Often times it will feel like you’re playing the same levels endlessly, even if they’re technically different. Despite levels being randomly generated, bosses remain the same and there are only 20 or so total enemies. For example, one of the best companions I had leveled and learned -50 percent damage, so by leveling it I decreased its power by half, essentially making it useless.Īll of this is wrapped in a fairly lackluster package. Players can overcome this by leveling a monster, though even this can be hit and miss. These will have more power and often times be outright better than another monster. While no formal listing appears in Sword of the Necromancer, certain colors are of higher rank than others. Even this would be fine if the system was better designed.ĭepending on your luck, enemies have a variety of attributes. Sometimes this can be an extremely powerful ally, like in my boss example, though most times it’s a useless beast that runs around doing nothing only to die to something random. Instead of having a companion you can control or at least follow you around, summoning a monster basically makes them appear in a single spot and interact with the area as it wants. For better or worse, summoning is a rather hit and miss mechanic that often times misses more than it hits. Some of these monsters are frightening, I used one on the first boss and it killed it in three hits, whereas others are borderline useless. Unfortunately, the necromancer mechanic uses the same slots and has the same rules.Īfter defeating a monster, typically through repeated slashes as the enemy gets ready to attack, there is an option to revive it. And, in my most successful runs, I simply ran anything with experience and my sword. As useful as a revive token might be, oftentimes getting a more practical piece of gear will do more to keep my run going. Not only does swapping one item for another result in the first item being lost, but things also come at a hefty cost.

It also limits the cool things you can find. So, even if I want a super awesome weapon, it comes at the price of something else. To make matters worse, your actual inventory is limited to four slots. Most times it’s better to just use the sword of the necromancer, as you don’t lose that on death and it acts the same way each and every time. Needless to say, the mechanic feels pointless and makes a number of elements pointless. So, basically, those interested in playing a lot or have issues beating the story, can collect specific pieces of gear, give them a marginal boost, and if you’re playing as intended, have a single run where you might win due to better gear. Resurrected monsters, the actual sword of the necromancer, and certain resources like my four attribute grimoire do nothing. To make matters more fun, only specific items found on runs and put into your inventory can be upgraded. Of those I can add to a weapon, most of them are negative attributes like damage -50 percent. After two successful runs and quite a few unsuccessful ones, I had the ability to craft roughly six attributes out of a possible 60 or so. These can be used to enhance gear at the forge at the start of the dungeon, though the sheer amount of resources is baffling, to say the least.

For example, pots, boxes, and other breakable items in rooms can give you resources. After a couple of failures, this can be disabled, which I strongly suggest doing, it makes the poor choices even more confusing. If you play the intended way, each unsuccessful run results in equipped items being lost, along with half of the levels you obtained. Not just because of how unenjoyable it is but due to the sheer number of conflicting elements. At times it can feel generic or unoriginal, but this is the least of Sword of the Necromancer’s problems.Īs a huge fan of Roguelike games, such as Enter the Gungeon and to a lesser extent Dead Cells, Sword of the Necromancer I found myself disappointed by this experience. Progression unlocks more to the story, ultimately explaining everything before and after where the game began. Motivated by love, Tama tries to transverse the crypt in hopes of bringing back Koko but gets more than she bargained for. Sword of the Necromancer starts with Tama coming to a crypt where a Necromancer is said to have the power to, well, bring back the dead. Sword of the Necromancer combines action-RPG with rogue-like and throws in some necromancing for a neat combo, though is it enough to sell the concept? They can’t market themselves as a major experience like an AAA can, nor do they have established mechanics to guarantee sales or franchise to cash in on, so they live and die based on how fun or unique they are. I love playing games from smaller developers because they tend to bring a lot to the table.

Sword of the necromancer tama