(This was originally a negative review, before October 7th, 2025! My first version criticized this game for its nearly unreadable English translation. I have preserved that iteration of my review, but I'm giving my updated thoughts now as of [b]version 1.0.7[/b].)
[b]Hey, heads-up: the fixed translation doesn't seem to be present in the demo version of this game! You will be getting 1.0.6's version of the script. Do NOT go in thinking that's the script you'd be getting in the full game, I promise it's been fixed. It's really stupid they didn't update the demo on top of the paid experience, but it is what it is.[/b]
A wise man once said, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." I'm pretty sure I fall somewhere on that scale for buying this game [i]again[/i] after writing a scathing review and refunding it last year. In my defense, though, it was cheaper than when I first bought it (70% off vs 50%), and version 1.0.7 claimed to have updated the English translation.
I gotta say, though, the new English script is INFINITELY better. It's actually pretty good in some parts - there were some really nice turns of phrases that I liked, and the flow of dialogue was massively improved upon. Nearly everything I'd griped about in my original post has been fixed - "snask" being "snacks" again, the syntax being way less awkward, and so on. My example of a very confusing line, "you got a salt shaker for your hair" has been turned into "your hair looks like a salt shaker." It's still not perfect, mind you: I caught a typo pretty early on in Ch1 that wasn't fixed, the Principal still called the "Principle" in his namebox, but for what it's worth I can actually say this is shaping up to be a really enjoyable read.
I'm still midway through Chapter 2 as of writing my new review, but I wrote the original after slogging through 1.0.6's Chapter 1. If the quality of the translation stays the same level as it is in the new Ch1, I could wholeheartedly say "yeah, pick up this version of [i]All of Us are Dead[/i] if you're a fan of the Webtoon or the show." Hell, some of the lines are actually pretty cleverly written!
Do I think it's worth 20 dollars off-sale? Ehhhh, kind of, I guess? I don't really have room to complain, considering the VN I put up on Steam myself is $20, but the original translation just left a bad taste in my mouth I'm still trying to scrub out. But still, the art is gorgeous, the music's nice to listen to, I love the UI, and [i]it's not an active headache to read anymore!![/i] Genuinely, the only thing that shot the original version of the game in the knee is the translation, and it looks like that's been totally overhauled.
TL;DR: [b]Demo is not indicative of the full game's writing quality[/b], but the VN's art, presentation and music are still phenomenal. English translation was updated in version 1.0.7, making it a pretty nice read. Pick this game up on sale if you're still wary, but overall it's an unironically good read.
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(THIS IS THE ORIGINAL TEXT FROM AUGUST 21ST, 2024! MY COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE TRANSLATION NO LONGER APPLY! This was originally a do-not-recommend review, solely because it was so hard to read before. I have changed it and updated my thoughts above on October 7th, 2025! 17 people found this version helpful, and one found it funny, but it no longer applies to the state of the game now!)
I debated getting this game for a long while. I bought it at the literal last day of its sale because I just couldn't stop thinking about whether or not I really wanted it. I... realize now I should've just played the demo to know for sure, because this was NOT it for me.
As you can see, I just finished Chapter 1. Half of my time was spent collecting screenshots and going "what the hell is wrong with the translation?" The art is gorgeous, don't get me wrong. I am OBSESSED with the artstyle for the CGs - you can see each brushstroke, and the colors are masterfully done. The presentation is honestly really good too; all the UI except the textbox was really well made, and there's even a super in-depth profile system for each character you meet. The more info you learn about them, the more nodes are added into their profile.
The problem is the [i]novel[/i] part of this visual novel. I'm sure it's much better in the original language, Korean, but the English translation is just plain BAD.
The latest patch note as of this writing, 1.0.6 on July 25th 2024, says they "Improved errors and typos in English translation." I'm honestly afraid to see how bad it was before this patch, because it's close to unreadable in this current state. There are typos aplenty just in Chapter 1 (what I'm assuming is "snacks" being turned into "snask," the Principal's namebox spelling his name as "Principle," etc etc.), the syntax is almost always confusing, and there are so many punctuation marks that are misplaced or just left out.
I get the feeling that [i]All of Us Are Dead[/i] isn't machine-translated, but it was translated very literally from Korean. It's readable, kind of - you have to furrow your brows and figure out what someone meant by "You got a salt shaker for your hair" (actual sentence btw), but it doesn't have that jankiness that comes with sticking a VN into Google Translate and hoping for the best. There's mention of something called "shobu" that I haven't been able to figure out still, so that leads to my idea of it being a literal translation, without any help from editors or localizers.
I've read through worse translations (like Vampire's Melody), but this is the one that broke me. Honest to god, I'm super close to refunding this game. I know full well the translation isn't going to get any better. This was not worth the 10 dollars I paid for while on sale. It's not worth the 20 dollars at full price.
If you want to experience [i]All of Us Are Dead[/i], pick up the Webtoon or watch the show. This VN is basically just a rehash of those, but with slightly different characters. I've already counted the same story beats, the same way Patient Zero is discovered, and so on. Don't read this VN as your first jump into this story.
TL;DR: Play the demo first before you jump into this VN to see if you can stomach the translation. I didn't, and now I regret it. Better yet, go to the source of this VN - the Webtoon, or its live-action adaptation.
