For those looking to carry the spooky vibes over to the new year, Aksys Games gave Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II a release date. The third entry in the series heads to PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC on February 15, 2024.
Death Mark II finds Kazuo Yashiki back in Tokyo’s H City for more supernatural investigations. This time the mystery is swirling around Konoehara Academy, which has been host to a grim shroud since the first in a series of students disappeared. Yashiki has to pose as a teacher and search for any lingering clues as to the whereabouts of these missing students. A handful of side characters — including returning faces from Spirit Hunter: Death Mark— can assist in new 2D side-scrolling exploration sections.
The official website is live now along with the Steam page for Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II. There’s also a 14-track original soundtrack CD available for anyone who picks it up through the North American Aksys Online Store. You can see a sample of the new perspectives and more in the First Look trailer.
Still on the hunt
The series comes from Experience, the developers behind dungeon-crawlers like Demon Gaze and Stranger of Sword City. It kicked off with Spirit Hunter: Death Mark in 2017, with Spirit Hunter: NG following close behind in 2018.
Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II was initially crowdfunded through Campfire, managing to more than double its goal for a total of over 30 million yen. We’ll see how its new 2D sections and “Suspensive Acts” — which have you making choices under pressure — play out early next year.