While I love the high fantasy feel of games like Fable or World of Warcraft, there's nothing quite like the allure of a world plunged into darkness, depravity, and chaos. The hopelessness of Diablo's Sanctuary, the grit and grime of Dragon Age Origins' Deep Roads and Korcari Wilds – for every sparkle, I demand an equal amount of blood splatters. The Necromancer's Tale – as the name might suggest – has gore in droves, accompanied by a Disco Elysium-style investigation system and turn-based combat akin to Baldur's Gate 3. If there's ever a game that screamed 'Lauren,' it's this one.
As you've likely already guessed, you are RPG's various NPCs in order to keep your secret safe, otherwise you'll likely end up at the wrong end of the noose.
With over 180 NPCs and 400,000 words of dialogue and lore, The Necromancer's Tale primarily focuses on its narrative. Much like Disco Elysium, negotiating with the townsfolk, seducing them, or even intimidating them will be the key to your success. If the locals don't trust you, your decisions will quickly attract more attention or have worse ramifications, and if you lose their favor entirely, those rusty pitchforks will be coming out of the cupboard, and those dried red stains imply that their wielders know how to use them.
In order to keep the narrative as the main focus, you can auto-solve the game's various encounters, meaning that you won't have to deal with strategizing and spell slinging if you don't want to. If you live for the thrill of the fight, however, combat plays out akin to other turn-based RPGs like Baldur's Gate 3, with various weapons (and undead) at your disposal.
For me, however, the real draw is the game's setting. The Necromancer's Tale looks absolutely gorgeous, and the 1800s setting means that it perfectly straddles the turn-of-the-century transition from magic to science. It's a world that I find fascinating, and I can't wait to explore Psychic Software's dark fantasy interpretation of it.
And you can do so, right now. Psychic Software has just added a brand new Steam demo for The Necromancer's Tale ahead of its release date, which is set to arrive sometime in July. You can try it here.
If you're looking for some equally sinister adventures to while away the hours with, check out our list of the best story games.
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