The Book Of Shadows opens and what you see might just be your demise...
As time goes by October rears it's head once again. Although this review is hitting a day early the mood has been set and it was time to enter the halls of Heavenly Host elementary school one more time before the sequel to this finally gets released in English a few weeks later. Although Book of Shadows is a sequel to the first game it is mostly a excuse to revisit/remix scenes from the previous game from a new angle. Giving each character a bit more backstory than you've seen before or actually seeing the gruesome end that they were fated to have. Although I did have trouble remembering characters if they weren't on the main cast which lead to me not being captivated by their section of the story.
Unlike the first game this one is full on visual novel with very few adventure game like moments. Sure you will still wander around the school but instead of exploring it from the top down perspective it always has a first person perspective. Other than me enjoying the original perspective more it doesn't take anything away from the experience since the creepy atmosphere is still in effect. Plus once again using headphones is a vital experience to this game. The audio work is very well done and it really set the mood so much that I even started to look around the room in case something might pop up.
Unfortunately it still has a few low notes like the fact item collection can become annoying. Although this only became a issue at one point in the story it was in a place where you would never think to look normally. I had moments where wandering around the halls was the answer which could be annoying to certain players. Also since each chapter is it's own unique story you might not enjoy them all. This is especially true if this is your first Corpse Party game. Do not play this game first since it makes even less sense if you don't know the backstory.
Overall I "enjoyed" (creeped out) my time revisiting stories from the first game and the prologue to Blood Drive just set the stakes to 11. It may not surpass what it did before but it still sets a scary tone that is worth checking out if you enjoy games like this.