Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 76 | 18 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 98% | 93 | 85 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 99% | 95 | 160 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Acclaim gate: the raw blend lands at 89.7, but scores above 88 must be earned in front of a mass audience; this verdict rests on 169 player reviews, a largely self-selected fanbase. As more players weigh in, the ceiling rises (full scale unlocks at 100,000 reviews).
Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Feb 20, 2024) · 143 reviews sampled · 160 total reviews in window · weighted 126.4 up / 1.6 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (13)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 70
- 65
“Easier, awkward at times, and much less surprising than prior entries, this sequel is still an effective horror game, but not the hardened experience that I have come to expect from the series.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II is even less of a visual novel than its predecessors and leans in more heavily with the adventure game mechanics like inventory and key item collecting. It is also more streamlined than before and the story is not as compelling as it was the first time. The lack of urgency diminishes the stakes and the puzzles are far too easy to feel any sense of dread or mystery. At worst, Death Mark II can feel boring. Its best aspects lie in its audio and visual departments, whereas the story and gameplay are merely serviceable.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II is a gripping and gruesome read that leaves you wanting more.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II is an excellent game, a love letter to gamers obsessed with urban legends and regional gothic lore. Like its Japanese horror counterparts, Death Mark II offers players a unique audio-visual experience with remarkable sound and art designs. However, there appear to be some missteps in exploring the combat and gameplay mechanics in this release. While I wish that developers had retained these aspects from the previous game, I appreciate their ambition in not settling for merely reproducing the same game but instead exploring new avenues.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Although I’ve told you how good Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II is, I do want to say that while I loved exploring a new genre in the VN world, I don’t think that this will become my new favourite genre. Playing the game at night was difficult as my “scared” emotion would be triggered in the dark. If this is something you feel that you can handle, then pick Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II. It’s a great game on many levels.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II is a sequel that decides to change a few elements to offer a more streamlined, less frustrating and generally overall better experience than the previous entries in the series.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II proved to be the best game in the series to this day. Improving on previously presented mechanics while successfully trying to implement new and interesting ones, Experience Inc. has managed to create a world with charismatic characters and a captivating and immersive mystery that is very well followed by satisfying gameplay that flows organically. In conclusion, Death Mark II is an excellent horror game and definitely deserves to be played by fans of the genre despite its setbacks.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II keeps alive a franchise that has conquered a relevant space in its niche, innovating in some aspects and maintaining others that mark the identity of these games.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II decides to take a more experimental [gameplay] exploration instead of making the most out of what was already consolidated in its predecessors. Unfortunately, the end result is more frustrating than ideal, making this game not hit the same quality of previous titles, even with its interesting story and good audiovisual production.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“But redundant stats buried away in a menu I never had to really look at also don’t affect the quality of the game. Not only does Death Mark 2 tell an exceptional, authentic Japanese story of spirits, tragedy, sadism and mystery, but I’m struggling to think of a game that looks better on the Nintendo Switch. Especially if you’ve got an OLED model. Truly, Experience Inc. has the finest horror artists in the entire games industry, and it’s truly sad that only a few thousand people will ever be aware of that.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“Despite some failures, Spirit Hunter: Death Mark II stands out as a captivating horror work, offering fascinating characters (both alive and dead) in a well crafted plot. Though the gameplay can be exhaustive in some of its aspects, the sinister atmosphere and intriguing plot balances out its shortcomings.”
read full review ↗
Fintendo
VGChartz
Cubed3
Siliconera
Checkpoint Gaming
LadiesGamers.com
DarkZero
NintendoBoy
PSX Brasil
Nintendo Blast
Digitally Downloaded
GameBlast…and 1 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Update: June 13th 2024Jun 13, 2024
- Text updates.Apr 2, 2024
- Fixes for patch 29/02/2024Mar 1, 2024
- 20/02/24 - Patch update notesFeb 20, 2024significant · resets scoring window