Source: Bandai Namco
Death Note: The Killer Within tried to translate the thrill of Kira and L’s cat and mouse chase into a game, but the effort barely delivers.
Look, I’m not much of a fan of playing co-op games with random people over the internet, but it’s a fun experience when things get competitive enough for you to want to leave your opponents in the dust. Bandai Namco’s entry to the social deduction genre, based on the cult classic anime series Death Note, attempted to integrate this competitive flair with Death Note: The Killer Within. Essentially, it’s Among Us but for the otakus.
It’s a great attempt at the genre, I can give you that, but there are certain factors which definitely hold the game back from shining, and sometimes even make it nigh unplayable, especially when you’re unlucky with the random set of players you end up with. In short: the unevenness of your experience can give players a wholly lacklustre impression.
How can a game immerse you in the atmosphere of Death Note?
The Death Note anime is remembered for its philosophical views on the nuances of morality, power, corruption, and evil. The story follows Light Yagami, who one day picks up a mystical notebook that can kill people, and his downward spiral from morally grey anti-hero to full-blown psychopath with a god complex.
In the game, 10 players are split into two groups and take on the role of either L, the Kira Investigation Squad members, Kira, or Kira’s followers, manifesting into little figurines atop a board game-esque map. The map isn’t exactly large, and has a number of buildings that will need either infiltration or surveillance. It’s also littered with NPC figurines who will give testimonies that will aid in investigations.
If you take on the role of L, you have the ability to direct your fellow investigators and monitor areas of interest VIA CCTV cameras. If you take on the role of an investigator, you go all over the map questioning people and monitoring areas of the map, while keeping your ID close to you at all times.
If you take on the role of Kira, you can manipulate the board by causing incidents that can distract L and the investigators, and must work closely with your Kira Follower, who is tasked with stealing the IDs of the investigators so you can cast judgement upon them.
The strategies you take totally depend on the role you are given, while the game is split into 90-second days where you need to cram the given objectives to get your progress bar up and running, all to either finish the investigation or to rule over the world. The day ends with a meeting where players can discuss their activities, voice their speculations, and even condemn fellow players.
That is, if you can even finish a single playthrough.
What new world? Do you mean return to lobby?
Yep, if any player quits while the game is ongoing, you are immediately sent back to the lobby, no matter how fun the game was getting. This setback singlehandedly bumps Death Note: The Killer Within’s playability down to near zero. You’ve stolen 5 IDs for Kira? Tough luck for you, player X, Y or Z isn’t happy with their role and left the server. Back to the lobby with you!
In my few hours trying to learn the ropes of this game, I’ve never once completed a playthrough. At one point I was sure one playthrough was going to be extra special, because I barely survived being cross-examined by my fellow peers (I was a Kira Follower), only to have the game place us back in the lobby because one player decided that they’ve had enough and wanted to quit the game.
If you really want to experience the game in its entirety, you need to stay away from joining random servers and recruit at most nine friends to join you instead. However, the $10 price tag and plethora of microtransactions aren't a hurdle a few people are going to jump over for a social deduction game, either. Among Us is $4.99 and doesn’t have two battlepasses like Death Note: Killer Within.
Frankly, an Among Us-esque game isn't going to be massively appealing for gamers who aren’t familiar with the Death Note anime, especially in 2024. If the only appeal is its more refined approach to social deductions (who’s the impostor type-of-beat, if you get what I mean) then the game-leaving issues shouldn’t be an issue to begin with. Bandai, please patch this.
Verdict
Whether I’d like to admit it or not, Death Note: Killer Within has some serious potential. It takes the Among Us formula and refines it further to give you an immersive experience. You’d actually want to take a potato chip and eat it when you’re playing as Kira, and the figurine skins, although they take up the majority of the microtransactions, are cute enough to make you want to collect them. If you’re lucky, you’re going to have a lot of fun playing cat and mouse with fellow players. Emphasis on lucky.
Death Note: The Killer Within is now available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and PC. We received a copy of the game for this review.
