Info about Never Grave: The Witch and The Curse: Official game description: Authentic 2D action ------------------- Never Grave is 2D action game where you journey with the aid of a cursed hat. Identify enemy attacks, fight with magic, and sometimes use the terrain to win! Dungeons such as ruins and botanical gardens are auto-generated and change each time you play. Furthermore, there are obstacles and puzzles waiting to block the player's path in the dungeons. Possession system ----------------- Possess enemies using a cursed hat. Use unique abilities from your possessed enemies to open up avenues of action and gain an advantage in battle! Rebuild a ruined village ------------------------ Use materials collected in the dungeons to clear the rubble of ruined villages, build new facilities and cultivate crops in the fields. Prepare for your next battles at your village! Cook food and take advantage of skill trees to grow more powerful! Multiplayer ----------- Multiplayer support for up to four players. Call your friends from other worlds and conquer dungeons together! Game features ------------- * Metroidvania x Roguelite with an emphasis on exploration. * Sophisticated and tactilely designed player character controls. * Possession system where hats can possess enemies and use their unique abilities. * Traditional Japanese hand-drawn limited animation is used for character 2D animation. * Thickly painted backgrounds with depth, as if you are travelling through a world of picture books and cut-out pictures. * Learn actions such as double-jump from artefacts to explore new areas. * Constantly changing play style depending on the synergy of "traits" associated with magic and items. * Intense battles with tough bosses. It will take more than just memorizing boss patterns to defeat them without taking damage... * Rebuild your village. Strengthen yourself through building and production to prepare for the next adventure. * Explore different terrain each time you play through procedurally generated dungeons. * Multiplayer support. Up to four players can delve into the dungeon together! Release date: Mar 4, 2026 Categories: Metroidvania, Roguelite, Procedural Generation, Character Progression, Possession System, Multiplayer, Base Building, 2D Platformer Feature scans: - Steam Deck: score 90; verdict: Broken; summary: The Steam Deck experience for this game is marred by significant stability issues, including frequent crashes and game instability, particularly after boss fights. Performance issues such as frame drops are also noted, especially in specific game sections. However, the control and movement mechanics are positively received by users, providing a better experience compared to other games. - Hardware Profile: No data Feature extractions: - Community Price: - Community fair range: $15.00 - $30.00 - Reasoning: The evidence shows a mix of opinions on the game's pricing. Some users find the game to be a good deal and inexpensive, suggesting a lower price point. Others mention that the game is barely acceptable at a $60 price point, indicating that the higher end of the price range may be less favorable. The overall sentiment suggests that while some users find the game to be a good value, others feel it is overpriced, particularly at higher price points. - Playtime Metrics: - Game completion: 32.5h - Story completion: N/A - Session length: 3.5h - Endgame: N/A - Reasoning: The evidence provides several indications of playtime metrics. The first quote suggests a broad range of total playtime between 15 to 50 hours, which can be inferred as the typical total time to finish the game. The second quote mentions an additional 10 hours, supporting the idea of extended playtime for game completion. The third and fourth quotes indicate shorter play sessions, which can be inferred as typical single-session lengths. However, there is limited evidence regarding the specific time to finish the main story or endgame content. - Time-to-fun: - Summary: The game is highly enjoyable in co-op mode, with fun anchored around cooperative play and progression systems, despite initial tedious mechanics and a steep difficulty curve. - Stance: Clicks after - Anchor: Cooperative play and progression systems - Time to anchor: 3h 0m - Friction: Tedious building and crafting mechanics; Steep difficulty curve; Repetitive dungeon design - Unlock drivers: Co-op mode; Village rebuilding system; Constant progression - Conditions: Playing with friends; Cooperative gameplay; Progression through upgrades and research - Player Archetypes: - Co-op Enthusiast (buy) - Motivation: Social interaction and cooperative gameplay. - Playstyle: Enjoys playing in groups, appreciates challenges that require teamwork. - Experience: mixed - Purchase stance: buy - Labels: Co-op player; Casual gamer - Reference games: Dead Cells; Hollow Knight - Progression Enjoyer (buy) - Motivation: Engaging progression systems and relaxing gameplay. - Playstyle: Enjoys methodical progression, appreciates games with similar mechanics to Dead Cells and Hollow Knight. - Experience: familiar - Purchase stance: buy - Labels: Indie game fan; Metroidvania enthusiast - Reference games: Dead Cells; Hollow Knight - Solo Struggler (sale) - Motivation: Seeking a balanced and fair challenge. - Playstyle: Prefers solo play, critical of game balance and difficulty. - Experience: veteran - Purchase stance: sale - Labels: Solo player; Hardcore gamer - Reference games: Dark Souls; Hollow Knight 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: - Positive overall impression (weight 0.41): Many players have a positive overall impression of the game, finding it enjoyable and fun. Some mention that the game is challenging but rewarding as players progress and get stronger. - Good combat mechanics (weight 0.3): Players appreciate the combat mechanics, describing them as decent, fun, smooth, and well-controlled. The combat feel and operation are highlighted as particularly enjoyable aspects of the gameplay. - Cute and charming art style (weight 0.24): The art style of the game is frequently described as cute, beautiful, charming, and interesting. Players appreciate the visual appeal and character design. - Mix of popular game elements (weight 0.24): Players enjoy the mix of elements from popular games like Hollow Knight, Dead Cells, and Skul. This combination provides a familiar yet fresh experience. - Enjoyable multiplayer experience (weight 0.21): The game offers enjoyable single-player and multiplayer experiences. The multiplayer is described as stable and well-implemented, adding to the game's appeal. - Enjoyable base-building (weight 0.17): Base-building is a well-received aspect of the game, with players finding it fun and well-implemented. It adds a strategic layer to the gameplay. - Smooth movement (weight 0.07): Players appreciate the smooth and fluid movement mechanics, which contribute to the overall enjoyable gameplay experience. - Potential for future updates (weight 0.07): There is anticipation for future updates and DLC, indicating that players see long-term potential in the game. - Reasonable price (weight 0.06): The game is considered to be reasonably priced, adding to its overall value and appeal. Common complaints: - Poor multiplayer implementation (weight 0.43): The multiplayer mode is criticized for being poorly implemented, with issues such as lack of shared progress, limited styles, and perfunctory design. - Unbalanced difficulty (weight 0.39): The game's difficulty is criticized for being unbalanced, with bosses having too much HP and high damage values, making it overly challenging and frustrating. - Poor gameplay mechanics (weight 0.38): The gameplay mechanics are criticized for being stiff, poorly designed, and not well-thought-out, leading to a less enjoyable experience. - Poor hand-feel and controls (weight 0.34): The game's controls and hand-feel are criticized for being stiff, choppy, and not well-optimized, leading to a less enjoyable gaming experience. - Repetitive map design (weight 0.31): Players frequently complain about the repetitive nature of map design and level layouts, which makes the gameplay feel monotonous and uninspired. - High collision damage (weight 0.31): Players find the collision damage to be excessively high and unbalanced, making the game feel unfair and frustrating. - Lack of variety and innovation (weight 0.28): The game is criticized for its lack of weapon variety, unique features, and innovation, making it feel stale and unoriginal. - Poor UI and gameplay logic (weight 0.26): The game's UI and gameplay logic are criticized for being primitive, poorly designed, and not user-friendly. - Game crashes and optimization (weight 0.22): Players report frequent game crashes and poor optimization, which significantly impacts the gaming experience, especially on low-end devices. - Low randomness and weak map generation (weight 0.12): The game is criticized for having low randomness in gameplay and weak map generation, making the experience feel repetitive and predictable. - Lack of character progression (weight 0.07): Players feel that there is a lack of character progression features and customization options, making the game feel less engaging. - Limited health potion mechanics (weight 0.07): Players find the health potion mechanics to be limiting and poorly designed, affecting the overall gameplay experience. Gameplay feedback: - Multiplayer and co-op focus (weight 0.27): The game offers both single-player and multiplayer modes, with a significant emphasis on cooperative multiplayer and multiplayer-focused gameplay mechanics. - Similarities to Dead Cells (weight 0.25): The combat and gameplay mechanics are frequently compared to 'Dead Cells', indicating a strong influence or similarity in gameplay style. - Possession mechanics (weight 0.2): A unique possession mechanic allows players to control enemies, adding a strategic layer to combat and gameplay. - Roguelike and Metroidvania elements (weight 0.2): The game incorporates roguelike and Metroidvania elements, providing a mix of procedural generation and exploration-based gameplay. - Difficulty settings available (weight 0.15): The game includes a difficulty slider with options for easy, normal, and hard modes, catering to different player skill levels. - Home building mechanics (weight 0.15): The game includes home building and design mechanics, allowing players to create and customize their own spaces. - Character development and customization (weight 0.15): Players can develop and customize their characters, enhancing the role-playing and personalization aspects of the game. - Boss fights and encounters (weight 0.12): The game features boss fights, some of which have multiple stages, adding depth and challenge to the combat experience. - Combat and movement mechanics (weight 0.11): The game features specific combat and movement mechanics, including magic-based combat, which define the gameplay experience. - Enemy and level design issues (weight 0.11): Some players have reported issues with enemy and level design, including repetitive elements and specific enemy behaviors. - Switching characters and monsters (weight 0.1): The ability to switch between characters and monsters using various skills and magic to deal with different situations enhances the gameplay experience. - Map design issues (weight 0.1): Some players have noted that the map design can be repetitive or confusing, with certain paths leading to dead ends. - Control and UI issues (weight 0.09): There are reports of control and UI issues, including unintuitive controls and UI elements that can be accidentally triggered. - Exploration-based gameplay (weight 0.07): Exploration is a key component of the game, encouraging players to discover new areas and secrets. - Map and progression paths (weight 0.06): The game features various progression paths and map designs that guide players through different levels and challenges. - Artifact and material collection (weight 0.06): Players can collect artifacts and materials, which are likely used for crafting and upgrading equipment. - Equipment and upgrade systems (weight 0.06): The game includes systems for upgrading equipment, enhancing character abilities and performance. - Enemy damage and collision (weight 0.06): Some players have noted issues with enemy damage and collision mechanics, which can affect gameplay. - Art style similar to Hollow Knight (weight 0.06): The art style of the game is frequently compared to 'Hollow Knight', indicating a similar visual aesthetic. - Platform jumping mechanics (weight 0.06): Platform jumping is a part of the game's mechanics, adding to the challenge and variety of gameplay. Performance notes: - Frequent crashes and instability (weight 0.14): The game frequently crashes, leading to data loss and instability. Players also report the game freezing suddenly during play. - Performance issues and low frame rates (weight 0.14): Multiple players report low frame rates and optimization issues affecting gameplay. Specific mentions include consistent 26 fps on high-end hardware like the Radeon 6900XT. - Multiplayer lag and unresponsiveness (weight 0.05): Multiplayer mode suffers from lag and unresponsiveness, impacting the overall gaming experience. - Game freezing on reload (weight 0.04): Players experience the game freezing when exiting and reloading a saved game. Recommendations: - Recommended for genre fans (weight 0.11): This game is highly recommended for fans of Hollow Knight, Metroidvania, and roguelite games, as well as similar genres. - Not recommended currently (weight 0.04): Some players advise against the game in its current state, suggesting it may need improvements or updates. - Better with friends (weight 0.04): The game may only be enjoyable when playing in multiplayer mode with friends. Other player notes: - Request for full walkthrough video (weight 0.05): Players are requesting a comprehensive walkthrough video to assist them in navigating through the game. Emotions: - Frustration (weight 0.37): Players are frustrated primarily due to technical issues such as save file corruption, frequent crashes, and performance problems like frame rate drops. Additionally, gameplay mechanics such as poor collision damage, difficult boss fights, and repetitive level design contribute significantly to this frustration. Multiplayer issues, including lack of shared progression and poor implementation, also play a major role. - Enjoyment (weight 0.17): Players enjoy the game for its unique gameplay mechanics, which include a mix of elements from other popular games like Hollow Knight and Dead Cells. The cute art style, smooth animations, and enjoyable combat mechanics, along with the fun multiplayer experience, contribute to the overall enjoyment. - Disappointment (weight 0.16): Disappointment stems from the game not living up to the demo's promise, with issues such as unbalanced enemy data, poor map design, and lack of originality. Players also express disappointment with repetitive content, lack of weapon variety, and numerical balance issues. - Satisfaction (weight 0.06): Satisfaction comes from the enjoyable gameplay loop and combat mechanics, as well as the game meeting expectations and improving after initial play. Players appreciate the generous character growth, flexible difficulty settings, and interesting gameplay mechanics. - Frustrated (weight 0.05): Players feel frustrated due to multiplayer mechanics issues, high collision damage, and key binding problems. High boss HP values and the game's high difficulty with unpleasant mechanics also contribute to this frustration. - Excitement (weight 0.03): Excitement is generated by the game's unique mechanics and gameplay elements, such as the multiplayer function and the variety of sewn elements. Players enjoy the combat and the overall fun experience the game provides. - Disappointed (weight 0.03): Disappointment arises from performance issues, frame rate problems, and limited content and mechanics. Players feel let down by the lack of significant map variations and procedurally generated maps not meeting expectations. - Happy (weight 0.02): Happiness is derived from the game's charming art style, creative mechanics, and positive multiplayer experiences. Players appreciate the game's atmosphere, gameplay, and mechanics. - Joy (weight 0.01): Joy comes from the charming art style and creative mechanics. Players find joy in discovering and enjoying various aspects of the game. - Anger (weight 0.01): Anger is expressed due to the game's mechanics and overall design, which do not cater well to either single-player or multiplayer experiences. Players feel the game does not deserve positive reviews because of these issues. - Hopeful (weight 0.01): Hopefulness is based on the potential for future updates and improvements that could address current issues and enhance the game. - Enthusiasm (weight 0.01): Enthusiasm is driven by the enjoyment of the game's unique gameplay mechanics and features, which provide a fresh and engaging experience. - Relaxation (weight 0.01): Relaxation is achieved through the game's relaxing gameplay, which provides a calming and enjoyable experience. - Boredom (weight 0.01): Boredom sets in due to repetitive gameplay and a lack of content variety, which makes the game feel monotonous over time. - Concern (weight 0.01): Concern is raised due to game crashes and data loss, which can significantly impact the player's progress and overall experience. - Surprise (weight 0.01): Surprise comes from enjoying the game despite not being a big fan of the genre, indicating that the game has appealing elements that transcend typical genre preferences. - Appreciation (weight 0.01): Appreciation is felt for the online multiplayer experience and the appealing character designs, which enhance the overall enjoyment of the game. - Hope (weight 0.01): Hope is based on the potential for future updates that could improve the game and address current shortcomings. - Excited (weight 0.01): Excitement is generated by the game's various interesting mechanics and systems, which provide a unique and engaging experience.}