Pinku Kult: Hex Mortis (Switch)

Geoffrey Wright | July 19, 2023 | Mini Review | No Comments

You may have come across the Pinku Kult art & clothing brand before, but did you know there was also a story driven RPG based around those same designs that released last year? Me neither, but once I saw Hex Mortis I just had to give it go. Read on to see if its something that might interest you too.

Strange happenings have befallen the city of Razore. Missing persons and bizarre deaths have been increasing at an alarming rate and some suspect a mysterious girl wearing a fox mask is the cause. In steps Shōkan Corp to hire someone expendable to investigate these strange occurrences and get closer to the mysterious girl. With you passing the interview and being hired, it now rests on your shoulders to investigate these strange situations and get to the bottom of who the girl in the Fox mask actually is.

The story is good here and is delivered well with plenty of CG’s for the right moments, it can also get a little dark at times, but the game carries its horror & mystery leanings well. The chapters always start off with a little info on your task but it usually doesn’t go the way you expect – the game plays the whole mystery angle pretty well and the girl in the fox mask always seem to be one step ahead of your party. At about an hour a chapter you’ll likely be finished up in about half a dozen hours, so its short & sweet for sure but is reflected in the low price of entry.

The decent story is also helped by the games presentation. The dark styling of the world & characters oozes charm oddly enough, The palette is actually quite colourful with bright colours against darker backdrops, the game doesn’t forget its spooky leanings with some atmospheric locations.. The designs also compliment things with some creative offerings, even for the standard enemies, as the bosses in particular pack plenty of added details and various states too.

Sound is also good, though there is no voice-overs really, as the spooky soundtrack always sets the mood. The 2D graphics also give the game great performance on the Switch. Whether portable or docked, the sprites look crisp and the framerate stays relatively smooth.

As your mysteries will be taking you all over Razore city, the town map will be your main port of call. Your apartment is mainly to change attire and wait to advance the story, its the other areas of the map that will hold interest. Whether its busy high streets, lakeside or graveyards, you’ll have plenty of areas to explore and people to question as you investigate. Within some of these areas you’ll find shops for goods as well as dungeons to explore.

The dungeons are where most of the fun can be had as you explore to find more clues and solve some puzzles, as well as taking on all manor of demons and monsters in turn based combat. Combat has some tweaks to the usual formula here, MP gradually regenerates each turn and your parties health will hit 1HP before it empties to give you a chance. Levelling is also done automatically as it gives health & MP boosts, new abilities are learnt as your MP amount increases to unlock more abilities. Early fodder will slap you up, but once levelled a bit it becomes easier till you face a boss. Boss fights can become a slog if you don’t make the most of your party, so bring plenty of potions etc just to be on the safe side.

Pinku Kult Hex Mortis is a short & sweet RPG who’s mystery and style will keep you interested for length of the story, which unfortunately isn’t too long. The competent turn-based gameplay is punctuated by several tactical boss battles that also has some of the games best visual flourishes. It’s been a surprisingly great all-round package, especially when factoring in the low price of entry at around £8, which suits the portable nature of the Switch for some spooky RPG goodness on the go.