous, and so simplistic they make 25 year-old eight-bit graphic adventures like Déjà Vu appear complex by comparison. Items never have to be selected from your inventory, you’ll automatically use them where appropriate and troublingly, there is only one puzzle in the entirety of the adventure.
The screen goes a bit sinister if you succumb to 'darkening'...
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...but BoS offers a fine line in non-gruesome external surrounds too!
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The visuals have been revamped considerably, giving Book of Shadows significantly slicker, more adept presentation. The opening video is looks great and the static manga-art used in the cut-scenes is beautiful, showcasing a manga-art style that incorporates everything from hazy, bright outdoor shots from flashbacks of happier times, to the darkly gruesome torture rooms of the underground bunker and death scenes, which deliver a chill without being too over-the-top in their use of visual violence. That said, the school is a limited and increasingly dull location to explore. The consequence of Book of Shadows’s large reliance on clone corridors and classrooms, Heavenly Host feels considerably smaller and less imposing than in the first Corpse Party, with the static perspective and general lack of interaction meaning that, outside of some of the very best cut-scenes, it struggles to generate scares or tension.
It’s a missed opportunity by all accounts. Corpse Party with a new lick of paint sounded very appetising in principal, but this collection of short tales is likely to baffle newcomers due to its failure to address the nature of the school, its central antagonist Sachiko, and the purpose of the three ghosts. Equally, fans of the original will be left frustrated that it isn’t something a little more elaborate, cohesive or just more sprightly. Despite obvious technical limitations, the original managed to build tension and excitement with occasional puzzles, action sections, and the occasional need for quick decision-making. The sad thing is, all of that’s missing from Book of Shadows. 15 hours for completion means there’s a solid amount of reading material, and the odd fan-pleasing extra to unlock – though sadly none of the extra chapters that plumped up the first game. Chances are though, you won’t even be fussed with getting all of the ‘bad’ ends. Back to the drawing board.
It’s a missed opportunity by all accounts. Corpse Party with a new lick of paint sounded very appetising in principal, but this collection of short tales is likely to baffle newcomers due to its failure to address the nature of the school, its central antagonist Sachiko, and the purpose of the three ghosts. Equally, fans of the original will be left frustrated that it isn’t something a little more elaborate, cohesive or just more sprightly. Despite obvious technical limitations, the original managed to build tension and excitement with occasional puzzles, action sections, and the occasional need for quick decision-making. The sad thing is, all of that’s missing from Book of Shadows. 15 hours for completion means there’s a solid amount of reading material, and the odd fan-pleasing extra to unlock – though sadly none of the extra chapters that plumped up the first game. Chances are though, you won’t even be fussed with getting all of the ‘bad’ ends. Back to the drawing board.
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VERDICT
Visual: 7/10
Audio: 8/10 Gameplay: 3/10 Longevity: 5/10 OVERALL: 4/10 |