Death end re;Quest: Code Z from Idea Factory International and Compile Heart takes the series to a parallel universe and a new genre. Learn more in our Death end re;Quest: Code Z review!
Please enter your date of birth to access this video:
Death end re;Quest: Code Z from Idea Factory International and Compile Heart takes the series to a parallel universe and a new genre. The game takes place in World DE-1.5, a copy of World DE-1, a world that mirrors our Earth during the 2000s. This new RPG will have a group of young people taking on a world tainted by bugs, with death lurking around every corner. For this spin-off, you can run into many Death Ends – of which there are 100+ for you to experience – which have been written by Makoto Kedouin, the acclaimed writer of the beloved Corpse Party. Instead of taking on a turn-based RPG, we’re now getting a roguelite dungeon crawler RPG that draws inspiration from games such as Shiren the Wanderer – of which I got to review Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island on Nintendo Switch last year.
You can take on this one by choosing one of three difficulty settings: Normal, Elite, and Expert. If you go with the Normal difficulty setting, dying in the dungeon or escaping won’t cost you anything. This is a good option for those of you who don’t want to end up feeling overwhelmed. Going with the Elite difficulty setting means that death will result in the loss of all items and Eni you’re carrying. The Expert difficulty is the most punishing of the bunch. Death will result in the loss of all items and Eni carried. Sayaka’s level and development data for all weapons will also be reset. When you escape a dungeon, our level will be reset. This is why Expert is reserved for gamers who don’t shy away from a challenge.
You’ll be taking control of Sayaka Hiwatari by using the left analog stick or the D-Pad as you take the dungeon crawling one step at a time. As is the case for other roguelite dungeon crawlers like this one, enemies – and bosses – will move, attack, or use one of their skills as you move, attack, use an item, or skill. Press the R1 button to be able to move diagonally. Attack in the direction you’re facing by pressing the X button. You can change the direction you’re facing by pressing the Square button. If an enemy is next to you, pressing the Square button will make you face it right away.
Press in on the right analog stick to change the camera angle using the right analog stick. You can also zoom in and out by pressing the R2 and L2 buttons, respectively. You can press the L1 and R1 buttons to toggle the camera angle types while in camera mode. When walking around, you can considerably speed up by pressing the Circle button to dash. Your character will stop dashing when finding an item, trap, or enemy. Your hit points will regenerate at a steady pace as you walk around the dungeon or by passing time for a bit. Do know that enemies will continue to move if you idle in place.
As you defeat enemies, you’ll gain experience points. As this happens, you’ll be able to obtain enough to level up. When you level up, you’ll gain a boost to your overall max HP, as well as get a boost to other stats. This is very important if you want to survive since you’ll need to try and stay one step ahead of enemies as you improve your stats and gain new and more powerful weapons and items. Just be sure to check the yellow progress bar in the upper-left corner of the screen to see how many experience points you need for the next level up.
This release uses Sanity instead of the Hunger meter you might be used to for other dungeon crawler roguelite experiences. Sanity will lower as you explore each floor, attack enemies, or run into a deadly trap. If Sanity starts to fall, there will be some changes to the visuals here and there, and you can end up suffering from self-damage if your Sanity falls too low… which can lead to your death! You can recover your Sanity by either exiting a dungeon or by using special items known as Ether Codes. You can find Ether Codes while exploring a dungeon or buy them at the shop with your hard-earned Eni.
Something that is very different from other roguelike dungeon crawlers is the aforementioned Death Ends. These ends to your run are quite gruesome and are going to be part of the draw for those of you on the fence. They will be added to the log as you experience them and will even reward you with Skill Points that can then be spent at the Skill Tree to unlock new abilities, upgrades, and boosts for Sayaka. Pay attention to which nodes unlock which element so that you can make the most of the Skill Points you earn. This is how you’ll be able to extend your dungeon runs so that you can eventually reach boss battles and not be completely destroyed in the process.
The game features a full trophy list with a Platinum trophy for you to add to your collection. The list is split into 18 Bronze trophies, 9 Silver trophies, and 5 Gold trophies for you to work on. What are some of the objectives that you’ll need to complete for that shiny Platinum? Along with the trophy you get for starting Sayaka’s journey, there are trophies that will pop for unlocking all Death End skills, defeating 1,000 enemies, clearing 1,000 dungeon floors, rescuing several VIPs, collecting all weapons, and updating them to the max, gathering 9,999,999 Eni, defeating the different bosses that the game will throw at you, and experiencing all Death Ends. There are more than 100 Death Ends on this journey, so it’s definitely not going to be a short trophy run!
Death end re;Quest: Code Z takes the series to a parallel universe and a new genre. The game takes place in World DE-1.5, a copy of World DE-1, a world that mirrors our Earth during the 2000s. This new RPG will have a group of young people taking on a world tainted by bugs, with death lurking around every corner. For this spin-off, you can run into many Death Ends – of which there are 100+ for you to experience – which have been written by Makoto Kedouin, the acclaimed writer of the beloved Corpse Party. Instead of taking on a turn-based RPG, we’re now getting a roguelite dungeon crawler RPG that draws inspiration from games such as Shiren the Wanderer.
Death end re;Quest: Code Z is out on PlayStation 5 with a $49.99 price tag. There’s also a PlayStation 4 version of the game available for the same price as a separate purchase. You can also go all-in and get the Death end re;Quest: Code Z Digital Deluxe Edition for $69.99, which includes the base game, as well as the digital soundtrack and digital art book.
Disclaimer
This Death end re;Quest: Code Z review is based on a PlayStation 5 copy provided by Idea Factory International.
