Death Note Deserves Better Games

by

As a seasoned gamer with over two decades under my belt, I’ve seen the evolution of gaming from pixelated beginnings to immersive virtual realities. Yet, it seems like some genres have been stuck in a time warp, and anime adaptations are no exception.

On October 30th, the game titled “Death Note: Killer Within” was unveiled. This is a social deduction game where Light Yagami (also known as Kira), along with his twisted Kira Followers, face off against detective L and a team of investigators in a timeless battle of intelligence. Here’s a brief summary to spare you the click. Let me know if this sounds familiar to you.

In “Killer Within,” gameplay unfolds in two distinct phases: the Action Phase and the Meeting Phase. During the Action Phase, players collect evidence and accomplish objectives while traversing the map. The Meeting Phase involves all participants sharing their discoveries and determining potential suspects. The game can conclude via several methods. If character L is eliminated, Team Kira emerges victorious. Conversely, if Kira gets arrested, Team L secures the win. Another possibility exists: whichever team fills up the Progress meter (related to completed tasks) will be declared the champion.

Now, there’s nothing inherently wrong with this—Death Note makes for an admittedly compelling setting for such a game—but don’t you feel like you’ve already played this by now? Overlooking the obvious examples, there was already a version of this game done on Nintendo DS back in 2007.

The game “Death Note: Kira Game” didn’t get a U.S. release, but you can find plenty of it on YouTube, and fans have translated the entire game into English years ago. It’s worth noting that “Killer Within” is significantly better in quality compared to a typical mid-2000s text-based handheld game. Personally, I’m not fond of the character models, which resemble children’s toys, or their eerie, vacant eyes. However, there’s a certain charm to the game’s innocuous visual style in contrast to the dark, gruesome themes presented in the manga and anime.

From the brief peeks in the trailer, it appears that the gameplay is a polished take on what Konami was aiming for long ago. Indeed, it has improved significantly. However, unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be particularly intriguing, which is disappointing given the cool and powerful concept of Death Note.

Despite my initial skepticism, Fisher-Price’s “Death Note” could still impress me greatly. After all, it’s free on PlayStation Plus this month, so I’m eager to give it a fair try. However, at first glance, it seems like a repeat of past experiences, making me worry that the game might not live up to its potential from the outset.

For a while, video games based on anime adaptations have been confined to certain categories. Action-packed fighting series are often packaged as the “Ultimate Ninja Storm” series. More intricate fantasy shows receive the “.HACK” treatment. The rest, unfortunately, tend to be found in the monotonous world of mobile games: repetitive Puzzle games, tired Gacha systems, and a lack of originality that seems to stifle creativity altogether.

It’s truly exhilarating to dive into a fighting game featuring your beloved Jujutsu Kaisen characters, but when every franchise begins to blur together, one wonders what fresh experiences remain? Killer Within attempts to break free from those specific boundaries, but just barely so, which seems incongruous for such a distinguished franchise. On the other hand, Death Note transcends its genre. It continues to pass the test of time as one of the greatest mysteries, thrillers, and psychological horrors in fiction. Its sales numbers speak for themselves. The manga has spawned numerous adaptations and left a legacy nearly equal to any other popular work of fiction in the past two decades. Yet, we have yet to find the key to creating an excellent video game adaptation.

The easy answer lies in the story’s core identity. Death Note is super cerebral. Maybe there’s no way to make a compelling game when 90% of the drama takes place in the brain of deranged criminal (and the genius-level investigator who is chasing him.) Perhaps there’s no way to make an interesting game primarily about constructing a flawless string of murders. Especially not one that would require you to switch to the POV of various citizens of the most populous metropolitan area in the world. In fact, I can’t think of a single successful game that manages to balance methodical, slice-of-life concepts with anything bizarre at all. Maybe it is all too much. Too bad there’s no established formula for interesting choice-based games in the horror-thriller genre either.

Look, none of this is to say Killer Within won’t be fun. I still think you should give it a shot. I’m simply disappointed anime fans rarely get to dream big. Just like Death Note, other proven properties struggle to get a shred of original content. We’ve gone nearly 20 years without a Cowboy Bebop game. Doesn’t that feel criminal? I don’t want to wear a Faye Valentine skin in Overwatch 2, I want to be Faye Valentine and get up to hijinks on the Bebop. In that way, Death Note: Killer Within feels equally lame.

As a passionate gamer, it’s frustrating to see that the direction the industry is heading isn’t quite aligning with what I had hoped for. Instead of the dreamy open-world Dr. Stone survival game we all crave, it feels like we’re stuck in an Among Us crossover that never seemed likely. It’s a long road back to the path where innovative and exciting games are being developed. Without progress in this direction, I fear we might miss out on the immersive gaming experience that a Dr. Stone game could provide, and I for one can’t imagine living in a world without it!

Read More

2024-10-30 23:17