Worldend Syndrome is an interesting sort of visual novel. The hype surrounding it makes a big deal about Mihate being a town where the dead are rumored to return every 100 years. Your avatar ends up moving there after an issue with his family, so he can get away from it all. But what makes it really great is how the focus and atmosphere shifts depending on which route you pursue. Two things matter here, and they are family and the supernatural. Depending on how the story proceeds, you can see a tale that focuses on such relationships, one where the otherworldly is explored, or eventually an ending that combines the two.
Editor’s note: While elements of some routes and endings will be alluded to, there will be no ending spoilers below.
Some characters’ storylines really lean heavily toward familial relationships. What makes people a family? How strong are the ties that bind us to one another? In the case of Saya Kamishiro, we have a young girl born into an elite family. She is very mature and industrious, but she also isn’t the firstborn. Her life could be quite competitive. What might seem like a route about pursuing someone who is driven, haughty, and perhaps something of a princess turns into something a little deeper. We get to explore her motivations. Why is Saya trying so hard? What is her relationship with her brother really like? The more otherworldly elements of Worldend Syndrome take a backseat as you explore this. (Though, the after the credits scene hints that there was something otherworldly that you missed.)
With Rei Nikaido, we get a similar experience. Her route seems like it could just be about dealing with a young woman who has been living as an idol, never having a chance to connect with ordinary people and enjoy an actual school life. It might seem like it is about her secret. But then, we learn about Rei’s home life. We learn what her father and mother were like. Even though her manager is quite abrasive, we get a better idea of why she is that way and so protective. While the idea of Yomibito is there, considering we get to see Rei filming along the way, the supernatural is pushed completely aside to focus on a more human tale.
Not that things stay that way. Yukino’s route is an unusual one, as her story isn’t just told in one part. In her main route, it seems like it could be a supernatural exploration. Except then, it seems like she is working with Ryoko Ryuzaki, a police officer, to investigate a criminal investigation. This proceeds in a way that seems to complement the myths surrounding the town. But then, when you have played through every route and unlock the true ending for the entire story, Yukino’s role is expanded further. We get to go from a realistic investigation to something that celebrates Worldend Syndrome’s more otherworldly affairs.
Then, there is Miu. Worldend Syndrome continually teases her and her route as the one that would be otherworldly. Once you finally get to her storyline, you get that Yomibito action that was promised in all of the hype. But, at the same time, that isn’t the only thing there. Going through Miu’s route after Yukino’s is essential. The two stories go together and play off of the same sorts of revelations. Each deal with the same human element and tragedy, with Miu’s role offering greater insight into the actions that take place in the other heroine’s tale.
There’s this gradual sense of progression with Worldend Syndrome. As you go along, things can get more otherworldly. Once you go through the ordinary sorts of dramatic situations you might expect in life, you get hints at the supernatural things you may have missed along the way. A story about acceptance and devotion in a family might have an epilogue hinting that, because you didn’t get involved in certain storylines, someone might have died. One going over a murder investigation could lead to a postscript suggesting another investigation to reveal the Yomibito is still ongoing. Then, when you do finally get to the stories that involve the town’s myth, there human elements from other routes get connected into it in a way that makes everything flow together.
Worldend Syndrome is available for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in Japan and North America. It will come to Europe on June 14, 2019.
