DeathMask #BestOfSaturn

Remember that 1997 movie Face Off, where John Travolta and Nicholas Cage literally swap faces? It was done the year prior in DeathMask — an FMV adventure game converted to Japanese Saturns from the English PC original (though with a different title). Porting duties were handled jointly by Vantan International and OG developer Electric Dreams Ltd.

Set in a dystopic cyberpunk future, you take on the role of detective Jake Hard in pursuit of a criminal known as Angel Devoid — but a patrol car accident early on forces Jake to undergo facial reconstruction and he is inadvertently fitted with Angel’s face! What follows is a thrilling, fast-paced sci-fi point-and-click adventure featuring loads of live actors superimposed over prerendered scenes.

Plot-heavy, the game allows for some freedom and variety by allowing the player to choose the type of attitude with which to engage others — aggressive, neutral, or pleasant — affecting the outcome. The video is quite clean and loading time is minimal.

At the very end of 2021, Shadowmask and A Murder of Crows released an English translation — more properly, a de-translation, as they used audio assets from the PC game — allowing players to dive into the mean streets of Neo City and uncover the truth behind Angel Devoid.

	Peter Malek
		A Saturn fan since the beginning, Peter plays Saturn almost exclusively. For Peter, Saturn represents a moment in time where 2D games were at their best, 3D was just rising, and fascinating gaming 'firsts' were commonplace.  There are very few Saturn games that Peter cannot find some enjoyment in!