Psychological horror Horror Horror visual novels Anime horror Mystery and detective horror

Spirit Hunter: Death Mark

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Bear the Mark, hunt the spirit that cursed you, or die within days.

Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Switch
Stores: Steam
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (83% of 541 reviews); 4.46 of 5 stars from 595 PlayStation Store ratings; Metacritic 83 on PS4
Length: About 11 hours for the main story, 17 to see everything
Players: 1
Controls: Keyboard and mouse or controller (partial controller support on Steam).
Made by: EXPERIENCE (published by Aksys Games)
Released: 2017

Get it on Steam Nintendo eShop (Switch)PlayStation Store

What frightens A man with no memory bears a mark that means he will soon die of some horrifying cause, and to survive he must hunt down the vengeful spirits of urban legends in H City's dark places, searching for clues while the ghosts close in.
Content: gore, violence, sexual themes, partial nudity, torture, strong language.

Spirit Hunter: Death Mark is a Japanese horror adventure in visual-novel form by EXPERIENCE, published in the West by Aksys Games. A man with no memory finds the Mark that kills its bearers within days, and with others who bear it he searches haunted places of H City for the spirits behind the curse.

About Spirit Hunter: Death Mark

Spirit Hunter: Death Mark is a horror adventure from the Japanese studio EXPERIENCE. It first came out on PS Vita in Japan in 2017, reached the West on PlayStation and Nintendo Switch in October 2018, and arrived on Steam in April 2019, all published in English by Aksys Games. It is the first of the Spirit Hunter games. The English release has English text and Japanese voices.

A rumour is spreading through Tokyo's H City: a strange mark, like a grotesque birthmark, appears on certain people, and anyone who bears it soon dies of unknown, horrifying causes. You wake with no memory and the mark on your arm, and arrive at a mansion where a doll named Mary knows something about it. From there you go out at night, with another Mark bearer at your side, to the places where an urban legend has turned deadly.

Most of the game is reading and searching. You explore each place in first person, sweeping dark rooms with a flashlight, picking up items and reading the Spirit Files that fill in each rumour. Your Spirit Power works as health: timed choices drain it when you answer wrong, and running out ends the game. Each chapter ends in a turn-based confrontation with the spirit, where you and your partner pick items and actions, such as salt water or a hand mirror. How it goes decides whether the spirit is purified or destroyed, and whether your partner lives to the next chapter.

There are two endings, Normal and Good, and the Good one needs every spirit purified. A full run takes about 11 hours, according to HowLongToBeat. The painted art leans on disfigured faces and dark corners, and the store pages warn of blood and gore, partial nudity, sexual themes, strong language and a torture-like scene. It suits players who like Japanese ghost stories and dread built from reading.

How to play Spirit Hunter: Death Mark

Buy it on Steam, Switch or PlayStation and start a new game.
Read the story and the Spirit Files to learn each urban legend.
Explore each location in first person with the flashlight, checking spots for items and clues.
Answer timed choices carefully: wrong answers cost Spirit Power, and losing it all ends the game.
When the spirit attacks, choose the right items and actions with your partner to purify it.

Screenshots

Spirit Hunter: Death Mark screenshot: a man in a dark uniform, red tie and white gloves, half his face burst open into red roses, lunges out of the dark

Spirit Hunter: Death Mark screenshot: three panicked men thrown about in a dark wreck as red petals fly through the air

Spirit Hunter: Death Mark screenshot: a girl in a bloodied school uniform, her face overgrown with leaves, stands in a rose-covered corridor above a menu of items such as salt water

Spirit Hunter: Death Mark screenshot: a Spirit File page titled Black Rabbit, showing a black rabbit with red eyes

Spirit Hunter: Death Mark screenshot: a Soul Power screen showing the man in a trench coat and his stats

Spirit Hunter: Death Mark screenshot: a Spirit File titled Rumors of the Mark, about a scar that heralds death

Spirit Hunter: Death Mark screenshot: a doll-like girl with long blonde hair in a black dress and beret sits on a red sofa

Tips

Check every spot you can with the flashlight; the right item later often comes from an easy-to-miss corner.
Reread the Spirit Files before a confrontation; the clues tell you how the spirit should be put to rest.
There is no chapter select, so keep a separate save before each confrontation; the Good ending needs every spirit purified.
Collect talismans when you find them: they raise your Spirit Power above its starting level and give you more time on timed choices.