For the past five or so years, the one genre that has continuously dominated the indie landscape has been the roguelike. It’s roots started off small, but the genre’s traditions have even found it’s ways into big budget titles. However, Necropolis stands to be different not because of it’s cooperative perspective, but because it’s the one of the first in these genre to have the backing of a major publisher. So, did they make the right decision?
Gameplay:
It would be hard to imagine Necropolis without it’s influences, and the game nearly has it in every aspect. But, surprisingly these quickly wear off. A couple hours with the game got me used to most attack patterns, although that isn’t to say I was avoiding challenge. This transition of difficulty felt much more deserving in something like Dark Souls, making me believe that Necropolis might have alienated some of it’s potential audience.
Story & Design:
The game’s big catch are it’s cooperative elements, and this does add some flair that the game desperately needs. However, death is frequent, and this does ruin the flow in successful moments. Necropolis also fails to capitalize in level design departments, making needed greatness thin and light. A lot of this has to do with the fact that there’s little structure to go with it, which could have been the result of the team biting more then they could chew.
Presentation/ Visuals & Audio:
I can compliment Necropolis in one aspect, that being it’s presentation. I found it’s art style quite interesting, and it worked well with the familiarity already present. These senses develop best in the game’s opening moments, but fail to make a difference when you’re in meaty sections, or even a boss battle.
Conclusion:
The people who developed Necropolis do have talent, but it was misguided during the creation of this game. So much effort was placed into honoring a loved genre, that there was little attention paid to what other flaws the game might have. This might have passed when roguelikes were new to the gaming world, but the market may be too competitive for Necropolis to survive.
Necropolis gets a 4/10 (Bad)
We’d like to thank HBS Studios for giving us a code!
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