When I first heard about Death Mark, I only knew it was a type of adventure game that would be a bit on the horror side of things. So when I first went into it, I had no real idea of how the game would play. Like with many games that you go into without full knowledge of, they have a chance of really surprising you or completely disappointing. Death Mark is one such game that I went into with little info on and it fortunately paid off. So I encourage any who are reading right now that if at any point you become interested in this title, please stop reading and do go check it out. This game really surprised me and I ended up enjoying it quite a bit.

To explain what Death Mark is further, it’s an adventure game with some puzzle elements. Not entirely point-and-click style since you do have some free movement through a first-person perspective like a dungeon crawler. The gameplay is also somewhat minor, with lots of reading involved, but there are brief sections that change things up with multiple decisions and item managing. Overall though, it’s a simple game but can get complex in its story and puzzles.

Don’t want to provide too many details on the story, since that mystery is why I really enjoyed the game. I will say that it revolves around the legend of the Death Mark. A mark that suddenly shows up on your body and causes you to lose your memory and then die. You play the main character who finds himself imprinted with the rumored Death Mark on your wrist and begin your quest to find the truth behind it and prevent your death.

THE GOOD: The story is definitely the strongest part of the game and that’s quite good for a visual novel adventure game. I just love the creepy atmosphere it builds up and the varied cast of characters that you meet along the way. It also has some interesting twists and consequences based on how you play out certain events. I’m not really one for horror games, but my interest in this title really helped in pushing me through the spooky atmosphere. It’s not terrifyingly scary, but it does enough to build this creepiness and can throw in a couple jump scares to really rile you up.

The gameplay is simple, but easy to understand. I also found it quite interesting since it’s a bit unique compared to other adventure games. You are moving about these spooky areas, and will need to shine your flashlight on any items of interest. Certain points of interest will even have options for your to look, touch, or interact with a tool. Because of this, some puzzle solving is involved, as you’ll find items that you can’t fully interact with until you’ve gained the right tool or combination of items. Then there’s spirit battles, which are a bit like boss fights. This makes use of all the items you’ve found and you must make use of them in a turn-based battle in order to vanquish the spirit and survive the encounter.

There are also events called Live or Die that will force you into multiple choice questions. When you’re making your decision, you’ll have a timer counting down that represents your soul points. So you’ll need to make a decision before it reaches zero. However, you’ll need to choose the correct response, otherwise you will lose more points or even get a Game Over. These situations are relevant to current events, so you’ll need to keep a watchful eye on the details you’re seeing in order to survive these encounters.

It’s these puzzle-centric moments that I really enjoy about Death Mark. Sure, you can get past a lot of these obstacles by just exploring everything and trying out every choice in a trial and error manner. However, I really like that you have to really pay attention to all the details and that the game will reward you when you manage to get through everything unharmed. It’s quite satisfying to solve these obstacles and it helped me stay engaged as I explored the world.

The presentation of the game is also quite simple, but still does enough to build that atmosphere. The highlights being the detailed backgrounds you’ll come across and the designs of the spirits you face. It’s a very dark game, and the audio matches that feeling along with it. Sounds of mostly silence with ambient sounds of things slowly creeping or moans from unknown sources. When things do pick up, the soundtrack does as well with some fitting, yet enjoyable tracks.

THE BAD: While I enjoy the overall presentation, I found it a bit unfortunate that the voices in the game are limited. There are voices present, but they’re brief. So you’ll be reading for almost all of the game. Japanese audio only as well. Though it wouldn’t matter much for an English track since it’s very limited anyway. Although I would say I’m a bit mixed on whether or not I would’ve liked this game fully voiced. Reason being is because this game is very detailed in its story and several puzzles do feature these subtle details. I feel like if the game was fully voiced, I wouldn’t be as engaged and could easily overlook an important detail. Still, it would’ve been a nice addition.

One last thing I would’ve liked is an easier way to replay past chapters and alter your decisions. There’s isn’t multiple endings, just a good and normal one. However, choices you make within chapters will have an affect on characters living or dying. The story will also continue to progress in some cases, even when a character dies. Since I found myself really enjoying the story, I really wanted to check out the different situations that can occur based on these other decisions. Unfortunately, you can’t choose a chapter to replay and will have to start from a new save or reload an older one each time you want to change a previous decision. So if you’re curious to see every interaction in the game, you’ll have to do so from different saves.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: I came into Death Mark not knowing much, other than it being a creepy game. The creepiness was definitely there, but I came out quite surprised on how engaged I was in the story. It features a good mystery that will keep you guessing until you’re near the end. I was certainly surprised at some of the discoveries I came across as I played the game. Solving the puzzles of the obstacles and fights you encounter made the game satisfying to play too. I really enjoyed going through this game and greatly encourage others to check it out if they have any interest at all. It’s a journey worth going through.

*A digital copy of the Switch version was provided by the publisher for review purposes.