Developer: Chillin' Wolf
Publisher: GRAVITY GAME ARISE Co., Ltd.
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
Necroboy: Path to Evilship – Review
A few months ago we had a lot of fun leading an undead army in The Unliving and this time we return with more undead friends in Necroboy: Path to Evilship. In most games where you play as a necromancer, it is to lead an undead army to overpower your enemies and make them tremble in fear. Necroboy wants to do the same, but before his powers are strong enough to lead his army to victory, he will first need to find an artifact to become a full-grown necromancer. Luckily his minions are smart and strong enough to help him in solving the many puzzles that they come across during their journey.
Story
The story begins in the Kingdom of Nakera where an innocent child was abandoned in the forest by his family. This poor child was left to his own devices and thus had to learn how to survive on his own all alone in the dark forest. One day the child discovers that he has extraordinary powers, and these powers would allow him to speak to the souls of the departed and summon them back to the land of the living. Life was very lonely for this child, as death was his only company. As time went by, the memories of his traumatic childhood fueled his grudge against the rotten people who abandoned him. Then it dawned on him, with his powers he was more powerful than anyone else and now he realized his true purpose: to conquer the world and rebuild this into his very own kingdom.
This intro introduces us to our main protagonist: Necroboy. He is now a young teenager who is mastering his skills and is on a quest together with his undead friend Lackey. This quest leads them to the crypt of a legendary necromancer and it is in this place that Necroboy will find the final puzzle piece for his plans. Deep inside the crypt lies an artifact that grants the holder the powers of the necromancer.
For a game that looks like just a simple puzzle game, it does come with a decent storyline. Starting with the informative intro sequence all the way through the many conversations our main characters have. The story slowly unfolds and you will learn more about Necroboy’s traumatic childhood and how he plans to become the lord of evil.
Graphics
Necroboy: Path to Evilship is made with two different art styles. This distinction is clearly seen between the hand-drawn story segments and character interactions and the 3D environment where the gameplay takes place. When starting the game, you are greeted by an intro movie that makes it look like you are reading a book. Now during your gameplay, there will be certain moments where the characters interact with each other. These scenes look a bit flat due to the simple coloring and lack of details. Fortunately, there has been more work put into making the gameplay look nice thanks to the various good-looking assets. The many rooms have enough clutter in them to make them look vibrant enough.
Sound
The overall sound design of the game is surprisingly good. The music playing in the background changes during each story- and gameplay section and while both have other styles, they perfectly blend together. Sometimes the music can give you the impression that it is looping quickly, but then it surprises you with a symphony of awesomeness. During the gameplay, you will get proper feedback from the sound effects. For example, doors creak, levers sound mechanical, and so on.
Gameplay
Necroboy: Path to Evilship is a puzzle game where your goal is to reach the deepest part of the necromancer’s crypt with the help of some undead friends. The game starts with a short yet informative tutorial on how to control Necroboy. This is shown with the use of some easy drawings explaining the buttons on the keyboard and controller at the same time. This is perfect if you aren’t sure what to play the game with, but it is easy no matter what control scheme you end up choosing. This tutorial will pop up again once you discover new things, making it easy to learn the controls for both control schemes. Once you make it inside the compound, you will notice the ghosts of dead people lingering around. Thanks to your necrotic powers you are able to bring them back to life and they will be happy to serve you. Once resurrected, these minions will follow each command and they can pull levers, push stones, and use a spinning wheel to open the many closed doors around you.
Initially, the puzzles look really simple, but the difficulty will slightly increase over time. The game gives you enough time to learn the many tricks that you’ll need to use if you want to escape each level. The goal here is simple: there is a gateway at the end of each level that brings you deeper into the crypt where the artifact lies. To get to this gateway, you’ll have to open the doors around you, but also push blocks, and so on. Most puzzle segments are pretty laid back as there are no time constraints. You can just easily plan your route or take a second to figure out which switch opens which door.
Eventually, the puzzles will increase in complexity while still clinging to the game’s base mechanics. You will have to split up your party to give them different things to do while making sure that you don’t trap yourself unable to give commands to your minions. Other times you will have levers that operate multiple doors at once or in sequence. There are also a few doors that are hard to spot. These items combined still add a bit of challenge to the mix.
Conclusion
Necroboy: Path to Evilship is a fun puzzle game that has decent graphics and good music with fitting sound effects. The game lets you begin with a well-explained tutorial before sending you through a maze filled with puzzles. At first, these will be simple and straightforward but the puzzles will increase in difficulty the deeper you get into the crypt. Getting through these mazes can be quite rewarding, as you will be making the story as you go. At its core, there is plenty to enjoy and the game could have been even better with more puzzle variety and a bit of extra polish in the graphical department. As a whole, this one’s an enjoyable puzzle game.
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