Developer: Toge Productions
Publisher: Modern Wolf
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
Necronator: Dead Wrong – Preview
It’s hard to stay original in the gaming industry, especially seeing nearly everything has been done before. We sometimes see very original takes on genres, or unique storytelling in order to stand out from the (cess)pool of games we currently find on digital stores. Necronator: Dead Wrong came off as a small blip on our radar, but we were intrigued by a witty trailer and fairly fun mechanics in early gameplay footage. We wanted to see how a tower defense/offense game with card game mechanics in a roguelite format would turn out. The game is currently in Early Access, and we were lucky enough to try out the game’s current limited content.
At this point in time, there is no real story present in the game, except a little written backdrop that doesn’t really amount to anything. In-between you’ll get some messages from your opponent who is taunting you, but as it stands now, there is no real recognizable storyline for us to actually attempt to elaborate further on the matter.
The graphical prowess of the game is very appealing, as you’ll be dropped on cute 3D maps with 2D sprites storming your portal and your minions storming the castle at the end of the route. The minions on both sides of the fence are neatly designed, but they have one big flaw. As the game progresses you can upgrade certain troops but their appearance never changes from their original form, which feels a bit lazy. We’re not sure if the full version will alter the appearance of your upgraded troops, but currently, it makes the experience a bit underwhelming when choosing to upgrade your troops. The same can be said for the maps, which are often identical to one another, albeit with a different seasonal theme slapped on.
Overall the sound design is decent, but we miss the overlord voice from the trailer that made us quite charmed by the experience. The music is okayish but not really memorable, and the sound design is also fairly basic. Everything is functional, but that’s about it in the current stage of development.
Necronator: Dead Wrong tries to blend a lot of different genres into one game, and it does so in a successful fashion. Nonetheless, the current content is way too low to fully recommend what is going on. Those sentiments aside, you’ll be treated to a tower defense and offense experience, with a roguelite character with card game mechanics. This means that you’ll have a regenerating pool of mana, which allows you to play cards on the map you find yourself in. When playing troops, they will storm the castle, on the chosen path (which can be altered by a signpost). Your opponent will do the same, so you’re often defending as well. The game also has other cards that boost your characters, allow you to draw extra cards, and so on. Your chosen champion will have relics at his disposal, and the further you progress, the more you can collect. If you die, you have to start over your campaign, but your champion does gain experience, unlocking new decks and other upgrades along the way.
The current issue with the expensive Early Access build lies with the fact you can only choose one champion and that there are only a handful of cards for you to choose from. There is a bare minimum of content, and this will certainly keep you occupied for a bit, but not long enough to truly appreciate the game. We hope that everything gets fleshed out properly and that the mechanics get more complex, the maps get bigger and more interesting and that certain visuals get updated.
Conclusion
Necronator: Dead Wrong is bursting with good ideas and intentions but as it currently stands, the content is a bit low for its steep asking price. Don’t get us wrong, we had fun with the limited cards, the wittily animated units, and the overall mechanics, but in its current state, there’s a lot to be done to make this an interesting experience for longer periods of time. If you know the developer and stand by their projects, you’ll probably be rewarded if you support the game early on. If you want some bang for your buck, you’d better add this game to your wishlist and see how it progresses.
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