Like in Death Mark, in NG you have to thoroughly explore your environment, acquire objects, gather clues and escape dangerous situations. You had something called Soul Power in the first game that would count down in tense situations and which could be increased with items. Here it’s called Security, and while you can’t increase it, it does fully replenish after every Crisis Choice. Another way this game is very different is that you don’t have to “combat” the spirits. You would have to use item combinations and partner abilities to progress in Death Mark, and while that was cool in theory, it got really frustrating when I couldn’t find the right combination to proceed (which happened more and more as I played). In Spirit Hunter: NG, your choices are far more linear, and it’s up to you to either make the right choice to escape attack, or pick the right item to use at the right time. No combining things, no partner abilities (other than during exploration), far less headache. As an example, when facing the second spirit, you can either trick them into getting hit by a train using a stuffed animal or repair that teddy bear and give it to the spirit, putting them at peace. This is far less complex and I applaud the developers for keeping the tension here while avoiding the frustration. Besides the core aspects of the game, there’s a new feature called the Judgment system. You’ll occasionally be asked questions by key characters, and can choose your response from a spectrum of visual reactions. Depending on what you do, your relationship may improve with that character, unlocking a more robust biography for them in the extras. I was happy when I learned this had no bearing on which ending you got, since it can be unclear what the right choice is.
One cool new mechanic that was absent from the first game is Bloodmetry. At one point early on, Akira learns he can get psychic impressions from bloodstains. This is put to clever use all throughout the game, and the farther you get, the more grisly and dark the environments. While you won’t truly learn the reason Akira has this skill ’til the end of the game, I can say it is worth the wait. It was also satisfying playing as a more fearless and powerful character than in Death Mark. Akira is practically an action hero, kicking and punching his way out of harm’s way. While he can’t do much against spirits with his fists, you’ll encounter lots of more mundane threats, such as patrolling security guards. My only complaint regarding Akira is that the story hints at his past, but never directly shows it to you in any meaningful way. I would have loved to see how different he was when he was fighting for money, for example. But thankfully, not seeing that didn’t ruin my immersion. Another new feature is D-Mail. You’ll receive these messages from a mysterious person called D-Man, and he gives obscure clues to find cards with supernatural lore on them. These are totally skippable, but I enjoyed going out of my way to find each and every card. Doing so I was rewarded later with a meeting with the man himself, and it was quite an experience.
Though the band of characters is a bit smaller, they make up for it by being really quirky. One of the first characters you meet is named Kaoru Hazuki. She dresses like a Gothic lolita and acts like a damsel in distress, but is quite snarky and strange. She’s utterly obsessed with supernatural phenomenon, and she just happens to be a good friend to Ami. Then there’s Maruhashi, a Yakuza thug that gets on the wrong side of Akira early on, only to realize he’s good friends with the Yakuza boss’ son, Seiji. After that, you discover how big of a softy Maruhashi is, and his hidden fanboy tendencies. One of my favorite characters is Rose Mulan, a supposed magician that loves to drink and flirt with young men. There’s a few more I won’t mention, but all of them are integral to the story and the fabric of the game.
Visually, Spirit Hunter: NG is equal parts scary, unsettling and beautiful. The game uses Abrupt Scares to keep things fresh and spooky, though you can dial them all the way down if you’re afraid. Character designer Fumiya Sumio did wonderful work in the original game, and continues that trend here. You can read the personalities of each person just by their face, and no character looks the same as anybody else. Take the mohawked fat boy Maruhashi, or the lanky police officer Reina Ooe. Not to be outdone, the spirit designer, kera, does a wonderful job of crafting monstrous and twisted visions of these restless ghosts. And the concept art by Kazuhiro Oya is also great. My only minor complaint is that on occasion the characters look pretty different depending on who is drawing them, but that’s a minor issue. Musically, I really enjoyed the game. At first I wasn’t sure about the old-timey noir music in the calm moments, but when contrasted with the tense piano music during dramatic moments, things flowed really well. The sound effects were especially effective for constructing the horror tenor, such as unearthly cackles, shrill screeches and much more. You’ll also grow very accustomed to the yells of pain from Akira every time you are executed just before the Game Over screen flashes. Overall, the visual presentation is a treat.
Earlier I said there were a couple instances I had issue with, and I’ll talk about those now. You get a lot of hints as you play, which are collated in something called the Spirit File. It’s a sort of shorthand account of what happens as you experience each case, and though it’s good in theory, often the information there is more vague than I would like. A good example of the limits of this happened in the second case, with spirit Kubitarou of Kintoki. You come across a padlock around a well, and have to find the right three-digit number from 0-9. Though the game gives you a hint to help solve it, it references information that’s not stored in the Spirit File, but instead is only found a couple times in visions you encounter via your Bloodmetry. I had to actually ask the developers for help on this, since there are so many numerical combinations you literally cannot find it by process of elimination. Another unfortunate example happens in a much later case. You’re told to come up with a word related to a Japanese crane myth, and to spell it only using the letters A, B, S, T and U. Not being fluent in Japanese, this was a bit of a challenge, especially since I wasn’t familiar with the crane myth in question, and the game doesn’t really recount it. Worse, when I found the answer in a guide, it was a word that was purposefully misspelled, which made things even worse. Thankfully, other than those two puzzles, I mostly got through the game’s many brain teasers without too much effort. At worse, I would use the process of elimination to get farther when stuck.
Ultimately, I spent about 15 hours playing through Spirit Hunter: NG. Though I got the normal ending, I really enjoyed my time with this sequel. It does justice to the first game while still differentiating itself enough to keep things fresh. While it may sound like a short game for $49.99, only having five main chapters, I found myself happily immersed in the experience. I’m glad this one got localized in North America, and feel fans of horror have a lot to enjoy here. If you are hankering for a spooky mystery this October, you can’t go wrong with Spirit Hunter: NG.
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Review Copy Provided by Publisher
