The Necromancer's Tale

典型的storyfaaaaaaag，过于强调故事而把其他东西全部搞砸了，即使这个故事也就中上水平。甚至称不上是CYOA，因为CNC极少，分支也微乎其微。战斗已经算是最小问题，毕竟还有剧情模式兜底，最蛋疼的是这任务设计，几乎每一章都得收集一下七龙珠，全地图花费大量跑路时间，实在是非常无聊，我说你还不如搞成PPT起码不用跑来跑去。任务的引导也是一团屎，很多时候甚至不知道在哪触发。

Really nice narrative game. Writing is strongest part and that is good because you spend most of your time talking to people. I liked how most things could be done multiple ways sometimes with skill checks and other times just because you had good reputation and could ask for a favour. There are some things I disliked like no fast travel outside of city for most of the game that only wasted my time and no formations in combat with made it kind of annoying to fight when you get some skeletons. Even with those flaws i had a lot of fun. Roleplaying low lvl necromancer and sneaking around with my first skeleton was great.

It's been three weeks since I last played it and every time I glance on it in my Steam backlog, I am torn between grinding it out and just dropping it. While there are quite a few things I liked, I feel the game is promising a few things it cannot deliver and being a bit cumbersome to play, especially when you are unsure what to do next (which is quite often). For me, personally, the story progression is a bit too slow in the early parts. I may have shot myself in the foot a bit by treating it as an open world exploration game with lots of things to do, like [i]Disco Elysium[/i], which is not really true. Yes, you can talk to many different people and also do some side quests here and there, but the vast majority of it is fluff and inconsequential, as the game wants you to progress through its chapters in a linear fashion in order to tell its story and most of the side quests don't matter at all. Speaking of the story, I am unsure what to make of it. I really liked the introductory part, where your childhood is explored like a choose-your-own-adventure book, which determines your character's main features and background. I am not sure if that will become more important later in the story (progression-wise, I have just recently become the leader of a skeleton and Frankenstein's monster army, so around mid-game?), but so far the impact of those features has been a bit underwhelming. Anyways, the story: I think my biggest problem with the game so far has been that unless you really, really want to play as a necromancer, the things you character says and does when under your control can be at odds with what they say and do when controlled by the story. See, I shaped my character as an intelligent scholar, who earned himself a good position as a teacher and used that to help some of the NPCs of lesser fortune (e.g. the children). In that role, my character is a sane role model, trying to do some good. However, I cannot progress the story unless I do something that feels completely out-of-character and insane from any rational perspective and there is little personal reflection or character progression that would explain that. Yes, the main character mentions a lot how they put on a face for the people around them while going ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ insane on the inside, but that does not reflect what they do whenever I have control over the dialogue and the quest progression. It is a bit like pulling a puppet into two different directions using separate strings, which looks and feels awkward. The game suggests a level of freedom in character building that it ultimately does not deliver, as it railroads you into becoming a necromancer, whether you like it or not. If that's what you want (and I guess many players do, since the game is about becoming a necromancer, so duh), then fine. But if you roleplay as anything else just to see how the world reacts, then you might be in for an unwelcome surprise, like me. I feel the conversions (minus the voice acting, ugh) are the game's strongest parts and even though the variety and impact is not on the level of this year's marvelous [i]Esoteric Ebb[/i], I still enjoyed them. The best quests are those that involve talking and letting the characters develop. Anytime other mechanics get involved -- including the clunky CRPG tactical combat, the clunky inventory or the (you guessed it) clunky movement around the map -- the experience suffers from it. There are many characters to talk to and even though a large number of them have nothing interesting to say after the first few encounters, I felt that these interactions overall were the reason for me putting in those 14 hours that I did. Again, I have not finished it. If the game's mechanics aside from conversations were tighter and less cumbersome, I probably would feel more inclined to continue despite the bait-and-switch with the character development, since there is really no other game like this and overall I can really see myself having enjoyed the story overall after finishing it. On the other hand, I am weary of the jank and the grind and the slowness of it all. You have to be in a certain mindset for this and the longer I wait with continuing my playthrough, the less and less likely it seems that I will get into that mindset again. So in absence of "mixed" option, I will go with a non-recommendation for now. Feel free to disregard this if anything that I wrote did not resonate with you. The game certainly has the potential to appeal to anyone who is intrigued by its premise, so I say go try it if you are interested and think my points are stupid.

This is a very odd game. This is more akin to a narrative RPG like Disco Elysium, combat is few and far between. The story is interesting and they really nail the slow progression through necromancy. You start having to scour the woods to make 1 (one) potion and end up having a horde of zombies so large the turn tracker takes half the screen by the end. It does have a lot of glitches, jank and bizarre design decisions that are more confusing than really detrimental to your playthrough.

也是20小时美美通关了，感谢tt君的汉化。与大部分幻想作品里死灵法师那种抬手就是发波张口就是唤起死灵的power fantasy不同，这游戏提供了一种用更生活化的方式看待死灵术的视角。材料要花钱，魔法得一点点翻译，唤起一个小骷髅都得付出超乎想象的努力。主角大部分时候都在努力赚钱、和周遭人打好关系以精进自己的死灵魔法，但随后死灵魔法的精进却又反过来影响了主角的精神和生活，最后一步步走向了宿命的道路。虽然是个经典的死灵法师崛起故事，但是在展现魔法使用者心理状态变化这块的写作个人非常满意，能感受到对话和叙事这块是真的有心了。 比较不满意的地方一个是跑图实在是太墨迹了，城外还不让快速旅行是何意味啊；还有一个就是后期剧情自由度急速下降，有的地方真的很惊讶居然会没有选择。 小制作组手写对话和手绘所有肖像也值得鼓励！ btw我感觉封面有点谜之嘉豪感（没有恶意，谁不想在童年伙伴前展示魔法再摆个酷哥pose呢）

Best RPG I've played in some time. Reminds me of Tyranny and is probably better than it in terms of how power and evil are presented, especially organically in a realistic world. The writing in this game is enrapturing - although at times slightly clunky for the sake of being a viable game, it really pulled me into the world and everything from the characters to the story threads and the worldbuilding worked really well together, like a structured symphony. The combat is simplistic and also at times clunky (lost zombies/skeletons and skeleton rezzing are the most annoying), but it effectively conveyed growing power in a way that felt natural and empowering. It wasn't a grind - it reached each stepping stone and endpoint with purpose and satisfaction. --- --- --- SPOILER --- --- --- I think I got the good ending - the bright utopian future. While I'd raise criticisms about how quickly and effortlessly that was presented and achieved in chapter 15/16, I think the game made a good effort to make it believable and logical. It's somewhat innovative to portray that such an 'evil' craft could possibly lead to good in the right hands. --- --- --- END SPOILER --- --- --- In all, this was a thought-provoking, engaging, and thoroughly enjoyable experience. Highly recommended.

I'm starting to think this game isn't about romancing necks...

Думаю, нечто такое получилось бы у Larian Studios, если бы бюджет Baldurs Gate 3 был в три банки пива, четыре окурка и пачку просроченных пельменей, а над игрой работал один человек. Потому что по глубине сюжета, его вариативности и вовлечённости я могу поставить эту чистейшую индюшатину рядом с BG3. По графике, боёвке и технической составляющей, конечно, даже ни близко. Но по сюжету и ролевым механикам - да. Они тут решают всё. По сути вы здесь можете почувствовать себя в шкуре Артаса из Warcraft на минималках. Вы тоже аристократ, вы также скрываете какое-то (весьма длительное) время факт применения тёмных сил и вы тоже используете их поначалу во имя благородной цели (и уверяете в этом окружающих, когда вас раскроют). А ещё у вас так же может постепенно сформироваться карманная армия нежити (которую вы будете прятать) и вам так же может начать помогать местный аналог Нер'Зула. Только вместо Ледяного Трона он заточен в другом месте. И он так же может обрести благодаря вам свободу. Ну и, конечно, если вы пойдёте во все тяжкие по пути некромантии, то под конец ваши неживые легионы уже будут штурмовать города и другие страны. НО! Никто не заставляет вас это делать. То есть, конечно, игра вас будет всячески соблазнять и предлагать идти по тёмной дорожке. Вам будут намекать - мол, смотри, брат, у нас не печеньки, у нас тут целый кондитерский цех. Ты только вот чуть-чуть плохое сделай и сразу получишь власть, которая и не снилась твоему отцу (и это, кстати, буквально). Выбор только за вами: сохранять человечность или поддаваться на провокации. У меня вот как-то получилось так, что я старался быть скромным школьным учителем и не идти на поводу у шёпотков нежити. Но один раз заинтересовался, сделал кое-что, слово за слово - и вот мой персонаж уже в облике полноценного лича, а игра описывает, как его неживая армия осаждает Гданьск "где русские и поляки гибли и восставали вновь, дабы влиться в наши ряды. Континенты падали. Европа, Азия, Америки - все они...". И в итоге он построил неживой мировой порядочек. Такой себе, но порядочек. Где у людей есть два выбора: паши или умри (и паши дальше после воскрешения). При этом можно и оставаться человечным, хотя у меня не получилось. Не потому, что затупил, а потому, что рассуждал в духе "ну эти голоса из-за Завесы точно не обманут. Я уверен, это честная сделка (я знаю, что это наeбка)". И игра не сводится к одной только некромантии. Тут есть около десятка персонажей для любовных линий (и никто не запрещает вам отыгрывать альфа-самца, совмещая несколько партнёров разом, но готовьтесь к последствиям). Твои партнёры по-разному будут реагировать на твои некромантские (и другие) делишки. У тебя есть своя семья, проблемы которой тебе придётся расхлёбывать. Есть коллеги и друзья, сюжетки которых тесно переплетаются с основным. Для примера: тебе нужно заслать шпиона в местный замок. Ты можешь послать туда порабощённого духа, а можешь уговорить кого-то из друзей и их знакомых. Я выбрал второе и сделал шпионкой сестру одного своего знакомого. В итоге её повесили. Открыто наглеть, резать прохожих почём зря и гулять в компании ходячих трупов тебе не даст система репутации. Многие слова и поступки персонажа имеют последствия для неё. Причём бывает так, что фразы, которые понравятся рабочим, ухудшат отношение к тебе со стороны знати. И нужно балансировать обязательно. Иначе, если ты совсем рассоришься с конкретной социальной группой, тебя ждут большие проблемы. Хотя под конец на это уже можно не обращать внимания, особенно если ты стал личем и собираешься общаться с местными правителями на языке боли. И что мне особо понравилось - даже самые мелкие поступки, в духе "купить или продать предмет", сделанные в НАЧАЛЕ игры, имеют прямые последствия для событий ФИНАЛА. Когда я с этим столкнулся, то это было absolute cinema. В общем, игру я люто рекомендую всем фанатам жанра РПГ. Это мастхэв, кривоватый перевод которого уже есть в обсуждениях. И я ТРЕБУЮ от разработчика вторую часть. Если он её не сделает - это будет военное преступление.

In many ways, I would consider this game to be almost a hybrid of a point and click adventure game, a CRPG, and a turn-based tactics game. It's perhaps one of the most well written games I have played in recent memory. What it lacks in the nuances of tactical combat systems, it more than makes up for it with a plot full of intrigue, twists, meaningful characters (I can't think of a single portrait NPC I met that did not become at least semi-relevant to the plot by the end), and a very impactful choice-driven roleplaying system. Where this game shines is exactly what it promises: telling the tale of a protagonist, whose life prior is informed by your decisions, who begins the descent down a slippery slope of experimenting with the dark arts and exploring the challenges, rewards, consequences, and revelations such forbidden power can bring when it is mastered. This is not a game where you click mindlessly through dialogue and crawl through dungeons for loot with your skeleton army, though there are some optional segments that are just that. Instead, the vast majority of the game is dialogue driven. What you say, and what you choose NOT to say has big impacts on the story. While the story is ultimately linear in its arrival to the concluding act, the choices you make have great ramifications on how the acts leading up to it play out. Furthermore, the methods for progressing in each act, such as finding ingredients for a potion or ritual, or just uncovering information about the plot, are very open ended, with multiple ways to solve, many of which are dependent on your ability to earn the trust of others and hide your motives well. If I had any complaints, its that the combat is a little lackluster. While perfectly serviceable for small scale encounters, it begins to show its clumsiness when you have an undead army of several dozens strong that you must command. There is a lack of any kind of strong tactical expression beside action economy management and occasional use of cover: no high ground bonuses, no aoe spell effects, perhaps mild benefits from flanking, but otherwise not so much. Firearms are by far the strongest weapons, which only your human character can wield. A tip for those inclined: these weapons have long reload times, but you can switch between multiple in battle. You can fight the true old fashioned way of carrying a few flintlocks and firing them one at a time before needing to reload any. The only other complaint I have is in regards to a certain repeatable ritual for raising skeletons became a bit monotonous towards the end when you have a good number of them. Should they fall in battle, and they most certainly will, you will need to bring them to a designated spot to perform the reanimation ritual again. Granted, there are many of these sites throughout the game, and often not far from the battlegrounds they will fall in, and you can have your minions even carry their remains for you. However, when you end up with 20 skeletons at your beck and call, and need to reanimate 10 of them, again, it does become a bit tedious. But this is only if you're trying to get as many skeletons as you can. Once you become capable of greater necromantic rituals, resurrecting stronger undead is both simpler and faster. Other than that, I went in expecting to be mildly impressed with a fun roleplaying opportunity about a descent into madness, and I walked away very impressed by a cleverly written piece of historical fiction that roots itself in a well researched and authentic feeling world.