Around a month ago, I got to try out Death Note Killer Within ahead of its launch. Soon after on the 5th of November, the game was released on PlayStation and PC. As a bonus, it was part of the PlayStation Plus free games lineup for the month.
It has now been two weeks since the new Death Note game’s release, and for those who have yet to try it out on either platform, here are our thoughts on whether you should give it a try.
Before we start though, a quick explanation. In case you missed its reveal, Killer Within is a new Death Note game which is a bit of a surprise given that the Death Note anime is nearly two decades old now, and there has been no new anime and manga since then. What’s also surprising is the game itself. Instead of being an action game or even a story-driven adventure, this is a social deduction multiplayer title. Yes, this means the game is kind of like Among Us, but with some Death Note-inspired twists.
Some Twists to the Social Deduction Formula
As I mentioned in my hands-on session before, this game is essentially Death Note meets Among Us, though it’s not an outright clone. Instead of playing as L and Light, players are dropped into a board game-like map. The premise here is that L and Light are playing a game of wits on a board, and the players are the pieces.
For the gameplay itself, each match has up to 10 players, with each player being assigned a certain role. On one side, there’s Kira and his followers, and on the other are L and the Investigators.
The goal of Kira’s followers is to help the player assigned as Kira to kill L with the Death Note. At the start of every match, one player is given the Death Note, and they take on the role of Kira. The twist here is that only Kira can “Judge” aka execute Investigators. What’s more, Kira will need to find out the true name of the Investigator to kill them. If followers manage to find the Investigator who is playing the role of L, Kira can execute him, and their side wins.
That’s where the followers come in. Their job is to use their skills in the form of Command Cards to distract Investigators so that they can figure out their names. Once they have a name, they can pass that off to Kira for execution. What’s also interesting is that Kira can pass the Death Note to others, which also passes the role of Kira to another player. This is useful if the Kira player is getting suspected by the opposing side.
Another way for Kira’s side to win is to get the New World Progress bar to 100%. This is done through Command Cards which draws Investigators to locations around the map. Investigators have a limited time to resolve these, and if they fail, 10% will be added. This is quite tough for them given that resolving these can leave them vulnerable to getting their names discovered.
Of course, Kira and the followers can’t simply get everyone’s names and kill them outright as each match is divided into days. At the end of each day comes the Meeting where players can discuss which of the players have acted suspect throughout the day. Given that Investigators have tasks to accomplish, players who don’t seem to be doing anything can be accused.
Someone who is accused of being Kira is not immediately booted out though. Instead, what happens is that the player’s true name is revealed, and they’ll be forced to come along with a certain Investigator the following day. If they’re Kira and have the Death Note, this will also be revealed, ending in a win for the Investigators. This is an interesting twist on the Among Us formula as players aren’t immediately taken off gameplay after Meetings.
Investigators can win not only by discovering the Death Note, but they can also emerge victorious by completing enough investigation tasks. This is represented by the Investigation Progress bar. Because of this, there’s pressure on Kira’s side to take action as playing passively can hand the Investigators the win.
Finally, there’s L. Unlike Kira’s followers, Investigators don’t know who L is, though L can command players to investigate and set up surveillance cameras. This makes L an important role for the Investigators’ side.
Adding all these together gives Killer Within uniqueness over Among Us and other games in the genre. I would say that in the best of times, these mechanics make for an interesting and fun multiplayer session, but that’s not always the case.
Years Late, But Still Pretty Fun
This game can be played with as low as four players or as many as ten players. In my experience though, this game is played best with around 8-10 players as having too few players can lead to a frustrating experience. That’s mostly because when there are only a few players, Kira and the Followers have quite an advantage.
There’s also the fact that players leaving the match pretty much torpedoes that session. I’ve experienced this a couple of times, and it was not fun, especially as the game isn’t as active as I’d like.
Another thing to note is that because of the multiplayer nature of the game, your experience will depend a lot on who you’re playing with. If you’re blessed with responsive players who are actually interested in the experience, you’ll have a great time. On the flip side, if you’re with unserious players who vote out people seemingly at random, you won’t have a great session.
There’s also the game’s visuals. While the game runs well, it’s not the most eye-catching game out there. Some players may like the board game style, but for me, it didn’t exactly work. I think the character models look too dopey, and I would’ve rather the developers go with a sleeker visual style (think Hitman Go which also has a board game-inspired look).
Finally, there’s the fact that this game’s appeal is a bit limited. Aside from the fact that it’s best played with 10 players (ideally friends so you get the best experience possible), it’s also based on a fairly old IP at this point. Sure, Death Note is still beloved by many, but the fact that there hasn’t been any new Death Note show or manga does limit how much it would appeal, even to anime fans.
Death Note Killer Within Final Verdict – 7/10
So, should you get Death Note Killer Within? Well, this game can be quite enjoyable, especially when you get many players in a match. That’s because its twists on the social deduction formula make it engaging and fun. Much more so if you love games in the genre like Among Us, or consider Death Note to be one of your favorite manga/anime.
There are some drawbacks here though. Aside from being a bit late to the party (given that social deduction games really popped off during the quarantine days), the game isn’t the best experience when there are only a couple of players, or if the players you’re matched with are not taking things seriously. Plus, its visual style may not be for everyone.
Still, there’s fun to be had here, and given that it costs a fraction of most games, on PC, it should be worth a try for those who are intrigued. Plus, PlayStation players have no reason not to try it out if they have a PS Plus subscription.
[This game was reviewed via a game code for PC provided by the publisher.]