Kugayama Shiori's Death Diary

About Kugayama Shiori's Death Diary

Kugayama Shiori's Death Diary is a single player casual platformer game with horror, mystery, comedy, anime and others themes. It was developed by Laplacian and was released on April 29, 2026. It received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players.

Kugayama Shiori's Death Diary is a visual novel where you advance the story by making choices that appear throughout the game. Every decision needed to uncover the death and regrets of the ghost, Kugayama Shiori, is left entirely in your hands. There are multiple endings, and depending on your choices, the story may lead to unexpected conclusions. Interact with all sorts of ghosts, collect …

Kugayama Shiori's Death Diary screenshot

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Reviews

99%Audience ScoreBased on 69 reviews

story29 positive mentions

gameplay2 negative mentions

Engaging and well-paced mystery story with emotional depth and satisfying twists.
Beautiful art style with lively character animations and excellent voice acting.
Diverse and meaningful branching endings that encourage replayability and exploration.

The protagonist is mostly silent and lacks personality, which can hurt engagement in conversations.
The choice system and map navigation can be confusing and require a guide to reach the true ending.
Usage of generative AI for background art detracts from visual quality and immersion for some players.

story
82 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35% positive mentions, 61% neutral mentions, 4% negative mentions
The story of this visual novel is a well-paced, emotionally engaging supernatural mystery featuring unique ghost characters and a blend of dark themes with humor. It offers multiple endings shaped by meaningful player choices, encouraging replayability and deeper exploration of the narrative. While its length is relatively short and some elements may feel slightly repetitive or confusing, the story’s intriguing twists, memorable characters, and heartfelt moments have resonated strongly with players.
- “Very fun and engaging characters, well paced story, and really cool presentation.”
- “Kugayama Shiori's Death Diary is a supernatural mystery visual novel developed and published by Laplacian that immediately separates itself from typical genre entries through its unusual premise and emotionally driven storytelling.”
- “This intriguing concept serves as the foundation for a story that blends mystery, psychological drama, urban legends, and moments of dark humor into an experience that remains engaging from beginning to end.”
- “Everyone's already dead, so you're trying to figure out the story of what happened after everything is long settled and done rather than trying to reach a conclusion in the present.”
- “The only criticisms that come to mind are a little bit of inconsistency in the true ending (although it made me cry a bit, so that wasn't for nothing) and length - I want more of the story.”
- “The optional side quests in the first third also felt like padding to me.”
emotional
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
Kugayama Shiori's Death Diary delivers a deeply emotional experience, blending supernatural mystery with heartfelt storytelling that evokes both tears and joy through its well-developed characters and impactful twists. Its haunting themes and meaningful player choices create a powerful narrative journey, culminating in a memorable and emotionally resonant ending despite some minor inconsistencies and a relatively short length. Overall, the game is praised for its balance of dark drama and emotional depth, making it a highly recommended emotional visual novel.
- “As Shiori investigates various paranormal incidents, players meet numerous spirits whose individual stories add emotional depth and variety to the experience.”
- “Themes involving death, violence, suicide, and supernatural horror are closely tied to the mystery itself and contribute to the emotional weight of Shiori's journey.”
- “A beautiful game, starts a little slow and the comedy never really landed for me but the ending is such an emotional gut punch that made me adore this game and the titular heroine Shiori.”
graphics
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60% positive mentions, 10% neutral mentions, 30% negative mentions
The game's graphics feature a beautiful, anime-inspired art style that effectively conveys a wide range of emotions, enhancing both comedic and dramatic scenes. The visuals are praised for their stunning character artwork and atmospheric depth, making the experience visually engaging despite some graphic depictions of dying ghosts. Overall, the artwork significantly contributes to the game's emotional impact and narrative immersion.
- “The character art is absolutely beautiful; despite the sad storyline, the stunning visuals kept me feeling uplifted throughout.”
- “Beautiful art style with a great story and narrative.”
- “Long story short, if you like a comedic horror mystery and don't mind the depiction of dying ghosts (the death shown in the screenshots on the store page is probably the most graphic one, so if you don't mind this, you should be fine), then I can only recommend buying this visual novel.”
- “Anime-inspired character artwork conveys a wide range of emotions, allowing dramatic and comedic scenes alike to leave a lasting impression.”
- “The visuals deserve a special mention as well.”
music
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
89% positive mentions, 11% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for its quality, with standout tracks including the opening and ending themes as well as the background music, which complements the story and artwork well. While some find the sound design less memorable, the overall soundtrack is considered beautiful and enhances the game's atmosphere, especially for fans of mystery and supernatural elements.
- “It’s a good mystery story with memorable characters, impressive art, and a haunting soundtrack.”
- “Music is great; opening, ending, and background music are all stellar.”
- “Overall, I'd recommend this to anyone who wants a short detective story with supernatural elements, some comedy, great music, and good writing.”
humor
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
The game's humor ranges from witty and absurd dialogue to dark comedy, providing welcome levity amid more emotional and dramatic moments. While not as comedically strong as some other titles by the same creator, its humor still offers occasional laughs and charming, lighthearted exchanges that balance the heavier story elements.
- “This is a pretty short detective-ish game that features some dark comedy, some of which had me laughing out loud, but is largely centered around the detective work.”
- “Shiori's personality and the absurdity of her supernatural predicament create opportunities for witty dialogue and humorous exchanges that provide welcome relief between heavier story developments.”
- “This intriguing concept serves as the foundation for a story that blends mystery, psychological drama, urban legends, and moments of dark humor into an experience that remains engaging from beginning to end.”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60% positive mentions, 40% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is expertly crafted, blending ordinary and supernatural elements to create a constantly shifting mood between familiarity and eerie tension. Its immersive world, enhanced by a memorable cast and thoughtful storytelling, deeply engages players and strengthens the emotional impact of the narrative. Overall, the atmosphere significantly elevates the experience, making the visual novel stand out within its genre.
- “These optional discoveries reward curiosity while strengthening the atmosphere of a world inhabited by countless unresolved tragedies.”
- “Backgrounds successfully establish both ordinary locations and unsettling supernatural settings, creating an atmosphere that constantly shifts between comforting familiarity and eerie tension.”
- “Its unique premise, well-paced investigation, memorable cast, and carefully crafted atmosphere combine to create a visual novel that stands out within a crowded genre.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100% positive mentions, -33% neutral mentions, 33% negative mentions
Replayability is supported by multiple routes and character interactions that reveal new story elements, encouraging players to explore different outcomes. However, aside from a few alternative endings that feel more like game overs, the overall experience can be brief and limited, especially after obtaining the true ending. While the story is engaging, some players wish for more content to enhance replay value.
- “These choices encourage replayability, as different routes reveal additional perspectives, character interactions, and hidden story elements that deepen the overall narrative.”
- “I actually was on the track for the true ending first, but loaded a save because I wanted to see more of a certain character's interactions, which led me to a bad end and a more unique one than I expected. Then I got the true ending straight after. This shows that there is some replayability through exploring different endings.”
- “Aside from two or three alternative endings that felt more like game overs than proper endings, the replayability is limited if you get the true ending first. However, the different endings and character interactions do add some value.”
- “The estimated playtime and length are a bit misleading. It feels like a 5-hour game tops through trial and error to get 100%. Aside from two or three alternate endings, they felt more like game overs than proper endings. If you get the true ending first, there isn't much replayability. I was on track for the true ending initially but loaded a save to see more of certain characters' interactions, which led me to a bad end and a more unique one than I expected, then I got the true ending again. I would definitely recommend it, especially on sale, but the base price feels high for the short scope and quick ending.”
gameplay
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 67% negative mentions
The gameplay focuses on reading and decision-making with a strong emphasis on writing and a branching narrative, offering an immersive mystery experience with emotional depth and multiple endings. While it lacks action or observation mechanics like in detective games, its core mechanics are solid and well-executed.
- “The mechanic side of the game is solid too.”
- “While its gameplay primarily revolves around reading and decision-making rather than action, the strength of its writing and its rewarding branching narrative make it an excellent choice for players who enjoy immersive mystery stories with emotional resonance and multiple endings.”
- “You’re not really doing observation-style gameplay like in an Ace Attorney game, though.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
Character development is praised for its unique and impressive designs, with users highlighting the distinct and visually striking cast.
- “The character designs are insane — I’m a huge fan.”
- “Casts are quite unique and have nice character designs.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50% positive mentions, 50% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
The reviews for "optimization" are focused on the quality of voice acting rather than technical performance, highlighting pleasant, engaging, and well-executed vocal performances that enhance the storytelling experience.
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions
Grinding in the game is considered somewhat tedious, particularly when aiming to achieve the true or best ending.

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Kugayama Shiori's Death Diary is a casual platformer game with horror, mystery, comedy, anime and others themes. Common tags for Kugayama Shiori's Death Diary include 2d, dark humor, choices matter, story rich, text-based and others.

Kugayama Shiori's Death Diary is available on PC, Steam Deck and Windows.

Kugayama Shiori's Death Diary was released on April 29, 2026.

Kugayama Shiori's Death Diary was developed by Laplacian.

Kugayama Shiori's Death Diary has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players. Most players liked Kugayama Shiori's Death Diary for its story but disliked it for its gameplay.

Kugayama Shiori's Death Diary is a single player game.

Kugayama Shiori's Death Diary

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About Kugayama Shiori's Death Diary

Reviews

story

emotional

graphics

music

humor

atmosphere

replayability

gameplay

character development

optimization

grinding

Buy Kugayama Shiori's Death Diary