In 2026, Resident Evil is making its big comeback with Resident Evil Requiem. While it hasn’t been that long since Resident Evil Village, Requiem is taking players back to Raccoon City for the first time in decades. Plus, Capcom is moving away from the Winters Era, potentially bringing back fan-favorite characters like Leon Kennedy. Requiem feels like a return to Resident Evil‘s roots, exciting fans. Another Japanese horror series is returning to its roots next year, as Corpse Party‘s creator Makoto Kedouin is coming back for Corpse Party II: Darkness Distortion.
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What is Corpse Party?
Corpse Party‘s lineage dates back to 1996. The original game was developed using RPG Maker software for the PC-9801, a Japanese personal computer made by Nippon Electric. Nearly a decade later, it was remade for mobile phones before eventually making its way to PC. Since then, fans have been treated to several new games and remakes.
The series generally involves high school students, supernatural horror, and survival horror gameplay. It gets a little tough to follow the lineage because of all the remakes and spin-offs, but fans have largely been pleased with most Corpse Party games.
Over the years, it has become a cult classic among horror fans. The art style isn’t for everyone, but if it fits your vibe, you’ll find a compelling story filled with scares. It has become so popular that Corpse Party has been adapted into four manga series and a few film projects. That includes two live-action movies that were released in 2015 and 2016.
With that in mind, the return of Kedouin as the scenario designer is exciting. The original creator has been involved in several Corpse Party games, but he seems fully invested in this new project alongside producer Yasuhiko Nomura. Either way, Corpse Party II: Darkness Distortion appears to be a direct sequel to Corpse Party: Blood Drive.
Corpse Party II: Darkness Distortion‘s Long Road to Release
Corpse Party II: Darkness Distortion was first hinted at in 2020 via a YouTube video posted by developer Mages called “10 Years of Corpse Party Repeated Fear.” There, the team posted a series’ timeline, which finished with “202X” and the words “Darkness Distortion.”
The official reveal came in 2023, and North American publisher Xseed Games dropped the first trailer in 2024. In that trailer, the publisher claimed Corpse Party II: Darkness Distortion would launch that same year. They even opened up preorders right after posting the trailer, but it unfortunately missed the original date.
It was then announced that Darkness Distortion would launch in 2024 for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC. However, it was pushed back once again a few months ago. It wasn’t all bad news, as Xseed revealed that Darkness Distortion would also launch on PlayStation 5. We haven’t heard anything official about a Nintendo Switch 2 version, but that seems likely given the delay.
Once Darkness Distortion is in fans’ hands, they’ll have a brand-new setting to dive into. Corpse Party II stars three high school students as they explore a haunted hospital. As with many Corpse Party games, they start to put urban legends to the test and discover that some of those legends are true. You’ll need to work together to avoid a vengeful spirit and uncover the secrets of Amare Est Vivere Hospital.
Darkness Distortion is, like many Corpse Party games, a visual novel. That said, the developers promise “additional gameplay depth.” They haven’t told fans exactly what that means, but it sounds like there might be a little more gameplay depth. We do know that you’ll be able to explore in first- and third-person, so exploration seems like it’ll be the big selling factor beyond the spooky story.
Xseed is promising six full chapters to play through, as well as eight more scenarios and several Wrong Ends. These gruesome fake endings will force a restart from your last checkpoint, but are a fun way to add more visual horror to the mix.
Corpse Party II: Darkness Distortion doesn’t have a firm release date yet, but it should be out in 2026. Another is possible, but with it already being pushed back twice, it seems like a relatively safe bet that the team will hit its window this time.
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