Spirit Hunter: NG Review Thread (92% on Opencritic)

Raza · Oct 17, 2019

I didn't see a thread and I wanted to create one because the game seems to be scoring pretty high.

Available on: Switch, PS4, Vita (digital), and PC
Launch Price: $49.99
LINK TO THE RESETERA OT THREAD

OpenCritic: 91

Playstation Lifestyle- 8.5

If you have played Death Mark, then NG is a worthy successor that surpasses the original in character development, progression of narrative, haunting visuals, and an equally atmospheric soundtrack. Even if you are someone that has just discovered the Spirit Hunter series of visual novels, NG's plot stands alone and will consume you like a vengeful Onryō!

RPGFan- 9

If it isn't already apparent, I'm completely invested in the series. Whereas Death Mark examines the darker side of human beings through an emotionally repressive lens, NG painfully portrays just how cruel life can be. This engrossing rumination on the nature of life and death is something we all can easily identify with, and I for one am eager to know where it will take me next. As for what the letters in NG stand for, you'll just have to play this Necro-centric Game to find out.

Digitally Downloaded- 10

Niche and quaint as it might be, Spirit Hunter: NG is a far more effective, intelligent and deep horror experience than all the jump scare games out there combined.

PSX Brazil- 9 (Portuguese )

Spirit Hunter: NG, taking one step forward and one step back, ends up delivering a game just as fun and interesting as its predecessor.

VGChartz- 7

NG fully captures what made Experience so well-regarded in the horror adventure genre following Death Mark's success

Switch Effect- 9

TL;DR: Great horror adventure game; perfect for anyone who enjoys atmospheric horror stories.

Noisy Pixel- 9

NG is an excellent follow-up game in the Spirit Hunter series and improved a lot compared to its predecessor. The game offers new exciting features that allow you to interact with the characters more and become closer to them. I liked that while the premise stays the same, NG tells its story quite differently, and therefore, it didn't feel repetitive. Instead, the investigation scenes have never felt better.

Nintendo Everything- Thumbs Up

Bonus Stage (PC Review)- 10

Spirit Hunter: NG is a chilling visual novel that will haunt you with its beautiful, yet disturbing, artwork and interactive elements.

Operational Rainfall- 9

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

GamePitt- 10

Despite not being a direct sequel to the amazing Death Mark, more like another story in the same universe, Spirit Hunter: NG took everything which made the previous game great and further expands on it without holding back. The deaths are more gruesome, the spirits are more realistic and disturbing, the CG exposition images are more horrific, and the overall tone of the game felt a little darker and connected. Whether you pick up this game on release, just in time for Halloween, or later on in the year, you're sure of a few surprises and jumps thanks to the brilliant narrative and well-written horror stories.

God is a Geek- 9

While it is too soon for me to say if Spirit Hunter: NG will be in my top horror games this generation, it most certainly is one of my favourite games this year and definitely my favourite horror game in 2019. I already loved Experience Inc.'s dungeon crawlers and I think they absolutely can nail horror experiences after not one but two fantastic experiences in a row. If you enjoy visual novels and are looking for a horror experience that isn't just brainless jump scares, this is something you need to play.

@TheFriendlyBro · Oct 17, 2019

I just finished Death Mark yesterday and started this today, it's feeling pretty good so far! Quite similar to the previous game but enough changes to make me happy.

Shizuka · Oct 17, 2019

Honestly, I'm surprised it's reviewing as well as it is. 92 is really high, I wish more people paid attention to this game.

Blade24070 · Oct 17, 2019

Never heard of this series, but those are some glowing reviews.

Raza · Oct 17, 2019

Edited a comment about fanservice, there may or may not be. I haven't started my first playthrough yet so not sure.

Still I loved Death Mark, and I'm stoked for this one.

Deleted member 10737 · Oct 17, 2019

whoa! glowing reviews.

.exe · Oct 17, 2019

Raza said:
It seems from a few screens I saw on some of the reviews they kept the weird fanservice in, which isn't unexpected but it feels weirdly out of place when it appears (at least in the first game).

Still I loved Death Mark, and I'm stoked for this one.

That's too bad. All the skeevy stuff in Steins Gate 0 and Chaos Child really took me out of the experience. That and gore for gore's sake. I liked that 428 didn't have any of that. Maybe because it was live action they thought twice about putting the actors in such scenarios 🙃

Would be nice if someone who played could comment on if it's relatively tame or more prevalent.

Edit: having gone through the review by Digitally Downloaded, this is definitely not for me. Chaos Child rubbed me in all the wrong ways and I get the vibe that this might as well.

Shizuka · Oct 17, 2019

Raza said:
It seems from a few screens I saw on some of the reviews they kept the weird fanservice in, which isn't unexpected but it feels weirdly out of place when it appears (at least in the first game).

Still I loved Death Mark, and I'm stoked for this one.

A few? There's exactly one and even calling it fanservice is somewhat debatable.

Raza · Oct 17, 2019

Shizuka said:
A few? There's exactly one and even calling it fanservice is somewhat debatable.

The other one I saw was apparently an old one from Death Mark, I just didn't remember it. Click the Digitally Downloaded link for the one I did see from this game. There definitely were several scenes in the original game though. I edited the comment.

Kingpin Rogers · Oct 17, 2019

Well damn, didn't expect it to score so highly. This is a sequel right? Should I play the first before getting this?

Shizuka · Oct 17, 2019

Kingpin Rogers said:
Well damn, didn't expect it to score so highly. This is a sequel right? Should I play the first before getting this?

You could jump straight into this one, but the first one is just as good, so I'd start with that one.

Acquiescence · Oct 17, 2019

My god this game has a low profile. I've played and completed Death Mark and I didn't even know this existed.

Definitely on my radar now though.

Weebos · Oct 17, 2019

Is this a sequel or a standalone game in a series?

Kemono · Oct 17, 2019

I didn't know a thing about this or Death Mark...

This looks awesome.

Kingpin Rogers · Oct 17, 2019

Shizuka said:
You could jump straight into this one, but the first one is just as good, so I'd start with that one.

Alright, thanks.

Shizuka · Oct 17, 2019

Weebos said:
Is this a sequel or a standalone game in a series?

It's a sequel, although with a different cast and setting. They're loosely related, but I'd still suggest playing Death Mark first, because it's just as good and probably cheaper for most people.

Mexen · Oct 17, 2019

First time I am hearing about this game. Time to look it up, who made it, find their friends online, stalk them, make wiki pages, write fan fiction and marry an octopus. Standard stuff.

Edit: Death Mark is half off on Steam right now.

takoyaki · Oct 17, 2019

Weebos said:
Is this a sequel or a standalone game in a series?

Mostly standalone with some smaller connections to Death Mark, you can start with either of the two games.

If you have questions like this about the Spirit Hunter series, the fanservice, etc. then check out the FAQ section of the OT. Most of them should be answered there.

Deleted member 10737 · Oct 17, 2019

2nd best game of the year!
i know it has just 5 reviews, but still

Shizuka · Oct 17, 2019

mazi said:
2nd best game of the year!
i know it has just 5 reviews, but still

Now that's impressive. Poor Cold Steel III.

Shizuka · Oct 17, 2019

SOLDIER · Oct 17, 2019

I had asked about DM a few times but never got an answer on whether it was worth checking out.

Does this game tie into DM at all (as in I should check out DM first)?

Shizuka · Oct 17, 2019

SOLDIER said:
I had asked about DM a few times but never got an answer on whether it was worth checking out.

Does this game tie into DM at all (as in I should check out DM first)?

It's been answered a few times also:

Shizuka said:
It's a sequel, although with a different cast and setting. They're loosely related, but I'd still suggest playing Death Mark first, because it's just as good and probably cheaper for most people.

takoyaki said:
Mostly standalone with some smaller connections to Death Mark, you can start with either of the two games.

If you have questions like this about the Spirit Hunter series, the fanservice, etc. then check out the FAQ section of the OT. Most of them should be answered there.

If you want a more direct answer:

A few Death Mark events are mentioned during NG, specially during the side-quests. That's about it.

takoyaki · Oct 18, 2019

Operation Rainfall- 4.5/5

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

Richter1887 · Oct 18, 2019

Vita still lives!

I never did play the first game even though I have it. Will get this but wait to play it until I finish the first one.

Natsunoyuutsu · Oct 18, 2019

Can't find information anywhere, but if any one knows is there Japanese text in the NA PS4 version?

Diarrhea Day-Lewis · Oct 18, 2019

Sounds great and I enjoyed the first chapter of Death Mark, but does it have the gross sexualization if underage characters in distress like Death Mark? If so, it would have to be very good story wise to make me forget how disgusted I feel when seeing that imagery. I will say tho Death Mark has a great vibe

Diarrhea Day-Lewis · Oct 18, 2019

Shizuka said:
A few? There's exactly one and even calling it fanservice is somewhat debatable.

Yeah I feel like having a teen girl's clothes ripped off, exposing her large breasts (that there was no evidence of prior!) while she's tangled by a vine monster and in danger stretches the limits of "fan service"

Raza · Oct 18, 2019

takoyaki said:
Operation Rainfall- 4.5/5

Edited in, along with a GamePitt review and a link to the OT.

takoyaki · Oct 18, 2019

Raza said:
Edited in, along with a GamePitt review and a link to the OT.

Cheers. I put the Review Thread in the OT as well.

bonesawisready5 said:
Yeah I feel like having a teen girl's clothes ripped off, exposing her large breasts (that there was no evidence of prior!) while she's tangled by a vine monster and in danger stretches the limits of "fan service"

That post was in reply to "fanservice" in NG, not Death Mark.

NG still has some of it but much less compared to DM. You can check out the FAQ section of the OT and see most (possibly all) examples before deciding if you want to spend money on the game.

Diarrhea Day-Lewis · Oct 18, 2019

takoyaki said:
Cheers. I put the Review Thread in the OT as well.

That post was in reply to "fanservice" in NG, not Death Mark.

NG still has some of it but much less compared to DM. You can check out the FAQ section of the OT and see most (possibly all) examples before deciding if you want to spend money on the game.

Yeah sorry I got confused in my reply.

I think I will check the game out, or at least finish Death Mark

Raza · Oct 21, 2019

God is a Geek- 9

While it is too soon for me to say if Spirit Hunter: NG will be in my top horror games this generation, it most certainly is one of my favourite games this year and definitely my favourite horror game in 2019. I already loved Experience Inc.'s dungeon crawlers and I think they absolutely can nail horror experiences after not one but two fantastic experiences in a row. If you enjoy visual novels and are looking for a horror experience that isn't just brainless jump scares, this is something you need to play.

New review. While not a lot of major outlets are covering NG, the reviews it has been receiving are outstanding.

takoyaki · Oct 21, 2019

Tweet Vita Review- No Score

+ Great blend of VN, Point & Click and Dungeon Crawler
+ Tragic themes based on fairy tales
+ Improved interactivity and character personality
+ Tension building
+ Multiple endings and collectables
+/- Limited voice clips
– No auto text speed setting

Another positive review in tweet form, they also did one of the first full Let's Plays of NG.

takoyaki · Oct 23, 2019

Nintendo Life- 5/10

This review has been pretty rosy so far, but unfortunately Spirit Hunter: NG on the Switch has some significant, nearly game-breaking issues. Right from the start, it is clear that the game has severe framerate and slowdown problems. It's bizarre to even be talking about such things in the context of a visual novel, but from the first scene it is obvious that the text scrolling is extremely choppy, and general interface responsiveness is extremely sluggish. These kinds of framerate headaches would ordinarily not be a big deal in a game where the camera is mostly static and does initially seem to mainly manifest as a frustratingly slow menu interface, but it becomes much more severe as the game progresses.

The poor performance is initially well hidden by the music staying properly synced, meaning that Spirit Hunter: NG will seem like its performing at full speed even if it is not. However, it all comes crashing down later on. Once you start encountering the spirits themselves, the actual game speed slows down to what feels like 50 percent, or lower. At this point, doing absolutely anything at all with the flashlight cursor or menu feels like swimming through tar. The game can take at least five seconds to respond to your button presses, continuing like this throughout the entire scene.

The menus in these cases take so long to open and navigate that even the music seems to struggle to mask the issue at this point, and starts to break up. This is made even worse if you make a mistake and have to replay the scene – it just becomes agony, slowly working through the same dialogue and menus at a pace that feels like literal slow motion. The same scenes also highlight another bug which happens during certain sections of the game: in-game music not finishing when it is supposed to. This consistently happens after one of the main spirits has been defeated, with the high tension music continuing regardless until you restart the game. All games have bugs, but it is strange that such a consistently-repeatable bug is present, and seems to affect every chapter of the game. To be clear, we tested this game from both SD card and the Switch's internal memory; these issues were the same regardless.

The reviewer liked the game bad gave it a low score because of technical problems. This is the first time I've read about severe technical issues with the Switch version (I only saw some people mention a music bug on Twitter). Sounds really bad, did anyone here who played on Switch experience those same issues?

Akselziys · Oct 24, 2019

takoyaki said:
Nintendo Life- 5/10

The reviewer liked the game bad gave it a low score because of technical problems. This is the first time I've read about severe technical issues with the Switch version (I only saw some people mention a music bug on Twitter). Sounds really bad, did anyone here who played on Switch experience those same issues?

The review has been updated to 7/10 and the issues he was experiencing were resolved after he downloaded the day 1 patch :)

takoyaki · Oct 24, 2019

Akselziys said:
The review has been updated to 7/10 and the issues he was experiencing were resolved after he downloaded the day 1 patch :)

Oh, so he just played without the Day 1 patch. It did seem strange that no other review mentioned any issues like this.

Good to hear the issues have already been fixed 👍