Necrolepsy Reviews

Necrolepsy is a short, but very fun and replayable metroidvania. You play as a woman named Lira who's cursed with a curse called Necrolepsy. it causes the person who has it to fall asleep, have nightmares, and for those nightmares to become a reality. Lira sets out to stop the curse so she can live a peaceful life. Obviously since this is a metroidvania, story isn't super complex. But you don't need a deep, complex story to make a good metroidvania. Besides the writing is enjoyable enough for it to not get stale. If you do have an issue with the story, you can just skip the cutscenes. The visuals may not be as complex as other indie games, but they get the job done and make the cutscenes have a certain charm to them if that makes sense. As far as gameplay concerned, each area is split up into different stages. If you played dust an elysian tail or castlevania order of ecclesia, it is kind of like that. Like every other metroidvania you get power ups and moves that let you progress through different parts of the area. What makes it stand out from the rest is the time limit element and its combat. Throughout the game you have a time limit that constantly ticks down and if it hits zero than enemy's get more difficult. In order to return the time limit to normal you must find a bed or save point. You might hate the idea of a time limit, but trust me it makes the game fun and it doesn't hamper the experience. The combat is all about using different moves and getting combos. Not only is using different moves fun and rewarding, but it also gets you more cash. You can use the cash to buy upgrades at the store. As far as music and sound is concerned it's good. I'm not one to remember music well, but it never got stale and it was a delight to listen to. My only huge concern is at times the map didn't feel helpful enough to understand where to go next. Like I said earlier it is not long, but the plentiful amount of difficulties and modes to pick from gives the game heavy replay value. Overall if you're itching for some metroidvania goodness or a neat time sink, this is the game for you!

Fun game with great music, nice writing and satisfying combat, especially when you manage to pull of a decent combo. Controls are a little floaty, but I got used to it pretty quickly, and I think almost every platformer has floaty controls so maybe its just me.

[b]Full disclosure:[/b] I am a friend of the developer, but I wasn't involved in the development of the game in any way. As per usual: [h1]TL;DR at the bottom[/h1] Starting out with the positives, right off the bat the first thing I notice and like is the soundtrack. It definitely gives me an early Playstation/Saturn kind of vibe, especially in combination with the sprite based graphics. And I find that the soundtrack only gets better the further along in the game you get, which is definitely a plus considering I thought it was already at a strong start with the May Mansion tracks. The characters are well designed and charming. Lira's cute and Bart's an absolute lad. Can't forget the adorable little chicken. It also helps that they are very expressive, even with the hooded, no-faced Necromancers can express emotions, which is good! Leading on to the art style, I thought that for the most part it was pretty alright. At worst, it's just meh with some sprite tiling looking wonky or perhaps certain backgrounds and stiff enemies, but like the music I think it all irons itself out and gets better by the end. Plus, lots of parallax scrolling which not many indie games of this artstyle do, so kudos for that! By far though the best part about this game is its gameplay. Combat is incredibly fun, fast, and fluid, it almost feels like what Devil May Cry would be like if it was done in a 2D space rather than 3D. And you get rewarded with new ways to attack or move through the levels with each boss, so it never gets boring and always provides interesting new challenges with those abilities. And the progression allows for a nice, slow, ease into more complex mechanics. The main mechanic of the timer and Nightmare Mode is really unique and interesting, especially for a Metroidvania. It sort of pushes you to keep moving quickly while also exploring otherwise things get harder when in a Nightmare. In fact, the overall pace of the game, as well as some of the items and abilities you get, feels like it was specifically geared for speedrunning, which is cool! There's also a good amount of extra post-game content in the form of a "beach volleyball" mini-game where you test your weapons and try to get a high combo, or a sort of boss rush that actually times you. Also you can skip cutscenes at any time, regardless of whether you saw it once or not, so yay for that! Makes it extremely replay friendly. But on to my negatives and nitpicks. I had more nitpicks than I did actual negatives, so I'll get those out of the way first. Despite the overall decent quality of the art, I definitely felt the UI and HUD designs could've been just a teensy bit better, with particular regards to the map screen. It's not super vague on where you need to go, but I feel like little gaps in the boxes to show where doorways to other areas are would've definitely gone a long way. On my first playthrough starting out, it's embarrassing, but I did get a little bit lost, and that tiny fix would've done wonders, especially since in some cases it's unclear where certain rooms are connected. And the HUD, while it does get the job done of conveying necessary information, could use a little cleanup and bit more design work to have it look nicer. Another nitpick I have is actually with the controls. Despite it's full support for gamepad play, this definitely feels like the intended way of controlling the game was with a keyboard, which is a little disheartening because I tend to play 2D platformers with a controller. It especially got frustrating for me when I was playing the boss rush and trying to use all the abilities at my disposal, where it felt like controller usage actually might've hindered me in that case, and even hurt my hands a little! Lastly, my weakest nitpick is that for a metroidvania title, it is a bit more linear than expected. It's not like it's entirely without exploration and backtracking, hidden goodies, etc. Now, onto the negatives. Dialogue in the later half of the game is nowhere near as good as it was in the first half, with some instances somewhat reaching into "cringey" territory. It's nothing too unbearable, not at all. Nowhere near the level of Jello's VN game, but still. Overall I feel the dialogue kinda needed some work, especially in the second half, but it's fine. Some parts of the level design I thought were weird and nonsensical. There would be platforms in areas that you could jump on but they ultimately led to nowhere. A particular example I think of is in the first level, May Mansion, where there's a tall part underneath a hole in the floor. The platform there led me to believe something was hidden there, but there wasn't. Now, it could be I was playing on Normal and maybe something's only there on Hard, but I don't think there is. It's only really a problem in the first two levels, the later ones are just fine and don't have that. Some of the enemy placement in key areas is a bit dickish. There was one particular spot in May Mansion where a pot just appears and hits you and you have very little time to react, and I did not like that at all. Last but not least: I just did not like the final boss. If there was some tactic I'm not aware or I just suck, then poo poo on me but it was just not a fun boss fight. I found myself waiting a lot and not landing many hits on it, and in a way it sorta overstays its welcome a tad too much just by how long it takes. Especially when you compare it to the length of the other bosses. [h1][b]TL;DR[/b][/h1] Overall, it's as very fun game and I had a great time with it. For any faults the art has, I definitely think the gameplay more than makes up for it just by sheer fun factor and creativeness alone. Also, Lira mad cute and I want her to be my waifu. Will commission for a daiki no lie. I definitely think I'll replay it sometime and see if those negatives still hold true. Very good job and very much worth the price of purchase.

A short but sweet game, with a satisfying parry and juggling system and a good sense of humor.

This game is pretty damn good, good story, charming characters, really challenging game play, an ost that I don't even know how they made with like three people because it's just GREAT, and naturally good pixel art. Only complaint I have is that there is some bugs that need to be worked out, nothing game breaking but like for example I can open the map on the game over screen. Glad I checked this game out of which I found from Stolken's review Youtube channel which is also p good.

A short sweet action adventure game that’s great to pick up and speed your way through in an evening. Necrolepsy, besides being the games name, is a curse that makes the victim constantly fall asleep, have nightmares and have those nightmares come to life. Our main protagonist, Lira a bounty hunter who suffers from said curse, is on a mission to rid herself of it. She must traverse 4 different areas and defeat the Necromancers who placed the curse on her in order to free herself. Armed with just her ax and crossbow she sets out to find the cure and cash in some bounties on the way. The game play is very similar to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. You traverse a multiple corridors fighting tough enemies and finding items to help you advance through the areas. There are a good number of items you can find that expand Lira’s move set. Items such as a clay-more for high attacks, Double Jump Stockings that allow her to jump twice, and even a spear she can throw and ride to reach far out of reach areas. Hidden is these different areas are secret upgrades for health, attack and the sleep timer. The main mechanic that sets the game apart from others like it is the games namesake Necrolepsy. A timer is counting down at all times during your adventure and once it hits zero the world changes to a darker version of itself with a more evil look and tougher enemies. This nightmare state can only be removed by praying at an angel statue where you can save and refill your HP. The timer can also be reset by sleeping in beds hidden in the game’s areas. The game has 4 areas each with a few bosses to overcome. Most of the games challenge comes from the bosses. They each have their own way of attacking as well as a way to intercept that attack to leave them open longer and deal more damage. A main goal in the boss fights if to complete them before your timer runs out, making them stronger and harder to deal with. The overall controls of the game feel fine but can be tightened up as the feel a bit too floaty and slippery. The hit boxes on some of the enemies can be very off at times making them more annoying to deal with. A small but annoying bug that I encountered was having enemy projectiles carry over from one area to another and hitting you once you think you escaped. The game also has instances of bad enemy placements, though not fatal on normal difficulty I can see it being a bigger problem on the more unforgiving ones. Some of the later games areas require more precise movements which I think the game lacks in. The parry mechanic as fun as it is to use, can be taken advantage of allowing to negate a lot of incoming enemy damage making boss fights way easier as all you have to do is cheese them with your parry. The game’s art style looks like something you’d see out of a flash game but it lends to the game’s charm. It really takes me back to the early newgrounds days of flash animation. The game also has some great midi tracks right out of the newgrounds era with a few of the giving me Castlevania and Donkey Kong Country vibes. Lira’s limited and stiff animations fit this whole flash game aesthetic well. The cut scenes that play between areas and before boss fights are done with this style too. Though the dialogue is a bit on the bad side, the expressive character portraits are great to look at and yet again remind me of the flash animated styles of the past. Backgrounds from each of the areas are very well done and give you a good feeling of the land. All of theses areas have an evil variant when you enter nightmare mode, like turing the painting of people in a mansion to demons or rivers of water into rivers of blood. The game is not over once your main journey is finished. The game has a few modes and extras available for you once you finish the main quest. If you felt the game was too easy your first go, try hard mode or if you want a more unforgiving time you can try Can’t Wake Up mode where you are constantly in a nightmare state with harder enemies and increased damage. To further your suffering you can play in Arcade mode where you are given lives and no chance to save and heal at angel statues. If you had a fun time with the bosses, you can face them all again in a boss rush mode.Tired of all that struggle, try to go for a high score in the beach ball mini game and go for the highest hit combos. Having most of the game made by one person is a very impressive feat. Though the game might look rough around the edges just know it’s a passion project that is still very entertaining and fun to play.

"Necrolepsy" is a somewhat quirky and goofy short 2D hack and slash / platforming metroidvania that feels a little unpolished at first glance, but has some nice ideas and fast gameplay. Yoou play the unhinged bounty huntress Lira to find a cure for a curse that makes her time quite literally limited. The premise and the presentation is cartoony and lax and while the levesl may feel a little empty it makes up for fast traversal. Also the spritework is quite good and progression feels intuitive. All in all a solid game for the asked price and a lot of additional content and challenges wait for all those who dig the movement and the juggle-combat mechanic.

[b] Target Audience: [/b] [I] More Mid-Level Platforming/Metroidvanias who want a down to earth project[/i] [b] Summary: [/b] A one man project is always a hard hill to climb, especially in the current indie game landscape. With so many games out there, it's hard to stand out even when a game , while having flaws, pales compared to even other indie game projects out there. Necrolepsy however does enough to be worth its 10 dollar price tag, with the idea of where the project has come from. There's some good core elements with the psuedo combo system here, and there's a good understand of the basics of platforming action. It is rough around the edges, as certain enemies can easily be cheesed and there are some effects that can cause some motion sickness (however as I write this its being changed in an upcoming patch). There's some ideas that don't entirely work mind you: the nightmare mode doesn't feel like its really taking advantage of the idea, and sometimes the game can be a little bit easy. With that said, the game has this sorta newgrounds+flash charm that you can't help but start to smile at. Certain enemies are straight forward, but it also feels like they were built from the ground up, influenced by games like Mega Man and Castlevania, but built by the creators two hands. Lira is a goofy protagonist and there are goofy villians, and yet you sit there cracking smiles left and right. The fact that updates for problems have come at a steady rate shows a developer that's definitely listening to feedback, and is wanting to make a game that people enjoy. It's not going to blow you out of the water, but it's also going to make you appreciate the work put in. It's solid control wise and the mechanics all work and do provide for some higher level skill play, especially with the idea of combos toward the mid segments of the game. It's a game that you should try the demo out for, and if you enjoy it, definitely give the game a try. [b]Video Review: [/b] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCOGxK9Ccm0 [u] Lists: [/u] [b]Positives:[/b] [list] [*] A charming style and quirky writing style leads to a game that you want to succeed, even if its rough around the edges. [*] Good basic enemy design and style while keeping low key in terms of the design itself (not overly flashy) [*] You can tell that a dedication was put into certain animations, and the game can be really cool when showing off these. [*] Core world design and mechanics do the job and the game is appropriately priced. [*] Controls do well for the world created here. [*] Do like a boss battle or two even if they may be considered on the easy side. [*] Like our main character and the idea of necrolepsy is an interesting one that drives the plot home. [*] Like the secondary weapons and their basic uses. [/list] [b]Negatives:[/b] [list] [*] There's an overall lack of oompf at times, the game does show its roots as a first game by a solo developer. [*] Rough around the edges with little glitches here and there, that the dev is addressing, but it's something that you keep on running into. [*] The necrolepsy timer needs more oompf to it in the normal mode to make it feel like an actual threat. [*] I admit I completely forgot that I had a stun weapon until the dev literally told me about it. Stunning feels overpowered at times. [*] You're not exactly sure what items do without going to the in-game store, and overall there's more description that can be used in general. [*] The in-game map not showing doors can be really confusing especially when exploration doesn't seem to be one of the games themes with the timer element. [/list] [b] If you want more reviews/information regarding games I've reviewed, visit my curator. [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/6861768/]Dragnix Curator [/url][/b]

The game's short but it has a lot to offer in terms of mechanics. You can parry everything, you can turn into a giant meat grinder by the end of the game with some of the combos you can pull off. Get it.

Disclosure: Dev is a friend of mine and I was a beta tester, but I'd like to think I can judge fairly despite these biases. Game has it's roughness but overall very enjoyable and definitely worth the price. Your capabilities start of rather limited, but sticking with the game makes it all the more worth it when you get some of the upgrades and become an absolute speed demon of destruction. Also music's pretty banging. Level design is also interesting. It's like a mix of a Metroidvania and a more standard platformer. The levels act similar to metroidvanias in their design philosophies but they're still multiple levels rather than 1 big one. TL;DR: it's good brent