Death end re;Quest

66%
Game Brain Score Based on 843 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Death end re;Quest Game Cover
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In "Death end re;Quest," players navigate a world of shifting realities as they explore a corrupt virtual reality MMORPG. The game's protagonist, a game developer, must uncover the truth behind the game's errors and glitches, while battling malicious entities with turn-based combat. The game features visual novel-style storytelling with elements of psychological horror, challenging puzzles, and a unique blend of fantasy and science fiction.

  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Play​station 5
  • Steam Deck
  • Windows
  • Play​Station
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

66%
Audience ScoreBased on 843 reviews
story332 positive mentions
optimization26 negative mentions
  • The story is engaging and features dark themes, keeping players intrigued throughout the game.
  • The combat system is unique and fun, allowing for strategic knockback mechanics and genre changes during battles.
  • Character designs and voice acting are well done, adding to the overall enjoyment of the game.
  • The game suffers from poor optimization, leading to significant performance issues on various hardware setups.
  • There are frustrating instant game over choices in the visual novel segments that can lead to lost progress.
  • The level design can feel repetitive and lacks creativity, making exploration tedious at times.
  • story894 mentions

    The story of "Death End Re;Quest" is a complex blend of psychological horror and RPG elements, featuring a dark narrative that explores themes of isolation and the blurred lines between reality and virtual worlds. While many players find the initial setup intriguing and engaging, opinions diverge on the latter parts of the story, with some feeling it becomes convoluted and inconsistent, particularly towards the ending. Overall, the game is praised for its character development and immersive storytelling, though it may require patience due to lengthy visual novel segments and a heavy focus on narrative over gameplay.

    • “The game's strong points are that it features an intriguing story that is dark and suspenseful, featuring themes such as isolation and fear between reality and video games.”
    • “The story packs real emotional impact at times, and sometimes great humor as well.”
    • “I have beat the game the first time around, will be going through new game +, I was hooked on the story from beginning to end, very intriguing and even unforgiving at times, I never would have guessed if/compile hearts would be so competent at writing a horror/thriller story that was so captivating.”
    • “The story is also inconsistent in general; the tone is a rollercoaster in instilling fear into the player because things can go wrong at any moment. The beginning was boring, the middle and late games were interesting, but by the end, it just completely falls apart with meta references and several other things that I will not spoil for those who wish to play the game. It comes out of left field, and I can't say I found myself impressed since it wasn't really foreshadowed up to past one simple scene.”
    • “The story that started so well ends up going right off the rails into fanfic-style territory towards the end, and the storytelling itself cannot keep up, leaving the player presented with blank screens and weird sound effects to try to convey what's going on.”
    • “I felt like they finished half of the game's story, got the voice recording, then after the voice actors went home, they wrote the rest of the story in.”
  • gameplay351 mentions

    The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players noting that while it features interesting mechanics like a knockback system and a unique blend of visual novel and RPG elements, it often feels repetitive and lacks depth. Some players enjoyed the combat and found it engaging initially, but many reported that it became tedious over time, especially in the late game where battles could drag on. Additionally, technical issues such as crashes and lag detracted from the overall experience, leading to a consensus that while the game has potential, it ultimately falls short in execution.

    • “The combat mechanics are fun where I've found myself planning out a fight to use the game's knock-back feature to make enemies bounce off each other.”
    • “The gameplay while turn-based has a pretty unique spin on it compared to other Compile Heart/Idea Factory games, still very much in the middle of figuring it out, but it's been fun.”
    • “The gameplay is similar to Neptunia but you simultaneously play billiards with the enemies for bonus damage and combos - very fun.”
    • “Ending is awful, gameplay could have been good but wasn't tweaked at all so it ends up being such a pain in the ass. Side quests are absolutely useless and boring but you still need to do them for the true ending.”
    • “The gameplay is godawful, but the story is surprisingly well written, so I was actually planning to leave a positive review... until I finished the game.”
    • “My main gripe with this game is that the gameplay is boring at best and frustrating at worst.”
  • graphics190 mentions

    The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many users noting that while the art style and character designs are appealing, the overall visual quality feels outdated, often likened to games from 2013. Optimization issues are a significant concern, as players report poor frame rates and performance, particularly on lower-end systems, despite meeting minimum requirements. While some appreciate the unique art direction and visual novel sequences, the lack of graphical settings and frequent performance dips detract from the overall experience.

    • “The graphics are pretty good, especially the CG for the visual novel sequences and the character models. In my opinion, the CG for the visual novel parts shows the world in a more beautiful way than the 3D world, which was kind of sad for me.”
    • “The art in the game is pretty nice; the 3D models as well as the 2D graphics are very well made.”
    • “An intriguing story with decent graphics, good voice acting (in Japanese, at least), and a fun, albeit slightly repetitive, battle system.”
    • “The horrible optimization; for reference, my computer can run DMC 5 at solid graphical settings with no frame drops, input lag, or any problems whatsoever, so my computer is a pretty powerful one.”
    • “The graphics are equivalent to a 2013 game and solid enough to do an excellent job for this budget game.”
    • “The game has very little graphic settings and changing the resolution didn't seem to do anything.”
  • music112 mentions

    The music in the game has received a mixed but generally positive reception, with many praising its ability to set the tone and enhance the atmosphere, often drawing comparisons to the style of the Nier series. While some tracks are highlighted as exceptional and memorable, others are noted for being less impactful or repetitive. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a strong point of the game, contributing significantly to the immersive experience.

    • “The music was pretty good, had some solid tracks that could set the tone well. I really liked the premise of the game and I can't say many other games have made me feel as much fear and anxiety going into every scene... outside of horror games, but those are made to scare you.”
    • “The atmosphere is unsettling at times, and the soundtrack can be eerie.”
    • “The music is the selling point of this game.”
    • “The music wasn’t something remarkable; none of the tracks were really memorable.”
    • “For example, there will be times that the background music seems to randomly cut off, leaving you reading endless lines of text in total silence, or running around a 'dungeon' (I use this term lightly for this game) and hearing nothing but the exact same footstep sound repeatedly.”
    • “OST - nothing really interesting, really; quite frequently the same soundtracks will be reused, even boss OST reuses the map OST. While serviceable, nothing to write home about the OST.”
  • optimization78 mentions

    The game's optimization has received significant criticism, with many players experiencing stuttering, frame drops, and crashes, even on systems that meet or exceed the minimum requirements. While some users have found ways to improve performance through manual adjustments, the overall consensus is that the game is poorly optimized and can be unplayable on lower-end hardware. Despite its potential, many reviewers recommend waiting for updates to address these performance issues before purchasing.

    • “The game runs smoothly on most modern computers, so unless your PC is a prehistoric dinosaur, you should be good to run this game flawlessly.”
    • “Those two steps were all it took for me to get great, fluid performance with this game.”
    • “Death end re;quest's port may not be perfect but it's still a great game and one of ifi's best optimized ports.”
    • “The horrible optimization; for reference, my computer can run DMC 5 at solid graphical settings with no frame drops, input lag, or any problems whatsoever, so my computer is a pretty powerful one.”
    • “The only issue is the game is poorly optimized despite meeting minimum system requirements. There is no 720p or lower internal resolutions, so you might suffer low FPS in dungeons if you have a low/mid-end graphics card (especially integrated graphics).”
    • “The game is very poorly optimized and very GPU intensive, despite the unimpressive graphics.”
  • grinding57 mentions

    Overall, players find that grinding in this game is largely unnecessary, as the difficulty can be managed through strategic play rather than excessive level farming. While some players appreciate the balance and engaging story, many criticize the combat system for becoming tedious and repetitive, especially in the later chapters. The game is seen as more accessible for those who dislike grind-heavy RPGs, but the pacing issues and abrupt difficulty spikes can detract from the experience.

    • “Halfway through chapter 10, I brought the difficulty down to easy so I could blaze through the last bit of the game and level up faster. This allowed me to finish off the remaining achievements in New Game+. The game was much more fun this way because battles weren't tedious anymore, and I leveled up super quickly, giving me more SP to actually consider using some of my strong skills.”
    • “The actual gameplay sections are tedious hallways with invisible walls everywhere.”
    • “The further you get into the game, the more tedious and repetitive the combat system gets.”
    • “This game would be a masterpiece if the combat wasn't so tedious halfway through.”
  • character development48 mentions

    Character development in the game is a mixed bag, with some players praising the male protagonist's growth while noting that many female characters feel underdeveloped and less engaging. The character designs are consistently highlighted as a strong point, with appealing aesthetics and solid voice acting, though some feel that the execution of character arcs often falls short of their potential. Overall, while the story and character designs are compelling, the depth of character development varies significantly across the cast.

    • “The story itself is good, the mystery and the character development, while the bad choices are sudden and sometimes made you lose progress, you can still save more often than not before making the choice.”
    • “This game's detailed storyline along with character design makes it a unique story to be explored.”
    • “Fun to go through but you won't find any side paths with the exception of one dungeon that has a couple of side paths and a small puzzle, so really the game does focus on the character development and the story.”
    • “It's sad because I love the character designs and animations, the voice actors always kill it; but the game just feels dragged out or has too many skits/cutscenes per gameplay.”
    • “Characters - I really enjoy the male main character and how he acts, being the one to go through the most character development. Unfortunately, some of the female characters felt underdeveloped and I didn't really care about the female main character by the end of the story.”
    • “Fun to go through, but you won't find any side paths with the exception of one dungeon that has a couple of side paths and a small puzzle, so really the game does focus on the character development and the story.”
  • humor30 mentions

    The humor in the game is a standout feature, with characters like Shina and Arata providing a fun dynamic, while various interactions and hacking mechanics add comedic elements to battles. Players appreciate the light-hearted moments and clever references, although some one-liners feel forced and detract from the overall experience. Overall, the humor effectively balances the emotional weight of the story, making for a memorable and entertaining gameplay experience.

    • “Hacking can also be very funny, from turning the game into a button-mashing fighting game or playing billiards with the enemy. They can not only be genuinely helpful in turning the tide of a battle and incentivizing bug removal but also just be funny references as well.”
    • “I can't remember a battle system in another game that has ever made me laugh out loud in surprised delight.”
    • “The interactions with the various characters are on point and fairly standard for these games, which is to say often hilarious and/or full of innuendo.”
  • emotional22 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game elicits a mixed response from players, with some praising its ability to create fear and anxiety, while others criticize the story for being boring and the characters lacking depth. Despite these criticisms, many players found the narrative to have moments of genuine emotional impact and humor, leading to a heartwarming conclusion that left them feeling attached to the characters. Overall, the game is described as an emotional roller coaster, providing both tension and satisfaction throughout the experience.

    • “The story packs real emotional impact at times, and sometimes great humor as well.”
    • “Sadly, I am one to easily get attached to characters, and feel the need to relate to them on any kind of emotional level, and this game definitely put my heart through some strain.”
    • “This game was an emotional roller coaster for me; it constantly made me wonder what was going to happen next, and after nearly 50 hours, I completed the game for the first time and felt like I could finally breathe!”
    • “While it could be interesting, the characters are of your generic anime variety with surface-level personalities and growth, leading to a very boring story where little care is given.”
    • “Boring story.”
    • “While it could be interesting, the characters are of your generic anime variety with surface-level personalities and growth, leading to a very boring story where little care is given.”
  • stability20 mentions

    The game suffers from significant stability issues, including frequent crashes, stuttering, and frame drops, even on high-spec systems. Players have reported numerous audio glitches and bugs that affect gameplay, particularly on the Steam Deck and in specific areas like Heartis Palace. Overall, the game's performance is described as poor, making it frustratingly unplayable at times.

    • “It's really buggy on the Steam Deck.”
    • “Heartis Palace is a buggy map which caused the game to crash many times when the menu was opened and closed.”
    • “Despite having a computer that is far beyond the recommended specs, it stutters, freezes, takes forever to load, and is basically unplayable.”
  • atmosphere16 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is a captivating blend of unsettling elements and beautiful designs, enhanced by an eerie soundtrack that evokes the feel of quality anime series. While some moments may come off as cheesy or over-the-top, the overall ambiance successfully draws players in and keeps them engaged. Many reviewers emphasize that the atmosphere is a key aspect of their enjoyment, overshadowing concerns about technical specifications.

    • “The atmosphere of the game captivated me pretty quickly.”
    • “This game is amazing in the sense that it really manages to capture the atmosphere you sometimes get in good anime series.”
    • “This game really manages to capture the 'anime atmosphere', if you let it.”
    • “The atmosphere is unsettling at times, and the soundtrack can be eerie.”
    • “I need to stress that I couldn't care less about 2K or 4K graphics, 59 instead of 60 fps, possible re-use of sceneries, etc. All I care about is the game atmosphere and the gameplay itself.”
    • “Yes, some scenes will be cheesy, some things will be a bit over the top, but the atmosphere is there.”
  • replayability4 mentions

    The game features multiple endings, providing a solid level of replayability and encouraging players to experiment with different bug combinations in combat.

    • “Thanks to its multiple endings, the game offers a decent amount of replayability and encourages experimentation with bug combinations in combat.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

75% average critic score

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Play time

60hMedian play time
60hAverage play time
60-60hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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