Corpse Party: Blood Drive (PC) Review
Release Date: October 10th, 2019
Developer: MAGES, Inc., 5pb
Platforms: PC (via Steam) (Reviewed), Nintendo Switch
Price: $19.99
Corpse Party: Blood Drive and I have an interesting history together, as it was the game that made me buy a Vita in the first place after having binged on the original and Book of Shadows on my PSP shortly before release, and it's also one of my proudest Platinum trophies I've attained to date. The Corpse Party games have been so distinct from each other from entry to entry that one of the most exciting things about a new title coming out in this series isn't just the continuation of a deep-rooted story about the spiritual realm and fantastic horror complemented by clever deaths and enticing bad ends, but the new style of gameplay it has while out of the visual novel segments of the game. Corpse Party is, at the end of the day, a visual novel, but seeing how gameplay changes and giving players something to do aside from reading - including collecting name tags, audio clips, and illustrations for the gallery - gives it a higher feeling of engagement and immersion than most other visual novels, putting Corpse Party in a league of its own in both of its respective genres of visual novels and horror.
Blood Drive originally came out in 2015 on the PlayStation Vita, and now four years later sees a rerelease on Steam and Nintendo Switch for a generous $19.99—a significant drop from its original $40 release, and even more so if you got the Limited Edition like I did. While Blood Drive was fantastic in its own right, poor performance unfortunately made it a bit of a chore to get through despite the great story, and at many times I found myself questioning if I should keep going as the increasing frustration was getting to me, causing multiple unwanted deaths and bad ends repeatedly and ones that should have been easily avoidable as well. Obviously, given my Platinum trophy, I stuck with it, but between heavy frame drops and long loading times between chapters, levels, rooms, and even simply going into the menu and every sub menu thereon, it was a never-ending load-fest that had me dreading moving anywhere manually just in case I walked into the wrong room for a moment just to have to leave and be met by another load screen -- undoubtedly the scariest demon of them all. The 2019 release still sees the same graphics as it did on Vita, and no real visual overhaul has been done here in its user-interface, art, or overworld, but sporting a fresh 1080p coat gives the chibi art direction a sharp look that makes the gruesome murders, graphic illustrations, and spooky environments really pop in a way that allows for an attention to detail that wasn't as apparent on Vita's 540p screen. Having now played Blood Drive on my TV, desktop, and laptop, it's amazing for a fan like me to see Ayumi, Satoshi, and the crew pop in a way like never before, but one thing kept coming up in my mind over and over again when I first started it up: Will I meet the load screen demon once again? And will it remember me from Heavenly Host?
Two months after the events of Book of Shadows, Blood Drive sees a period of rehabilitation for those afflicted and coming to terms with those everyone has lost in the process. As is with any living souls that lose their life in the underworld, their existence is erased, and any name, memory, or relation to those lost live life as if they never knew them, except for the ones who survived the tragedy. Shinozaki at the end of Book of Shadows paid dearly to end Sachiko's Curse, and in the process using black magic that was above her ability to do so, while successful, had a deep sacrifice. The old Shinozaki Estate that housed witches in years past vanished along with the grimoire, and things were mostly fine for a while… mostly. Blood Drive sees that the Shinozaki lineage runs much deeper and that there are others out there that want to watch the world burn - even end - in a way so unimaginable and twisted it's hard to comprehend, but after hearing about the possibility of "reviving those that have died" she struggles between what's morale and immoral while trying to protect what it means to be a Shinozaki, and not have the corruption take over and latch on to her, causing for collateral damage in the process. It's a wonderful conclusion to Corpse Party that's spanned many years now and evolved in so many ways, also serving as inspiration to a lot of horror visual novels today both large and indie.
Performance was the biggest factor of upset to most people who played Blood Drive on the PlayStation Vita years ago, and it was more upsetting that because this was the conclusion to it all we had to quite literally chug our way through what was, at the time, an exclusive to the PlayStation Vita built from the ground up for it, yet was poorly optimized. It is with sincere joy that Blood Drive on PC has no noticeable issues the Vita suffered from, and accessing menus, its sub menus, and any moment of transition from area to area is omit of loading screens galore, with added sharpness from its native resolution bump from 540p to 1080p, with anti-aliasing to smooth out edges and helping with the eerily cute factor of Blood Drive's overworld. Blood Drive's story through it's script and illustration feels like enough to give an immersive experience, but its gameplay including chase sequences, puzzles, hidden object segments, and levels of constant suspense of potentially dying make it a full package that continues Corpse Party's legacy as one of the greats in the medium and genre.
Sound has always been incredibly important to bringing the Corpse Party series' immersion to new heights with its unbelievable level of voice acting from all parties involved and 3D audio that gives headphone users (and a highly recommended way to play the game) an experience like no other. Hearing screams come from the distance and being able to pinpoint exactly where it was, and the depth of the way sound travels through walls or hearing floors crack stairs above you, it's a surreal way to further be captivated by the events of Blood Drive, much like the entries before it. Emotional moments come through in such a palpable way thanks to special illustrations that find their way into the gallery, embracing death, life, love, and story that's as scary as it is artistic, giving a level of realism with the voices that put their heart and soul into the dialogue helping craft the characters that have been such a core part of the franchise since day one. For fans, not only do they contribute to bringing a lively story in a horrid world, but a good portion of the soundtrack throughout the series, Blood Drive included, has pieces that also have the voices lent to sing the deep, evocative words in a haunting yet inspiring tone that cause the music to stick with you further.
Bringing the epic conclusion to the three-part series to Steam after being a Vita exclusive is exciting for those that may have never owned portable consoles in the past, and while it has undoubtedly taken years among years for it to do so, it's one of those situations of being better late than never so a wider demographic of players can be able to play in a way that's native and optimal without the need for emulation or unorthodox methods of accessing the games. Corpse Party holds a meaning to the genre and games that has spanned decades at this point since its initial debut in 1996, and one of the most exciting things about this now being made available on a more global level is that, since we're officially done with this trilogy (not including the Sachiko's Birthday spinoff) that has been ported over and over again, we can now move forward and see Corpse Party evolve further with Corpse Party 2: Dead Patient making its debut very soon, beginning a new direction and light for the series that will surely continue to set trends. I only hope localization and user access will be made more widely available so we can revel in the series with less of a delay together within the fanbase and enjoy and celebrate the series and its continued growth.
PROS:
Crisp 1080p, despite no visual upgrade outside of that, makes Blood Drive look sharper than ever
The music, which has always been stellar in the series, creates an atmosphere and sets a tone that's simply unforgettable
Voice acting is top-tier as always, and arguably the best of the whole series given the emotional sequence of events from beginning to end
The binaural audio makes for a spacious environment and one that puts you right in the middle of the scene with headphones on.
CONS:
Corpse Party: Blood Drive suffers from prolonging certain instances that feels artificial
Some mechanics and odd movement can cause for many cases where you'll get stuck and inevitably cost you your life—save frequently and in multiple slots!