Marvelous and XSEED announced this week that Corpse Party: Blood Drive would be coming to Switch and PC on October 10th. The horror visual novel/RPG blend marks the conclusion of the "Heavenly Host" Corpse Party story arc. Originally released for the Vita back in 2014/2015, it would receive a port to mobile devices in 2017 worldwide but has never been playable on consoles or PCs before now. Marvelous has Corpse Party: Blood Drive pegged at a 19.99 USD price, with a 10% discount during the launch week. Corpse Party: Blood Drive launches for PCs and the Switch next week, on October 10th.
Blood Drive, unlike its prequel Book of Shadows, is a hybrid adventure game/RPG and visual novel. Set two months after the events of Book of Shadows, Blood Drive follows Ayumi Shinozaki as she attempts to right the wrongs she committed during previous games. However, the supernatural forces at work throughout the series are dangerous spirits, even carrying the capability to modify the physical world. Ayumi must now battle both unworldly forces and her family's lineage if she is to survive. Developed at the same time as Corpse Party 2: Dead Patient, Blood Drive improves on the flashlight and RPG systems found in the former, and features a "sanity" meter from Book of Shadows as well.
The conclusion of the long-running Heavenly Host arc, Blood Drive is nearly 20 years in the making. The original Corpse Party was released in 1996 for the PC-98, as part of an independent team developing games via email. Team GrisGris would later go on to develop a number of visual novels, but their first official publishing deal came as a re-release of the original Corpse Party. The team is now partnered with visual novel giant Mages. Though the series has never enjoyed mainstream success or stellar review scores, it has maintained an underground following, in part because of its unique blend of horror and adventure games. We'll get to see the end of the Heavenly Host arc when Corpse Party: Blood Drive releases next week.
What do you think of Corpse Party: Blood Drive coming to PC and Switch? Do you plan on picking it up? Let us know in the comments below!
