Corpse Party (2021)

Corpse Party - Ayumi Shinozaki and her friends perform a ritual for good luck, but make a mistake, and the familiar school corridor turns into a strange place. There is no way back, and what once were people roam the floors. Friends are looking for a way out separately from each other, and with each chapter it becomes clear that not everyone will be able to return home. The school is a labyrinth with locked classrooms, bloody walls and notes from previous victims. Ghosts prevent you from finding the right route: some attack, others offer help for a favor, and others lure you into a trap. There are no saves inside the chapter, so the error throws you back to the beginning of the episode. The project combines a visual novel with exploration from pixel sprites: conversations are presented with portraits and text, and movement takes place along corridors with rare clues. Some scenes are frightening due to the sound, so it is better to play with headphones and with the lights off. The story is told from the perspective of several characters, and in some chapters you have to play as someone other than Ayumi. The story branches out and almost every character can die due to a bad decision. To get everyone out, you have to go through the chapters again and look for another way. The destinies of the heroes are interconnected: the rescued character appears in further scenes and sometimes gives a hint, and the deceased disappears from the story forever. The soundtrack and noises here work on par with the text: the creaking of floorboards and children's laughter from behind the wall speak more than any description. Additional chapters cover minor participants in the ritual. For everyone who loves school horrors with multiple endings and a collection of deaths.