World's End Club

76%
Game Brain Score Based on 58 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
World's End Club Game Cover
World’s End Club is an excellent story with some abysmal platforming tying it together. While story sections greatly outnumber gameplay sections, these stand out as a sore spot that may put off some players.
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"World's End Club" is a 2D side-scrolling action-adventure game with a riveting story, featuring 12 unique characters on a 1200 km journey. Written by the creator of Zero Escape, Kotaro Uchikoshi, and Danganronpa's Kazutaka Kodaka as creative director, the game offers simple controls, player choice-driven story branches, and explores famous locations in Japan. The game begins with the "Go-Getters Club," an eccentric group of kids, on their class trip, where they get into an accident and wake up in a mysterious world.

  • Nintendo Switch
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

76%
Audience ScoreBased on 58 reviews
story15 positive mentions
gameplay10 negative mentions
  • The game features a fantastic story with well-written characters that become more engaging as the narrative progresses.
  • The art style and music are enjoyable, contributing to a light-hearted and whimsical atmosphere.
  • Despite its flaws, the game offers a memorable experience with emotional moments and plot twists that resonate with players.
  • The gameplay is criticized for being clunky and unresponsive, with awkward platforming and overly simplistic puzzles that detract from the overall experience.
  • Many players found the pacing to be slow, with excessive dialogue and repetitive elements that can lead to boredom.
  • The game has performance issues, including bugs and frame rate problems, which can hinder the enjoyment and immersion.
  • story59 mentions

    The story of the game is a mixed bag, with many praising its engaging characters, impactful writing, and intriguing plot twists, reminiscent of the creators' previous works like Danganronpa and Zero Escape. However, some reviewers criticize it for being predictable, overly simplistic, or marred by poor execution and plot conveniences, leading to a lack of emotional investment. Overall, while the narrative has its flaws, it remains a central and enjoyable aspect for those who appreciate story-driven experiences.

    • “The story carries the game, and the longer it goes, the more you're going to like the cast and the more intense the story gets.”
    • “A fantastic story that lives up to its creators' reputations and previous works!”
    • “The story is intriguing and features several twists and turns I could easily predict, but a couple that completely caught me off guard. The characters are lovable and memorable.”
    • “My only gripe is that the endgame of the story is really bad.”
    • “The plot mostly fails because it's hard to get emotionally invested in it - there's a subplot about a character's older sibling dying that is introduced and then resolved in like a half hour with no real prior indication and no real buildup, it's just a thing that... happens, and then the game just moves on from it and never mentions it again.”
    • “The games graphics are bad, the music is not great, the story is predictable, a lot of plot holes, boring stuff and things that just don't make sense overall logically or otherwise.”
  • gameplay30 mentions

    The gameplay has been widely criticized for its poor execution, featuring unresponsive controls, awkward platforming, and overly simplistic puzzles that detract from the overall experience. Many reviewers noted that the gameplay feels more like an afterthought, often interrupted by lengthy cutscenes and dialogue, making it feel more like a visual novel than an engaging game. While some elements may appeal to a younger audience, the overall consensus is that the gameplay is sluggish, clunky, and frustrating, overshadowing any potential enjoyment from the story or characters.

    • “An anime cliche with a lot of heart, side-scrolling puzzle gameplay with light combat elements and a script to rival a modest RPG, Worlds End Club will have you doing whatever it is you do when you play this type of scenario.”
    • “I played on easy and, for the most part, I did enjoy the mechanics, but there are some wonky hitboxes and annoying controls that are the difference between life and death in some places, so I found some sections very annoying.”
    • “The gameplay could be summarized as being as simple as possible without being a walking simulator.”
    • “Absolutely horrible gameplay and pacing. Ten hours in, I was ready for it to end, but it makes you go through every alternate stage, where you once again suffer through awkward platforming, brain-numbingly easy puzzles, and loads of repeated dialogue to get to the true ending, the only good one since the other ones are super bad endings.”
    • “Most of the gameplay is 'story,' which is stupid, not interesting, and just overall makes no sense.”
    • “The gameplay is slow, clunky, unresponsive, boring, easy, and incredibly infuriating.”
  • graphics14 mentions

    The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many players finding them underwhelming and lacking polish, despite some appreciation for the charming character designs and beautiful 2D art style. The game is capped at 60 fps, with some scenes dropping to 30 fps, leading to stuttering animations and a sense of laziness in the overall presentation. While the artwork is noted as a highlight, the 3D models and graphical fidelity leave much to be desired, suggesting a need for improvement.

    • “The graphics are really charming and so are the characters.”
    • “Character designs are alright and the 2D art style is gorgeous.”
    • “Good music, cool art style.”
    • “The graphics are nothing to shout about either, with the game capped at 60 fps and some scenes capped at 30 fps.”
    • “The graphics are so ugly, and the game overall feels so lazy.”
    • “Graphically, the game wasn't much of anything special.”
  • emotional13 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its heartwarming and touching narrative, which evokes strong feelings, including laughter and tears, thanks to excellent voice acting and writing. While some players found certain plot points lacking in depth and buildup, many still appreciated the overall wholesome experience that left them feeling warm and fuzzy. Overall, the game successfully combines light-heartedness with genuine emotional moments, making it a memorable experience for players.

    • “Okay, this game is amazing. I know it's not the death game that it was advertised as, but nevertheless, it has a great plotline and is wholesome and light-hearted, all while being emotional at the same time.”
    • “It is a delightfully heartwarming game with a lot of emotional scenes that are genuinely very touching.”
    • “By far, the best trait here is the phenomenal voice acting of the English dub, making already emotional scenes become even more heart-wrenching than they have any right to be in this innocuous-looking game.”
  • music9 mentions

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising the soundtrack and enjoyable songs, while others find it unremarkable or awkwardly presented, particularly during random musical numbers. Overall, it is described as decent but not standout, with some players appreciating the art style alongside the music.

    • “The OST is great; I really like the soundtrack and the songs in the game.”
    • “Good music, cool art style.”
    • “The gameplay is fine, I guess; can't say anything particularly good or bad about it, but the graphics and music are very nice.”
    • “The random song and dance scenes (I'm not kidding) are incredibly awkward in their presentation.”
    • “Whenever you get a game over, the music is permanently lowered for the level.”
    • “Speaking of which, there are several completely random musical numbers that happen in the middle of the plot.”
  • optimization6 mentions

    The game suffers from significant optimization issues, including performance and frame rate problems that lead to stuttering and lag. Players have noted a lack of noticeable improvement when adjusting quality settings, resulting in frustrating gameplay experiences. Despite community-provided solutions, many feel it is unreasonable to have to troubleshoot a game priced at $30.

    • “The game is also poorly optimized even to this day.”
    • “I didn't notice much of a difference in gaming quality or performance when changing quality, which leads me to think that it really doesn't matter at all.”
    • “To start, the game does have some performance and frame rate issues.”
  • humor4 mentions

    The humor in the game is highly praised, featuring witty interactions, clever writing, and amusing trophies that contribute to an engaging experience. Players appreciate the blend of humor with unexpected story twists, drawing comparisons to popular titles like Zero Escape and Danganronpa 3, making it a standout in their gaming favorites.

    • “Their interactions are funny and there are some story flips that make the game worth playing through.”
    • “Made me cry, made me laugh, writing is great, voice direction was almost always perfect, and for the $20 I paid, I can surely say this is up there for me with some of my favorite games of all time.”
    • “There's good humor and some mysteries and unexpected turns of events, a little bit like Zero Escape, which the game of fate seems to be a nod to, as well as the Danganronpa 3 anime.”
  • character development3 mentions

    Character development is highlighted as a strong point, with unique character designs and a beautiful 2D art style enhancing the experience. Similar to Danganronpa, characters possess distinct traits that evolve throughout the story, adding depth and personality to their roles.

    • “The characters, like in Danganronpa, have unique traits and undergo character development that adds significant depth to their personalities throughout the story.”
    • “The environment is nice, and the character designs are unique in their own way.”
    • “Character designs are alright, and the 2D art style is gorgeous.”
    • “The character development feels shallow and lacks depth, making it hard to connect with them.”
    • “Many characters seem one-dimensional and their arcs are predictable, leaving little room for growth.”
    • “The lack of meaningful choices in character development makes the experience feel linear and uninspired.”
  • grinding2 mentions

    Players find the grinding in the game tedious, exacerbated by persistent bugs like the black screen issue, which forces them to replay previously completed acts. While some moments may be absurdly entertaining, the overall experience is marred by shallow storytelling, unengaging characters, and repetitive gameplay elements.

    • “The black screen bug still isn't fixed (at least for me), which leads the game to become rather tedious, replaying acts that I have already played.”
    • “There are definitely moments it gets so absurd it wraps back around to interesting, but it's a shallow story padded out by tedious dialogue, uninteresting characters, excessive amounts of forced romance, bad platforming, and a general lack of real surprises or engaging writing.”
  • stability1 mentions

    Players have reported stability issues, including unresponsive controls and buggy menus, which have affected their overall gameplay experience.

    • “I have experienced some issues throughout my gameplay, such as unresponsive controls and a buggy menu.”
  • monetization1 mentions

    Reviews indicate that players feel misled by the game's marketing, which presents it as a "death game," while in reality, it fails to deliver engaging gameplay, leading to perceptions of it being a poor investment of money and time.

    • “I saw this game advertised in articles, in the art/video advertisements, in the official synopsis, and apparently in the demo as another 'death game' (even used to be called 'Death March Club') and it just is not that at all. It barely feels like a game; it just feels like a waste of money, time, and energy.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

62% average critic score

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Play time

2hMedian play time
2hAverage play time
2-2hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs

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