As someone who likes challenges, I really like hard games. Even after dying countless times, once I can beat a level, boss, or the whole game I feel a sense of achievement and completion that I wouldn’t feel if the game was an easy one. Maybe it’s because I’m from an era in which games were hard but also expensive, so you needed to get your money’s worth from each game you purchased. Nowadays, games are more accessible, and it’s thanks to indie games that you can enjoy an plethora of genres and sometimes some of them mix several genres together to create an unique game. Necrosphere is one of said examples, since it combines tough as nails platforming and puzzle solving with the metroidvania genre, creating a fun but extremely challenging metroidvania. And it does it with only two buttons!
In Necrosphere, we play as agent Terry Cooper who after a unfortunate accident ends up dead, and is now trapped in the Necrosphere. The Necrosphere is kind of like a realm between hell and the world of the living (but its really hellish). Terry’s objective is to get out of Necrosphere and return to the world of the living. This is basically the plot of the game and more of said plot gets uncovered with the letters you are sent by your allies (how were they able to its a mystery), but it’s a good way to uncover the story and keep the player intrigued.
The game only uses two buttons: left and right. Tou can choose between the left button and the A button (left and right respectively) or ZL and ZR. On paper that sounds simple, but the control scheme adds another layer of difficulty for the game. It’s not because they aren’t responsive; they work really good. However, the issue is when you need to solve puzzles because you are limited to only two buttons. This is especially hard when you need precise jumping while activating the correct switches.
Being a metroidvania means you will backtrack and use items encountered to solve a puzzle or get through a door that you couldn’t before. There is a ballerina suit that helps you leap gracefully and a jetpack to reach hard to reach places. However, this doesn’t reduce the difficulty level of the game because you will die a lot. At least there are some checkpoints that will bring you back when you die (infinite lives by the way; it makes sense considering where you are).
Graphically, the game looks good. The 8-bit aesthetic is awesome and goes well with the overall silliness of the game. Each area is well-detailed, and it’s an open letter to games of old.
The music is really good. I like the chiptune music. Tt goes really with each area. Honestly, the music is perfect.
There are also 20 DVDs hidden throughout the game. Getting them is easier said than done, but it feels satisfying once you are able to get one (after five you unlock a mission that has no checkpoints). For a completionist, that is something to look for.
It is also worth mentioning that there is no actual combat. Whenever you find an enemy, instead of engaging in combat, you cleverly use the environment in your favor to defeat them This is great since you are also avoiding insta-death obstacles, so you are basically killing two birds with a stone.
Bottom Line: Necrosphere is a hellish metroidvania with some clever ideas and interesting control and design choices. However, I feel that the difficulty level could prevent players to enjoy it to its fullest. I can only recommend it to fans of tough as nails games because here you will thrive, but for casual gamers it could be too frustrating to even dare to finish it.
A Review code was provided for this review.