Corpse Party

Corpse Party: Blood Cover …Repeated Fear on the 3DS is one of the best ways to play the remake. It's a total glow up from the old PC, iOS and PSP versions, but it's not quite the final form y'know. That title goes to the later Steam, PS4 and Switch ports, but for a handheld, this 3DS version is seriously solid. It's that iconic story we know and love, but with some extra sprinkles on top to make it feel fresh.

The plot is the same classic messed up horror story. A bunch of high school friends do this cute paper charm ritual to wish their buddy Mayu good luck at her new school but things go horribly wrong. A massive earthquake hits and they all wake up separated in a creepy dilapidated elementary school called Heavenly Host, and dude, this place is not empty. It's crawling with the ghosts of kids who died there, and lemme tell you, the red spirits are not the friendly type. The whole vibe is just constant dread as you try to keep these characters alive and piece together the school's dark secrets to find a way out.

Gameplay-wise, it's your standard old school survival horror adventure. You explore around, pick up key items and read a ton of disturbing notes that fill in the backstory. The best part, and also the worst part, are the wrong endings. You make one wrong move, like open the wrong door or say the wrong thing to a ghost, and bam! You get a brutally creative game over screen. They're so easy to stumble into, which is why you gotta save all the time. It really makes you paranoid, which is totally the point. There's even a light mechanic with a health bar for a couple of characters, but mostly, you just tryna survive with your wits.

The 3DS version specifically is awesome because it's got all the content from the PSP remake, plus some new stuff. The character sprites and artwork are updated and look super crisp on the 3DS screen. The soundtrack is remixed and sounds amazing with headphones, which is a must for the full immersive scare factor. They also threw in a few new extra chapters, so even if you've played it before, there's new nightmare fuel to discover.

The cast is what really makes the story hit so hard. You've got the protective older brother Satoshi, his best friend Naomi, the tough guy Yoshiki, and the super smart Ayumi. You get to play as all of them at different points and you really start to care about them, which makes it absolutely devastating when… y'know, things happen.