Welcome to the school for The Departed. Death Mark II.

I feel ashamed to say that I didn’t know that there was a Death Mark II until months after its release. I learned about it after finishing another run of the first Death Mark with a friend. Her playing my copy led her to looking for a copy for herself, which lead to me discovering that the latest entry in the Spirit Hunter series was a proper sequel to Death Mark. As expected, I went in hoping for another scary adventure featuring Experience, Inc’s creativity and storytelling. I got all of that and then some. But, you probably knew that already. Let’s take a closer look.

Players return to H City. Specifically, to Konoehara Academy. Here, rumors of missing students and ominous messages prior to their disappearance are taking the place of the school’s prestige and academics. This chilling development centers around a spirit known as The Departed. The principal of the school asks for help from Kazuo Yashiki of the Kujo family. Indeed, our boy is back and must solve the mystery of these missing students and protect himself from the wrath of new, evil spirits. Most of the game takes place at the academy, which naturally holds its share of secrets. New and familiar faces from the first Death Mark join Yashiki in some capacity to offer their assistance. All of this results in a more dialogue, more character development, more story, and more frights. Death Mark II’s is just as scary as anything else in the Spirit Hunter series, but the reasons are different due to the nature of The Departed and how it relates to the school grounds. The Departed’s design (more on that later) and the way it communicates add extra layers of terror. If you like scares and spooks, then the story alone is reason enough to look into Death Mark II.

Fortunately, going through the motions to see the story play out is another excellent feature. That’s because the series has undergone a much-needed makeover. Long-time Spirit Hunters fan will immediately notice an overhauled combination of interface and graphics. The tedious map navigation and unorthodox menus have been removed. Now, navigation resembles a 2D side-scrolling point and click adventure. You move simply move Yashiki left and right through various areas, maneuvering his flashlight to examine objects as needed. You can also move up and down to enter new areas, kind of how things were handled in games like Valkyrie Profile. It doesn’t take long to unlock a quick-jump option which sends you back to the school’s infirmary. The infirmary serves as a base of operations where you can chat about the current objective with your colleagues, recover your Spirit Energy, and purchase items that help with handling spirits. Along with smoother navigation, menus and options round out the changes nicely. Seeing how nicely all the changes come together in Death Mark II turns the first Death Mark into a relic of the past. (A fun relic I recommend playing, but a relic nonetheless.)

So, what is Spirit Energy? For lack of a better term, it’s Yashiki’s and his partner’s health. Investigating spirits can and will drain the spirit. Picking up cursed objects, searching cursed areas, and working through the intricacies of each investigation will sap the literal life out of you. Alongside returning to the infirmary for a full recovery, finding cursed relics will provide a level up and full recovery. Doing this unlocks character profiles, but more importantly, it helps when you enter a Suspensive Act. Instead of battling spirits or dealing with the ominous Live or Die scenarios, all the encounters in Death Mark II place Yashiki and his teammate in a Suspensive Act.

During these, you need to make the right combination of choices to survive. Each selection of choices has a percentage of failure. This means that even the right choice/choices can “miss” and result in Spirit Energy damage. The game lets you know the percentage of the choice succeeding. During my playthrough, I never had anything fail to the point of a game over. Is it irritating when something does fail? Slightly. But, it’s nothing that takes away from the experience. It’s satisfying seeing these bloody beasts and spirits get banished properly after a long, intense investigation.

The atmosphere is in full force in Death Mark II. The new navigation and interface means more polished and animated graphics. Returning characters got a makeover. New characters look great. And the spirits look bizarre and terrifying. This is a terrifying feast for the eyes. It’s rare for music to be playing during an investigation. The music that plays during story moments is fine, but the lack of music during the gameplay is where the game shines most. This is because it adds to the haunting atmosphere. Exploring a school when it’s completely abandoned with nothing but a flashlight calls for eerie creaks and cries from the environment. The developers understood that, so they kept the audio ambiance where it needed to be.

I finished Death Mark II fully in about 20 hours. This involved getting every ending and playing the bonus episodes. I really wanted to take my time with it, so other folks’ playtimes might be shorter. I enjoyed examining each object, going through each area slowly and systematically. It was fun to solve the various puzzles even if it meant more backtracking. I just wanted to soak it all in because, while I anticipate a future playthrough, nothing delivers in a Spirit Hunter game like that first time. Seeing all the gameplay improvements on top of another disturbing tale makes this volume of Spirit Hunter the best. While it’s important to play the first Death Mark beforehand, doing so will make your appreciation for this much higher.

Overall, 10/10: Yeah, I’m biased. I love this series. But, Death Mark II is an excellent game that delivers with overhauled gameplay and another chilling tale that frights from the inside.