A Different Kind Of KEMCO
It’s not often I have to dive deep into some research regarding the name of a game, but Decollate Decoration, one of the latest from KEMCO, had me stumped.
Decollate, as far as I can see, has two meanings. One: to decapitate or behead someone. Or two: separate continuous stationary. I haven’t seen any paper in the game in my time with it, so I’m going to go with the first option. Weirdly, I don’t have to preface this review with the words “Retro RPG” either as for the second time in a month, KEMCO have gone in a different direction to their norm. So, come with me to a world of spirits and hauntings with the very Japanese Decollate Decoration.
A Strange Story Of Love, Death And Haunting
Kicking off with the story, and the narrative is incredibly odd. We play a young girl who, at the start of the game, has died. We don’t know how or why, but we are deceased. Now, for most people, it would be the end: look for the light and put your name down for a harp and some wings, no? Well, no. Our “heroine” decides that what she really wants is not to be dead on her own and instead, what she needs is company, and so she resolves to kill the object of her affections, a young man. But can a spirit interact with the world? Can she somehow kill her boyfriend?
Decollate Decoration is a retro styled affair once again, which I am sure will come as a surprise to precisely no one. The basic game is set in a single room, explained in-game as this is the focus of our haunting activities, viewed from a side on perspective. In the parts of the game that we play, there is a picture of us, as a spirit, a picture of the lad we are trying to kill, and some background details that we can interact with. And that is basically it: there are some cutscenes to watch, but they feature the same graphic style, so nothing to write home about.
Sound is minimal as well, with a bit of background music that is pretty unobtrusive, and a complete lack of voice acting. Every part of the story is explained in text form, and this does actually work quite well, and so some weird sound effects aside, everything works very well. There are more areas to be unlocked as we play the game, with a prologue and epilogue to unlock, but you’ll be spending the majority of your time in the kitchen. A bit like me at parties. I’m just kidding, I don’t go to parties.
A Simple Gameplay Loop Built Around Multiple Endings
Anyway, before I get too maudlin thinking about my lack of a social life, let’s have a look at the actual gameplay on offer, shall we? I think the word I’m looking for to describe the experience is “simplistic”. You see, the basic setup of the game is that we have 49 days from the moment of our death to affect the world, and hopefully, bring some company over to Deadsville with us.
Seven Weeks, Four Choices
It’s here where Decollate Decoration is split into seven sections, each representing one week, and in each week, we can choose to perform one action: Talk, Poltergeist, Dream and Curse. After choosing one to do to our victim, the week ends and we are forced to rest until the next one. Complete all seven weeks, and you’ll get given an ending, and there are quite a few to work towards.
The order in which you choose the actions performed is the key to the ending that you receive, and to help you figure it out, there is a hint section. It isn’t massively helpful, to be honest, as the clues are very obtuse, but persevere and you’ll get there eventually. Complete all the endings (each of which has an achievement tied to it, making this an easy way to gain all the achievements in the game) and you will unlock the prologue and epilogue to the story, as I mentioned above. This is where the actual story is given to you: we get to see not only how we died and how we came to be friends with the boy we are trying to kill, but other background details as well. There are a lot of details that you will see in the game that only start to make sense when the epilogue is finally complete.
Short, Strange And Surprisingly Engaging
And that is pretty much it, to be honest. Choose an action, follow it through, hope to get a different ending, and then rinse and repeat. Decollate Decoration is short, there are no two ways about it, but the story telling is very effective, and after a while you do start to feel a certain amount of empathy for the poor girl who died. You won’t be playing this forever, but as a quick run through, Decollate Decoration doesn’t outstay it’s welcome.
Weirdness? Check. Good story? Check. Longevity? Er…no.
Important Links
Decollate Decoration Drops A Haunting Love Story To Xbox, PlayStation, Switch And PC – https://www.thexboxhub.com/decollate-decoration-drops-a-haunting-love-story-to-xbox-playstation-switch-and-pc/
Buy from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/decollate-decoration/9PC52KJ6LQJM/0010
