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Back in March 2024, Mages and XSEED said we’d get to play through Corpse Party 2: Darkness Distortion in Fall 2024, but now it’s been delayed. The new release window for the latest entry in the horror series is 2025. However, XSEED did reveal the Ayame’s Mercy Collector’s Edition version of the game following the announcement.

First, here’s the Mages and Team GrisGris announcement regarding the delay. It stated it was done to ensure the overall quality of the title.

XSEED also released a similar statement on social media that briefly discussed why Corpse Party 2: Darkness Distortion had been delayed. As a reminder, a small segment of the game was playable at events like Anime Expo 2024.

As for the Corpse Party 2 Ayame’s Mercy release, that collector’s edition is available directly through Marvelous. Nintendo Switch and PS4 versions of it are available for $79.99 each. In addition to a copy of the game, you get a metal case that looks like an Amare Est Vivere Medical Kit found in-game, an LED blue candle that looks like the ones at save points, an Evidence Kit with items resembling ones you discover while you play, a lenticular art card, and a 64-page art book. 

Here's how that will look:

Corpse Party 2: Darkness Distortion will come to the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PC via Steam in 2025, following it being delayed out of its Fall 2024 launch window.

The post Corpse Party 2: Darkness Distortion Delayed Until 2025 appeared first on Siliconera.

Long gone are the days of the top-down, RPG Maker-style Corpse Party horror games. While the series has flirted with 3D in the past, it stuck with its the traditional viewpoint and gameplay style. This is all changing with Corpse Party 2: Darkness Distortion, a bold new take for the series based on my recent hands-on experience.

It is uncertain if Corpse Party 2: Darkness Distortion is related to Dead Patient, but it does also take place in a haunted hospital. During the 15-minute play session I experienced at Anime Expo 2024, I played as Haruka. Haruka and her two classmates, Nemu and Maria, are looking for a way out of the hospital and to safety.

Right out of the gate, I noticed two intriguing parts about this game. The first is the third-person point of view. Instead of a top-down perspective, this game takes place behind the shoulders of Haruka. This gives a it a more Silent Hill-like approach. I felt this throughout the game, and the gameplay ed it as well.

You wander the floors of the hospital with a few movement options at your disposal, such as a dash and interact button. The third-person perspective gives this game a different vibe compared to past games, making it feel even scarier in my initial session. It didn’t help that the game had a tiny draw distance, at least on Switch, so I barely saw a few feet in front of me.

Corpse Party 2: Darkness Distortion also has a much more mature art style to it. This especially came through in actual 3D character models and environments, from what I saw. The removal of the more chibi-like aspects of past games made this instantly much more terrifying. It almost felt like it is in the vein of other Japanese horror titles like Fatal Frame.

The other key change I immediately noticed in Corpse Party 2 involved the character designs. Within the more visual novel-like cutscenes, the 2D character portraits look plucked from an anime. The characters pop much more with color, especially in the case of Nemu. This helps the characters to stand out a bit more, making them more memorable.

While I adore the visual style of Corpse Party 2: Darkness Distortion, I’m not quite sure about the gameplay yet. Sure, it has some similarities to Silent Hill and other likeminded horror games. However, this particular title is quite confusing, especially when it comes to exploring the hospital.

The hallways and rooms are quite empty most of the time and look exactly the same no matter the location. It became hard to tell the difference from one gray concrete hallway to the next. I got lost pretty early in the demo and this continued all the way through. It doesn’t help that the interact button was pretty unresponsive. I had to perfectly stand in front of an object, such as a door, and aim at it just right for the game to my input.

This became pretty annoying quite fast, especially since it took up precious time in the preview. Since I wandered around the hospital quite a lot, I didn’t get to experience much of the story or action. The bulk of the plot I experienced had to do with a mysterious phone call. On a side note, the audio design in this game is quite impressive at least. Though I had no idea of my location, the smart use of the phone ringing and its audio guided me to its location with ease.

Answering the phone revealed a tease of a certain character’s possible fate in the near future. This added some ominous possibilities for what will happen in the main story. In addition, I saw one gruesome part regarding maggots but the game refrained from showing too much there.

Unfortunately, I missed out on running into any monsters or ghosts. This meant I missed out on seeing how running away, hiding, and surviving works in this new gameplay style.

That said, there is a lot of potential for exploration and puzzles from what I saw. I still have a lot of questions about this game but I appreciate what I previewed. The cast looks to have some solid characters I want to know more about. In addition, Corpse Party 2: Darkness Distortion’s new 3D style already feels much scarier than any past game. I just hope the full experience isn’t as confusing to navigate as this short demo.

Corpse Party 2: Darkness Distortion will release for Nintendo Switch, PS4, and PC in Fall 2024.

The post Preview: Corpse Party 2: Darkness Distortion Terrifies and Confuses appeared first on Siliconera.

Mages released a new key visual for Corpse Party II: Darkness Distortion. It also announced that it’ll release a special limited edition, Monkey Set. [Thanks, PR Times!]

The key visual shows what looks like a person holding a doll close to their chest. There are red markings on the hand around the doll, and part of the doll’s face has what looks like a crack in it. Inside the crack, we can see a red and monstrous-looking eye. While the doll does not appear in any of the screenshots in the game, we do have some pictures as to how the 3D character models look during cutscenes. You can check them out here:

As well, here is a trailer for the Monkey Set:

The Monkey Set is a special and limited edition that’ll come with the monkey doll that appears in the game. It looks like a Jolly Chimp, which is a retro toy monkey that bangs the cymbals it’s holding together when you activate it. More details on the monkey set will appear later, as it’s unlikely that the toy will be the only bonus.

Corpse Party II: Darkness Distortion will come out on the PS4, Windows PC, and Nintendo Switch some time in Fall 2024.

The post Corpse Party II: Darkness Distortion New Key Visual Revealed appeared first on Siliconera.