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Death Mark |OT| Experience True Horror

takoyaki

takoyaki

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,677
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  • Title: Death Mark, Shiin (死印)
  • Platforms: PS4, PSV, Switch, Xbox One (JP only so far)
  • Versions: US/CA physical standard & CE + digital, EU digital only right now + physical later
  • Release: Oct 31, 2018
  • Genre: Horror Adventure, Visual Novel
  • Publisher: Aksys Games
  • Developer: Experience Inc.
  • Character Art: Humiya Sumio
  • Concept Art & Enemy Design: Rui Tomono
  • Rating: M, PEGI 16, USK 12, CERO D
  • Players: 1
  • Website: aksysgames.com/deathmark
  • Twitter: @aksysgames
  • Price:
    • PS4 & NSW: $49.99/€49.99/£44.99
    • PSV: $39.99/€39.99/£34.99
    • DLC: $9.99/€9.99/£7.99 (Vita only)





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You Have Been Marked

A strange rumor is spreading in Tokyo's H City: Those who bear the cursed Mark will die. Unexpectedly appearing on the body as a scar taking on the appearance of a dog bite, the Mark is said to bring about your inexplicable death.

Now, having lost your memory, you stand before a mysterious house said to protect those who possess the Mark. As the doors swing open, the countdown to death has already begun.
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Search and survive! - to avoid an almost certain gruesome Death at the "hands" of angry spirits, you'll need to search your surroundings for clues to Increase your odds of survival

Choose, but choose wisely - finding clues and hints isn't nearly enough, you'll need to act upon your newfound knowledge by making wise decisions

Ghost busting - sometimes the Sword is more powerful than the Pen. and when words fail, it's time to Stand your ground. Remember the price of not holding your own is an untimely Death

Riddles Me this - it's not enough to defeat the spirit that cursed you, you need to do it in the right way. If you Don't you might survive, but ending up wishing you hadn't .
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  • How long is this game?
    It takes 10 to 20 hours to clear all 6 chapters. The length of the game depends on your reading speed, whether you use a guide or not and if you're aiming for the platinum trophy.

  • A Visual Novel/Adventure Game by Experience?
    From an old Famitsu Interview:
    - Hajime Chikami (President & CEO) and Motoya Ataka (Game Director) from Experience are both big horror fans.

    -From a business standpoint it's better to diversify your output, that's how the idea of tackling a new genre first came up

    -They see Death Mark as a chance to catch the attention of Horror fans and as an opportunity to convert some of them into Experience fans who might just check out their DRPGs

    -About developing an "Adventure Game": plans for the game were in constant flux, didn't start out as an Adventure Game. In earlier stages, they toyed around with RPG elements, a battle system, character customization and hack&slash elements. You would gather a party of cursed people in towns and fight the curse. But they mention the difficulty of combining the genres Horror and RPG because of fundamental differences in design.
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  • I heard this game has some problematic fanservice?
    Yes, unfortunately it does. It's one (tacked-on) aspect of an otherwise very atmospheric horror game.

    Depending on your POV, this will either be laughable pandering to roll your eyes at, something that occasionally ruins the atmosphere or a reason to entirely avoid the game. If you're unsure about this issue, please look into the examples posted on the first few pages of this thread.

    Some of the reviews below have also touched on the subject. For example, this review by Digitally Downloaded talks about the imagery in the context of the horror genre and the link between sex, violence and horror throughout its history without glossing over the inherent misogyny.

  • I heard this game was altered during localization? Should I get my pitchfork and start screaming about censorship immediately?
    No, save your pitchfork for the next zombie outbreak or Frankenstein-related issues. At worst, one image (CG) in the last chapter of the game was blacked out. Everything else about that scene as well as the rest of the game is unchanged. More details, including the image in question, on GamePitt.

    Initially, it seemed like this was done by Aksys due to concerns about the ESRB rating and that this change would apply to all platforms and versions outside Japan. Right now, there is contradictory evidence going around. Some versions have the blacked-out image while others might not.

    Update: Version 1.0 of the Vita DLC that some reviewers received early didn't have the altered image. The current version (1.01) that you can purchase on PSN will have the blacked-out image in both the US and EU. Here's the statement Aksys gave to @TweetVitaReview
    Aksys said:
    The concern over the image in question came late in the publishing process so reviewers who received codes early and haven't updated to the 1.01 version of the DLC will see the original image.

    Aksys Games was founded on the mission to publish unique, high quality content that might otherwise not be available to Western audiences. We have a long tradition of faithfully localizing games from around the world intact.

    Without removal or alteration of the contents. In the case of Death Mark, the image in question was flagged as being possibly disturbing and/or offensive. Due to that, we respected and complied with the request we received and made the decision to modify the individual image accordingly for the releases in North America and Europe.

    We hope our explanation is understandable and that everyone will continue to enjoy the game.
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    Big thanks to Tweet Vita Review, Kresnik, deepFlaw and everyone else who helped to clear this up so quickly!

  • Why is the DLC separate for the Vita version?
    The game had a staggered release in Japan and including the DLC on cart wasn't possible according to Aksys. Therefore, the Vita version costs $10 less than the Switch & PS4 versions. You can get the bonus chapter as paid DLC for $9.99.

    About the original release: First released on Vita (June 1, 2017), followed by a release on PS4 (Jan 18, 2018) that came with the DLC. This bonus chapter was then released as initially free DLC for Vita. Later the same year, Death Mark was released on Switch (June 28, 2018) and very recently on Xbox ONE (Oct 25, 2018).

  • Will the Xbox ONE version be localized as well?
    So far, nothing has been announced or hinted at. The Xbox version just came out a couple of days ago in Japan and a localized version wouldn't have been ready in time for the Halloween release. There might be a chance we'll see it at a later point if DM sells well enough.


  • I've beaten the game, is there additional story content?
    Yes, but it's not available in English (yet). There's a four part voice drama called "Everyday life at the Kujou Mansion" that serves as the follow-up to the events from the main game. It's told from the perspective of the main protagonist. The voice drama is available as DLC for Switch, Vita and PS4 for ¥300 and comes with the Xbox ONE version for free. You listen to it directly from inside the game. No word yet if Aksys has plans to localize this DLC.



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Note: This OT started out as a review thread

Additional sources used for the OT: aksysgames, shiin.jp, famitsu online, gematsu, wikipedia, eshop & PSN pages

Thanks Saphirax for coming up with the thread title
 
Last edited:
darkside

darkside

Member
Oct 26, 2017
11,290
I honestly had no idea this was even out. Didn't even see an Opencritic page for it the other day. Looks neat.
 
Zutrax

Zutrax

Member
Oct 31, 2017
4,192
Oh wow, this is the first I've heard of this. Gonna buy it ASAP. Is there any downside to getting the Switch version over PS4 other than a maybe decrease in resolution?
 
Shizuka

Shizuka

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,114
takoyaki said:
Don't speak the language and was trying to translate another quote than the one from OC, would you mind doing it yourself Shizuka ?
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Sure thing, here's a bigger one:

"Despite a few drawbacks, the game does what it promises and does it well. With english subtitles and very few japanese voice work, it manages to submerge players in its world, fearing choices made under the pressure of a timer or exploring haunted locations. After over fifteen hours, by reaching the end of the game, the story leaves the player wanting for more."
 
Acquiescence

Acquiescence

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
10,257
Lake Titicaca
This game has been on my radar a good while, but damn, I didn't expect the first batch of reviews to be this promising. Very eager to check it out now.
 
Shizuka

Shizuka

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,114
OP
OP
takoyaki

takoyaki

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,677
Atolm said:
What? No distribution in Europe? Not even digital? Oh man...
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I think it's out on all three platforms digitally in EU, haven't checked yet. But it's not getting a physical release.

edit: yup, out for Vita & PS4 on PSN and on eshop. PS4/NSW 49,99EUR; PSV 39,99EUR and 9,99EUR for the DLC.
 
Judge

Judge

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Oct 25, 2017
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It's out in XB digitally, but only in Japan so far
 
Oreiller

Oreiller

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,839
huh, didn't know this would get released so soon. This'll have to wait, I still haven't bought 428.
 
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takoyaki

takoyaki

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,677
Judge said:
It's out in XB digitally, but only in Japan so far
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Right, the game had a staggered release between platforms in Japan. Summer 2017 Vita, Spring 2018 PS4, Summer 2018 Switch and the XONE version came out very recently. Probably too late for a localization and Halloween release. If Death Mark is a moderate success in the West, we might see a translated version on Xbox as well.

edit: for anyone wondering, that's also the reason why the DLC is sold separately on Vita but included on the other platforms.
 
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Dinoegg_96

Dinoegg_96

Avenger
Nov 26, 2017
2,022
Please tell me it has a reversible cover. The one they've showed looks pretty bad (especially when compared to the original).
 
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takoyaki

takoyaki

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,677
Sumio Mondo said:
Good reviews, nice to see!

So is this going to be the OT as well?
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It was just supposed to be a review thread to help get the word out, would be great if anyone wants to make a proper OT.

Otherwise, I can put some more info in the OP but I don't have time to make a full-fledged OT today.
 
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takoyaki

takoyaki

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,677
Riptwo said:
It looks like the CE has the original art under the slipcase on the larger box holding all of the goodies as per one of the above videos.
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It's certainly the best option if you want to put that striking cover art on your shelf. Earlier listings just made it look like the boxart was different from the standard edition.
 
Yasumi

Yasumi

One Winged Slayer
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Oct 25, 2017
4,574
Riptwo said:
It looks like the CE has the original art under the slipcase on the larger box holding all of the goodies as per one of the above videos.
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Original art is the bride walking into the phone booth, which isn't on the CE. It does show up as the Vita start screen though.
 
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takoyaki

takoyaki

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,677
Aters said:
Developer: Experience Inc.
Didn't know they make VN
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When they announced Death Mark in 2016(?), they mentioned that they chose this genre to try something new and to get more people interested in their work. It's also not a pure VN, there's elements of adventure games and some timed challenges.

Must have worked. There's already another well-reviewed entry in their horror series available in Japan called N.G. (No Good), the follow-up to Death Mark.
 
CenturionNami

CenturionNami

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Nov 2, 2017
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And of course, Western reviewers complaining about fanservice. At the point, fanservice is so ingrained in the VN genre, that it should be expected.

At least the VN looks great. Haven't played a good horror VN in ages, excited for this.
 
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takoyaki

takoyaki

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Oct 25, 2017
1,677
CenturionNami said:
And of course, Western reviewers complaining about fanservice. At the point, fanservice is so ingrained in the VN genre, that it should be expected.

At least the VN looks great. Haven't played a good horror VN in ages, excited for this.
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It's a fair criticism though, there's moments where it really stands out and might ruin the atmosphere for some. There's many recent examples of successful VNs that told compelling stories without tacked-on fanservice: 428, 999, VLR, Kamaitachi no Yoru, to name a few.

On the other hand, the protagonist in DM is trying to prevent those things from happening, there's no "1000 year old dragons" and horror and titillation have gone hand in hand since forever in every medium. And there's something to be said for artistic vision - Experience games have a certain style you either like or hate.

I think it's good that reviews point it out so everyone can make an informed decision whether to get the game or not.
 
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Joffy

Joffy

Member
Oct 30, 2017
1,153
Never heard of this before but consider me interested... Might have to dip on a Switch copy
 
mudai

mudai

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,332
There's way too many games I'm interested in. They all have to wait until I'm finally caught up with the latest big releases. Had my eyes on Death Mark the moment I saw the boxart of Amazon Japan once. Glad to see that it's getting great reviews in the west.
 
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takoyaki

takoyaki

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,677
sleepless_swan said:
Is there anything important in that dlc chapter? I've imported the game but didn't know the dlc existed until I saw it on the store.
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Haven't played it yet either, it's supposed to be good and comparable in quality to the main game, but not essential reading; probably worth $10 if you want more Death Mark.

You group up with everyone who made it from the original story and solve one last case involving the "Little Red Riding Hood of the Rain" spirit. Reviews go into more detail. Here's the original announcement on Gematsu
 

Deleted member 21255

Banned
Oct 28, 2017
881
takoyaki said:
Haven't played it yet either, it's supposed to be good and comparable in quality to the main game, but not essential reading; probably worth $10 if you want more Death Mark.

You group up with everyone who made it from the original story and solve one last case involving the "Little Red Riding Hood of the Rain" spirit. Reviews go into more detail. Here's the original announcement on Gematsu
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Cool, thanks I must have missed this.

Importing a US copy and I have a EU account so I guess I'll just have to miss out on it for now.
 
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