As for the story, Death end re;Quest 2 is not exactly a direct sequel, but it is indeed related to the characters and plot of the first game, so we could say it's kind of a spin-off. For that reason, if you played the first entry, then you'll definitely enjoy all the cameos and references, although you can still enjoy this game if it's your first time with a D.e.r.Q title.

Although Death end re;Quest 2 is full of cute little girls, there are a lot of violent, gruesome scenes and images as well, so don't let these sweet, innocent-looking characters fool you!

Death end re;Quest 2 is not about the graphics, so Le Choara's streets and alleys are eerie but far from being realistic. The same goes for the monster models, creepy enough to fit the story but at the same time, quite dull and simplistic. That being said, this is not a problem considering these battles and random encounters are fun to play, but it would be nice to have better, less repetitive designs.

Although not all dialogues are fully-voiced, most of them are, so that adds a lot of personality to the characters, especially the protagonist trio. At first, we played using the English dub, but from Chapter 2 to the end, we switched to the Japanese voice acting with English subtitles. Having both options is great because, as you know, some people don't like how western actors portray anime characters and their high-pitched voices, but it also gives the battle parts a true JRPG feeling.

That's the start of this story, with enough blood and drama to make it clear that, as much as most of the characters are pretty girls, this is not suitable for all audiences. Your goal, of course, is to find Sanae, but apparently, no one at Wordsworth knows where she is or have even heard of her. Sooner than later, we learn about a series of kidnappings and murders that have taken place in the town, as well as a very strange rule that all girls must follow: never leave their rooms at night, as there is a rumor of a horrifying monster that eats its victims.

Some nights, Mai and Rottie will sneak out of the orphanage to explore the mysteries that occur in Le Choara, realizing that the streets are full of hideous monsters called Shadow Matter. Although some are attackable, like any other enemy in an RPG, there's one of them that instakills you as soon as you touch it, so you can only run away from this Dark Shadow until it disappears.

Navigating the labyrinthine paths of Le Choara is not easy, so you need to defeat certain enemies or solve certain puzzles before you can advance to new areas ... not to mention that several streets are blocked until certain points in the story. You can run and jump, but you also need Mai's hacking skills to uncover hidden paths and passwords, Rottie's ability to jump to certain platforms, and Liliana's baseball bat to break some walls. Also, in some corners of the street, you can find treasure chests containing valuable items, or you can use the save points to camp and access the shop.

As for the skills you can use, this game uses a rock-paper-scissors system—or in this case, Star-Moon-Sun—of advantages and disadvantages, with physical and magic attacks as well as support skills to heal or revive. Per turn, your characters can use up to 3 skills, and some of these have extra effects when used against a specific type of character. This is important because not all skills can knockback your enemies, for example.

Your most powerful skills, however, are the ones that you can only use when you are in Glitch Mode. Every time a monster hits you, your corruption gauge increases, and once it's above 80%, your characters can transform into a more powerful version of themselves to unleash a devastating attack. You can also increase your corruption gauge by stepping on the shiny glyphs you'll find scattered around the battle map, but not all icons give you the same amount of corruption. Learning how and when to use them is the key to mastering the Glitch Mode attacks, but be careful as the glyphs are consumed if you push a monster over them with your knockout, too!

This game is an ode to death, occultism, hacking, and girls love, offering you over 20 hours of gameplay, several endings, and 2 minigames you can access in your second playthrough. And although the main cast is brand new, Le Choara's story ties in with that of Arata Mizunashi and Shina Ninomiya from the first game, so look forward to several familiar faces!

As a visual novel, D.e.r.Q.2 shows you both the mundane lives of those living in the Wordsworth all-girls dormitory and some very gruesome deaths, while also throwing in some sweet lesbian love stories in the mix. One second you're witnessing a cute, innocent display of affection... and then you're in the middle of a blood-bath! Well, that's this franchise's charm, and the reason why we enjoy it so much, right?