
The “Active Encounter” system, the ability for the player to select when and how to go into battle. Development of the game started two and a half years before its Japanese release. The game’s combat system is called the “Stride Cross Battle System”. The World Ends with You features “psych pins”, decorative pins which possess powers that only Neku can activate while wearing them. The World Ends with You has one minigame called “Tin Pin Slammer” (or “Marble Slash”) that can be played against computer opponents or with up to 3 others via a wireless connection. In the story, protagonist Neku Sakuraba and his allies are forced to participate in an event called the Reapers’ Game, a week-long competition that will determine their fate. The game takes place in a fictional version of the Shibuya shopping district in Tokyo, Japan. During the expedition, the characters obtain their own traits - permanent behavior patterns, which can be both negative, such as alcoholism and kleptomania or positive like bravery. If the hero suffers a breakdown, they start to behave unexpectedly. Mental health declines every time when the player's comrades suffer damage, walk into traps or fall back from the battlefield.
The main objective is to save the lives and mental health of the heroes. Before every expedition, the player has to choose several heroes from the suggested roster and lead them through procedurally generated dungeons collecting treasures and killing various monsters. The player controls a group of adventure seekers that explore the dungeons beneath an old manor. The story begins when the player learns that they inherited a manor from a distant relative who died excavating the catacombs under the manor and accidentally released a number of monsters. The works of Howard Lovecraft served as the main inspiration for the game which addresses the themes of fear and psychological trauma. Darkest Dungeon is a roguelike RPG developed by Red Hook Studios.