Review — World’s End Club

Go on an unforgettable road trip with the Go-Getters Club in World’s End Club.

World’s End Club is the latest game by Kazutaka Kodaka and Kotaro Uchikoshisome, the creative minds behind the Danganronpa and Zero Escape series. The game debuted in early access on Apple Arcade for iOS and macOS and now the full game made its way to the Nintendo Switch. Time to hit the road with the Go-Getters Club!

Sightseeing During the Apocalypse

This lovely group of school friends embarks on a field trip during summer. When they get into an accident, they wake up in a theme park under the sea. This might sound fun, but it soon turns into their worst nightmare as they are forced by a mysterious figure to play a deadly game called the Game of Fate. As they are fighting for their lives, they soon learn that not everything is as it seems and extraordinary powers within them begin to awaken.

The Theme Park chapter echoes the best parts of Danganronpa and Zero Escape as the kids try to figure out what’s going on and alliances shift during a deadly game they’re forced to play. But as they make their way out of the theme part, it turns out this part is only a prologue. Soon, they’ll find themselves in a changed and deserted Japan. And thus begins their trip across Japan to return to Tokyo to find another living soul and to uncover what’s going on. Along the way, are friends end up in one hell of an adventure as they meet freakish monsters, deadly cults, a rogue A.I., a ghost, and oh yeah, there’s also something about a meteor.

Story-heavy

The story of World’s End Club should definitvely be its selling point thanks to its wonderful cast of likeable characters, even if some of them are a bit too cliché and one-dimensional. You’ll mostly play as Reycho, the unofficial leader of the club but you’ll also play as some of the other kids as each of them has a story to tell and will develop their own special power. The gang also brings a certain lightheartedness and hopefulness to the game, despite the over story being pretty dark at times. It doesn’t shy away from subjects like death, manipulation and betrayal.

As the story takes center-piece, you should also be prepared to watch a lot of cutscenes. There were times where I played for 10 minutes only to watch 20 to 30 minutes of cutscenes. These moments are devided into Story sections and Campire sections. The Story sections purely advance the story of the game while the Campfire moments also allow you to chat individually with each kids that is currently traveling with you, before throwing some more exposition your way. These moments lean heavily into the visual novel style the creators are known for, but interaction during these cutscenes are rather limited. The only choici you’ll have to make is between two conflicting interests in the group which branches the narrative somewhat and offers some stimulation to replay the game once you reached the end.

Awaken Your Power

As I stated before, each character you play with has its own power and these powers create the core of the gameplay. The levels you’ll play are rather simple platforming levels most of the time, having you run forward and occasionally back to where you came from, while jumping over obstacles from time to time. But each power you unlock will allow you to deal with the various threats you’ll encounter along the way. Most of these gameplay sections are too basic though and offer very little challenge. The only reason you might die is because you don’t know exaclt what to do or because you miss-timed an action. And since one hit means game over, you might see a few of those game over screens.

The level design itself isn’t too spectacular but the visual differences between each area do give each level a distinct flair. The Osaka area for example has you fighting a gaint crab as a boss in a street that is basically Dotonburi (hey, guess what!) The levels don’t always have this tongue-in-cheek feeling though. Levels like the sewers feel like you’ve seen them way to many times already in other games. The character art is pretty great on the other hand as you get to meet a charming and colorful cast. The art has been done by Take, who is also known for Bravely Default, Fate/Grand Order and Pokémon Sun and Moon. She was chosen because her art style contrasts with the dark nature of the game, and this does lend the game a unique visual style for its story.

World’s End Club is certainly a remarkable game that stands out thanks to its unique appearance and story. The narrative was the main drive for me to keep going, together with the charming cast of characters, as the gameplay turned out to be a bit too shallow and lacking in challenge. Maybe the game’s mobile roots show a bit too much here, as I had the feeling there is a lot of untapped potential hiding in here thanks to the special powers of the characters. But if you’re in for the ride and enjoy a narrrative-heavy game with a quirky story filled with mystery, World’s End Club certainly won’t disappoint.

3/5

Reviewed on Nintendo Switch.
Download code provided by the publisher.