Necropolis

58%
Game Brain Score Based on 2,633 reviews
  • gameplay
  • graphics
  • humor
Necropolis Game Cover
Necropolis has some problems big and small, but parsing through some of the complaints levelled by other reviewers disappointed me.
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Necropolis is a fantasy action roguelike with single-player and multiplayer modes for up to two players. The game features a living dungeon with shifting layouts, monsters, and magic, overseen by the Brazen Head. Despite impressive visuals, purposely humorous tone, and compelling music, it suffers from optimization issues, bugs, and can be very grinding. The atmosphere is sensational, but the experience is marred by frequent ads.

  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Play​station 5
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

58%
Audience ScoreBased on 2,633 reviews
gameplay144 positive mentions
stability52 negative mentions
  • Fun gameplay, especially with friends.
  • Unique art style and atmosphere.
  • Challenging combat that requires strategy.
  • Game has been abandoned by developers, lacking updates.
  • Repetitive gameplay with limited enemy and weapon variety.
  • Controls are clunky and cannot be remapped.
  • gameplay458 mentions

    The gameplay of Necropolis has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its similarities to Dark Souls in terms of combat mechanics, but criticizing its execution as clunky and repetitive. While some enjoy the minimalist art style and humor, others find the gameplay lacks depth and variety, leading to a monotonous experience after a few hours. Overall, the game shows potential with its core mechanics, but many feel it needs significant improvements and additional content to enhance replayability and engagement.

    • “The weapons are nice to use, the multiplayer is stable, and the codex system is quite engaging as it offers meaningful changes to the moment-to-moment gameplay.”
    • “It's a very enjoyable creation with minimalist graphics and yet immersive cooperative or solo gameplay, with good humor too.”
    • “The gameplay is fantastic and the graphics are pretty unique, and the randomly generated dungeons are great.”
    • “Can't really recommend this game; the gameplay loop does not achieve what it sets out to do, and it feels clunky and unresponsive at times.”
    • “The gameplay feels slow and clunky, monotonous, and dull.”
    • “I was really hyped when I saw the gameplay, and when I finally got to play it, it felt lackluster and unpolished, like the game was left unfinished or abandoned.”
  • graphics450 mentions

    The graphics of the game are characterized by a unique, minimalist art style that many players find charming and visually appealing, reminiscent of low-poly designs and cel-shaded aesthetics. While the visuals are often praised for their creativity and atmosphere, some reviewers note issues with repetitiveness and blandness in certain environments, as well as performance problems despite the simplistic graphics. Overall, the art style is a significant draw for many players, contributing to the game's quirky and engaging atmosphere, though it may not appeal to everyone due to its simplicity.

    • “The graphics have a moderately minimalist aesthetic I enjoy.”
    • “I really enjoyed the visual aesthetic it was going for; each floor you descended had its own cool and unique visual flair, and it was very pleasing to look at.”
    • “The art style is fantastic and unique, and the areas, weapons, armor, etc. are all very well designed.”
    • “The game has a very poor performance for its low-poly art style; it is buggy as hell and has not been patched at all since it came out.”
    • “I know the game is going for a simple aesthetic, but it's not very well executed because it looks unfinished. Some areas are ridiculously bland, unlike games like Risk of Rain 2, which also has simple graphics but looks great.”
    • “Boring, tedious, frustrating combat, no true variety of weapons, and just the same bland aesthetic throughout the game.”
  • humor183 mentions

    The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with many players appreciating its dark, sarcastic, and quirky elements, often likening it to the styles of games like "Portal" and "Dark Souls." While some find the humor to be a delightful addition that enhances the experience, others feel it can be forced or out of place, detracting from the overall immersion. Overall, the game's comedic writing and dialogue are generally well-received, though opinions vary on its effectiveness and appropriateness within the game's tone.

    • “Crisp controls, good performance, acceptable graphics, solid audio, and some funny writing makes this a consistently enjoyable game.”
    • “The dark humor is a nice touch showing that the game does not take itself too seriously.”
    • “The game has lots of replayability, great mechanics, tight controls, and (most importantly) great humor.”
    • “Not funny, not informative.”
    • “- Forced and unfunny humor.”
    • “There's a lot of flavor text that tries to be humorous but is absolutely unfunny.”
  • replayability154 mentions

    The game's replayability is a contentious topic among players, with opinions ranging from high praise for its procedural generation and varied combat to criticism for its lack of meaningful content and repetitive gameplay. While some players enjoy the randomness and potential for different experiences in each run, many express disappointment over the limited unlocks and stagnant difficulty, leading to a perception of low replay value after initial playthroughs. Overall, the game offers a mix of enjoyable mechanics but struggles to maintain long-term engagement due to its content limitations.

    • “Very fun roguelike game, lots of replayability with tons of unique enemies, puzzles, lite progression, and character customization.”
    • “Randomly generated levels keep replayability high; as I played for 35 hours, I just encountered a level type I've never seen before.”
    • “The multiplayer option makes dying over and over much more fun, and the randomization of levels gives this game a tremendous amount of replay value.”
    • “It deeply lacks replayability, as there aren't any upgrades besides codexes, which are either hyper-specific, useless, or change very little about the character, giving traits that become obsolete very early on in the run.”
    • “Great game, but it's super short and not worth $30, with like 0 replay value. I managed to beat the entirety of the game in the 3 hours I played without unlocking any codexes.”
    • “There is absolutely zero replay value once you've finished the game; no new game plus or anything.”
  • story129 mentions

    The story in "Necropolis" is often described as minimalistic and cryptic, with players finding fragments of lore scattered throughout the game, primarily through wall writings and dialogue from a quirky pyramid character. While some appreciate the dark humor and the potential for deeper storytelling, many reviewers express disappointment over the lack of a cohesive narrative and meaningful character development, leading to a feeling of emptiness and repetitiveness in the gameplay experience. Overall, the game seems to prioritize mechanics and humor over a substantial story, leaving players wanting more depth and clarity.

    • “Great story if you pay attention and read between the lines.”
    • “The world looks gorgeous and constantly hints at a bigger story.”
    • “The story, though minimalistic and cryptic, serves as a refreshingly loose and open-to-interpretation backdrop.”
    • “It's rather disappointing because I wish more could have been done with the story for the game.”
    • “There is no story at all.”
    • “The story of the game is told through writing on walls and the cryptic babbling of a snarky robotic head, but none of it seems related to what's actually happening in the game.”
  • music114 mentions

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising its atmospheric qualities and memorable soundtrack that enhances the overall experience. Some players find the music engaging and fitting for the game's aesthetic, while others criticize it as repetitive or lacking in variety, leading to moments of dullness during gameplay. Overall, the soundtrack is often highlighted as a strong point, contributing positively to the game's ambiance despite some players feeling it could be improved.

    • “Fantastic soundtrack/sound design with an amazing atmosphere and art style.”
    • “The music is really good and atmospheric.”
    • “The undertones the music had, picking up at unexpected times, made the dark hallways surreal and daunting to explore.”
    • “Just plain boring, with boring environment, boring and empty characters, boring lore, boring music and boring, slow, tedious and uninteresting gameplay.”
    • “Roaming through the same extremely generic gray featureless landscapes, punctuated by sporadic fights with the same few enemies over and over again, while music so dull plays you're not even sure it's actually real or in your head.”
    • “The music is nothing special, and is weirdly non-present and flat compared to the music used in the game’s launch trailer.”
  • atmosphere77 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its unique art style, engaging music, and immersive environments, creating a moody and intriguing experience. Many players appreciate the blend of dark themes with humor, although some feel that comedic elements can detract from immersion. Overall, the game's atmosphere is considered a standout feature, enhancing both exploration and gameplay.

    • “The atmosphere is moody and charming, the combat is heavy in a slow kind of way that works well for the game, and it looks and runs well for my setup.”
    • “Fantastic soundtrack/sound design with an amazing atmosphere and art style.”
    • “I love this game, even as it punishes me... the art is wonderful - the minimalistic style is perfect for the mysterious atmosphere, both vibrant and stark at the same time and dripping with lore and flavor text... little details and small touches add a lot of depth, and the wonderful dark humor is perfect.”
    • “The atmosphere is a bit creepy and daunting, making the actual game part a bit of a letdown.”
    • “The whole atmosphere and challenge kind of completely falls apart towards the end and feels empty and unfinished.”
    • “The atmosphere of the game is drained by the comical nature of the lore.”
  • stability56 mentions

    The game's stability is widely criticized, with numerous players reporting significant bugs, glitches, and performance issues that detract from the overall experience. Many describe it as unfinished and unpolished, with broken mechanics and connectivity problems, particularly in multiplayer modes. While some players find enjoyment despite these flaws, the consensus is that the game requires substantial fixes and improvements to reach its potential.

    • “I game on an old Alienware X-51, NVIDIA GTX 660, 16GB RAM, i7 Intel processor, etc. You can tell I have a big bottleneck in my graphics card, but this game runs great, somewhere between 50-60 FPS on average.”
    • “The game for me runs great.”
    • “This game is great and seemingly bug-free, which is a rarity these days with people pushing out unfinished products constantly.”
    • “The fact that this is for sale is a crime - this is a broken, abandoned, unfinished, buggy, malfunctioning train wreck and they want 30 bucks?”
    • “I was really looking forward to this game when it came to my attention last year and have been counting down the days till release, once I finally got my hands on it however I found it to be a buggy, inconsistent mess, a boring slog through a poorly generated labyrinth full of respawning enemies who can lock you into stagger animations and a very very small variety in weapons.”
    • “Full of slowdowns, framerate drops, and other glitches, this was by no means a flawless launch, which was a bit disappointing.”
  • optimization44 mentions

    Overall, the game's optimization has received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with many players experiencing significant lag, stuttering, and performance issues even on high-end hardware. Despite some positive remarks about graphics and gameplay, the persistent bugs and poor resource management have left many feeling that the game is unplayable or frustratingly difficult. A few users noted smoother performance, but these instances appear to be exceptions rather than the rule, indicating a need for substantial optimization improvements.

    • “Crisp controls, good performance, acceptable graphics, solid audio, and some funny writing makes this a consistently enjoyable game.”
    • “I also never encountered any bugs; the game is very well polished and optimized.”
    • “Adding to my worries were reports that the game had FPS and optimization issues, but the game runs at a constant perfect 60 FPS for me, and my computer is a literal pile of garbage.”
    • “In terms of optimization: the game will constantly lag, even on higher-end hardware.”
    • “The game has a very poor performance for its low-poly art style, it is buggy as hell and has not been patched at all since it came out.”
    • “Optimization is just awful.”
  • grinding28 mentions

    Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, with many describing combat and dungeon layouts as boring and lacking variety. While some players appreciate the sense of accomplishment that comes with progression, the overwhelming sentiment is that the gameplay becomes a monotonous routine, making the experience feel more like a chore than an engaging challenge. The grind for tokens and upgrades is often seen as frustrating, with minimal payoff, contributing to a generally uninspired and tedious gaming experience.

    • “Boring, tedious, frustrating combat, no true variety of weapons, and just the same bland aesthetic throughout the game.”
    • “Tokens were too difficult/boring/tedious to earn (break pottery? funny at first but absolutely mind numbing) and the payoff for earning them was entirely too mediocre.”
    • “While the initial challenge and excitement of a sprawling dungeon crawler was exciting, it soon became a profoundly tedious routine of slight variation in familiar enemies and intangible upgrades which slightly decrease the time to kill just in time for the difficulty scaling to make them take longer.”
  • character development11 mentions

    Overall, the character development in the game is praised for its visually appealing and unique designs, which enhance the gameplay experience. Players appreciate the charming aesthetics and the variety of character and enemy designs, although some note a lack of depth in build options. The integration of lore adds an intriguing layer to the characters, making them feel more engaging and mysterious.

    • “I love his personality and character design.”
    • “The angular graphics, cosmetically pleasing character design, and sense of archaic beauty are what attracted me in the first place.”
    • “Interesting character design and 'levels' (throwing lore in here too, which is fun but mysterious in places).”
    • “There are few options for builds and character development.”
    • “The character development feels very limited and doesn't allow for much personalization.”
    • “I wish there were more depth to the character development system.”
  • monetization11 mentions

    The monetization aspect of the game is widely criticized as a cash grab, with many users feeling that it lacks meaningful updates and content since its initial release. While there are no microtransactions, the game is perceived as abandoned by developers, leading to a bland experience that fails to deliver on its advertised multiplayer features. Overall, players suggest that the game is better enjoyed with friends rather than as a standalone experience.

    • “At least there's no microtransactions. 10/10”
    • “The monetization model is fair and doesn't pressure players to spend money.”
    • “I appreciate that the game offers plenty of content without requiring additional purchases.”
    • “It well and truly is a cash grab, but great with friends.”
    • “Could've been good but they haven't touched it since brutal edition and it just seems like a cash grab.”
    • “But, aside from it just looking like a quick cash grab as the game is now abandoned from the devs.”
  • emotional5 mentions

    Users express disappointment in the emotional impact of the game, feeling that it fails to evoke a sense of power or meaningful engagement. The experience of missing key elements was described as heartbreaking, and deaths in the game left players feeling that their time was wasted rather than rewarding. Overall, the emotional resonance of the game fell short compared to other titles.

    • “To have it skipped was heartbreaking.”
    • “When I died, it made me feel like my time was not well spent.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

57% average critic score

Buy Necropolis

Play time

7hMedian play time
11hAverage play time
4-15hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 32 analyzed playthroughs

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