Horror visual novels Psychological horror Horror Mystery and detective horror

Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II

Rate it

Go undercover at a cursed academy where death notices come true.

Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Switch
Stores: Steam
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (97% of 178 reviews); Metascore 80 from 10 critics on Metacritic; 4.67 of 5 stars from 125 ratings on the PlayStation Store
Length: about 17 hours
Players: 1
Controls: Keyboard and mouse or controller (full controller support on Steam).
Made by: EXPERIENCE (with Ghostlight; published by Aksys Games)
Released: 2024

No. 18 of the Japanese horror games · No. 23 of the curse horror games · No. 14 of the detective horror games · No. 4 of the urban legend horror games

Get it on Steam Nintendo eShop (Switch)PlayStation Store (PS5)

What frightens Rumours of the supernatural spread through Konoehara Academy in Tokyo's H City: notices appear announcing people's deaths and some students are not what they seem. As the Spirit Doctor you search dark classrooms and restrooms for clues, and when a spirit attacks, a wrong choice in a Suspensive Act means death for you or a companion.
Content: gore, violence, partial nudity, strong language, drug reference.

Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II is a Japanese horror visual novel by EXPERIENCE, published in the West by Aksys Games. As the Spirit Doctor you go undercover as a teacher at Konoehara Academy in Tokyo's H City, searching dark rooms for clues and facing spirits in tense choices where one mistake kills.

About Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II

Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II is the third Spirit Hunter game from the Japanese studio EXPERIENCE. It came out in Japan in 2022 and was released worldwide by Aksys Games in February 2024 on Steam, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch. It follows Spirit Hunter: Death Mark and Spirit Hunter: NG, and returns to the same city.

Konoehara Academy is a private school in the suburbs of Tokyo's H City, founded over a century ago, and rumour says the dead creep into it every ten years to spread a curse. When students die in the academy garden at the end of summer, the chairman calls in the Kujou house, and its head, a sullen middle-aged man known as the Spirit Doctor, goes undercover as a temporary teacher. Notices appear announcing people's deaths, some students are not what they seem, and the investigation points to a spirit called the Departed, which seems to want something from you.

Most of the game is reading and searching. You walk the school's corridors in a new side-scrolling view, then search each room in first person for items and clues, choosing a partner to take along. When a spirit strikes, the game moves into a Suspensive Act: you pick an action, and your partner's stats change its chance of success. The store and the publisher both warn that crucial mistakes mean certain death.

It is spoken in Japanese only, with English or Japanese text. HowLongToBeat puts the main story at about 17 hours, and Pocket Tactics counts seven chapters, most of them bringing a new spirit to hunt, with chapter names such as Hanako of the Toilet and Slit-Mouthed Kashima taken from school legends. Pocket Tactics also notes more than one ending and a few ways a playthrough can differ.

The art is painted and dark, with mangled faces, insects crawling over skin and a figure peering over a toilet stall, and the store warns of blood, gore and some partial nudity. It suits players who liked the first Death Mark, and anyone who likes Japanese ghost stories told through reading and careful choices.

How to play Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II

Buy it on Steam, PlayStation 5 or Nintendo Switch and start a new game; earlier Spirit Hunter games help but are not required.
Read the story and talk to students to learn the rumours behind each incident.
Walk the academy in side view, then search each room in first person for items and clues.
Choose which partner comes with you; who you bring changes where you can go and what you find.
In a Suspensive Act, pick the action that fits what you have learned about the spirit.

Screenshots

Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II art: a spirit with many eyes and cockroaches crawling over it reaches over the shoulder of a terrified man in a coat in a dark brick corridor

Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II art: a schoolgirl washes her hands in a dim restroom while a pale face peers over a stall door in the mirror

Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II screenshot: side view of a girl and a man in a coat running down the New Building 1F hallway, partner portraits above

Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II art: a teacher writes on a green chalkboard in a dim, old-fashioned classroom of uniformed students

Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II screenshot: first-person search of a grimy stall in the Old Building 1F female restroom, with red scrawl on the wall

Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II screenshot: a Suspensive Act choice about the hoses around the headmaster's neck, with success rates for prying or cutting

Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II art: a man in glasses and a brown coat stands before the faded figures of the students and adults of the cast

Tips

Search every spot in a room before leaving; the item you need in a confrontation is often hidden in a corner.
Think about which partner suits each chapter, since their stats change the odds in Suspensive Acts.
A high success rate does not mean an action is right; let the clues about the spirit guide your choice.

Questions

Do I need to play the first Spirit Hunter games first?

It helps, since returning characters and H City carry over, but the academy case is a new story you can follow on its own.

Is Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II a visual novel?

Yes. The store calls it a horror visual novel; besides reading you explore in side view and first person and make choices during Suspensive Acts.

Does it have multiple endings?

Yes. Reviewers describe bad endings when a spirit is not fully saved and a better ending for saving everyone.

Is it gory?

The store warns of blood and gore at times and some partial nudity. The ESRB rates it Mature 17+ for blood and gore, drug reference, partial nudity, strong language and violence.

How long is Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II?

HowLongToBeat lists the main story at about 17 hours, and Pocket Tactics' reviewer took around 18 hours investigating everything.

Is it voiced in English?

No. Voices are in Japanese only; the text can be read in English or Japanese.