Talk about love at first sight! Having a game lure you in with its beautiful graphics, I felt paralyzed and instantly drawn to it. NECROPOLIS had this effect on me with its subtle dark shadows and bright crystals all around, add to that the abstract shapes and colors, quick, take my money!
Anyone familiar with Dark Souls should naturally fall into NECROPOLIS. Although, don’t count your chickens before they hatch, because Harebrained Schemes, creators of NECROPOLIS, are going to mix things up! They are taking the this rogue-like dungeon crawler to another dimension, making it as difficult as possible to progress. Not only are checkpoints scarce, but levels will change each time you die. Forget every possible strategy you built in a previous life, as your next one will be a different experience.
NECROPOLIS also has huge potential for social interaction, whereas other similar games have kept a secluded and sterile environment. While talking to Mike McCain, the Studio Art and Game Director for Harebrained Schemes, he mentioned that death markers (tombstones), would appear in locations where other players have died, something I experienced while playing NECROPOLIS at PAX East. As I entered an area, there was a message on the side of my screen letting me know that there had been 16 deaths recently in that area. Imagine the potential for this and what else could be done using this system.
As I played the demo, it took me a while to settle in, simply because I was mesmerized by the surroundings. Knowing that the map will change upon death had me worried, not knowing what was coming next. At one point I heard, “Don’t jump there you’ll likely not make it right now” from Mike who sat next to me as I played his game. I’m an adventurer, I enjoyed the art and wanted to explore all of it to the point of well, jumping to my death.
Enemies in NECROPOLIS are interesting creatures, since they are… you. The first mobs I encountered were shadow versions of my character. Bigger creatures love crystals, and are easily distracted by the shadow enemies. The solution to defeating the bigger creature, as Mike pointed, is to kite him over to the shadows and just hide, why take damage?
No number of deaths will curb our anticipation of NECROPOLIS, which will release late 2015!
