Corpse Party started as a single freeware game created in 1996 using RPG Maker Dante98. Developed by “Team GrisGris,” the work, which had been quietly gathering attention in the dōjin community, eventually grew into a multimedia franchise that expanded into drama CDs, manga, OVAs, and even live-action adaptations. The background of this evolution lies not just in the genre of “horror” but in the strength of a story that depicts the characters' cries from the heart, the gravity of lives being lost, and the cruelly realistic “weakness of people.” Leaving a lingering presence in the user's mind that transcends the game's expression—that is the fundamental appeal of this work.

Since the PSP version released for consoles, the work's horror depiction has become more extreme and visceral. As indicated by the CERO-D rating, the splatter elements are clearly strong, and sometimes scenes that make you want to look away are scattered throughout. However, the clever design of this game allows the player's imagination to run wild through its careful choice of “what not to directly show.” Particularly noteworthy is the performance of the voice actors who portray the suffering characters. Every scream and lament feels somewhat realistic, to the point where listening alone can feel suffocating. Few works allow you to literally experience “horror that comes through the ears.” The terror of the “unseen” is leveraged to its maximum potential here.

The story's introduction looks at first glance like a common “school ghost story,” but the structure that leads to a rapid turn of events is brilliant. Several students—Satoshi, Naomi, and Yoshiki—who remained in the classroom after school to prepare for the school festival, are drawn into an inexplicable phenomenon triggered by a ghost story about the school told by class representative Ayumi. The five of them, including Satoshi's younger sister Yuka, are suddenly enveloped in a flash of light and transported to the ruined, other-dimensional school, “Heavenly Host Elementary School.” What begins is not just an “escape drama.” It is a harsh survival where each character must confront their conflicts, regrets, and fears, forcing them to move forward step by step. A suffocating development awaits, as if they are blindly navigating the darkness.

What is important in the story of Corpse Party is the “humanity” of the characters. While the horror genre often focuses on how one confronts fear, this work also focuses on “how one is swallowed by fear.” This is why the relationships between the characters and their changing emotions directly connect to the story's tension. Friendship, romance, feelings for family—it is because the characters are depicted trying to trust someone even as these things crumble that the player experiences a deep sense of loss beyond a mere “horror experience.” This power of depiction, which makes the player see the figures not as “characters” but as “someone,” is what underpins the true terror of the story.