Spirit Hunter: Death Mark – Kaerazu’s Amusement Park DLC Review

Title	Spirit Hunter: Death Mark – Chapter 7: Kaerazu’s Amusement Park
Released	August 1, 2024 (JP) April 10, 2025 (WW)
Developer(s):	Experience Inc.
Publisher(s):	Aksys Games
Platform(s):
Genre	Adventure, Horror
Rating	M
Price	$9.99

Completed on the Nintendo Switch in Handheld Mode

HowLongToBeat Time: N/A | My Clear Time: 4h 38m

Background

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Kaerazu’s Amusement Park is a DLC chapter for Spirit Hunter: Death Mark, released exclusively in Japan on August 1st of last year. It takes place after the events of Red Riding Hood, the sixth chapter included with the PC and Switch versions of Death Mark. Serving as a continuation of the Good Ending route, this new chapter adds a fresh mystery centered around a haunted, abandoned amusement park — a fittingly eerie setting for the series’ atmospheric storytelling.

Kaerazu’s Amusement Park arrives nearly eight years after the original release of Death Mark. As of this writing, the DLC is available only on Nintendo Switch for $9.99. There is no announcement regarding availability on other platforms.

The development team for Kaerazu’s Amusement Park includes:

Experience

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Having completed Spirit Hunter: Death Mark and its additional Red Riding Hood chapter, I was excited to return once again to the unsettling world crafted by Experience Inc. With the entire trilogy under my belt, I was especially curious about how Kaerazu’s Amusement Park would fit into the broader narrative arc of the series. The chance to revisit familiar faces and themes through a new setting — an abandoned amusement park — immediately caught my interest.

Beyond the narrative, I was also curious about the translation quality. While the original release of Death Mark never felt like it was trying to insert anything unwelcome into the story, there were moments where awkward phrasing made some decision-making sequences unnecessarily confusing without consulting a guide. I came into this DLC hoping for a smoother experience in that regard, alongside the strong atmosphere, haunting spirit designs, and tough choices that made the series stand out.

Impressions

Introduction

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Kaerazu’s Amusement Park wastes no time setting a chilling tone. Right from the opening moments, it captures the same oppressive atmosphere that defined Death Mark, while also feeling distinct thanks to the new setting. The abandoned amusement park is a natural fit for the series’ brand of psychological horror, blending childhood nostalgia with lurking dread.

This chapter immediately reinforces the tension by offering familiar investigative gameplay, now layered with an even stronger sense of decay and danger. While the DLC builds on the foundation players are familiar with, it also finds subtle ways to increase the feeling of isolation and unease. It feels like a natural extension of the original story rather than a disconnected side adventure, with careful attention paid to maintaining the tone, pacing, and choice-driven tension that made the base game memorable.

Gameplay and Mechanics

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Exploration & Interface
Exploration follows the familiar first-person format used in both Death Mark and Spirit Hunter: NG. You navigate areas grid-style, with a minimal interface built around five key functions: Record, Bag, Back, Examine, and Call Out.

• Record opens the save menu.
• Bag displays collected items, your current partner and their stats, the case’s Spirit File, and access to options.
• Examine is used at shimmering points in the environment to interact via contextual choices like “Look” and “Touch.”
• Back exits the current view or area.
• Call Out lets you speak to your partner, offering hints if you’re stuck and adding flavor to the scene through dialogue.

Partner Interaction
The Call Out system is more than just a hint tool. It adds character depth and reinforces the bond between you and your current companion. While not essential for progress, it offers additional context and atmosphere that deepens immersion.

High-Stakes Encounters
The signature Live or Die choices return, forcing quick decisions in dangerous moments. These segments are tense and punishing, often requiring close attention to clues scattered in the environment and dialogue. They’re still the highlight of the experience for players who enjoy deduction under pressure.

Art & Audio

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Visual Style
Kaerazu’s Amusement Park leans into a darker, more rusted aesthetic than previous chapters. The setting amplifies the feeling of abandonment — broken-down rides, corroded metal, and hollow silence fill the park with a tangible sense of dread. This absence of life is oppressive, and the rare moments of brightness or animation are all the more stressful because of it, which plays directly into the series’ tension-driven design.

The hand-drawn art direction remains a strength. Despite the engine’s limitations, the use of shadows, static imagery, and lighting tricks create a deeply unsettling environment. It doesn’t rely on spectacle — it thrives on mood.

Character Design & Spirits
Character portraits retain their signature oily, hyper-detailed finish — a hallmark of Fumiya Sumio’s visual style. Subtle animations and slick expressions bring intensity to dialogue scenes, while the spirit designs steal the show. The ghosts introduced in this chapter are grotesque and visually distinct, pushing discomfort in just the right way. They rank among the more memorable and creatively disturbing spirits in Death Mark so far.

Sound Design
The sound work is as sharp as ever. From the gushing of blood to creaking structures and mechanical ambience, every cue is precisely tuned to elevate discomfort. Disturbing noises hit cleanly and effectively, drawing players deeper into the setting. Music remains sparse but impactful — it’s the silence between the tones that amplifies unease.

Some standout tracks:

Bearers Of The Mark – A somber, piano-driven track layered with ambient textures and subtle strings. It sets a reflective tone, often used during moments of exposition or emotional gravity tied to the Mark and its consequences.

Madness – A dissonant and aggressive theme with sharp synth stabs, tense percussion, and a rhythmic structure that mirrors a descent into chaos. Captures the spiraling instability of characters and supernatural encounters.

A Night Like This – A melancholic track featuring delicate piano, reverb-heavy guitar accents, and soft ambient layering. It evokes a sense of contemplative isolation, often used during exposition or introspective dialogue.

Unique Features and Mechanics

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Improved Translation
What sets Kaerazu’s Amusement Park apart from the base Death Mark is not just the new setting, but the significantly improved translation that makes the game far more playable and self-contained.

In the original release, the Spirit File often felt vague or poorly worded, leaving players relying on guides just to understand which items to use, which partner to bring, or how to handle certain spirits. This wasn’t a matter of difficulty, but of unclear communication.

In this DLC, the translation now supports the game’s design. The clues in the Spirit File are properly translated, allowing players to reason through the mystery and better understand the spirit’s background without needing outside help. The Spirit File mechanic now feels more effective, with writing that retains nuance while being clear and informative.

Tools like the conversation log and Spirit File are now vital, rewarding the player’s attention and enriching the experience without sacrificing the series’ core tension and mystery.

Eseential Tools
The Spirit File and conversation log now feel essential, offering deeper insights and rewarding player attention. These features enrich the experience and sustain the tension, ensuring immersion is never broken.

Seperate Menu
The DLC is now accessible through a dedicated menu, allowing players to jump straight into the content without replaying the base game. This makes it easier for those who’ve completed the original to experience the new chapter without unnecessary backtracking, enhancing the overall user experience.

Seiyuu Performances

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Voice acting in this chapter is sparse but intentional. These short spoken lines are reserved for key scenes, helping to punctuate tension or deliver emotional emphasis. The minimal use works in its favor, giving each instance more impact and helping immerse the player when it matters most.

Verdict

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Kaerazu’s Amusement Park enhances the Spirit Hunter: Death Mark formula with a chilling new chapter set in a haunting, abandoned amusement park. The eerie atmosphere, unsettling spirits, and fresh visual designs are all in line with what fans expect, while the improved translation finally addresses the issues that plagued the original game. The Spirit File is now a useful tool, making it easier to navigate the investigation and understand the spirits without relying on guides.

The gameplay is familiar but effective, and the sparse voice acting, paired with unsettling sound design, heightens the immersion. While it stays within the core framework of Death Mark, this DLC is a welcome addition for fans, delivering more of the psychological horror and narrative intrigue that makes the series stand out.

For those who’ve completed the main game, the DLC can be started directly without replaying earlier chapters, making it easy to dive right into the new content. However, it’s worth noting that this chapter is best experienced after playing the main game, as it ties into the story’s larger arc.

For $9.99, it’s definitely worth the price of admission to revisit one of the most atmospheric entries in the series for four hours or more.

TLDR

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Pros

• Improved Translation & Spirit File: The translation now supports the design, making the Spirit File a vital tool for solving puzzles and understanding the spirits without relying on external guides.
• Chilling Atmosphere: The eerie amusement park setting and unsettling spirits create a haunting experience that draws players in.
• Easy DLC Access: The DLC is accessible through a dedicated menu, allowing direct access to the new content without the need to replay earlier chapters.

Cons

• Best After the Main Game: The DLC ties into the main game’s narrative, making it best experienced after completing the base game to fully appreciate the story.
• Short Playtime: The DLC offers only around four hours of content, which may feel a bit brief for some players.
• Sparse Voice Acting: The minimal voice acting may not fully engage players looking for a more immersive audio experience.

References

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1. Bearers of the Mark – Death Mark
2. Madness – Death Mark
3. A Night Like This – NG