1282: Dead Body Gathering

I’ve been replaying Corpse Party recently due to the fact that I’ve owned the sequel Book of Shadows for ages and haven’t gotten around to it yet. Since Book of Shadows is more of a spinoff that tells other concurrent stories that take place during the first Corpse Party, I figured it would probably be a good idea to refresh my memory on the original.

I’m reminded how much I liked the game first time around, for a number of reasons. It has its frustrating elements, sure — chief among which is the lack of a “fast forward” function for scenes you’ve seen before and want to skip after reloading from a “Wrong End” — but there’s a lot more to like than there is to dislike.

The most impressive thing about Corpse Party is still its sound. Not only does it have some fantastic music, but it also makes use of some utterly brilliant 3D sound effects that are alarmingly realistic when listened to on headphones. There’s one sequence partway through where a character is listening to someone’s voice on their phone, and the way the sound is positioned actually makes it sound like a phone held up against your ear. Elsewhere, careful positioning of sounds in the stereo field can make it sound like they’re coming from over your shoulder, or off in the distance.

Alongside the marvellous 3D sound is some incredible voice acting. I have pretty limited knowledge of Japanese seiyuu, but it’s clear that those who signed on to voice Corpse Party’s cast really know what they’re doing. The delivery of their lines is packed with character and some really genuine-sounding emotion. When a character shouts, they sound angry. When a character is crying, it’s heartbreaking. When a character screams, it’s enough to send shivers down your spine.

The game, as I’ve said on a few occasions previously, is also a masterclass in that essential part of horror — “less is more”. While Corpse Party has its share of explicitly gory moments, its most horrifying scenes are completely invisible in terms of visuals, instead unfolding entirely through sound effects, text and occasional flashes of colour. The imagination really gets to work in these scenes, filling your mind with some truly, truly unpleasant mental images that are all the worse for the fact you know that you’re responsible for picturing them. I often find myself wincing at explicit, gory horror movies, but Corpse Party is the only game that’s managed to genuinely get me squirming using nothing but a minimalist approach.

I’m into the game’s fourth chapter, so I’m making good progress on my playthrough. I’ve managed to avoid a lot of the “Wrong Ends” so far, though the growing completionist streak I appear to be developing will probably insist I go back and get them all in order to fill in all those “Ending List” stars at some point. And this time I will actually play the “Extra” scenes that you unlock as you play through, too — for some reason I didn’t get around to those last time around.

Anyway. Yeah. Corpse Party. If you’re yet to experience this creepy classic on PSP and Vita and are hungry for something scary, get on that right now.