Collar × Malice
Collar × Malice is a visual novel video game developed and published by Idea Factory under their Otomate brand. It was released for PlayStation Vita on August 18, 2016, in Japan, and by Aksys Games in North America and Europe on July 28, 2017. A Nintendo Switch port was also released in 2020. The game was well received by critics, and sold well in Japan for a niche game of its genre and platform. A fan disc, Collar × Malice: Unlimited, was released on July 26, 2018. A two-part anime film adaptation by Studio Deen, titled Gekijōban Collar × Malice Deep Cover, premiered in May and June 2023.
Synopsis
Collar × Malice follows a rookie police officer Ichika Hoshino stationed in Shinjuku, Tokyo. On her way home from work, she is attacked and a collar with poison is placed around her neck; following this, she becomes involved with the "X-Day Incident", a string of murders done by a terrorist group called Adonis. Under the threat of death, Ichika is forced to investigate the X-Day Incident together with a group of former police officers.Characters
Others
He is a new character that exclusively appears in the Deep Cover movie. He is assigned to assist in the X-Days crimes and has an unknown history with Yanagi.Development and release
The game was developed by Idea Factory, as part of their Otomate brand of otome games. It was announced along with twelve other otome games during the annual Otomate Party event in August 2015, and was released in Japan on August 18, 2016, for PlayStation Vita. To promote the game, merchandise based on it was released prior to the game's launch, including audio dramas and a tapestry with a Collar × Malice illustration.At Anime Expo 2016, Aksys Games announced that they would localize the game and release it in North America in 2017; in April 2017 they announced that it would also be released in Europe, and be available both digitally and physically. It was released on July 28, 2017, in North America and Europe. A fan disc, Collar × Malice: Unlimited, was released in Japan in 2018. Both the original game and Unlimited are planned to get released for the Nintendo Switch in North America and Europe with the original planned for release on June 25, 2020, and August 2020 respectively.
Reception
Collar × Malice sales numbers for its debut week differ between different sales charts: Media Create reported that it was the eleventh best selling video game of the week with 7,271 copies sold, while Famitsu reported that it was the eight best selling with 9,406 copies sold. Siliconera described the Japanese opening week sales as good for a PlayStation Vita visual novel for a niche audience.The game received "mixed or average reviews", according to the review aggregator website Metacritic. Famitsu reviewers praised the graphics and character art, and enjoyed the player character's developing relationships with the other characters. One of them liked the suspense, commenting that it is rarely used in otome games.