The Necromancer's Tale

The story is phenomenal, the characters are charismatic and believable and your choices matter. On the other hand, the combat gameplay leaves a lot to be desired, especially in the lategame. I'm going to be a little bit generic to avoid spoilers, but it gets really tedious when you need to actively use an ability and spend mana to control every singe one of your "companions" (which, by tthe way, you'll have around 50 in the lategame). Overall, it's a bit rough around the edges (especially on the gameplay side of things), but, for me, the writing more than makes up for it. Would definetely recommend if you enjoy narrative-based games like Disco Elysium.

First off, as other commenters have said, this game is JANKY. It's one of the jankiest games I have played in the last decade. Sometimes the jank is cool. Mostly it's just annoying. If you can't get past that, then move along. But now that that's out of the way, if what you want is be a necromancer, then this is the game for you. Full stop. I have not been so immersed in a world since Disco Elysium. I'm not sure what I expected from this game, but now that I have played it, I don't know how I could have expected anything else. Spoilers ahead: Essentially, this game takes you down the path of a person who falls into the necromantic arts in a town in the 1700s that doesn't allow magic, with all that that entails, and it does it slowly and lovingly. You have to translate the pages of your grimoire. You have to gather exotic reagents. You have to find places of power. You must consult ancient spirits. You have to track down arcane texts and coerce people into helping you understand them....

I’ve played the game through three times now to see all the paths and if what you're looking for is a solid narrative RPG that delivers on story I couldn't recommend it more. I was pleasantly surprised by how well the overall narrative and experience of becoming a necromancer was handled, though it’s a little let down by the combat and a somewhat underwhelming conclusion. Fundamentally this is story about necromancy with few frills to distract from the core of the game, which is a noble’s corruption by the dark arts in the wake of his father’s death. The game doesn’t just hand you spells, and the main loop is encountering an issue that you can’t resolve alone, deciphering relevant spell recipes that could help by seeking out reference texts, looking for ingredients and then correctly performing the ritual which rewards you with an advancement of the plot that lets you bask in the rewards of your new power and gives you a challenge that justifies you seeking more. It’s ...

This is tough to write, but I don't think I can recommend this game. The Narrative just isn't good enough for me to recommend it, especially when it's hard carrying all other aspects of the game. It's harsh to say that, but I'll do my best trying to get the nuance of it's strengths and weaknesses across. The gist of it is that it is a choose your own adventure game trying to be a necromancer sandbox, when imo it should be a necromancer sandbox with a great narrative. The story is good, and if we compare it to most video games it would be great (with an asterisk). However, when games lean on the narrative aspect so strongly I personally feel that they should be compared to the baseline for books. And reviewing it as a book I will say that there are really huge pacing and plotting issues - some of which are tied to the gameplay loop and others are tied to narrative decisions. The pacing is bad, and not because it's a slowburn, but because a big portion of the story is trying to do wha...

I have enjoyed the game for the most part, however if you don't save in a different save slot every 10-15 minutes you will eventually soft lock your game and prevent any progress.

This is the greatest game I have ever played.

The Good: This game has an amazing story, great characters, good music, awesome themes. All the RPG choices and consequences are treated with the appropriate severity that is needs. When the game is at it heights, it really "hits" that awesome feeling you get when you see something you really like, and the music, the inner monologue really reflects the way the world is seen through your eyes as the story unfolds, your mindscape does too. The world is also well-realized as the 1700's world is not interesting to me personally in fiction, but this game made me like it. The characters react and speak appropriately to your decisions and the world around them. The Bad: The combat leaves a bit to be desired, it's simple for sure, but lugging around your "allies" gets to be a bit tiring, especially in the later parts of the game. The music, good as it is, gets repetitive after a time playing the game while walking around the city (at least it's memorable though). Running around to acquire m...

This is the game that I always wanted to play. Its 100% story based with lots of choices and different ways to achieve goals. Kind of like immersive sim. Story is dark, and what starts as noble cause quickly becomes struggle to keep anything human like love and friends in our lives while chasing power and falling further into darkness. I saw 2 endings and even now I know I missed lots of content, characters and events in city. Replayability is surely there. Even my only issue with raising skeletons after each fight was fixed and our minions can now carry corpses;P I strongly recommend this one... And I know I will play it again to see different outcomes of my choices:D

What! Finally a game that lets the woman flirt as much as the man, that was so refreshing. Turned me into a frivolous multi-dater tbh. Love this game for the choice and consequence, mystery, story, character, dialogue, little secrets, twisting quests, etc. Its just alot of fun. Its a perfect mix of old school charm, and modern pacing.

A superbly crafted narrative RPG. Great storytelling, immersive world that does so much to create an atmosphere of slowly building tension and unfolding threads of intrigue taking you down a questionable but believable path. Janky and low-budger but really does so much to envelop you in this creepy world and your place within. So many choices and routes to investigate what's going on. Only downside, beside the totally acceptable jankiness, is the combat. I found it dull, annoying and slow in the demo so have just put in on auto. The story, role playing and choices are really what this is all about and the game at its best. Truly a gem of a narrative focused CRPG from a small indie team. Congrats I've looked at the fairly mixed other games by this studio, none of which appeal. Hope this game sees them find their groove and we'll see something else that's story focused and atmospheric in the future.