The Necromancer's Tale Reviews
Turn-based combat benefits from good AI, and once you've mastered the art of necromancy, the action becomes much more engaging. A fascinating title that requires a fair amount of patience, ideal for those seeking immersion and storytelling.
Review in Italian | Read full review
The Necromancer's Tale sets players up with a fantastic story and wonderful character interaction to drive its dark premise, but undermines it all with clunky controls and shallow turn-based combat. The narrative and puzzle solving will be worth it for some, but not on the Switch 2.
The Necromancer's Tale moves at a deliberate pace, placing narrative, dialogue, and social mechanics above flashy combat and high-fidelity graphics. For those who enjoy morally grey choices, dark magic, and slow-burning intrigue, there's a lot to appreciate here. It's a flawed gem – a little rough, a little strange, but undeniably unique.
The Necromancer's Tale is a promising, well-written RPG with a fleshed-out trust system and rich characters, but simplistic, clunky combat hinders the game a bit.
If you've got a taste for the macabre, you really can't go wrong with The Necromancer's Tale. It makes you work for your necromantic powers but its gripping story will have hooked from beginning to end.
The Necromancer's Tale is a game that isn’t afraid to go against the grain and offer an experience focused on the dark side of the human soul and the forbidden art of necromancy. Few games manage to portray the path of evil with such depth and conviction without resorting to cheap tricks or moral judgments. Here, you get the sense that being evil isn’t just an optional detour, but the true, main path. This title is primarily intended for those who appreciate a deep, well-crafted story, a complex system of choices with real consequences, and a willingness to immerse themselves in a dark fantasy atmosphere with a touch of historical realism. If you’re willing to overlook the fact that the combat system isn’t perfect and that the graphics aren’t at the cutting edge of technology, you’ll discover in *The Necromancer’s Tale* a gem that offers an unforgettable experience of descending into the snares of the deadly art and learning how a person becomes a necromancer. It is a story of power, revenge, knowledge, and inevitable madness—one that is well worth experiencing.
Review in Czech | Read full review
Though it does a pretty good job of fleshing out the narrative side of the equation, the base console controls are pretty miserable, and in general the game has a slow and clunky feel
The Necromancer’s Tale is slow but fantastic. The Necromancer’s Tale is a game that has a limited appeal. I absolutely love it, but I know that it won’t be for everyone. The slow gameplay will instantly put some people off. Additionally, the trust system and mountains of dialogue may be overwhelming. Accordingly, I’d think wisely before investing, but I recommend grabbing a copy here!
The heart of The Necromancer's Tale — its writing, atmosphere and the consequences of its Trust system — works just as well on PS5 as on PC, perhaps even better on the couch once you push through the rough early hours of console-specific friction.
Review in German | Read full review
The Necromancer's Tale is an RPG that moves away from power fantasy to rely on a masterful narrative where every decision has its price. It is an RPG experience that demands time, attention, and setting aside preconceptions such as the heroic figure of the protagonist. It is a title that offers a story that simmers slowly, where every decision—even the most insignificant ones—can have a notable impact on the story.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The Necromancer’s Tale isn’t flawless—its combat can be clunky, setups sometimes frustrating, and technical stumbles may irritate—but its strengths in narrative, atmosphere, and choice-driven gameplay make it a memorable experience for fans of story-rich CRPGs.
Atmospheric and story rich RPG with a hint of a detective mystery.
Review in Finnish | Read full review
The Necromancer’s Tale is a standout narrative RPG that values prose over play, best approached as a richly interactive novel and not a traditional RPG. If you’re here for story, not systems, you’ll find a rewarding, text-heavy journey worth your time, and one that stays with you long after the last paragraph is read.
At the start, I was interested and loved how Necromancer’s Tale sets up with building your character. But once past the prologue, I was starting to lose my patience. Most of the time I spent was running around trying to find what to do next. The journal offers a broad hint of what to do, but doesn’t log previous dialogue for you to skim through. Which then forced me to return to the previous NPC, run through all the chatter and re-select my words, just for a small hint. I’d recommend a log of things your character has discovered. For example, rumours, info on characters and what they’ve said to be logged as well in the journal. The game needs a lot of work on the UI and some of the mini-menus. Such as not having to apply my sword every time I re-enter town. Maybe add a toggle feature to holster your blade. And better ways to make money, instead of only allowing you to work once per chapter. How far I got After playing until chapter 10, it felt like not much had happened in my story. The fact that I wasn’t really feeling like a necromancer left me disappointed. I mean, one of the creatures I could control wasn’t even made by me. Story wise it is interesting, it just feels oddly drawn out for no reason. The gameplay is both too simplistic and complicated at the same time. It’s light on the combat, and enemies go between hitting you 5 times or just once, which is odd. Especially when they move closer to me from far away. All in all, Necromancer’s Tale runs okay, but in the end, I gave it the college try. I just couldn’t finish, as I lost interest after reaching the ballroom. I may continue at another time, but not now. It’s a hit or a miss for The Necromancer’s Tale, so I’m giving it the Thumb Culture Silver Award. It might be up your alley, just not mine.
Once you are born, The Necromancer’s Tale begins to blur the line between fixed narrative and player-driven storytelling. Your character’s early years play out with some key events already set in stone, but you’re given meaningful choices throughout. Almost like a choose-your-own-adventure novel, but darker and more immersive. These early decisions don’t just affect the story; they directly impact your character’s stats. It’s a smart and creative way to build your character through narrative instead of menus, and it adds real meaning to the choices you make.