The Necromancer's Tale

B站有UP用爱发电做了全汉化，名字叫做“tt_君” 地址是BV1jMGK6LES6? 汉化的水平非常高，文字通顺，文风简洁，如果有需要可以看看这位UP的文件，并且希望大家同样多多支持！ 游戏文本非常丰富，重在剧本和玩家选择，是一个非常优秀的小品CRPG，代入感沉浸感都很不错

I've graciously slogged through this thing for five hours and here are two things I haven't done yet: 1. Necromancy 2. Have a good time It's an interesting setting and I can envision what it might have been with more money and polish, but there is too much to forgive here. Weird flags that don't follow what you know and let you loop through things you already talked about, a baffling reputation system that takes massive swings with no clear rationale or impact, abrupt cuts between major events that feel like bugs and might be bugs but who can say... The writing deserves a lot more than the game gives it.

This definitely isn't your typically CRPG, for better or for worse. If you like combat this game probably isn't for you as it is a very minor component of this game. This game is much more like a point-and-click adventure than a traditional RPG. There is quite a rich reputational system, with lots of morally complex decisions to be made, which have short and medium-term consequences. However, [spoiler] ultimately they make little difference to the outcome, with the player largely being penned into a linear ending funnel and able to get to the different endings from the final scenes regardless of their earlier choices. [/spoiler]. Indeed, it feels like the developers ran out of steam in the final quarter of the game, which is a real missed opportunity for something excellent.

What an amazing game. This is easily among the 10 best I've ever played, maybe even top 5. It is certainly for a niche audience: The graphic presentation belongs in 2003, the theme is pretty dark, and it is a game in a similar vein to Disco Elysium (there is combat here, but it is not the focus of the game, which is goof, because it is far from a strong suit). However, if you do fancy a gothic horror game, you cannot do better: excellent writing, great music setting excellently the mood, a great story to traverse full of choices to be made. The development of the story is slow paced, but that is a strength, the slow decent of the protagonist makes it all the more believable (as opposed to "oh, I have been a vanilla good guy most of my life, but now at the turn of a leaf, I'll resort to necromancy). Another point for the game, which is at the same time a strong suit but will probably be a detriment for many: it is old school in its approach to quest design. You do not get markers or indicators of any kind, except for some notes the character makes in their diary. You have to navigate that; likewise you are not prompted for the potential secondary quests, no exclamations signs hovering over characters heads nor anything remotely of the sort: you have to look for them by talking to people and searching in different places. This game does have flaws, but I do no hestitate to call it a 10/10.

7/10分。 [h1]游戏性[/h1] 1、战斗系统是公认的差，推荐选择故事模式跳过战斗。 2、优化很好，我这个过时的1660显卡只升到62度左右。也没遇到程序bug，以CRPG来说相当难得。 3、很依赖攻略。它不是逐步解锁地图，而是一个大地图里（小镇和周边森林）来回跑，NPC头上几乎没提示，任务指引也很模糊，连主线都容易卡关，不看攻略绝对会错过一堆支线。 4、道具系统比较友好。虽然到处都有箱子给你存东西，但主角的背包已经很够用了。需要挑出来用的特殊道具建议放在右边的固定栏里。 5、移动比较便秘。默认是慢慢走，想跑步就得双击目的地，自动寻路不太智能，总得频繁双击，伤鼠标左键。最糟心的是，在野外带领阴兵时，如果跑太快，会有一些小兵掉队、走失在你很难看清的犄角旮旯里，所以总得跑跑停停，非常耗时。 6、第一章建议根据攻略点到最高的24点，然后在末尾手动调节加点，不要顾虑RP，要侧重那些常用属性（例如敏锐）。如果跳过PPT直接进入加点，就只有21点，还会根据点数最高类别强制分配职业。 7、一路有不少属性检定，不达标的可以消耗技能池的7点备用点，下一章自动回满，通常不需要省着用。 8、好感度几乎只起到增加沉浸感的作用，不影响剧情。我唯一记得的好感度检定只有前期在酒馆哄3个老头白送你一块魔鬼木（那时主角战斗力低，亲自去森林打熊精太吃力）。 9、前期开销多、收入低，从中期开始相反。可以找码头酒馆的两个中介典当家中物品。买画的男中介很黑，开价不到市价三分之一，卖不卖都行。 10、中期制造骷髅兵只能在特定几个地点实行仪式，搬运尸体很费时，建议尽量让同行的其他骷髅兵抱起尸体，主角按平时的移动速度跑动，没学会这个操作的话就得亲自来回慢慢走很多次，特别糟心。制造僵尸时，直接唤起才是最省事的，武器留在尸体手上，金币自动进你口袋。 11、作为前半战斗主力的弗兰肯斯坦不是用魔法造出来的，你只能找偷尸贼帮你修复，第13章之后就没治了，不过那时主角自己就能开无双。 [h1]剧情[/h1] [h2]（一）整体[/h2] 剧情属于麻雀虽小五脏俱全，有亮点，以独立CRPG来说已经算很出色了。 可惜不太上头，因此给不了8分，可能的原因：大部分角色很脸谱化；结局余味不好。 主线背景：主角爹兄弟俩和另一个朋友Aldis靠死灵法术立下赫赫战功。1733年，主角22岁，爹猝亡，身为当地领主的大伯赶在主角回来前匆忙火化尸体，很蹊跷。主角学习禁忌的死灵法术查清真相和复仇，越陷越深。 极其慢热，前期节奏慢而无聊（以至于觉得在这种环境下想出轨滥交、搞黑魔法太正常了），第6章才开始有趣、加快节奏，对于实况主来说是挺糟糕的素材。 根据成就解锁率统计，约70%的人进入第2章（第1章是PPT车卡），进入第6章者仅27%，进入终章者仅12%。 但前期内容也不太好删减——尤其是如果RP成善人，中期因魔杖仪式被剥离大部分人性后的性情大变才显得更触目惊心。主角变成以绝对物化的眼光看待所有人事物，之后再选宜人性高的选项都明显感觉到是玩家将自己的意志强加在主角身上，放手让其自行发挥的话会是绝对的冷漠、冷酷。 主线几乎是一本道，第13章二选一事件也收束成一样的后续，流程重复率高，不太推荐多周目，非要打二周目的话推荐使用不同的职业和性别（性别差分文本很多）。本想看实况回收其他职业限定的支线，放弃了，因为毕竟绝大部分实况主不好好写小标题，拖进度条太累。 虽然全程有给出宜人性高和低的选项，但大多没有实际后果分歧，流程又很长，二周目应该会玩得很痛苦，最好一周目就严格对着攻略打。 编剧阵有8个人，作中却不太感受得到拼凑感，估计主体内容是2位主创写的，其他6人负责润色和边角料。 [h2]（二）关于主角的风流韵事[/h2] 本作女性友好度OK，但从风月对象的设置来看，编剧肯定是男的（一看staff列表，果然），而且性癖是NTR人妻（比例高得让我想起铃鹿美弥的兄妹骨科）： 1、三个高质量一夜情对象是直女 （1）全篇最带劲的H是在舞会上睡那个研究数学的红发贵妇，3个体位能选，其中一个选项是在她老公（大伯的副手，专制刻薄、不尊重她的妒夫）的办公桌上打炮。 （2）在贫民窟养猪的milf芭芭拉[spoiler]是老爹的地下情人，拿男主吃老爹代餐。她那个襁褓中的女儿就是老爹的种，她老公对此不知情。[/spoiler]女号无法触发这段剧情。 （3）送黑曜石的绝美白毛妖女只有男号能睡，睡完魅力值升到6，力量或耐力降到1；女号要是接受诱惑就只有降属性的份。 2、女号遇到的直男全是歪瓜裂枣 （1）刷酒馆三老头的好感度以获取魔鬼木，女号难度低很多。没有H。[spoiler]他们崇拜死灵大法师Aldis，后期成为主角的忠实仆从。[/spoiler] （2）军营门口的啤酒肚守卫对女主垂涎三尺，第12章想溜进军营散播瘟疫时可以色诱他，衣服都不用脱，一分钟完事（笑）。男号则是色诱更有魅力的女卫兵，需要先去酒馆撩她。 （3）若硬闯大伯堡垒被抓，可以色诱卫兵长（他从小就暗恋女主），但马上会被大伯打断，吃不到（x。 3、主线官配是一对医生双胞胎，都是双性恋，二择其一。 （1）为了省事，两者文本大同小异，区别主要在关系前期。 （2）安妮初登场是第4章图书馆，闲聊些不痛不痒的东西，可以用学识增加好感。第6章确定关系时好像接个吻就满足了。第8章双重约会之后也没想上垒，止步于让主角送她回医院。第9章单独约会在酒馆的性暗示是“偶尔加速血液循环有利于你的健康，这是医嘱”（主角受困于幽灵骚扰，脸色不好），比较含蓄。 （3）康纳初登场是第6章医院，一见钟情，第2次谈话的性暗示已经很重了，确认关系之后，要不是这里是公共场所+上班时间，两人大概会直接在病房里干柴烈火干起来（躺在旁边的病人：请输入文本）。第8章双重约会送主角到家门口时箭在弦上，被幽灵打扰急刹车（淦，我都想好你俩该说啥荤话了）。第9章单独约会，若选择信步走过去，会发现他一直盯着屁股看（。 （4）总之都是基因呼唤级的光速白给，莫名其妙地情深似海、海枯石烂，简直像ABO的命中注定。作为剧情工具人的作用：给点桃色福利；展示主角濒临失去人性的挣扎；在HE让主角不孤独。 4、酒馆里的水手兄妹都是双，妹妹是很棒的床伴，哥哥床品烂得让人想骂人。 5、我错过了北门酒馆支线，不确定那个姑娘是直还是双，反正是冲着利益吊着主角。 6、可对话NPC里能撩的比例如此之高，我感觉只要主角愿意开口撩，镇里一半人都愿意被TA睡。 [h2]（三）难评的爹[/h2] 由于主角对爹几乎一无所知，所以一路在刷新印象。大概是除主角以外唯一丰满的角色。 1、第一章童年PPT，平日对主角冷漠，全丢给别人照顾，但主角在家被怪物威胁时他倒是第一时间出来保护好孩子。 2、毕竟是死灵法，死得又蹊跷，简直是装满秘密的加密压缩包。 3、第3章说妈常年喝爹调配的魔药，我那时怀疑疯病就是喝药喝出来的。主角调配出来后，要找个活人当小白鼠，我试了管家和主角（毕竟剧情推进不允许这两人出事），毫无异样，心想可能是剂量没到有毒的程度。 4、欠了一屁股债，搞得家里急着典当一堆东西。花销主要两项：[spoiler]跟Aldis合作的项目要堆军备[/spoiler]；自年轻时就风流成性，私生子众多但不闻不问（赡养费大概给得不多），一个情妇不够用，哐哐给黑帮送钱闝倡。[spoiler]芭芭拉[/spoiler]说他不仅肉体富有性吸引力，性格也惹人怜爱（他常光顾的妓女也说他渴求安慰）；再加上有钱有势，按理说根本不需要花钱也可以轻易获得性，啧啧。 5、魔杖仪式后，主角对任何人都爱不起来了（包括友爱），反倒性欲健在，[spoiler]我以为爹也是因为这个状态靠乱搞解闷[/spoiler]。 6、用招灵仪式跟爹的亡灵对话——好傲慢的老登，根本不配让人为他复仇。 7、忘了中后期哪一章，亡灵让主角在睡梦中重温童年与父母共进晚餐的一幕，爹强调主角作为贵族绝不该跟平民小孩厮混在一起，若选择反抗，爹怒，妈劝架，主角腹诽这回居然没直接抽出皮带——看来没少体罚。 8、第13章Aldis展示的墓地幻境里，[spoiler]其他亲朋好友都卒于故事本篇的1733年，唯独妈死在主角出生的1711年。根据其他人的反应，躯体是妈本人没错，我以为爹把一个对主角友好的情妇的灵魂塞进妈的躯体里了。[/spoiler] 9、第14章要用到儿童血亲的血液，发现[spoiler]亲生父亲不是Zelig而是农场主——Zelig出差好几个月时，寂寞难耐的母亲跟有家室的前男友再续前缘怀上主角。农场主觉得Zelig肯定知道主角不是亲生的，因为一算月份就知道不对。Zelig稀罕妈的皮囊，杀掉她后，换个更乖的灵魂进去服侍自己，合理。照这么说他对主角算很好了，没扫地出门，还好吃好喝地供着，没让其他私生子进来抢主角家产，可能正是因为失去了人性才不会怒不可遏。（结果我猜错了。）[/spoiler] 10、第15章Aldis一次讲清往事：[spoiler]Zelig太自大，根本不考虑自己被绿的可能性。妈生主角当天难产而死，Aldis为她注入亡灵能量，用Zelig的生命力供养她，才让妈以这种肉体鲜活、精神残缺的状态存活下来，Zelig一死她就断供了，时日无多。Zelig怕不是拿智力换体力，被分走那么多生命力还有余裕到处纵欲。有点意外他对妈竟如此深情，也许是“我见一个爱一个，但我最爱的是你”。情绪那么丰富，看来没做魔杖仪式。事业线方面，Zelig作为死灵法的水平非常半吊子，站队也像是怯懦的墙头草。[/spoiler] 11、终章，[spoiler]他灵魂快要被冥界吸走了，急切催促主角把他塞进一个活人躯体里，只有选择跟Aldis合作、学到最终法术的主角能做到这点。这时他打感情牌，我只觉得是出于功利需求。然后有3种选择： （1）给他俊男肉体：他大喜过望、深受感动，表示没想到主角经历这一切、发现真相后还能如此厚待自己，有没有血缘都是自己最为之骄傲的孩子。若再选择深情拥抱他，场面挺肉麻，完全不知道这个选项的主角对他哪来那么深的感情。讲真就这两人的乱搞程度，将来发展出性缘关系也不是不可能。 （2）给他一具话都说不清的僵尸肉体：面对这恶劣的愚弄，生气，但好过消散，咬牙接受了，指望Aldis帮他换肉体。管家也有点情绪失控，暴露底色——不知为何管家对爹死心塌地，蓄意引导主角学习死灵法术，不料得到这种结果。 （3）不理他——跟不合作的路线一样，他认命了，临走前祝福主角得偿所愿。[/spoiler] 12、难说他是什么时候才发现[spoiler]跟主角没有血缘关系，说不定正是因为成了主角背后灵才发现，而且想复活全得靠主角，不便发难。[/spoiler] [h2]（四）3个结局[/h2] 1、HE：将死灵法术与科学相结合 [spoiler]不与Aldis合作，独自带领亡灵军团打倒大伯，力竭沉睡数百年。 堂哥接任领主，为巫术正名，造出乌托邦，人均寿命增加一百。 如果战前有跟恋人道别，恋人会在科技和巫术双重加持下变成长生不老。[/spoiler] 圆满得很假。而且这史观挺要不得，抹去了人们的人性复杂性和主观能动性。 2、NE：放弃死灵法术 [spoiler]无条件向大伯投降，销毁魔导书。大伯带着敬意砸碎主角的命匣。 天堂的神仙们也很感动，不仅让主角无罪释放，还让主角肉体倒退回活人状态、寿命大增。大伯目睹此神迹，更狂热地组织十字军。 四处游荡的主角一边送走相继离世的亲朋好友，一边见证贪婪的人类用工业文明把地球搞得乌烟瘴气、受剥削的大众苟且度日。[/spoiler]最接近现代现实的结局。 3、BE：用死灵法术称霸世界 难绷的是，[spoiler]Aldis拉拢主角时给出的愿景就是HE那样的，掌权后反倒搞得寸草不生。[/spoiler] [h2]（五）其他角色感想[/h2] 1、大伯：极端守旧专制、拒绝变化与进步的右翼战狼大家长（联想到王莽和朱元璋）。作为丈夫显然也很让人窒息，完全理解他老婆为什么[spoiler]要跟起义组织成员约会[/spoiler]，他跟副手物以类聚。其实人不算坏，只要没有利益冲突，他可以真心关爱主角。 2、Aldis：虽非善类，但于主角而言称得上是忠实的盟友和导师，机械降神级工具人。 3、竹马：模范普通人，有情有义。不赞成你搞黑魔法，但也绝对不会出卖你，你有难时他鞍前马后；在称霸结局会心寒地离开，走前请求你放过青梅[spoiler]的尸体[/spoiler]。最让人眼前一亮的片段是在他奶奶[spoiler]寿终正寝[/spoiler]那时的[spoiler]自我满足[/spoiler]。 4、青梅：默认封面的召灵仪式是男号带青梅，不少人开玩前以为是LI，实际跟竹马是一对。存在感不算低，但戏份真的少，每次出场都是为了引出别的人事物，工具人感很重。 5、卫兵长：故事挺都合主义。[spoiler]母子被拆散时，心智至少6岁水平，居然能把亲妈忘得一干二净。虽然大伯学过点死灵法术，但整本书都没教人怎么操纵记忆，他又是极反对巫术和科学研究的人，光靠言语洗脑很难达成这种效果。[/spoiler] 6、孤儿院支线： （1）一对企业家夫妇来物色继承人，显然只有稳重的Lelon有潜力，但很难做到不读档一次性把他推销出去，因为更有话事权的女老板追求铁腕、不希望孩子宜人性过高。不确定Lelon将来发达了是否会回头帮助小伙伴们，相对最可能关照的是Ida。 （2）哭包Ida能看见鬼魂，可惜没人想活用这项天赋。 （3）Peta太莽，偷溜进隔离病房染上魔法瘟疫，如果主角不第一时间发现并救治就会死。 （4）剩下两个刺头有点反社会潜质，如果没什么机缘让他们洗心革面（主角只是让他们有所收敛），成为职业罪犯可能性挺大。 （5）旧的孩子王惹事后，主角可以推举新领袖、让孩子们替自己办点小事。Lelon拒绝犯罪，想把孩子们带回正轨；想让他们干脏活就得保留旧领袖，但没必要；领袖Lelon被收养后，这个团体自动解散。 （6）堂哥算是圣人，但教育止步于灌输知识，完全没能走近孩子、传递思想，所以孩子们遇到问题基本不会想求助于他，而是找主角这个新老师。[spoiler]这使乌托邦结局的可信度大打折扣[/spoiler]，虽然可以找补说他善于与精英沟通而非孩童。

3.5/5。主角从零开始自学成为死灵法师挖遍整个村子的坟头然后探寻自己的出身和家族秘密。整个游戏给人一种很复古很原教旨主义（？）crpg的感觉，代入感意外地不错。浓厚的哥特气质，游戏的叙事氛围非常和谐统一，剧情也比较克制，依托部分历史并将故事局限在一个相对有限的空间下，并没有强行架构复杂的世界观。 主角可自选性别自选起源自选名字。某种意义上来说自由度很高因为每一个剧情推进点针对不同的数值专长都有不同的解法，但是似乎各路径都通向类似的结果。后续流程多少有点线性，可能是因为世界观比较小，又没有什么支线任务，于是就这么单一主线地走下去。 剧情集中在主角身上，导致各npc的工具人属性很浓，因此主角的各种关系羁绊都不明显，浪漫线也几乎没有。结尾流程太草率了，感觉铺垫了一大堆东西然而很快就结束了，一个路人npc让主角休息然后主角就陷入沉睡又很快被叫醒接着talk两句就结尾ppt了并且没有后日谈。战斗系统非常普通，回合制做得不怎么样，有没有战斗都无所谓的程度。 我觉得最大的弊病是游戏指引，我对游戏的主要不满也都在这上面。不同的任务总是需要在固定的那些npc身上来回试探，需要漫无目的地寻找，很多时间都浪费在重复对话上了，这导致后期游玩显得很繁琐。野外的地图也不好用，最后一章之前都不能直接传送。并且我卡住的地方总是会在社区里搜到有同样问题的人，可见这一点不是我一个人这么觉得啊啊啊。 游戏制作组非常非常小，能做出这个体量已经很不错了。并且开发者处理bug很快，从我反馈问题到他们发布新补丁也就不到半小时，好评。

[h2]A very ambitious CRPG that is less focused around combat mechanics than on telling a somewhat linear fall from nobility into more and more depraved magical rituals. What [i]The Necromancer’s Tale[/i] lacks in reactivity, it makes up for in genuinely strong writing and a setting that is rarely touched in this subgenre.[/h2] [h3]Story and Setting[/h3] You control Mandel, though you can choose your own name as well, the son or daughter of a minor noble family in an alternative 18th-century country somewhat close to Italy. Importantly, though, in this setting magic is a very real thing that has led to the rise of a lich commanding undead armies that has only comparatively recently died down and which has had a tremendous impact on the society you get to experience in TNT. As the game begins, you get to go through a little picture book prologue in which you get to define your character’s childhood, which ultimately is a way to allocate your stats. Apart from your choice of playing a male or female character and their career, none of these choices matter, as you also get to freely redistribute your stat points at the end if you so choose. The crux of it is, however, that you left your family on somewhat shaky terms, in particular with your father, and are only recently returning due to the news that your father has died under questionable circumstances, which may or may not include finding an occult spellbook that nudges you onto the path of necromancy. So: Find out how your father died. Make up your mind why you care. Decipher the grimoire and try to find a way to use your forbidden knowledge to your advantage and without being caught. Maybe work a job on the side and find romance too, because such is the way of the modern roleplaying game. TNT features 16 acts, all of which are relatively short and typically follow a similar structure of introducing the player to the next ritual spell. It’s a story that is best summarised by the idiom [i]The Road to Hell Is Paved With Good Intentions[/i], which is a very compelling way to structure a story if executed well, and TNT succeeds more often than it stumbles. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3749396537 Critically, every step of the way is largely sensible. From your Mandel trying to brew simple potions, to placing security wards, and before long beginning to summon your own Undead Horde, you get to experience a slippery slope where both you and Mandel eventually cross a line that you can’t really ever pinpoint, and that’s fantastic. However, there are certain moments where character reactions to you are overly lenient or otherwise happen at a pace that feels unearned. A great example of this is the main romance of the game, in which they have barely known Mandel for a few days, maybe weeks, but act as if they had been a couple for years, which is especially jarring during the ending sequences, or deliver grand speeches of their undying love and how they’ll follow me on my path as a lich and all the atrocities that entails because they truly, truly, truly love me. Another, quite similar, situation can occur when some of your actions feel like they should have more of a narrative impact than they actually do, like unleashing a deadly plague, which, really, just makes a few combat encounters a little easier. While the former example is one of character writing, this latter is a symptom of TNT’s big weakness: The game is not very reactive to your choices. Or at least less so than what you may expect from a CRPG. Effectively, while you can stir your Necromancer in a few different directions prior to locking in your choice in the very last act of the game, it is a very linear story that will broadly lead down the same path, with most differences being your personal role-playing and the tone with which you treat other characters. This lack of reactivity isn’t something I would consider necessarily bad, as the overall story is compelling, the writing is good, and there is enough variance and respect for your character choices (for example, also via your stat checks) that TNT can get away with it, despite me also having some negative feelings about the endings. The big appeal of TNT is experiencing this descent but also just how visceral a lot of its descriptions are and how the actual attitude of Mandel slowly shifts into becoming more apathetic as the rituals they conduct grow more gruesome. There are some spine-chilling descriptions that are consistently high quality and can stand toe-to-toe with the likes of Pathfinder, especially when it comes to you learning and conducting your rituals: From finding ways to translate cryptic pages, to gathering the ingredients, and then following through with learning the spell, TNT is strongest in those moments. [h3]Gameplay[/h3] TNT is a stat-based roleplaying game. As previously mentioned, players assign parameters for their character at the start of the game and, uniquely, will not level up throughout the course of the story. How you assign your points is largely what you will be playing with throughout the entire game, which puts a lot of emphasis on these early choices. This also means that players need to have a way to deal with stat checks that their own parameters don’t allow; for example, I was playing a low-strength character, and when faced with a strength check that exceeded my points, I was forced to expend extra stats from a pool that refreshes every act. Ergo, the social aspect of TNT also has some elements of resource management, as you want to try and stretch out that pool over the course of the current act: Do you use your points to make sure you can move a bookshelf, or do you keep them in case of an important dialogue that may need strong diplomatic stats? I think this is a system that is a bit faulty but works well enough and encourages players to also explore alternative routes through quests to open up more options to maybe circumvent the need to face a stat check at all: Why convince someone with your stat points when you could also blackmail them through some information you gain in an optional side quest, for instance? https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3749858134 Combat is turn-based and is truthfully not worth talking about. It is slow, quite clunky, and entirely joyless to engage with past the power fantasy the game provides as your undead grow more numerous and allow you to tackle harder and harder challenges. There is an option to turn them completely towards auto-resolve via difficulty options, and it genuinely makes the experience more enjoyable. [h3]Graphics and Sound[/h3] TNT looks horrendously bad. Character models and backgrounds lack detail and expression, and while the portraits are serviceable, they are also nothing special. The same holds true for the animation. While the soundtrack is pretty decent, voice acting, too, lacks quality, especially when some of the actors insist on mimicking regional accents that can at times sound so outlandish, it borders on parody. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3749858062 [h3]Technical Issues and Performance[/h3] I have had some few minor issues during my playthrough. The pathfinding can be a bit bad, and I experienced some minor movement glitches. I have not encountered any crashes or major bugs that would prevent me from completing any quests. [h3]Final Thoughts[/h3] The Necromancer’s Tale is a really rough experience, but one that is ultimately worthwhile. However, I would recommend it more as a sort of interactive novel than to compare it to its genre contemporaries. It’s a great, personal story that only ever stumbles over itself when it comes to the supporting characters but features a very consistent main story experience with some experimental ideas that fit the setting.

[list] [h1]Foreword[/h1] [*]Came straight from Hogwarts Legacy, looking for something complex, mature, and un-railroaded to wash its mainstream taste. Playing an Indie CRPG about a somewhat similar topic—like magic or in this case, necromancy—has a high chance to give just that. [*]For the love of the undeath, change the game's painterly effect to normal in the settings—not sure why this is not default. It's the intended graphical style IMO and makes the game looked prettier. [*]The game plays more like—as some of the reviews have already stated—a point-and-click adventure. While it does play that way, I would say it is still a CRPG at heart but with a unique take on the genre, one that is fresh and sorely needed. It is also not as puzzle-y as these point-and-click adventure games tend to be, the solution to the game's quests, problems, and puzzles felt plentiful, logical, and realistic. [*]Played on balanced (normal) difficulty. [h1]The Good[/h1] [*]It gave what I sought: a story that left you to your own devices on how to chart your own path, a believable mature world with equivalent cast, and a magic system and progression that are grounded. [*]The lore and setting are very evidently crafted with care. [*]Dares to tackle topics that are dark, controversial in nature, and intended for adult audiences. [*]Not woke and sterile—can't believe I need to point this out—people act like in the real world, with behaviors that are understandable and relatable. Beautiful women—including your female pc—are going to get wooed, desired, and there are plenty of choices to deceitfully, manipulatively, and seductively solve your problems—even carnally. [*]Sexy female pc model. [*]The multiple ways on how to solve problems and quests are interesting, it felt like a proper adventure game. [*]Zero need to look for solutions online. [*]The biggest selling point of the game—the path of necromancy—can use a bit more work but overall satisfying enough. [h1]The Bad[/h1] [*]No setting for camera zoom speed. [*]Can use better controls, the option to always toggle interactable for example. [*]Interactable icons for places to enter like doorways and caves can be missing sometimes. Worst case, a player can miss out on an entire building or dungeon to explore. [*]Character models can be placed or aligned improperly—a shame—during what would be otherwise immersive cutscenes. [*]Undead servants can get stuck and be lost when following if you toggle 'sprint faster during outdoors' in the settings. [*]A certain plothole in one of its later quests. [spoiler]The spell to achieve lichdom states that it requires the blood of an infant. But somehow in my playthrough it sufficed when I took Karla's blood, who was clearly not an infant[/spoiler]. [*]The game is rushed towards the end and the loose ends are not tied well. My biggest gripe of the game (such a loss of potential). If the developers could sustain the game's big scope with an appropriately paced-out later chapters, it might turn out to be something special. As it stands, I felt the closure and ending left me wanting and a lot hinges on the story's epoch, and these later chapters—deriving it from a complete and 'proper' experience. I also wish [spoiler]that there would be more adequate challenges to overcome once you've achieved lichdom, more lengthier final chapters will do nicely[/spoiler]. [h1]Verdict[/h1] [*]I think this game is a wasted potential because of the rushed final chapters and epilogue. The experience would be more complete if more time was given towards the end. However, the devs are a small and independent team, and what matters is that I had fun playing it. [h1]7.2/10.[/h1] [/list]