''Death End Request'' (stylized ''Death end re;Quest'') is a

role-playing video game A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...

developed by Compile Heart and published by Idea Factory. It was released for the

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...

in Japan in April 2018 and worldwide in February 2019, for Windows in May 2019, and for

Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...

in April 2021. A sequel, ''

Death End Request 2 ''Death End Request 2'' (stylized as ''Death end re;Quest 2'') is an hybrid Japanese role-playing and visual novel video game developed by Compile Heart and published by Idea Factory. The game released worldwide for Microsoft Windows and PlaySt ...

'', was released in the same regions and platforms across 2021 and 2022.

Gameplay and premise

The game is played from two separate character's perspectives; Arata Mizunashi and Shina Ninomiya. Both characters had previously worked together as video game programmers a year prior for a virtual reality

MMORPG A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game. As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...

called "World's Odyssey", until development was halted due to an unexplained disappearance of Shina. After a year passes, Arata stumbles upon access to the game and is shocked to find that the game's servers are still on, and Shina is trapped within the game with partial

amnesia Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or disease,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be caused temporarily by the use ...

. The two learn that Shina is trapped in the virtual reality game until she finishes the game herself, which is complicated by the fact that the game was unfinished, and has been apparently hacked and altered by a third party as well. The gameplay is split into two parts. Shina's portions are played as a traditional

JRPG While the early history and distinctive traits of role-playing video games (RPGs) in East Asia come Video games in Japan, from Japan, many have also been Video games in South Korea, developed in South Korea and Video games in China, in China. ...

with turn-based battles. Arata's portions are played as a visual novel. The player is forced to continually switch between the two, with the visual novel segments often used to unlock clues or remove barriers that are holding up progress in the RPG portion, and vice versa. In both portions, decisions with multiple options are often presented to the player. Options have consequences, with many leading to instant game over screens or leading to alternate game endings.

Development

The game was first teased as early as June 2017, when developer Compile Heart released a brief video which alluded to a game titled ''End Request''. The game was officially announced in '' Weekly Famitsu'' the following week, as the next entry in Compile Heart's ''Galapagos RPG'' series of games, which also includes '' Fairy Fencer F'', '' Omega Quintet'', and '' Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force''. In June 2018, at the yearly Anime Expo, Idea Factory announced an English localization with a 2019 scheduled release date. While initially just released on the

, a

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

release on

Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

was also released in 2019, and a

version was later released across 2020 and 2021. A sequel, ''

'', was released on PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Windows via Steam in 2020, and was released on

in 2022.

Reception

The game received mixed reviews from critics. ''RPGSite'' praised the game for being a solid entry and starting point for a new IP by Idea Factory, that the mixing of '' Neptunia''-like anime tropes with a more serious story like ''Death End Requests story created some strange tonal shifts, and mused that it would have ultimately been a better visual novel that RPG. Similarly, ''Hardcore Gamer'' noted that the JRPG segments were of a good quality, and that the visual novel segments were interesting, but that the two contrasting gameplay segments didn't blend together well, and it felt like being forced into moving back and forth between two entirely different games. Conversely, ''Digitally Downloaded'' strongly praised the game's structure, feeling that the two segments worked well together in keeping the player engaged in the overall story. The game received a 8/8/8/7 1/40rating from '' Famitsu'' in Japan.

References

{{reflist 2019 video games Japanese role-playing video games Visual novels Compile Heart games PlayStation 4 games Nintendo Switch games Video games about video games Video games about virtual reality Video games developed in Japan Video games featuring female protagonists Video games set in Japan Video games set in 2017 Windows games Idea Factory games Single-player video games