I found a promo case at GameStop of Corpse Party 2: Darkness Distortion, and now my inner fangirl won’t shut up! So, this article will cover everything we know about the game so far, do some theory-crafting, and compare our current understanding of Darkness Deception to the other Corpse Party games. Warning: there will be spoilers ahead!
What do we know?
Corpse Party 2: Darkness Distortion takes place in Amare Vivere Hospital and introduces us to Haruka Nanami, Nemu Takanashi, Maria Hitsugi, Yu Shindo, Rody, and Yu’s younger sister, Akari. Nemu is a YouRTube streamer, and to gain more subscribers, she convinces her friends, Haruka and Maria, to help her perform a ritual known as Ayame’s Mercy live inside the abandoned hospital.
Unfortunately, the ritual “fails,” leaving the three trapped inside a nightmarish realm full of malicious spirits. However, all hope is not lost, as their friends are trying to find them. Players must use stealth and cunning to solve puzzles as they attempt to solve the mystery behind the curse. The game is playable in first and third person and is a standalone, so no previous knowledge of the older games is required.
Why 2?
If you type Corpse Party 2, you’ll come across a game called Corpse Party 2: Dead Patient. This game also takes place in a hospital, and the main character is Ayame Itou. However, this game is still being worked on and is also stated as a standalone. This doesn’t stop many from wondering if there’s a connection, so let’s go over what we know.
- Although they share a first name. The Ayame in Darkness Distortion is Ayama Kirishima, a vengeful spirit. Whereas Ayame Itou is not fully explained.
- The hospital in Dead Patient is Amare Patriarcha Crusis. It is locked down and full of a mysterious SWAT team and monsters, including zombies and the stuff of nightmares.
- Dead Patient takes place five years after Blood Drive, but we currently don’t know when Darkness Distortian takes place.
- Both games host original storylines that promise to build on existing lore and have taken a similar art direction to Blood Drive.
It’s also worth noting that the girls look nothing alike, as Ayame Itou has white hair, and the girl many are assuming is Ayame Kirishima has long black hair. The reason I say “assume” is due to the PlayStation 4 physical cover art, as it features said girl with a different background, but if you look at the Nintendo Switch cover. You’ll see that Haruka’s face is placed perfectly with the other girl’s, as if they are two sides of the same coin.
However, the girl hasn’t been added to the character bio list on corpsepartyseries.com. Given the series’ history, it’s a safe bet that this is our new antagonist. The majority of Corpse Party games are remakes/ports of the original, which came out exclusively in Japan in 1996. But of the sequels, none were given the coveted 2 in their title.
Corpse Party: Book of Shadows was never intended to be a sequel. It was going to be DLC, but by the time it was finished, it was deemed to be too long and was later released on the PSP. The game’s description calls it a prequel, sequel, midquel, and alternate universe. Most chapters feel like what-if scenarios, and most of the game is a visual novel, which upset many fans. However, if you get all of the endings. You’re rewarded with an epilogue that ties into Blood Drive.
Corpse Party: Sweet Sachiko’s Hystaric Birthday Bash follows Book of Shadow’s lead and is considered a spin-off instead of a true sequel. It does hold some new lore, but it wasn’t until Blood Drive came out that fans learned that Sachiko’s Birthday Bash is canon, and the game finally got a worldwide release on April 10, 2019.
Corpse Party: Blood Drive attempts to answer fans’ burning questions but leaves us wanting more. It’s set two months after Book of Shadows, and the game itself expects you to have played the previous two games in order to fully understand the context of certain characters and events. It also broke some of the rules established in the first game, but it did lay the groundwork for future installments, as Dead Patient opens with a scene of Ayumi Shinosaki and Yoshiki Kishinuma, two of the survivors from Blood Drive.
Will Sachiko return?
From a narrative standpoint, no. No, she should not. Even if you only play Corpse Party, you’ll see that Sachiko’s journey is complete by the end. She begins as a villain, actively toying with and manipulating anyone who crosses her path. She showed little signs of empathy or acted like a little girl throughout most of the game. And it’s only due to giving Sachiko her mother’s diary and a stuffed plushie that we can finally get her to move on.
There’s more to do, but this article would turn into a book if I went into everything. Sachiko was the perfect example of a misunderstood/sympathetic villain. She watched her mother die and soon lost her own life at the hands of the same man who was responsible for her mother’s death. Blood Drive took things a step further by showing us how the Nirvanna, Heavenly Host Elementary, was formed and how she gained control over it.
And even gave Sachiko a proper reappearance in the story by having her help Ayumi several times before finally moving on for the second time. Sachiko Shinosaki will always be the true Girl in Red to me, but she doesn’t need to be included in future games, especially when you look carefully at Ayumi’s skirt at the start of Dead Patient. You’ll see that she’s wearing a red skirt.
Something that we’ve never seen her wear, and it holds significance in showing players her new role. There must always be a Girl in Red.
Sachiko Ever After vs Ayame’s Mercy
Although the two curses invoke similar results, Sachiko Ever After only transported those who attempted it into the Nirvanna when it was performed incorrectly. In her blog, Naho Saenoki claimed the Sachiko Ever After charm would allow the participants to remain friends forever. The requirements were a paper doll made of white paper that must remain blank, and more than one person must participate.
Everyone must hold onto the doll and think, “Sachiko, we beg of you!” Once per person, then tear the doll so everyone has a piece. In the events of Corpse Party, our main cast only had a few seconds to put their paper scraps away before they were sent to the Nirvana. Once inside, the scraps were later discovered to be the only way to escape after Sachiko had been appeased.
Blood Drive was forced to come up with the Ever After stones since performing the ritual no longer worked. If you visit the Japanese website for Coprse Party 2: Darkness Distortion, you’ll be greeted with the haunting tale of Ms. A, and her attempt at Ayame’s Mercy, or rather, Ayame-san in a wheelchair. The urban legend appears to be quite famous, as there are reports of people either disappearing or dying.
To perform the ritual, you must place a doll with your hair and nails in it on the floor, sprinkle some drops of your blood on it, and chant. “Kirishima Ayama-san, Kirishima Ayama-san, please send (name of your target) to the hospital!” Three times and then stab the doll. Ms. A was in her apartment, and the door was locked, yet the only traces found were the broken doll and a knife.
Ms. A’s story is recorded on several sheets of paper, reminiscent of the notes we found in Corpse Party about her reasons behind attempting the ritual. The rest of her story is told in logs by anonymous users. A quick warning, though: If you wish to read all of them, keep holding your mouse on the red bar on the right side of the screen, as reaching the last log triggers a final revelation as to what happened to Ms. A.
In Conclusion
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If you want to play the games, you can find the 1996 Corpse Party on Steam. Corpse Party (2021) is the latest remake that has all of the bonus content from the previous versions and two new bonus chapters. It is available on Steam, Xbox 1, PlayStation 4, and PC. Book of Shadows, Sachiko’s Sweet Hystaricle Birthday Bash, and Dead Patient Chapter 1 can also be found on Steam.
Blood Drive is available on Steam and the Nintendo Switch. Darkness Distortion will be released on Steam, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Windows sometime in 2025. There are two versions available for pre-order. A standard version is listed at $49.99 and an Ayame’s Mercy edition for $79.99.
It comes with the Amare Est Vivre Medical Kit-Metal Outer Case, a 64-page art book, a “Save Yourself” LED blue candle (2 AA batteries not included), and an Evidence Kit containing journal pages, person of interest photos, a Nemu Takanashi business card, a hospital PSA flyer, and an Ayame’s Mercy Lentincular art card.
