Last week we received our first big news in regards to the upcoming release of Corpse Party II: Darkness Distortion coming out this year. XSEED Games took to YouTube last Thursday to upload an official announcement trailer. The video teases a few gameplay shots mixed in with some lore building as we set up our next horrific tale. Looks like we’ll be in a hospital this time around, so those afraid of healthcare bills best be prepared. We narrowed the release window down to sometime in fall for both the Japanese and Western releases. If I were on the marketing team you can bet your ass I’d be aiming for October so we’ll see if they target Halloween or not in due time. The sequel will be available on Steam, the Switch, and Playstation. Those with excess cash can eye the Ayame’s Mercy Edition which comes with a ton of extra physical goodies.

I don’t think I’ll be spending too many dollars until we see more important information. I’m a bit worried that this “true sequel” won’t be able to reach anywhere near the heights of the first game. Despite the Corpse Party brand name, I don’t think video game content in general is as easy to make popular through Let’s Plays and similar promotional videos. Years ago when Corpse Party first made a name for itself, every YouTuber on the planet was playing it as both horror elements and video games were incredibly trendy at the time. So many playthroughs of the OG were uploaded you couldn’t even watch them all if you tried. Nowadays as traditional playthrough content has died down and fallen out of favor with the algorithm, I can’t help but question if this game will sell many copies outside of the hardcore fandom. I know it’s only been a few days, but the views on this announcement trailer don’t instill me with much hope. Even then it may be an uphill battle with the audience as while the creators called this the first “true sequel” in the franchise, many other games have been released after Corpse Party that weren’t very well received. 

I actually hope this game does well and revives the franchise one more time. I’d love to find a creator I like to check out this new installment, snuggle up with a spooky snack, and relive some of my teenage fall nights with a cozy Let’s Play later this year. Fingers crossed this game does the series justice and restores faith in this dev team. Did you know another Corpse Party was on the way? Are you planning on checking this out? Did you play or watch the first game? Grab a candle, say your prayers, and escape the hospital in the comments below!