The Best Games of September 2017
Honorable Mention: Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony
Read the Review!
Guides Editor Chris Jecks: Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony isn’t a drastically different entry in the series. It keeps the core experience of its predecessors, but it just makes everything that little bit more Danganronpa. Characters are even more eccentric, trials are more out there (especially the last one), and Monokuma is as crude and self-aware as ever. It’s this embracing of the series’ DNA that makes Killing Harmony such a great game, and one we can wholeheartedly recommend to fans.
In an attempt to keep Class Trials feeling fresh but familiar, Killing Harmony introduces a handful of new mini-games, from the excellent Debate Scrums and Mass Panic Debates, to the less enjoyable Mind Mine and overhauled Hangman’s Gambit. Its most intriguing new addition, however, comes in the ability to lie, misleading and redirecting your fellow students’ way of thinking. There’s something incredibly powerful and sinister about obscuring the truth this time around, having played so by the book in previous games. It helps to make the protagonist feel more human when confronted by a tough situation, and makes the dramatic twists and turns of Class Trials feel less forced. These gameplay segments remain the strongest part of the experience, regardless of a couple ‘meh’ mini-games.
Danganronpa V3 is at its very best when it throws caution to the wind and is as wild and wacky as its creators could imagine. Its opening chapter will catch you off-guard without a doubt, and its final trial is by far the funniest and most ‘out there’ the series has ever gone. Its students are charismatic and intriguing, making each murder that little bit more painful, while the new Monokubs take plenty of inspiration from their father.
Killing Harmony is by no means a perfect game, but it distills the essence of the series into its purest form and runs wild with it. Despite some missteps along the way, I was sad to watch the credits roll, and that’s certainly the sign of a great experience.
