Death Mark

85%
Game Brain Score Based on 150 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Death Mark Game Cover
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You have been Marked... A strange rumor is spreading through the shadows of Tokyo's H City: a mysterious disfigurement, like a grotesque birthmark, has been appearing on the bodies of certain individuals. Anyone who receives the Mark will rapidly die of unknown, horrifying causes. Deprived of your memories, you arrive at a mansion rumored to protect the bearers of the Mark. As the doors swing op…

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

Reviews

85%
Audience ScoreBased on 150 reviews
story54 positive mentions
character development2 negative mentions
  • The game features a compelling and unique story that intertwines various Japanese urban legends, making each chapter engaging and intriguing.
  • The art style and sound design are exceptional, creating a haunting atmosphere that enhances the horror experience.
  • The gameplay mechanics, which combine visual novel elements with exploration and puzzle-solving, provide a refreshing take on the genre.
  • The translation issues can detract from the experience, with some dialogue being awkward or unclear, leading to confusion during gameplay.
  • Certain puzzles and 'Live or Die' segments can feel overly obscure or illogical, requiring trial and error or external guides to progress.
  • The game can be repetitive in its exploration, with some locations being reused, which may diminish the sense of discovery.
  • story127 mentions

    The story in the game is generally praised for its intriguing elements, strong atmosphere, and character depth, although some reviews note issues with character development and repetitive settings. Players appreciate the unique gameplay mechanics that require careful attention to character choices and clues to progress, while others criticize certain plot points as cliché or poorly executed. Overall, the narrative is engaging, with a mix of horror and mystery that keeps players invested, despite some localization and pacing issues.

    • “The incredible art and story kept me hooked for the entire time I played it; the twists were great, and the gameplay was unique and engaging.”
    • “The story does a wonderful job of creating intrigue and giving you little breadcrumbs to piece things together or keep you engaged in finding more.”
    • “The story has decent plot twists, carefully-laid clues, and an impressive hidden line, so if you're more into the story itself than the gameplay, this game will be to your liking.”
    • “It reads as especially tone-deaf after chapter 3, where [spoiler]a woman's sexual abuse and the voyeurism of her attackers are the main focus of the story segment[/spoiler].”
    • “Most of the ghosts are just story tools and not fully written characters, whose backstories could probably be summarized in 2 sentences.”
    • “The story doesn't particularly end with the endings and the explanation for what happened is literally 'ha ha ghost business, am I right fellas?'”
  • gameplay59 mentions

    The gameplay of this title is a unique blend of visual novel elements, dungeon crawling, and investigative mechanics, requiring players to make strategic choices about character partnerships that affect story progression and item accessibility. While the game features engaging storylines and character interactions, it suffers from some clunky mechanics and occasional glitches, which can detract from the overall experience. Despite these issues, many players find the gameplay compelling and immersive, with a rewarding balance of exploration, puzzles, and horror elements.

    • “The gameplay consists of making life or death choices, figuring out how to beat ghosts, and understanding the big picture of the game.”
    • “You as the main character will be given choices to choose which partner to bring along for investigations, and in some moments, you can switch out for different partners for gameplay purposes.”
    • “The gameplay is a mix between a dungeon crawler and a visual novel, which rewards players for being investigative and active in their role, making for a very fun experience.”
    • “The gameplay is clunky, basically a point-and-click adventure like the flash games of the early 2000s, but with some user-unfriendly design choices that make it worse than those flash games, while costing $50 more.”
    • “Overall, I left this game feeling mostly annoyed and frustrated with its flimsy characters and poor mechanics.”
    • “This game lured me in with an interesting plot and polished looking art, but ultimately I have to give up on it because of a combination of frustrating movement and puzzle-solving mechanics.”
  • graphics46 mentions

    The graphics of the game are widely praised for their stunning and haunting art style, which effectively enhances the atmospheric horror experience. The visuals combine gothic elements with surrealistic designs, creating a creepy ambiance that resonates with the game's themes. While some players noted issues with polish and mechanics, the overall artistic quality and attention to detail in the graphics significantly contribute to the game's appeal.

    • “The art style fits the surrealistic and atmospheric nature of the game by depicting adult characters in a working society, mixed with some of the usual colorful and youthful anime characters.”
    • “Death Mark encapsulates the chilling and nerve-wracking environment expected from a horror game with its art style and visual effects, teetering on the edge of showing enough distinct features to bring a sense of dread without revealing too much.”
    • “Let's first spend some time to appreciate the graphical art in this game: beautiful, stunning, and haunting at the same time; it's such a great job done that it helps increase the overall game quality tremendously.”
    • “I think I would have been more upset if I had bought it at full price; even if I had the patience to deal with the annoying mechanics, there's a lack of polish and care in this game's visuals and translation that wouldn't make it worth the money.”
    • “Despite this though, the visuals are without a doubt disturbing, and achieve the goal of shocking the player, leaving memorable images (pleasant or not) that stay in the player's mind long after completing the game.”
    • “Death Mark encapsulates the chilling and nerve-wracking environment that is expected from a horror game with its art style and visual effects, teetering on the edge of showing enough distinct features to bring a sense of dread without revealing too much, letting the darkness in the corners of the screen creep into the player's mind to instill fear of the unknown.”
  • atmosphere39 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its effective use of environmental design, sound, and art style, creating a chilling and immersive experience reminiscent of atmospheric horror. Players appreciate the beautiful illustrations and ambient music that enhance the sense of dread and tension throughout the game, despite some flaws in other areas. Overall, the atmosphere is considered a standout feature, successfully drawing players into its eerie and unsettling world.

    • “The dungeons are atmospheric, with gorgeous but horrifying illustrations and some well-timed sound effects to scare the crap out of you.”
    • “The atmosphere and art are superb, the story is good, albeit some parts that were lazily written in for the sake of the story.”
    • “There was just something about the looming dread, the unpredictability, the whispers, the jump scares… all of them creating this unique atmosphere that I can hardly compare to any other games I’ve played.”
    • “Here you will not encounter cheap jumpscares but rather a dreadfully terrifying atmosphere.”
    • “Eerie atmosphere which draws you in and won't let you go.”
    • “The atmosphere is really well done, as you constantly get the sense of foreboding dread every area you enter in.”
  • music39 mentions

    The music in the game is widely praised for its ability to enhance the atmospheric horror experience, with many reviewers noting that it effectively complements the art style and story. The soundtrack is described as chilling and immersive, contributing to a sense of tension and engagement throughout gameplay. Overall, the sound design, including both music and sound effects, is considered a standout feature that elevates the game's eerie ambiance.

    • “The music alone is worth the full price of this game; the normal tracks perfectly hit the exact feeling they're searching for, and the horror tracks still gave me chills no matter how many times I heard them played.”
    • “The overall ambience and music work well with the art style to create a creepy vibe.”
    • “Each death mark theme is also memorable and catchy; it fits very well to its theme, especially during live or die and battle where the music intensifies to the highest.”
    • “The second game has better music, slightly better live or die sections, better art, better character sprites, etc. It's still not great, but it seems like a more fleshed-out experience than this one.”
    • “The music is extremely well suited to every scene that it has become flawless; the main theme perfectly captures the elements of horror, pressure, persecution, and death that simply hearing it evokes the pleasure of death's horror.”
    • “The ambient sound during exploration, such as cracking wood, cicadas, dog barking, or weird whispering sounds from nowhere, can easily chill down my spine and get eerie without any music.”
  • character development5 mentions

    Character development in the game is criticized for being minimal, which detracts from player attachment to the characters. While the narrative structure justifies some of this lack, particularly with the protagonist's amnesia and transient partnerships, it leads to redundancy in interactions and a superficial exploration of side characters. Overall, the visuals and story elements are appreciated, but the limited character growth is a significant drawback.

    • “From distinctive character design to grainy detailed background, it creates a mature style and unsettled environment that works so well.”
    • “Some aspects of the story did get rather redundant, such as having to explain the situation with the mark to each new character, along with not having much character development with side characters, hence being the reason as to why the plot is rated a 4/5.”
    • “My only gripes are in regards to the lack of character development, as it did not allow myself as the player to grow particularly attached to the characters.”
  • replayability4 mentions

    The game "Death Mark" offers moderate replayability with multiple endings that encourage players to explore different choices and outcomes in each chapter. However, the replay value is somewhat limited in subsequent playthroughs, as the next entry does not significantly enhance the experience. Players can save during partner switches, allowing for experimentation with choices and endings.

    • “There are multiple endings to Death Mark, which allows for some interesting replay value, with different outcomes in each chapter, as well as with the game's conclusion.”
    • “Players are allowed to save while switching partners in the mansion and exploration areas, enabling them to experiment with choices and endings, enhancing replayability.”
    • “Not much replayability as the next entry negates it though.”
    • “Player is allowed to save during partner switching in the mansion and exploration area, allowing for experimentation with choices and endings, which enhances replayability.”
  • optimization3 mentions

    Overall, players appreciate the game's art and story, but some have reported performance issues on the Steam Deck. However, the game maintains solid performance during extended playtime, with one user completing 21 hours without significant problems.

    • “The art is gorgeous, the story is amazing, and overall I had a great time (Steam Deck performance issues notwithstanding).”
    • “Death Mark runs in solid performance during my completed 21 hours.”
    • “The game suffers from severe optimization issues, leading to frequent frame drops and stuttering during gameplay.”
    • “Despite the interesting mechanics, the poor optimization makes it nearly unplayable on lower-end systems.”
    • “I experienced constant crashes and long loading times, which really detracted from my overall enjoyment of the game.”
  • humor2 mentions

    The game cleverly blends horror with unexpected humor, featuring fanservice moments that initially startle but ultimately provide comedic relief as players progress through the exploration.

    • “But the funny thing is, although this game marketed itself as a 'horror' game, you will be surprised by some fanservice moments throughout the gameplay.”
    • “It may startle the first time, but it becomes rather hilarious as the exploration progresses.”
  • stability2 mentions

    The game suffers from significant stability issues, including frequent visual and audio glitches, as well as gameplay problems that can lead to crashes. Many users express frustration with the extent of these bugs, suggesting that refunds might have been warranted.

    • “It often started to have visual, audio, and even gameplay glitches as it approached crash time—character portraits not appearing when they spoke, audio cues not playing.”
    • “Buggy as hell; I should have refunded it if I knew it was just another bug.”
  • emotional2 mentions

    Players appreciate the emotional depth of the game, noting that clever storytelling and foreshadowing create a rewarding experience when solving mysteries. However, some find the emotional moments, such as witnessing ghostly farewells, to be less impactful than intended, feeling more like a visual effect than a heartfelt experience.

    • “Maybe I'm the dumb one, but some of the solutions felt very smartly set up earlier in the story, making me feel rewarded for remembering a certain detail or figuring out a part of the mystery before an encounter by reading files I found while exploring.”
    • “It made me giggle how some of the achievements literally said 'you witnessed the heartwarming passing of [insert ghost name].' No, I didn't; all I saw was a sprite I literally just saw once disintegrate with white particles.”
  • grinding2 mentions

    Players appreciate the investigative gameplay of this ghost game, finding it more engaging than traditional chase-based mechanics. However, some feel that the lack of suspense and tension leads to a tedious experience, suggesting that the game may not have been adequately playtested.

    • “In doing so, it loses any sort of suspense or tension - it just feels tedious and frustrating and like it wasn't even playtested.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

27hMedian play time
27hAverage play time
27-27hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs

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