Great detective thrillers keep viewers on the edge of their seats trying to figure out who the killer is, and even following the investigations. But in the case ofDeath Note, viewers and readers are thrown into a nail-biting cat-and-mouse chase between main protagonist Light Yagami, also known as the serial killer Kira, and world-renowned detective L. The popular manga and anime also create an interesting moral dilemma among fans because they find themselves rooting for both Light and L. Soon, they might experience this in video game form with the leakedDeath Notegame that will reportedly be published byBandai Namco.
Although it’s still unannounced,Death Note: Killer Withinhas reportedly received a ratingfrom the Taiwan Digital Game Rating Committee for the PS5 and PS4. The scope of the game is still unknown, but there is speculation that it could be a detective puzzle game likeProfessor Laytonor have the same vibe asPersonaandDanganronpa. There are a lot of influences and genres thatDeath Note: Killer Withincould pull from, but it could also work as a choice-based title similar toLife is Strange.
Death Note: Killer Within Could Take a Different Route With a Choice-Based Mechanic
What makesDeath Noteso intriguing is thatLight/Kira is both the protagonist and main antagonist, guided by his shinigami Ryuk. His intentions and conflicting because he initially uses the Death Note to eradicate crime in Japan, but the lines get blurred when he starts abusing his power and murders innocent people in order to get away from the authorities. The foil in Light’s plan is L, a quirky yet intelligent detective who’s always a step closer to finding out the truth.
Assuming thatDeath Note: Killer Withinwill have people play as Light, it would be interesting if they’re given choices to control his actions and potentially change his fate. Perhaps players could be given a chance to decide whether they should write a person’s name in the Death Note or not. They could even do a pacifist or serial killer run depending on how many people they decided to kill.
Just likeLife is Strange, which also has murder mystery elements, players may have the power to make important decisions and find necessary clues that can affect characters' relationships and, ultimately, dictate the ending of the story. As manyDeath Notefans know, Light continues his murderous streak and gets caught years later, ending with Ryuk writing the protagonist’s name in the Death Note.Death Note: Killer Withincould give players a choice to either save or kill Light, which could lead to some dire consequences in the bigger story.
Death Note: Killer Within Could Take on Multiple POVs
The beauty of choice-based games is how players get invested in the characters, fully immersing themselves in making sure they choose decisions that they think would be the best. This genre also has high replayability because players want to get every ending, both good and bad.Life is Strangeis known for its final arc that lets players choose if they want tosacrifice Chloe or Arcadia Bay. That said, other titles likeUntil DawnandDetroit: Become Humanrely on the collective decisions of multiple characters to achieve certain results or endings.
InDeath Note, other characters play pivotal roles, like L, Misa Amane, Ryuk, and Near.Killer Withincould expand its gameplay further and make these characters playable so they could see Light’s actions from different perspectives and make important decisions that could cause a butterfly effect. Light could build relationships with each character like inSupermassive Games’Until Dawnto possibly decrease the risk of him getting caught and increase the chances of him living in the end, even if it would mean sacrificing some of his allies for his survival.
