Kzwix The Necromancer's Tale Review

The game is focused on the story, and you're mostly "on rails", no open world, very little choice all in all (though there ARE meaningful choices, most don't seem to really matter, apart from changes to your "reputations" (with children, aristocracy, workers, soldiers, etc.) The map feels a bit cheap, with invisible walls (mostly in forests) which aren't very nice to play around, "cheap" 3D locations (like caves, where the "seams" between cave chunks are really visible, etc.) All in all, the game is not horrible, the assets are correct, but those details can hurt the overall experience. You have "freedom" (you choose where you go, when you go, etc. - most of the time, at least), but that freedom isn't really meaningful, as you'll only progress after you do find one of the few "accepted" solutions (which is a sad - but hard to avoid - limitation of computer RPGs. However, here, there are really few solutions, while in other RPGs, you can use a plethora of methods to reach your goal. For instance, you can pick lock(s), in this game... but it would seem that it's only for ONE lock, in a single "quest". I played as an erudite, but apart from some "flair" in dialogues, it seems to have been "meaningful" only with a few NPCs (I think I counted maybe 3 or 4 interactions where it has been "important"). Also, because the game relies heavily on "rails", and because there are rarely alternate solutions, you get "bonus" points, which you can use to temporarily raise your stats, for one roll. These points are refilled in each new chapter, meaning you can use them to succeed at tasks you'd normally fail. Say you've got a wimpy 1 in Strength, and you need to push a boulder out of the way (requiring, say, 5), if you have 4 available bonus points, then you can do it. Overall, it makes character choices less relevant, as a warrior could get surprising insight, or a wimp could have bulging muscles, if only for a time. Combat is... correct. Not very interesting, with fixed turn order, no special skills or whatever, just activate your weapon as much as you can, or use the action points to move, reload... or cast spells. It gets more interesting when you get your first spells, but then becomes more of a "chore" than a "challenge". I mean, you can have hordes of minions (but they're mostly brainless, so you'll have to control them by having your necromancer casting control spells on them). Meaning that if you have, say, 40 minions, but only 20 mana, as a control costs 2, you'll be able to play 10 of them (at most - and that's considering you won't fail the spell). Now, despite this limitation, your mana scales up a lot, so you'll merely bring a lot of minions, which you won't all use, for each combat, and they'll mostly be won before you ever start to fight. Overall, I felt that near the end of the game, combat was merely a slog - kill the opponents, raise them into new zombie minions, rinse and repeat. The last fight felt a bit harder, but that's not saying much - I arrived with something like 50+ undead, and I might have lost a big third of them during the fight ? (Usually, you can raise all your dead minions after a fight, so it's basically "free", apart from the play time you use to get back in shape) So... all in all, not a bad experience, but clearly not an outstanding one either. What saves this game is the story, which is rather good. So, if you're OK with a not-so-good gameplay, to get an interesting story, this game might be your jam. As for replayability, well... the story won't change, and I guess most choices won't really change the final outcome (there seems to be 3 "paths" from which to choose, possibly more), and the combat, quests, exploration, all are "meh", so... I guess I'll pass on it. Still a decent one time play, though. So, "recommended", but only for the story, if that's your focus. If you're looking for freedom, or tactical combat, this isn't really the game for that.