Info about The Necromancer's Tale:

Official game description:
_The Necromancer's Tale_ is a narrative-driven top-down RPG where you play the role of a minor noble in the 18th Century, drawn into the Dark Necromantic Arts as you seek knowledge and revenge. Great power awaits... along with the weird, the morbid, and a gradual descent into madness.
Before you lies a great spellbook, filled with powerful rites of death and reanimation. Can you decipher the pages and master its arcane rituals without losing your mind or being strung up by the townsfolk? Your progress will require great determination, cunning and secrecy.
_The Necromancer's Tale_ is a story-rich game, with 400,000 words of hand-written narrative and lore, in which you converse with 180+ NPC characters, each with their own hand-drawn portrait art (we have not used any generative AI in the game). You will investigate, negotiate, coerce and flatter in order to progress your aims. The game's Trust system means that your choices - even in conversation - really matter. If the townsfolk's trust drops too low, you will find your choices are affected - if it drops further still, you will surely be tried in court and hanged, or lynched by a frenzied mob.
Your character is created in an interactive and fully voiced backstory, defining your gender, early life, skills and career (military, diplomatic, or academic). Narrative options during the main game are affected by these choices.
The game involves tactical turn-based combats between you, your allies and your undead minions - versus a range of enemies, natural and supernatural.  Harness a range of weapons, rituals, and battle spells to defeat your foes.
_The Necromancer's Tale_ is set in an alternative-history Kingdom near Venice and the Adriatic Sea, in 1733. This is a time at the cusp of rational thought and superstition; science and magic. The world is dark and dangerous; courtly intrigue collides with black magic even as chemistry emerges from alchemy.
A play-through will take between 25 and 50 hours, depending on how much side content and world exploration you engage with, and depending on whether you play the battles or use automatic combat resolution.

Release date: 17 Jul, 2025

Categories: Single-player Story, Turn-based RPG, Strategic Combat, Exploration, Character Customization, Monster Collecting, Investigative Gameplay, Ritual System


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Highly enjoyable and unique experience (weight 1): Players are overwhelmingly positive about the game, finding it highly enjoyable, unique, and a refreshing take on the CRPG genre. Many express deep satisfaction and immersion, highlighting its engaging nature and overall fun factor.
- Engaging and well-written story (weight 0.68): The game's narrative is consistently praised for being intriguing, engaging, and well-written. Players appreciate the deep branching choices, believable characters, and the slow-burn storytelling that focuses on a character's descent into dark magic.
- Authentic necromancer fantasy (weight 0.46): A core appeal of the game is its successful fulfillment of the necromancer fantasy. Players enjoy the unique and original mechanics surrounding necromancy, including the ritual magic system, which feels empowering and provides a sense of growing power.
- Strong, immersive atmosphere (weight 0.33): The game excels in creating a strong, immersive atmosphere, often with gothic horror elements. Players note the rich world-building, unique experience, and how the music perfectly complements the game's vibe, contributing to a sense of dread and occult intrigue.
- Minimal hand-holding, rewards exploration (weight 0.21): The game is praised for its minimal hand-holding, encouraging players to pay close attention to conversations, read books, and seek out information independently. This approach rewards exploration and careful interaction, making quests feel more organic.
- Pleasing graphics and world design (weight 0.14): Players appreciate the visual aspects of the game, noting the nice-looking environments, detailed characters, and interactive world-building. The graphics are generally considered good, enhancing the overall experience.
- Similar to Disco Elysium (weight 0.11): The game is frequently compared to Disco Elysium, particularly for its narrative focus, investigative gameplay, and stylish, low-key visual presentation. This comparison suggests a similar appeal for fans of that genre.
- Enjoyable turn-based combat (weight 0.09): The combat system is described as simple, turn-based, and enjoyable. Players find the small-scale fights particularly pleasing, indicating a solid and functional combat experience.
- Good voice acting (weight 0.08): The voice acting, though not extensive, is generally considered good. Players appreciate the quality of the voice actors, especially for an indie RPG, which adds to the game's presentation.

Common complaints:
- Lack of clear quest direction (weight 0.91): A significant number of players struggled with a lack of clear direction and quest markers, often feeling lost and unsure how to progress. This frequently required them to seek external help, such as on Discord, which detracted from the gameplay experience.
- Slow pacing and excessive dialogue (weight 0.83): Many players found the game's pacing to be too slow, especially at the beginning, with excessive dialogue and a lack of early combat. This led to a feeling of boredom and a perception that the game was more of a visual novel than an RPG.
- Lack of polish and janky controls (weight 0.83): Players reported various issues with the game's overall polish, including clunky character movement, problematic controls, and a rough user interface. Visuals were also noted as not being top-tier, with some blurriness and a lack of shadows.
- Basic and tedious combat (weight 0.76): The combat system was frequently criticized for being basic, unengaging, and tedious, especially when managing multiple minions. It was perceived as not being a core focus of the game and often felt half-baked.
- High price for quality (weight 0.67): The game's price was considered high given its perceived unfinished state, basic mechanics, and overall production values, leading to a feeling that it was overpriced for the experience offered.
- Choices lack impact (weight 0.04): Players felt that their choices within the game did not have a significant impact on the narrative or gameplay outcomes, reducing the sense of agency and replayability.
- Tedious skeleton ritual (weight 0.03): The ritual for summoning skeletons was specifically highlighted as tedious due to the unnecessary real-time effort required to carry bodies, making it less appealing than other options.
- Minor narrative holes (weight 0.03): Some players noted minor inconsistencies or gaps in the game's narrative, which occasionally pulled them out of the immersive experience.
- Lifeless open world (weight 0.03): The open world environment was described as feeling empty and lacking in dynamic elements, contributing to a less engaging exploration experience.

Gameplay feedback:
- Story-driven narrative RPG (weight 0.42): The game is primarily a narrative-driven RPG with a strong emphasis on story and dialogue. It encourages player immersion and exploration by not holding their hand, allowing them to discover the plot and mechanics independently.
- Core necromancy theme (weight 0.33): A central theme of the game is necromancy, where players embody a secret necromancer in 18th-century Europe. The narrative explores the consequences of embracing necromancy, including moral choices and the risk of being judged by mortals.
- Simple turn-based combat (weight 0.26): The game features a simple, turn-based tactical combat system, though combat encounters are infrequent, especially in the early game. Players can also opt for automatic combat resolution based on skill scores.
- Character creation and skills (weight 0.22): Players can create their character with male or female options and adjust skillsets, which influence skill checks throughout the game. While the role is specific, there's freedom in character development.
- Investigative plot opening (weight 0.16): The game's opening involves an investigation into the protagonist's father's death and family financial issues. This sets a detective-like tone, with the story unfolding through player choices and skill-based interactions.
- Trust and reputation system (weight 0.09): Character interactions are influenced by a trust system, where reputation and trust values play a crucial role. This system can be used to hide misdeeds or facilitate interactions through blackmail.
- Meaningful player choices (weight 0.07): Player choices, particularly in conversations, have meaningful consequences, often leading to alternative plans or significant plot developments.
- Endgame power fantasy (weight 0.03): As the game progresses, players can experience a power fantasy, where they can easily defeat enemies and raise them to join their undead army, reflecting the growth of their necromantic abilities.
- Confined game setting (weight 0.03): The game's setting is primarily confined to the Marns villa and its immediate surroundings, suggesting a focused and contained environment for the narrative.
- Limited NPC interaction (weight 0.03): Many non-player characters encountered in the city are not interactive, suggesting that interactions are limited to specific, plot-relevant characters.
- Classic RPG interface (weight 0.03): The game's interface is described as cozy and reminiscent of classic RPGs like Baldur's Gate 1, contributing to a nostalgic or familiar aesthetic.

Performance notes:
- Indie production values visible (weight 0.09): Players noted that the game's production values clearly indicate it's an indie title with a limited budget and small development team. This is visible in various aspects of the game's presentation.
- Good Steam Deck performance (weight 0.04): The game performs well and is enjoyable when played on the Steam Deck, providing a good portable gaming experience for users of that device.
- Normal PC requirements (weight 0.04): The game's system requirements for PC are considered standard and not overly demanding. This suggests good optimization or typical resource usage for a modern game.
- Music is fair (weight 0.04): The in-game music is considered adequate by players, neither outstanding nor particularly poor. It serves its purpose without being a highlight or a detractor.

Recommendations:
- Highly Recommended Experience (weight 0.75): Players overwhelmingly recommend the game, especially for those who enjoy narrative-heavy, choice-driven RPGs with a focus on necromancy and a slow-burn power fantasy. Many consider it a must-play for fans of the genre.
- Strong Future Potential (weight 0.12): Reviewers see significant potential in the game, expressing confidence that it will continue to improve and become a very enjoyable RPG. There's a belief it won't be abandoned.
- Developer Praise & More Games (weight 0.06): General positive sentiment towards the developers' work and a desire for more games of this type indicate overall satisfaction with the game's quality and concept.
- Suggests Conquest Mode (weight 0.04): A specific suggestion was made to add a conquest mode, particularly to extend the gameplay beyond the main story and explore the epilogue. This indicates a desire for more strategic depth.
- Visual Novel Tagging (weight 0.04): One reviewer noted that labeling the game as a 'visual novel' might more accurately represent its gameplay style, emphasizing its narrative focus over traditional RPG elements.
- Fair Price Point (weight 0.04): The game's price point of 20 USD is considered fair and reasonable by a reviewer, suggesting good value for the content provided.

Other player notes:
- Improve skeleton handling (weight 0.1): Players desire more efficient skeleton management. They want to be able to run while carrying skeletons, carry multiple skeletons, or store them in inventory bags, which would significantly improve gameplay flow.
- Toggle UI and combat automation (weight 0.07): Players want more control over UI elements and combat automation. Options to toggle quest markers and hints would enhance immersion, while automated ally movement and attack would streamline combat.
- Small team, Unity engine (weight 0.04): Players are aware that the game was developed by a small team using Unity. While not a direct gameplay critique, this information often influences player expectations and perceptions of the game's scope and polish.
- Add outdoor map (weight 0.04): Players are requesting a map for outdoor areas. This would greatly assist with navigation and exploration in the game's open environments.
- Reduce text volume (weight 0.04): Players note the significant amount of text present in the game. This could imply a desire for more voice acting or a more concise presentation of information.

Emotions:
- Satisfaction (weight 0.39): Players are highly satisfied with the game's strong narrative, well-developed characters, and rich world-building, particularly appreciating the unique necromancer power fantasy and the depth of choices. The game's overall quality, unique approach, and alignment with classic CRPG elements also contribute significantly to player contentment.
- Frustration (weight 0.12): Frustration stems primarily from clunky controls, interface issues, and various bugs, including soft-locks. Players also express annoyance with vague quest directions, the lack of a map or hint system, and the slow pace of the game, particularly in early combat and character creation.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.09): General enjoyment is derived from the overall game experience, with specific mentions of the engrossing story, awesome world, and high-quality writing and characters. The narrative design is a key factor in players finding the game enjoyable.
- Excitement (weight 0.07): Players feel excitement about delving deeper into the game's narrative, particularly the compelling mystery and captivating story sequences. The game's themes, genre combination, and strong atmosphere, especially supernatural events, also generate significant anticipation.
- Appreciation (weight 0.07): Appreciation is shown for the game's charming 'painting' graphics, the meaningful ritual magic system, and the deep lore. Players also value the impressive writing, meaningful choices, and the game's overall quality despite being an indie title.
- Disappointment (weight 0.06): Disappointment arises from the game feeling unfinished and its price point. Players are also let down by the unexpected genre (visual novel), the graphical style of the models, and particularly the minimal, poor, and slow combat system, which contributes to a crawling pace and a lifeless open world.
- Liking (weight 0.03): Players generally express a liking for the game as a whole experience.
- Joy (weight 0.02): Joy is experienced through the immersive gameplay and the high level of enjoyment derived from playing the game.
- Boredom (weight 0.02): Boredom is caused by repetitive content, particularly lengthy dialogues and excessive running around.
- Engagement (weight 0.02): Players feel engaged primarily due to the compelling story and narrative.
- Admiration (weight 0.02): Admiration is directed towards the quality of the game's writing and the developer's efficient use of resources.
- Dread (weight 0.01): Dread is caused by the game's effective atmospheric impact.
- Concern (weight 0.01): Concern is expressed regarding the game's pricing.
- Eagerness (weight 0.01): Players show eagerness for future content, specifically more undead adventures.
- Surprise (weight 0.01): Players are surprised by the unexpected quality of the game.
- Intrigue (weight 0.01): Intrigue is generated by the progression of the game's story.
- Discovery (weight 0.01): Players experience discovery through their introduction to the CRPG genre.
- Love (weight 0.01): Players express strong affection for the game's story.
- Confusion (weight 0.01): Confusion arises from the difficulty in explaining the game's unique nature to others.
- Minor annoyance (weight 0.01): Minor annoyance is caused by perceived narrative holes within the game's story.}