If you’re going into Death end re;Quest Code Z without playing Death end re;Quest 2 or the first game, prepare to be hopelessly lost and confused. These are games known for dark, psychological horror elements, graphic death scenes, and a meta-narrative blending virtual and real-world stakes.
The first two games alternate between turn-based RPG combat, emphasizing knockback, and visual novel segments where player choices can lead to story progression or grisly bad endings. The stories in both explored virtual reality, AI, supernatural phenomena, and corporate intrigue, wrapped up in a kawaii package bursting with thigh highs and frilly panties, but punctuated with some hardcore gore.
If you weren’t already acquainted with the ins and outs of the religious-horror cross symbolism or what an “Iris” is, then this spin-off will be a lot to take in. While the cast from the prior two games appears, players assume the role of Sayaka, and her story is set between the first and second games. Survival is not an option in Death end re;Quest Code Z. What will crack first? Sayaka’s sanity, or the player’s?
Death end re: Quest Code Z
Developer: Idea Factory, Compile Heart
Publisher: Idea Factory
Platforms: Windows PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 (reviewed)
Release Date: April 30, 2025
Price: $49.99
If you liked the first two Death end re;Quest games, then prepare to be disappointed with Code Z. This isn’t a turn-based RPG with exploring digital hellscapes. It’s a repetitive purgatory of recycled assets that disrespects the player’s time and cuts corners everywhere it can.
While it was nice to see what Shina and Mai are up to from the last two titles, the story focusing on Sayaka and her job exploring strain areas to save the heroes from the prior games feels hollow.
There isn’t much going on, and the low-budget presentation doesn’t inspire excitement. Even Sayaka’s fat thighs exploding out of her tight shorts and stockings like dough bursting out of a biscuit can isn’t enough of a reason to care.
When not dozing off during the droning visual novel scenes, gamers will navigate randomly generated tile-based dungeons. Fans of Chocobo’s Dungeon or Shiren the Wanderer will know what to expect, but Code Z has fewer features and is way dumber.
In these kinds of dungeon crawler games, the stakes are typically high, and you gradually gain power. Code Z requires players to get a bad ending to level up Sayaka’s skill tree.
To get a bad ending, Sayaka must die from an enemy or a boss. Understandably, this only works once per enemy, so players won’t be able to become overpowered at the start.
The problem with this system is how it wastes players’ time. Every new enemy means players are obligated to die to it to become stronger and dying lose progress in the dungeons.
You can make it to the dungeon’s boss, but that means players will still need to die to it if they want that skill point and then replay the entire dungeon again. It’s an utterly soul-destroying game design.
The plot is further complicated by the presence of Glitch Girls, powerful enemies created by an evil version of Arata Mizunashi from the original games, who can destroy the exits, which are unbelievably obnoxious. Worse yet, Sayaka’s sanity constantly ticks down and lowers the field of view, till she starts cutting herself like she’s some kind of e-thot.
Expect to constantly jump back and forth between item menus to heal, use special attacks, or restore Sayaka’s sanity. Why couldn’t there have been a quick item feature or map a one of the unused buttons for skills? Code Z feels unbelievably behind and restrictive compared to other dungeon crawlers from the 90s.
Sayaka moves and attacks one tile at a time. Every action is a tick for all enemies, meaning enemies only act when the player does. Every dungeon is randomly generated, which makes them superficially unique. Every floor looks and feels the same, despite the algorithm throwing rooms and halls together. Gamers may encounter trap tiles, which are annoying at best.
The experience is utterly mind-numbing and boring. Compounded with the tedious method to power up, Code Z revels in draining the player’s soul with its sterile and bland visuals. All the girls are generically cute, and they all stand in the same pose, making the art look lazy.
The best thing Code Z has going for it is the shocking and gruesome imagery. Death end re;Quest games tend to have highly detailed and gory scenes, and this one goes hog wild with some of its descriptions.
Some of the splash art is shocking and isn’t afraid to depict some nasty imagery. Sometimes you have to admire the daring and bold attitude.
For almost fifty American dollars, you are not getting your money’s worth. Death end re;Quest Code Z is outrageously overpriced. The visuals look like it’s a twenty-dollar PlayStation 3 downloadable game, and the low-effort visual novel scenes have no energy or dynamism.
The story isn’t much of a draw either. The entire plot feels more like its setting things up for the inevitable Death end re; Quest 3, which feels bad to have wasted so much time in a game that doesn’t have the courtesy to tell a complete story.
Death end re;Quest Code Z was reviewed on PlayStation 5 using a code provided by Idea Factory. Additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy is here. Death end re: Quest Code Z is now available for PC (via Steam), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.
