#Sword of the necromancer reviews full#

The randomized dungeons keep things interesting too, changing the aesthetics from floor to floor and giving hints to the enemy types you’re most likely to encounter. Monster designs are also interesting and not like the standard “bat” or “skeleton” type - flying eyes, hollow and headless armor, and empty cloaks that cast spells, to name a few. I also like the pseudo-anime style of the main characters and they translate well from the drawn still shots in cutscenes to the pixelated sprites during gameplay. The graphics are beautifully presented in a detailed 32-bit style with smooth animations and spell effects that make the art style pop. The homunculus can’t resurrect monsters since player one only has the Sword of the Necromancer and starts with just a basic weapon, but can use other items like swords, shields, and attribute boosting trinkets. The homunculus (player two) can also help alleviate a bit of the difficulty curve but not in such a way that it can break the game. This was a selling point to me since I was looking for a game my wife and I can play together.

I always felt that every time I died, it was my fault instead of fighting with clunky controls.Īnother one of its core features is local cooperative play through the use of a homunculus item you get at the start of the game. Couple this with its smooth and precise controls and gameplay feels fair and balanced. This can help greatly as the many monster types can fill gaps in your builds. The gameplay is what you would expect from a roguelike, running and fighting enemies as you find weapons and armor, but with a catch: the Sword of the Necromancer - your starting weapon - has the ability to resurrect any enemy you defeat. I like this style of storytelling and Sword of the Necromancer performs it perfectly. These range from where and when they first met, why they were traveling together, and watching their budding love grow until Koko’s tragic death. You get cutscenes depicting the history of Tama and Koko as you progress in between floors in the form of flashbacks and inner monologues from the main character.

#Sword of the necromancer reviews full#

Tama is desperate and full of such deep pain and that is conveyed perfectly here. Tama hopes to use its power to eventually bring Koko’s soul back to her body to fully resurrect her. The story starts with seemingly a small amount of context, as you play as a mercenary named Tama, carrying the body of a priestess named Koko into a crypt that contains the Sword of the Necromancer. That said, I was very surprised at how much I’ve been enjoying Sword of the Necromancer with its easily approachable gameplay for all skill levels, and the bittersweet tone of its narrative.

They’re not bad games - I am just bad at them. Sometimes in modern roguelikes, a bad case of RNG can make or break your run, so I mostly shy away from such games. However, it was nowhere near as hard as some of the ones that come out today. The only one that I ever beat was a game called Azure Dreams on the PlayStation 1, which came out in 1997 before the genre was even properly named “roguelike”. I must admit that I’m far from the best at roguelike games.