Death end re;quest: Code Z Review – No Semicolon Explanation

Death end re;quest: Code Z Review

Death end re;quest: Code Z is the third game in the Death end re;quest JRPG series. What makes past series installments stand out from other JRPGs, from developers like Compile Heart and Gust, are their dark tone, and gruesome death depictions. A lot of JRPG fans discovered this series because they were looking for horror-themed JRPG options. A major part of the Death end re;quest series’ appeal is seeing the gruesome scenarios. Death end re;quest: Code Z changes things up, as it’s now a roguelike JRPG. This is a fitting change, as the player dies a lot, and gets treated to plenty of unique art of their demises.

Death end re;quest: Code Z is very narrative-heavy. It has lots of visual novel-like sections, and tons of dialogue. Without giving anything away, the game begins with an apocalypse. The player plays as themself (there’s a lot of 4^th wall breaking) controlling a woman named Sayaka. Sayaka lives in a city that looks like modern day Japan, but doesn’t appear to be ravaged by the apocalypse. She battles in a digital dungeon called the Strain Area. Every section of the dungeon results in her rescuing a companion revealing a new piece of the mystery as to why the apocalypse happened, and why this world exists. It’s a fascinating story, and an interesting vehicle to combine Persona and Isekai influences.

More Gaiden Than Sequel

Death end re;quest: Code Z carries some gameplay ideas, the dark tone, and dark themes of Death end re;quest 1 and 2, but has its own narrative. There are some characters from past games, but they get re-introduced. First time players, curious about the franchise shouldn’t hesitate to start here. Death end re;quest: Code Z would be a strange starting game though, because its gameplay differs from the JRPG combat of prior series games.

Death end re;quest 1 and 2 were split into visual novel, and JRPG dungeon crawling sections. The dungeon crawling sections of Death end re;quest: Code Z have semi-real time action. Sayaka appears as a chibi version of herself. The dungeons are procedurally-generated, and the player has to fill in the map as they move Sayaka. Enemies are moving on a grid at all times, and Sayaka can be attacked by enemies in real time. Every movement, and action Sayaka takes results in an action from enemies, so players have to be thoughtful with every choice they make.

Dungeon Crawl

The gameplay loop involves getting to the bottom of a dungeon, and fighting a boss. Trips through dungeons gain Sayaka levels and items. The procedurally-generated dungeons, and roguelike elements feel very tacked-on. They make sense for the story, and to show lots of gruesome death scenes, but well-crafted dungeons, and normal action or turn-based JRPG combat would have been preferable. The dungeons get very repetitive, and the gameplay is very basic.

There’s a city that can be explored between dungeon crawls. It’s expressed with a very Shin Megami Tensei-like map. There are side stories to discover, places to buy and sell items, options to store belongings, etc. This whole hub felt kind of superfluous. If there was an actual city to explore, I would be all about going to different locations, and talking to locals. But because the city is just a map, it can feel like just a bunch of menus.

Top-Tier Art and Music

I’m not a fan of the bland procedurally generated dungeons in Death end re;quest: Code Z, but the visual novel art is gorgeous. And there’s a lot of it. The visual novel sections have detailed still images, that slightly move, but not enough that I would say they are animated. The music is also fantastic. There’s great jazzy use of violin, piano, and bass guitar, and it makes the story sections a real treat. But the music in the dungeon sections can get repetitive, and starts to sound too close to elevator music. Death end re;quest: Code Z has a lot of spoken dialogue, but the audio is entirely Japanese. This was fine for me, as the visuals and tone are very “J”. I probably would have changed the audio to Japanese if there was a choice, and the Japanese voice acting is excellent.

Death end re;quest: Code Z is such a frustrating game to review. I loved the mysterious narrative, dark tone, grotesque art, and beautiful music. But I didn’t like the grid-based procedurally-generated dungeon crawling. The hub map was also a missed opportunity to create a space that would’ve made Death end re;quest: Code Z feel more like world, and less like a series of scenes and menus. I wouldn’t recommend the game to typical JRPG fans. It’d even be a tough sell for fans of roguelikes, because those elements feel so tacked-on. Visual novel fans will likely really enjoy the narrative though, and fans of dungeon crawlers might appreciate how unique the game is. I think the game needed more work in preproduction to tie the combat, roguelike elements, and hub world sections together in more meaningful ways.

***PS5 code provided by the publisher***