Necrosphere Demo

Sometimes it’s a good thing to be frustrated by a video game, but only if it’s because of the high difficulty level. Hence, gamers like to be challenged by impossible levels and lightning-fast mechanics, at least within reason. Metroidvania projects follow similar rules in terms of gameplay and graphics, so it’s always nice to see new entries in the genre, especially if they are well-designed.

Necrosphere is a platformer with retro graphics and a very simple control scheme, in which your goal is to explore the environment and overcome a variety of nasty obstacles. You can only move left and right, with no other commands, which means that you really have to depend on the environment to get around. It can be a tad counterintuitive at first, especially since you cannot jump, but it gets easier to handle along the way.

The story is not exceptional, but it’s quite funny, and it also makes you feel like the action has some purpose. Hence, the Necrosphere is where people go when they die, so there’s usually no escape. On the other hand, when your character gets there he realizes that there are a series of portals that can take him back home, so that’s what the journey is all about.

Since you cannot jump, there are all sorts of environmental objects that help you with that, but they are not as smooth as you might hope. Hence, sometimes you have to perform multiple leaps one after the other, which is where good reflexes and coordination are needed to reach your destination and avoid the obstacles along the way. Speaking of which, there are all sorts of hazards to watch out for, including spikes and various other scary traps.

As far as the graphics are concerned, everything is designed to appear as simple as possible, but the retro style works great in the genre. Hence, even if the whole game is a continuous experience with interconnected levels, the environments change every now and again, and the colors are always nice and enjoyable. The soundtrack doesn’t disappoint either, even if it can be a tad repetitive sometimes.

In the end, Necrosphere is not a revolutionary title in terms of gameplay or mechanics, but it features all the right elements to keep you engaged from start to finish. The simple control scheme is ideal for this type of action, even if it might take you a while to get used to the idea that you cannot jump.